Musings at Altitude

One of the dictionary.com definitions for nirvana is “any place of complete bliss and delight and peace”, and I think I’ve found the perfect picture of just such:

 

This is my 9 day old granddaughter, Audrey Sue, and she sure looks like she’s in a state of bliss and delight and peace! 

I’ve been fond of saying over the last decade or so in business that I’ve been seeking nirvana.  And every now and then I find those moments of peace or bliss where things just fall into place and that smile comes knowing that the decisions, the preparations, the actions, and the results all seem to align in some cosmic fashion creating nirvana. 

But those are rare…oh so rare…and oh so special…and oh so memorable.

I remember one such time when we finished a 3 year project in the required 14 months and did it for $11.7M instead of the proposed $45M saving our customer an enormous amount of money…and then we watched on closed circuit video as the booster left the launch pad on schedule because of all that great work…that was nirvana.

I remember another time when we worked so hard to get one specific contract and part of that contract was an advance payment of over $2M that was so desperately needed for working capital for the company…as I got that check and started the very nervous drive to the office with check in hand, that was nirvana when I pulled into the parking lot and realized that payroll would be met.

And I remember another time when our company had such a great solution that our executive team was willing to go without pay for many months as we poured money into engineering hoping that venture capital would follow in due time…then we got those first orders for that perfect solution…and right before some of us were going to have to take dramatic steps in our personal lives because of the debt incurred, just then that term sheet came, and hope was fulfilled and funding flowed…seeing that long past due payment hitting the checking account and writing the checks to pay down so many debts…that was nirvana.

And finally, when I held my daughter for the first time and realized that the dreams of a family for both me and my wife were fulfilled in her and then fulfilled again and again as we added to our family, and now to see the little one shown above and to see the joy in my daughter brought by the arrival of her very own new member of her family…that’s a very special nirvana.

My daughter is sending out pictures frequently throughout the day, and when I hear that special tone on the blackberry that indicates a new photo has arrived a smile erupts…nirvana is near as she shares with us the joy and the peace and the bliss and the delight of this new little life that has found ultimate contentment and is loved by so many…yep…nirvana is here!