Our latest guest speaker to visit us and whose stories and advice left an impact on our global team was Jeremy Andrus, CEO of Traeger, a popular manufacturer of wood pellet grills for outdoor cooking.
Jeremy began by sharing with us his own story, and it is one of working hard to balance family, personal, spiritual, and professional priorities. He talked about his deep love for the intersection of bringing people together and elevating their lives, especially through the use of technology to disrupt how things have been getting done for a long time. Jeremy said that since he was young he’s always wanted to work hard, gain self mastery, and be an entrepreneur, but that it took him a while to find his path. He talked about how his hard work early on resulted in a lot of personal frustration, but then he learned an important truth for himself: frustration can be replaced with a healthy love of adversity. Jeremy added to this thought by quoting an ancient proverb that says “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the second best time is today.”
Jeremy then went on to say that when he was building a previous company, Skullcandy, his life was unbalanced. During that time he read an impactful book by a mentor of his, Clayton Christensen, a highly respected Harvard business professor. The book talked about how to measure success in life, and Jeremy learned that you have to prioritize what matters most in life and that you can’t do everything all at once. Jeremy then spent time sharing with us the four main lessons that he’s learned over the years:
Saying no to certain things allows you to focus on the most important things in life.
- The journey of life is meant to be enjoyed, as it’s all that you have. It’s easy early in life to believe it extends forever, but as you age you realize how short life is. The decisions you make really do matter.
- Learn to choose priorities that aren’t mutually exclusive.
- The platform for accomplishing all of these things isn’t the notion of goal setting, but rather developing healthy and effective habits that dictate the course of your day and give you strength.
We are so grateful for our time with Jeremy Andrus, for these profound words of advice that he shared with our team, and for teaching us the importance of prioritizing the most important things in life. Thank you, Jeremy!
