My daughter Claire was under the weather Monday afternoon so I filled her balloon gig that night. I’m the spare artist for the Tampa team, the twister of last resort.

That restaurant has used Balloon Distractions for many years, and I fill the gig there every few months. One of the managers was an artist on our team about 10 years ago, it’s always nice to see him as well.

You never know who you’ll run into later on, sometimes unexpected people circle back into your life. This is a great reason to be nice to everyone. Being decent to folks has a great long term return on investment.

When I put on a balloon apron and approach a table they have no idea I’m a business owner, a writer, or anything else. The customer just sees an average looking middle aged guy, they probably wonder why someone my age is twisting balloons in a restaurant!

The parents don’t know I run a national company and they don’t care. I’m there to make their child happy, nothing more.

Wearing a rainbow of balloons and entertaining children is always humbling.

Filling a booking keeps my ego in check, and I need that.

Ego is destructive and expensive. It’s a huge pitfall for leaders.

Someday I’ll no longer fill bookings, perhaps I’ll develop a Regional Leader to run the Tampa region and step back from that role myself. Until then I’m ordering balloons, getting my apron set up, and heading out to fill gigs.

I won’t stop filling bookings until I’m totally debt free, and my income from the LIFE business exceeds my income from Balloon Distractions. There will be a “last day” when I finally untie my apron, and retire my Sharpie marker forever.

I’ll probably write about it here.

Happy Twisting folks!

Benny the Balloon Guy

February . 2017