Question: When did you know in business that you were doing the right thing?
Glenn: Never. Here’s the thing, I think, and feel free to correct me if anybody else has a better answer than this, because I really am bluffing. The only time I’ve ever known anything…well, I shouldn’t say this. There’s been about four times in my life that I’ve really, truly known. I was seven, and I heard clear as a bell, “What you do in life at some point will be a turning point. That’s all I heard. I don’t know, I’m seven, I don’t even know what that means.
That actually led, played a big role in my alcoholism, because every time I would think that I’m on the verge of something, somebody else would beat me to it, and I’d be like, “What the…? Why am I always behind?” I’m always behind. It wasn’t until the 90s that I just let go and said I don’t really care. I think that’s probably a childhood little thing, and it took me until about 2005 when I’m on the cover of TIME magazine that I’m like oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I wasn’t trying to do anything anymore. I was trying to find it before. You know what I mean? And so I was screwing it up.
Once I let go, and I’m just like I’m just going to be, I’m just going to do today what I think is right…there’s been about four times in my life where I felt like I’ve had that this you must do, but I never know how to do them, ever. I usually don’t even know exactly what they mean, and it can really screw me up. Beyond that, every time I second-guess myself, I screw it up. Your first thought is usually the right one. The first thought is you know what we should do, we should do this.
Now, things around that might change. We’re working on this amazing thing that we’re hopefully going to announce this summer. We’re going to start a tradition 15 months from now for Fourth of Julys, because I think we need to do Fourth of July right. I’ve tried to do it all over the country. I’ve tried to play, you know, in everybody else’s sandbox. Nobody cares about the traditions of America anymore. It’s all about hot dogs and fireworks and country music bands. That’s not Independence Day. That may be Fourth of July, but it’s not Independence Day.
We came up with this idea, and our first name for it is the Campfire. That sucks. That’s what I think it should be, the Campfire. That’s going to change, but all of the stuff that’s at the heart of it is not going to change, okay? So, you have to have confidence enough in yourself to say you know what, I’m just settled enough that I’m comfortable enough to say I’m good failing with this, I’m good. I’ll fail, but I’m going to do this because it feels right to me, and then just hold on, just hold on, because it’s a scary ride, and every step of the way you’ll question yourself.
I do today. I did this week. Four or five times this week I said you know what, maybe we shouldn’t have done any of this. Maybe we shouldn’t have done any of this. Maybe it’s just me in my head thinking we should. Let it go. Let it go. Wherever you end up is right where you’re supposed to be, and once you say I could lose it all…my kids asked me one time, “Dad, why do you say enjoy it while it lasts?” Well, because in my 20s, I thought it would always go on, and I lost everything. When I didn’t have it anymore, I realized wow, I’m happy without it. It doesn’t matter.
But while you have it, enjoy it, and once you really let go and say I don’t really care, I will live under a bridge because I know I’ll be happy, one way or another I’ll be happy, and it will be exactly where I’m supposed to be, everything works out. It all works out.