Literally, one always sees another twice in a lifetime. Our paths will cross again. You never only know a person once. This is one of my favorite German sayings that has multiple meanings. It can be used to promote respect & friendliness - because you never know when you'll see someone again. And it can be used as a more positive goodbye - something along the lines of "don't worry, we'll meet again soon".  

Three weeks from today will be my last day at SlideBelts.

I’m very fortunate to have been selected to receive a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) Grant to Germany for the next academic year! This means that I will be teaching English to the German equivalent of high schoolers, while attending a class or two at the local university, where I hope to soon pursue a Masters degree. While I am so excited to begin this next leg of my journey, I am also heartbroken to be leaving you all so soon. This is a community of amazing people that I never expected to find, and SlideBelts will forever hold a very special place in my heart because of all of you.

You are all obviously super welcome to swing by Germany at any time in the next year - I will always be down to show off my new digs and impress you with my German. 

Good Morning, Team!

Let's start this day with a talk about follow-through - "the continuing of an action or task to its conclusion".

Personally speaking, I can think of times in my life where I've been incredibly motivated to do things in the short term and as the initial excitement or emotion wears off, so did I. That's not how success is achieved. On the opposite end, the things I'm really proud of, took perseverance and dedication.

Every Steph Curry shot from the deep end, every innovative product launch, every take-off and landing, every life decision, leap of faith, and successful action or campaign has this particular thing in common: follow-through.

Seeing an opportunity, deciding to do something to capture that opportunity, strategizing how to do it, assembling the resources to do it, and staying focused the entire way through, down to the last detail is all encompassed by...following through.

So do what it takes to capture your personal opportunity today for yourself, and in the greater picture, for the team. See it to the conclusion, walk the walk because...

Morning All!

I'm sure you all have heard a little here and there from Jeff, Marc, and I about our recent trip to Facebook, but it truly was an awesome experience and I left with some great memories. I want to thank all the Crusaders in the house who helped us get ready for this Pop-Up Shop. You all helped us be organized and we were as prepared as possible which made the whole experience enjoyable and stress-free.

Before I left I may have gotten a request to bring back some souvenirs (per Matt!) So I figured I would fill that request the only way a Crusader would. It would have been too easy to bring back a 'Facebook' tee and too risky to smuggle back some snacks. Instead, I decided to lug back some beat up belts! There were several Facebook employees on their way to meetings and they were wearing belts that were literally falling apart. Several people stumbled upon our shop and were pretty much sold once they learned about the concept and quality of our SlideBelts. I helped 2 employees in particular who wanted to wear their new belt out of the store. They were both on the fence about what to do with their old belt so I somehow persuaded them to let me take them back to our office for some belt shaming. Broken buckles, cracked leather, faux fillings, eeek!

Happy Hump Day! -Gabs