Paint Can, Paint Can jordanmarsh6, December 16, 2021April 5, 2023 My dad, at the tender age of 28, the same age I am now, had a guy named Wallace Bennett walk into his office one day. I didn’t know who Wallace Bennett was when he first told me, and I am assuming you don’t either. He told me that Wallace Bennett walking into his office back then was like having Mitt Romney walk into my office today. He was a U.S. senator in the state of Utah from 1951 to 1974. Before Wallace Bennett got into politics, he was the president and general manager of Bennett’s Paint and Glass Company. He worked for the company for 30 years before deciding to run for an open seat in the Senate. My dad and him had an instant connection, because my dad ran a painting business with his brother that put him through college. As they connected over their history with painting, Wallace Bennett told an interesting story from his time in the senate. Wallace said that when he first became a senator, he would take things that people said about him really seriously; whether good or bad. If a news article or a colleague approved of his work, he started to think highly of himself. If the opposite scenario occurred, where something negative or rude was said about him, he said it would crush him. After a few years of being a senator, he hired a political consultant to help him with his work. This political consultant asked him a question that harked back to his days in the painting business: “if someone told you that by changing the label on a paint can, you would sell twice as much paint, would you change the label?” Of course, Wallace said he would do that. The consultant’s point was that Wallace needed to change his political label, and by doing so, he would be more effective. When he does something minor and inconsequential, but gets praised for doing it, he might convince himself that what he did was better than it was. On the other hand, when he gets criticized, it won’t sink him into a hole where all he can think about is what the person said. Wallace said that his political career was never the same, and that he felt he was much more successful once he tried to implement this advice. From this one conversation, my dad adopted a saying to remind him of this life lesson: “Paint Can, Paint Can”. When my dad qualified anything he was about to say with this phrase, whether it was a success or failure, it helped the listener understand that my dad wasn’t trying to overly boast or overly complain; it was more about stating the facts of the situation as best as he could. Almost as factual and boring as the label on a paint can might appear. “Paint Can, Paint Can” will help you zero in on how you’re really doing. Let yourself celebrate the victories, and learn from the defeats, but don’t be defined by either of them. Not too high, not too low. Self Improvement