Sometimes the joy comes in unexpected ways. This week I was in Albuquerque with a client running The Abiding Strategy Workshop. The venue was Los Poblanos Inn, an incredible, beautiful warm and welcoming place.  They have beautiful gardens, and peacocks, and amazing food. My sincere thanks to my client for picking such a lovely place.

Everything about the experience was positive, but Mouse was the very best host. After a long day of teaching, we had a break before dinner and for the second or third time that day Mouse allowed me the privilege of petting him for a few minutes.  Then, to my delight, he followed me into my room where we sat on the couch together for about an hour. I didn’t see him after dinner. But this morning, when I checked out, he walked over to me in the office as I dropped the key and let me hold him again for a few minutes to say goodbye.

This led to a lovely conversation with my Uber driver about our love of animals… because he had to wait for me while I said goodbye to Mouse. 

Of course, the business went well, the Strategy Plan was built, the client is happy, and I get paid to do something I truly love. But, I will admit that meeting a cat named Mouse was a major highlight of my trip.

Find the joy.  It’s there if you look!