One thousand and sixty three sailors. That’s the crew size for the USS Arkansas Battleship on which my grandfather sailed during World War II. He was on board June 6, 1944 just off the northern coast of France. He was on board March 25, 1945 when the bombing began at Okinawa.

Somewhere in between, this land lubber who had never set foot on a ship prior to boarding the Arkansas was made Officer of the Deck Under Way (OOD) of a battleship at war. He was responsible for the 1,063 lives of the sailors.

“Once you’ve been officer of the deck on a battleship at war, everything else you ever do in your life is easy.” -Phil Conley

Everything else you ever do.

Easy.

No sense losing sleep over which line to order, which media to use for your ads, which employee to hire, which policy to change, which bag size to stock. You’re not OOD of a battleship at war. You’re not climbing up a hundred-story building on fire with a pick axe in your hands. Make your choices and move on.

Days like 9/11 and 12/7 and 4/19 and 6/6 are good for reminding us to put things in perspective.

God bless all who have sacrificed their lives for us.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS I’m not saying to blow off those decisions. Do the research. Weigh the pros and cons. Give them the thought necessary. Just don’t spend any time agonizing or worrying. They are just business decisions. Sometimes they make you money, sometimes they cost you. The best thing to do is to be decisive. Make your decision and move on to the next.