They Were Expendable

Much like this movie that was made about the PT boats of WWII, we are all expendable. Consider the sports/news story of Peyton Manning, former quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts.

I follow sports but do not run to a fever pitch about any of it, (OK, sometimes Ohio State football). I follow the NFL but rarely watch much of the games. I simply have other things to do. For the uninitiated, Peyton Manning was the star performer for the last fourteen years for this franchise. Before he arrived in 1998 Colts football was the low man on the totem pole in a city that sports a pro basketball team and Indiana Hoosiers basketball. Within four years he took a bumbling, stumbling franchise that several years before stole out of Baltimore on buses and moving vans in the middle of the night. It was his success on the field that 'built' the house the Colts live in.

If ever there was a modern-day business that owed its success and fame to one individual, it was the Colts. But, there comes a time when every business or organization decides it is time to move on and Manning is now out looking for a job. But, it happens to everyone at some point. Hopefully, with insight, an individual is able to make such a move on their own terms. Long gone are the days from when our fathers and grandfathers worked for the same company for forty years, then retired. Today is a world of 'what have you done for me lately'.

For many years I always believed if you worked hard enough and had success you would be able to stay where you wanted, put in the time and move up the ladder. Sadly, I believe that is no longer the case for many in the real world. All of us from the newest employee to the seasoned veteran needs to be able to exercise options. Although I am relatively secure in my own position, I need to understand everything above me can be in flux.

The Manning/Colts split should show us all to keep abreast of the changing reality that is life. Work hard and do your best and good things will happen; they just may not happen where you think they will.