Groundhog Day

Every day I wake up in the same room, sit in the same chair, and type on the same keyboard. I drive to the same building, order the same thing (espresso please), and connect with the same people. 

Work moves at a glacial pace. In pursuit of the same vision day after day with projects that easily span quarters and sometimes years.  To quote Austin Kleon in Keep Going: “Every day is groundhog day.”

When we’re in this perpetual loop, it’s easy to forget that what we’re doing matters or that our work has any impact at all. We falsely believe that because something feels boring or mundane to us, it must feel that way for everyone else. 

Here’s a not-uncommon story: Someone discovers Cat & Cloud through our podcast, YouTube channel, or this blog, and decides to make us a part of their vacation to the West Coast—driving two hours out of their way from San Francisco or six hours from Los Angeles. This happens with surprising frequency. 

The only reason for people to go so far out of their way is to have an experience. If they just need coffee, they can get that without driving for hours. 

So what might feel like groundhog day for everyone behind the counter is something new and magical for someone else. When the road-trippers arrive, we have the opportunity to either make or break our promise. We can choose to live up to our mission of “Inspiring connection by creating memorable experiences” or not.

I’m sure you can see the problem here. Core regulars aside, we don’t know if someone drove across town or trekked 6 hours to get here. 

So the obvious thing to do, the most impactful thing to do, the most fun thing to do is to imagine each and every guest has made a special journey to come see us. This also turns out to be true. Because even the people in our neighborhood have 5 other options for coffee a stone's throw away. Even the people who have been to Cat & Cloud hundreds of times still value the experience we create. 

As stressful as owning a business can be at times, the adventure of driving to the same building, ordering the same thing, and connecting with the same people isn’t lost on me. I would miss it greatly if it were gone.

The story of your life is the story of what you do day in and day out. Just because you do something every day, doesn’t mean it isn’t completely magical.