Brett Hughesby Lauren Nunnally

3. “When something that you love to do requires enough attention that it becomes your sole focus”

Brett’s Definition of

About Brett

1997 - 2001

2001 - 2004

2005 - 2013

2014 - Present

2012 - 2013

2007 - 2009

2012 - Present

1981 - 2001

2008 - Present

2011 - Present

2012

La Chureca

“My heart was broken. I fell in love with the people and realized that I was in the right place for the right reason and that I would have never been there had I not just believed I could provide value in the most humble service. I was the student on that trip even though I came to be a teacher - 9, 10, and 11 year olds living in a trash dump taught me as much about love, joy, and fun as anyone ever has.”

“While in Nicaragua for the first time, I met my now Co-Founder of Another Best Day. We flew back together from that life changing experience and thought ‘I don’t know what changed, but something did.’ We did not want to lose the feelings and emotions [from that trip]. We wanted everyday to be Another Best Day like we created in Nicaragua. It was not a business plan but a motto.”

Be Real

“[My core values are] Faith, Love, Adventure, Service, Knowledge, and Inspiration. I have them written in every journal I have owned. They may not be terribly unique but together they build a great framework for my decisions on jobs, opportunities, relationships, and down to what books I read or talks I listen too. Having core values is essential to storytelling. Otherwise you won’t ever find the story that you HAVE to tell, you will just tell and/or live the story you think people want to hear and/or see. “

“I’d love to be remembered for the work I did, the service I provided, and ultimately the fun and adventure that I helped to create for those around me.”

Be Whole

“Work, Family, Community and Friends cannot be totally separate in my mind. The organizations that I've created and work for are rooted in Family, Community, and Service, so everyone involved in those companies are stakeholders in one another. We do not leave our work at an office. I know everyone’s husband, wife, and family and they come on trips to our programs, we talk outside of work and support each other in all areas of life. Only that culture can create a place I am willing to put all of my resources and time into. Work should be a community of great people doing well for one another and the care should go beyond a bottom line of a spread sheet. Instead, it should spill into wanting to do your best for your co-worker’s entire family. Idealistic? Sure. Important? Absolutely!”

“The life I am painting will always be innovative in ways to create meaningful products, experiences, and interactions that fill my mind, heart, and time with purposeful pursuits. To do that requires a vision and mission that is rock solid, but it also requires being innovative and bold in every part of life. I am a creative being (we all are) so I try to view everything as a chance to be an artist. Artists are innovators so I plan on having that be a driving factor in my life. You have to bring the entire box of crayons to class, not just the ones that others are coloring with. Use them all, be a light, create Another Best Day for yourself and those around you and I promise you will be the artist that the Kindergarten versions of ourselves would assume we were going to be.”

Be Innovative

“Every time in my life that I have created something completeley for someone else, I have found the most joy. I thought, ‘Why not focus on things that I love and find the people who want those things?’ [For me, those things are] lacrosse, mentorship, and love and so I created offerings around those. [But ultimately] I could not and would not be as focused if I surrounded myself with people who did not lift me up in down times and did not believe in the things I chose to do.”

My Takeaways• You do not have to dedicate your life to one thing. In fact, the more things

you are into, the more opportunity you might have to leverage those things to help one another.

• Focus your energy on giving to others and always remember to be grateful.• Do not ignore the “little voice” when something comes along that has a

huge impact on you. Explore!• Surround yourself with people who believe in you and fully support what

you are doing. • Keep your core values top-of-mind and allow them to drive your choices in

life – you will not be let down.• Be an artist – your life is your canvas. Do not be afraid to make your

painting unique. The buckets you decide to put your time and resources into may not make sense to others, but that is okay.

• Have passion and purpose in what you do.• “You cannot have passion for something that is not purposeful. You

can have energy, but that’s not passion. Raw passion comes from a sense of belonging and feeling purposeful so that not just your mind, wallet, or body is fed, but rather your soul first and foremost is filled.

• “If you bring a level of art, love, joy and purpose to what you are doing, everyone around you will gravitate toward that.”

• “Don’t want more from life, give more of yourself to life. By giving more of ourselves to life, we in turn live more completely.”

“Would you be willing to give your life to save the world if no one ever knew your name? If anonymity was the price you would have to pay for significance, would it be too great a price? To live a life of courage is not a guarantee of prestige or adulation. It only matters if you live and die fulfilling the mission you were born for.” – Erwin Raphael McManus

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