Do It Your Way

I once read somewhere that we need to be reminded more much often than we need to be informed. Our world is drowning in information. There are over 5.4 billion social media accounts, 200 million websites, 4.5 million podcasts and 5600 scripted television shows that jostle for our attention every day, each offering their nostrums on how best to improve every facet of our lives. But while information is abundant, wisdom is not. While information is bounteous, perspective is rare. And while information is copious, truth is scarce. Jeff Bezos, the Founder of Amazon—one of the most innovative companies in history—says that he is more concerned about what will not change in the next ten years than he is in what will change. He contends that what will not change is the source of lasting competitive advantage. Fads come and go. But principles remain. And earlier this week, I was reminded of one such principle while returning a package in a UPS store.

Two weeks ago I ordered a pair of glasses from one of my favorite stores in South Carolina. My wife calls them my “Benjamin Franklin” glasses, and she does not mean that as a compliment. I am attracted to classic, rare, and unusual items, and I found a pair of eyeglasses in a boutique that fits that description during a summer visit to Charlestown. Since then, the boutique sends me their catalogue every November. As I was flipping through this year’s catalogue, I discovered a new version of my favorite spectacles. I immediately placed the order. They arrived 3 days later. But unfortunately, the color was incorrect. So earlier this week I went to the UPS store near my house to send them back.

The clerk who met me at the counter was kind. I completed the necessary paperwork and was reaching for my wallet to pay for the return shipping when the clerk said “Mr. Robinson, we have a problem.” “What is the issue,?” I inquired. “The issue,” he replied, “is that I can’t ship this package in this box.” Then we both started laughing, because I realized that the glasses were still in the box they had been sent in. And they had been to sent to me via Fedex! To be completely honest, I really didn’t think that the box mattered. To my thinking, a box is just a box. But to that clerk at that UPS store, a box was not just a box. If I was going to ship anything from the UPS store, I was going to have to do so using a UPS box. The principle was clear: at UPS stores, we do things UPS’ way. We even use our own boxes.

As we head toward the end of another year, it’s worth asking yourself how many times you have allowed people to use “another box” in your store. How frequently did you surrender your standards or compromise your convictions or relinquish your rules? At UPS stores, they do things UPS’ way. At UPS stores, they have certain standards. At UPS stores, they have particular convictions. At UPS stores, they have unique rules. If you are going to ship anything from a UPS store, you are required to purchase a UPS box.

That experience reminded me a great scene in scripture. A young man named David decides to fight a giant named Goliath. The young man is inexperienced, overmatched, and undersized. Yet, his faith in God and in himself propels him to the battlefield, where he makes history with a slingshot. However, prior to the battle, his confidence was questioned and his equipment was ridiculed. In fact, he was advised to upgrade his weapons. 1 Samuel 17: 38-40 recounts the episode:

Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail.  David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.

This text teaches us that David couldn’t fight or win in someone’e else’s armor. And neither can you or I. At UPS stores, they do things UPS’s way. Do things your way. We should all learn from others. We should all embrace others . And we should all remain open to new ideas. But we should never forget or fail to embrace our uniqueness. Ralph Emerson once said “There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.”

Frank Sinatra sang it it best:

Let the record show.

I took the blows.

But I did it my way.

*****This is the last blog of 2026. The blog will resume on January 16, 2026