I've always been fascinated by centenarians. When you consider what an individual who lives past the age of 100 sees in his or her lifetime, it staggers the imagination.
When I was right out of college, my first job was as a city reporter for a small regional newspaper. I covered everything everything that went on the area, from city council meetings to the birth of triplet calfs, to the birthday parties of local centenarians. These events were some of my favorites, because I got the chance to ask these seasoned veterans of life what memories stand out over time, what advancements meant the most to them and best of all, what they believed to be the secrets to their longevity. Their answers varied, but if I had to point to one thread that ran through them all, I would have to say it's consistency.
During my years as a reporter, I probably interviewed five people who made it past the age of 100 and when asked what helped them endure throughout the years, each of them had at least one habit or philosophy they noted. There was always one thing they did or thought that never changed. For one woman, it was a strict avoidance of tobacco -- coupled with a daily shot of whiskey -- to which she attributed her iron health. A 105-year-old man believed the hypochondria he suffered from since childhood kept him one step ahead of his doctors. Another man claimed his lifelong love of reading and crossword puzzles maintained his mental faculties and kept him youthful. Not one of them claimed a quick-fix or miracle remedy helped them live so long. It always came down to something they'd been doing consistently their entire lives.
The same can be said for Star Rentals, the subject of our business profile on page 18. This company was founded 110 years ago and, like the centenarians noted above, has a core set of values its held since its inception over a century ago. Among them, notes President Bob Kendall, are a commitment to offering the finest equipment possible (keeping the fleet fresh is one component of that -- their average fleet age is only 35 months), as well as providing the highest level of customer service possible. And while that might sound common enough, at Star Rentals it's backed up with some interesting philosophies and methods. For more about these, see the article on page 18.
For those of us lucky enough to have quite a ways to go before we hit the 100-year milestone (and that's most of us!), the concept of doing anything consistently over a lifetime can be mindboggling. But when we analyze anything over the very long-term, whether it be business trends or the life of a human being, we begin to see threads of consistency. The trick is to pick out the ones that make the difference and play to them effectively, as Star Rentals has. There are simply no shortage of lessons to be learned from a centenarian.
