Company Blog

Wish Lists

by Adam Zack — December 17, 2025

We don’t always get what we want…

Christmas time is loaded with lists. What gifts to buy (and for whom). Who’s coming to dinner. What to shop for. What’s on the menu. Who gets a card. Who doesn’t. Who’s naughty. Who’s nice. As kids, we were professional list-makers. We started early—September early—paging through the Sears catalog like it was sacred text. Pages were dog-eared, items circled, then reconsidered, added, removed, and debated as fall slowly marched toward Christmas. Nothing too unrealistic, but always just ambitious enough to feel hopeful. Lofty dreams, within reason.

Grandparents wanted to know what was on the list—and since I had three sets, the odds were pretty good. Between generous family and a birthday a week after Christmas, most lists reached a very satisfying level of cross-outs. It was an exciting season, and I was incredibly lucky, even if I didn’t always recognize it at the time. I cringe now thinking about the occasional disappointment over a missing Hot Wheels set or model airplane. What kind of spoiled kid pouts over that? (Answer: me.) It took a few years, but I eventually learned that we don’t always get what we want—whether it’s business goals, customer feedback, returned calls, or personal improvements. That’s just reality. We should still make thoughtful, realistic lists (yes, the Ferrari is still a stretch), work hard toward them, and accept that some boxes will remain unchecked. The key is learning enough along the way not to be a jerk about it.