From the Founder, Brian Mazza 12/5
Put Back the Shopping Cart
Yesterday I went to Chipotle in a shopping center where I live. I spotted fifteen shopping carts left by people’s cars. Scattered everywhere. Blocking spaces. Sitting in the middle of lanes. Some left, no joke two feet from the return station. It was a perfect snapshot of how most people move through life. Convenience over character. Ease over effort. Comfort over standard. And unfortunately a lack of common sense and decency.
But putting the cart back is not about the cart. It is about your identity. It is about the discipline you carry when no one is watching. It is about the quiet choices that reveal whether you are a person who finishes what they start or a person who leaves loose ends behind them.
Most people want to be high performers only on the days they feel motivated. They want to be excellent when the conditions are perfect. They want success without the sacrifice. But high performance is built on daily behaviors that look insignificant to the outside world. It is built on doing the small things with absolute precision.
The shopping cart is the same thing you face in business. Some days bring great news. Some days bring setbacks you did not expect. Some conversations lift you up. Others punch you right in the stomach. You will not always like what you hear. The weather shifts. That is life.
But your standard is not supposed to shift with the weather.
Your identity is not supposed to bend with convenience.
Your discipline is not supposed to disappear when no one is watching.
Putting the cart back is a reminder that your actions are a reflection of your character, not your comfort. It is a daily opportunity to teach your children what accountability looks like. It is the difference between talking about excellence and living it. Small actions strengthen your internal contract. They tell your mind that you are reliable, you are consistent, and you honor your own word.
This mindset carries into every area of your life. As a parent, your kids study your patterns. As a leader, your team feels your consistency. As an entrepreneur, your standards become your strategy. When you cut corners, you weaken your identity. When you raise your standard, everything around you elevates with it.
Putting back the shopping cart is a vote for the person you claim you want to become. It reinforces the truth that high performance is not built in big moments. It is built in quiet moments when you choose effort over excuses.
Do the simple things with uncommon discipline.
Do the unnoticeable things with pride.
Do the right thing even when no one will ever know.
That is how high performance is created.
That is how it compounds.
That is how you build a life, a family, and a legacy you are proud of.
