About 10 years ago, things were really humming. Family life was great with a little toddler at home, Pardot was taking off nicely, and I had my eye on a used Corvette on eBay Motors. After going back and forth with the seller — a police officer in Palm Coast, Florida — we had a deal. Anxious to pick up the car, I booked a plane ticket to Daytona Beach, Florida the following weekend and couldn’t wait to go get it.
The weekend rolled around and I was on the first flight out. At the airport I was met by the officer and we talked cars while he drove me 30 minutes to his house near the coast (no Uber back then!). We pulled up to the house and he opened the garage revealing the shiny black Vette with red interior — beautiful.
Once the paperwork was signed, I was in the car off to hit the open road in Florida.
Life was good.
Family, personal, and professional couldn’t be better.
I thought I was indestructible.
After being on the interstate for two hours I called my Pardot cofounder Adam to catch up on a few things. With the countryside rolling by and the cell phone pinned to my ear it happened like slow motion in a bad movie.
A large tire tread peeled off the tractor trailer in front of me and headed right for my newly acquired car. After glancing the front of the hood, the tread smashed into the windshield directly in front of my eyes. Now, there was a hole the size of my fist in the windshield four feet from my face. The tractor trailer didn’t stop; no one was around to see it or help. I quickly told Adam I gotta go and hung up the phone while pulling off on the side of the road.
I was taking things for granted.
I wasn’t practicing gratitude.
Life was going well and I thought I was on top.
I needed to slow down. I needed to be thankful.
Ultimately, everything was fine. I wasn’t injured, the car was repaired, and life continued along.
Only, I was different. I was more grounded. I was more thankful.
David Cummings on Startups 
Agreed. Can not take life for granted! I am glad that you are OK. I can not believe the tractor trailer did not stop.
Thank you for the culture change. the RED shift.
Wow talk about life hitting you right in the face with a wake-up call of reality! Blessed that things were not more serious, great story of gratitude. I often say “Abundance is the Reward of a Grateful Life”