Are You Going to Thrive... or Just Survive?

Rich and I were out to dinner recently when we overheard a customer ask the restaurant owner a simple question:

“How’s business?”

Without hesitation, the owner replied:
“Thriving.”

Not “busy.”
Not “hanging in there.”
Not “could be worse.”

Thriving.

That one word stuck with us.

For the past few years, we’ve heard some familiar phrases float around workplaces everywhere—sometimes even our own:

• “I can’t wait until this year is over.”

• “Next year has to be better than this one.”

Here’s the truth:
If every year is a bad year, that’s not bad luck—that’s bad choices.

Hard years happen. Hard lives happen when nothing changes.

So as we look toward 2026, this is the question we’re asking our leadership team—and frankly, ourselves:

Are you going to thrive… or just survive?

I recently listened to a podcast with Elan Lee, co-creator of Exploding Kittens. At the end, Guy Raz asked the classic question:
“Was your success luck or hard work?”

Elan answered with a story.

He got on a bus and tried to pay his fare. The driver told him the machine was broken and he couldn’t accept money.

Elan asked, “What should I do?”
The driver replied, “Just ride today and pay next time.”

No drama. Problem solved.

The next person boarded the bus and was told the same thing. His reaction?

He exploded.

He yelled at the driver, complained that he was going to be late, said that everything was always against him, and stormed off the bus.

Same situation.
Same bus.
Same driver.

Two completely different outcomes.

Elan said he felt bad for the guy—not because of the broken machine, but because he was one question away from having a good day.

Instead, he chose to give up.

That story is a perfect metaphor for how people move through life and business.

Thriving Isn’t About Avoiding Hard Things

Thriving doesn’t mean life is easy.
It means you don’t let difficulty decide your identity.

Every single one of us will hit broken-fare-machine moments:

• Sales slowdowns

• Staffing challenges

• Personal stress

• Unexpected change

The difference between thriving and surviving is how you respond.

Survivors say:

“Why does this always happen to me?”

Thrivers ask:

“What can I do with what’s in front of me?”

So… Thrive or Survive?

Thriving isn’t loud.
It isn’t flashy.
And it isn’t luck.

It’s showing up.
It’s choosing better questions.
It’s refusing to give up when quitting would be easier.

As we head into a new year, the question isn’t whether challenges will come.

They will.

The real question is this:

Are you going to thrive—or just survive?

And survival?
That’s not the Jeness way.