When you work for yourself, your brain can be one big echo chamber. Keeping up with the day-to-day while trying to anticipate what’s down the pike leaves little time for introspection. It’s easy to lose perspective. But sometimes it comes from the darndest places.

My husband was buying a new truck, so as we waited for the office to do paperwork, I checked this out on the showroom floor. It was Honda’s first car approved for export to the US, a 1971 model. And for the record, I’m just about  5′ 7″ in my Merrells.

I’ve driven only Hondas my entire adult life. Accords since 1981, and now one of the last Elements ever made, since 2011.

They are near to my heart. My first was a 5-speed stick: burgundy interior, silver exterior. I remember its coin tray was lined in velvet to muffle the jangle. Two of them probably saved my life when other drivers slammed into me.

They’ve steadily increased in size and amenities, but quality and smart design has been a constant. To that point, check out a reviewfrom 2017.  Note the author’s comments about how the quality of this very basic, then 46 year old model was holding up on the current market. 

In the 1930’s Soichiro Honda worked on race cars, and had his own company that made piston rings. He lost his first big contract with Toyota due to poor product quality. He learned better ways to make a better product and won the contract back a few years later.

Motorized bicycles (1946) morphed to motorcycles (1949). They became the worlds’ largest motorcycle mfg 10 years later, and hold that title to this day. In 2015 they became the 8th largest automobile mfg in the world.

In our loud and uber-caffeinated world, we’re constantly urged to look forward. tt’s easy to lose perspective, get distracted, or become impatient. To forget where we came from, or to believe what our lesser angels whisper in our ears late at night.

We’ve all heard commitment to quality is rarely the easiest or quickest way to success.  As TRH starts its now 16th year of wanting to change the world and change lives by bettering spaces, this reassures me to the core. 

This car reminded me everyone starts somewhere, That growth happens and goals are met when we stay true to what we believe to be important. And that whatever we do, doing the best we can, from Day One is a noble pursuit.

At 134K miles Elle (the Element) is just getting broken in!