OUR BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD

When I became CEO of BB&T on Jan. 1, 2009 we were right in the middle of the Great Recession. In one of the very first speeches I gave and many times after that I kept saying “Our Best Days are Ahead.”

What, you may say, was I thinking? We were in a financial tailspin like we had not seen since the Great Depression. Large financial institutions were failing left and right. Government was almost (well maybe totally) in a panic. There was a strong sense of doom, like this is really scary. And I said “Our Best Days are Ahead.”

I did feel a sense of worry, concern and maybe some fear. But mostly I felt a sense of calm and peace that we would be fine. BB&T was rock solid thanks to the tremendous leadership of my predecessors and our great team. We had a clear purpose of “Making The World a Better Place to Live.” We had clear strategies and, most importantly, we had strong values like honesty, integrity, mutual supportiveness and others.

At a personal level I had (and have) a strong faith that I was not alone. I knew I could depend on God to help me know what to do. I was focused on my personal purpose of making a positive meaningful impact on the lives of as many people as I could.

For our team it was a time to act confidently and boldly to support our stakeholders. There were great opportunities right in the middle of the crisis. One could shrink away from the challenges or move forward focusing on purpose and figuring out how to deal with the challenges.

A great quote from Victor Frankl in one of my five great books is “when you know your why, you can endure any how.” Said another way, when you are clear about your purpose, you can figure out how to overcome the obstacles.

So, was I right? Absolutely yes! We had a decade of strong economic growth and prosperity and BB&T grew significantly and soundly, leading up to the extremely successful merger of equals with Sun Trust to form TRUIST, the sixth largest commercial bank in the US. More importantly, we supported our clients, communities, teammates and provided a safe and sound return to our shareholders. Our team gets all the credit.

Are you facing challenges today? The world sure is. Many recent surveys show about 60% of people asked about how they’re feeling respond they are very unhappy including feelings of anxiety, depression and in some cases thoughts of suicide. Pretty scary, right?

We’ll, I say to all of you what I said in 2009, OUR BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD!!!

“YOUR BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD”

But, to make that true, choose to be happy, be clear about your purpose, have a growth mindset and help others every time you can. Don’t let the struggles and challenges of life get you down.

Get up, smile, don’t worry about yesterday and don’t wait for tomorrow. This is it, this is your day to make a difference.

Remember, you are a child of The Creator of the Universe. You matter and you can change The World, one smile at a time. God bless you.