LifeUntucked® immediately brings to mind images of exposed shirttails. You might imagine tee shirts, madras button-downs, or an untucked work shirt at the end of a long shift. And, of course, the ubiquitous Hawaiian shirt.
The image is meant to evoke a state of mind.
On occasion, someone will miss the point of LifeUntucked® and suggest I’m promoting a lazy, beach bum lifestyle. That of course is categorically incorrect.
Being untucked takes work and intention as well as taking time for the things that matter most in this life.
So, when I came across an article in a business magazine about a guy who owns over three hundred Hawaiian shirts, I had to see what it was all about. It turns out he’s the founder and CEO of a company called “JustAnswer.”
Andy Kurtzig is a serial entrepreneur who’s founded and sold multiple companies. I like it, even more, when I find someone successful like this who also has actual untucked tendencies.
I have to say that Hawaiian shirts are untucked by definition. And it sounds like he’s had them for his entire career! Pretty cool.
You can read the article here or in the April-May 2022 issue of Entrepreneur.
Sadly, our own Hawaiian shirts tend to be sequestered in our closets.
Usually, making their escape requires an invitation to a beach-themed pool party or that rare Hawaiian shirt Friday at the office when the big boss is out of town.
But no, Andy’s affinity for Hawaiian shirts isn’t something for special occasions—it’s an everyday thing!
In this short article, there’s nothing about standing out from the crowd. No mention of casting a unique personal brand or anything like that at all.
He wears Hawaiian shirts because of how they make him feel.
The shirts evoke the Hawaiian island spirit for me, and that creates the tranquility, balance, and positive energy that I need in the midst of hard work and difficult decisions.”
—Andy Kurtzig, founder and CEO, JustAnswer
Wearing Hawaiian shirts gives him a way to throttle back while still getting his work done. They help him curb the intensity.
Think about how wearing your own Hawaiian shirt makes you feel…
Sounds pretty “untucked” to me!
The first company I went to work for after college was Texas Instruments in Dallas. They were known as a “shirtsleeves” company. In other words, they created the original casual Fridays—and they did it every day of the week.
The Texas Instruments culture promoted doing your best work over dressing to impress. If you did better work in a tee-shirt, you could wear tee shirts. This was also around the time the book, Dress for Success, was all the rage.
Not a bad approach, if you ask me.
Plus, who wants to be all buttoned-up in a jacket and tie in the Texas heat and humidity? The idea was to allow you to feel better so you could work better.
So, if you can find a vibe that puts you in better spirits, how bad can that be?
After all, it only takes a few minutes in public these days to feel the edginess of the masses. Sometimes, in some places, the tension is palpable.
Maybe we should declare a national Hawaiian shirt day?
The idea would be to get people to feel a more comfortable, island kind of vibe so that they can take a step back from all the noise and insanity for a while. What do you think?
Pretty soon we’ll all have throttled back enough to go on island time.
I can already feel the cool breeze… how about you?
We’ll have to work at it. You know, give it a shot. Metaphorically, of course.
Be untucked.
p.s. Know someone who might like this post? Maybe forward it or share it on your favorite social media platform. Thanks…
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