The Slow Burn: One Moment at a Time (Pt. I)

“Take my card. No seriously—take my card. I want to work with you.”

That’s what Ricky Rodriguez said to me.

If you’ve spent any time in lounges across the country, or across the world, you’ve probably crossed paths with some characters. I’ve met the quiet types, the know-it-alls, the collectors, the “this one time in Cuba” guys, the purists, the punch-cut diehards.

But Ricky?
Ricky stands out.

He’s got a pedigree that fills a room.
Sure, he has a legacy; his grandparents laid the groundwork. But his reputation? That was earned.

Ricky spent 25 years at General Cigars, the largest premium cigar manufacturer on the planet. (Yes, the same General under Scandinavian Tobacco Group.)

If you’ve ever lit up a CAO OSA, Flathead, or Amazon Basin, you’ve tasted his work. He’s a Master Blender; a craftsman, a showman, and a genuine soul.

So when he rolled through my local lounge to present The Dark Time, I wasn’t gonna miss it.
I listened. I watched.
And when the dust settled, I caught him for a quick chat.

We started talking shop,…not just about cigars, but about something deeper.
The disconnect between the quality of the product and the way it’s sold.

We talked about how modern business development seems to have skipped the cigar industry entirely.
No data capture.
No pull-through strategies.
No real structure to how most brands track, follow up, or build anything scalable.

Just gut and grit.

We talked about consumers. About story. About connection. About how fickle this business can be.

And then, something I said must’ve landed.

Because Ricky handed me his card and said he wanted to stay in touch.

Honestly?
I played it cool.
I told him I had a day job that more than paid the bills (true).
Tried to act like I didn’t need the attention (also true, kinda).

But the full truth is:
I need all the help I can get.
Especially as an outsider.

A few messages later, we were texting.
Then… Facebook friends.

“Is this really happening?”
I kept asking myself.

I didn’t want to get too excited, so I did what any seasoned sales guy would do:
Put Ricky in a sales cadence and hoped for the best.

Reflecting on it now, I keep circling back to that famous phrase:
Carpe Diem — Seize the Day.

But here’s the thing most people don’t talk about:
“The Day” isn’t some epic, one-time event.

It’s not a singular, cinematic, slow-mo moment.
It’s a thousand small ones.

Waking up.
Making the ask.
Taking the call.
Sending the follow-up.
Responding when you’d rather scroll.
Pushing through the doubt.
Choosing to show up, even if you don’t feel ready.

The real wins?
They’re found in the minutiae.

The seconds.
The tiny choices.
The next best thing, done over and over again.

Seize the Moment
Now that’s the truth.

(And yeah… Eminem did warn us.)

Change doesn’t come in a thunderclap.

It comes in the flick of a lighter,
the flicker of a flame,
and the slow burn that follows.