10/11/2026
Thank you, thank you so much! Words cannot express how deeply moved—and frankly, shocked—I am to accept this Employee of the Month award at The Graphics Guy for an unprecedented 237th consecutive month.
I won’t lie to you: the competition this month was absolutely fierce. When you're self-employed, the sheer psychological warfare required to stand out in a company of one is grueling. Every single day, I had to look myself in the mirror and ask, "Are you truly outworking the guy staring back at you?" There were times I thought my boss was being unreasonably tough on me, but then I remembered my boss is me, so I gave myself a strict talk in the breakroom—which is also my kitchen.
To maintain a 237-month streak while managing the intense internal rivalry between "Morning Robert," "Afternoon Slump Robert," and "Late Night Deadline Robert" has been the hardest challenge of my professional career. It took incredible humility, endless self-motivation, and an embarrassing amount of performance reviews conducted entirely in my own head.
Which brings me, unfortunately, to a rather somber note.
All good things must come to an end. It is with a heavy heart and a bruised ego that I must announce my streak has officially been broken. Month 238 will not be mine. I was narrowly—and quite unfairly, if you ask me—outpaced for the title by my dog, Oliver.
Apparently, his strategy of "sleeping on the office rug for 18 hours," "looking cute during Zoom calls," and "successfully fetching a stray sticky note" completely won over management. I tried to argue that he doesn't even know how to open Adobe Illustrator, but the decision was final.
Thank you all for this incredible run. I’m going to take this loss on the chin, hit the drawing board, and work twice as hard next month to win back my title from a dog.
