Act I
I remember when I was growing up my Dad and I would go out for breakfast together on a Saturday morning.
We never planned for these breakfasts, they would just sort of happen when Dad popped his head into my room and asked if I wanted to go. Call me a wuss but I’m a sucker for a surprise . . . still am!
He’d take that time to ask me about my week, school, friends and more importantly, we were keeping the lines of communication open.
Our breakfast story doesn’t stop there . . .
Act II
Dad was an early riser. Some mornings he would clip a rose from the garden and have it waiting for my Mom, or set the table for her with a love note for her to start her day.
Act III
Several years later I realized that I was getting rather caught up in life. My wife and I were in “divide and conquer” mode and weren’t having our time. Between money, babysitter availability and just being plain exhausted, our dates were few and far between.
It was at that point that we decided to get up early each morning and have coffee together. But it wasn’t about the coffee . . . it was about getting our time . . . before having to give it to kids, clients, co workers etc!
Finale
Its amazing how hard we work our 50 + hours each week.
We need to be strategic on our jobs . . . we need to be strategic at home ie My Dad with the love note and flowers. Note: Mom and Dad always seemed extra tired on those days and needed to go to bed early . . . hmmm! And you guys wonder where I get my selling skills!
We allow people to get on our calendars but we might fail to schedule time with our loved ones and leave it all to chance. Life is too short for that. Please do something about that one today!
We wine and dine our clients and continue the courtship while we stopped courting our significant others years ago. You know, you can change that one right now if you really want to!
Note: Whoever said “absence makes the heart grow fonder” was a loner! Absence in a relationship leads to conclusions being drawn, resentment and a variety of other things that have this crazy way of jumping in your car and following you to work.
Oh and there’s another thought about wining and dining clients . . . We all need to make sure we are having at least one meal together each week as a family. Make it non negotiable! We show up for clients . . . we can show up for our family!
And so, it all comes down to a simple question . . .
What will you do today, right now to ensure that you are balancing this crazy circus we call life.
Want to know the craziest part?
When its all said and done and our time is up . . . the powers that be aren’t too keen in granting do overs!
Carpe Diem my friends!
