His priorities are straight, are yours?

Recently, I talked to a man who, at a young age, hit his goal. He had spent more than a decade working his way up the company ladder and he was in control of a division. From that position, he did not like the view.

The view was many hours at work and very few hours at home. The view was missing ballgames and other family moments that he knew he would never get back. He decided it was not worth it. So he stepped down from that position and got a job, with much less pay, and much more time. As he put it, he has never been happier.

I am not suggesting that you need to follow his footsteps. But, I think it is important for all of us to take a step back and assess our priorities. A readjustment of priorities will always come with decisions and trade offs. More time with family could possibly mean less things. For the man in our example, it was simple and his family supported his decision.

This week, find some quiet time and just think. What are your priorities? What is important? Remember, we have one shot on this earth, make sure that you give it your best. And your best usually does not mean things.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

Are you really that busy?

Have you ever noticed how much time some people take to tell you how little time they have because they are so busy? (Go ahead and re-read that sentence -- it does make sense)

I used to have a client who would take an hour and a half of my time telling me how busy they were. They would go into great detail about all the things that they had to do and had going on. I was younger then, I never had the courage to tell them if they would stop talking about it and do it, they would have more time.

What about you? Are you so busy that you really never get anything done? Do you keep the blackberry by your side, constantly checking email, constantly staying in contact with the world? But yet, never really taking the time to live life -- to focus on the really important things, like family and friends. Afraid, that if you don't get right back to someone, you will miss out.

Look I believe in good customer service, I know that there are times that you need to be there for your clients outside of "normal" work hours -- however, I am also old enough to remember life before email, blackberries, and we seemed to do okay. I am not anti-technology, that is not the point of the post. However, I do believe that you have to have some down time.

My boss says work hard - play hard and too much of either one is a bad thing. I agree. There is a time to work and there is a time for family, for yourself, for your spouse, etc. There is going to come a time for most of us when we realize the end of our travel on earth is close. If all you did was work and say things like, work is my life....that end is going to be very sad.

Work hard -- but play hard, go on vacation, take the long weekend, take the time to smell the roses and tell the important people in your life what they mean to you. If the client can't handle that, feel sorry for them and let them become another person's problem -- life is too short.

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