Today I had a rude awakening. I discovered I needed to practice what I preach. I needed to start taking my own advice.
I'll explain what I mean by telling you about my day.
The phone rang this morning a little after 3:00 am. I was tired and thinking I didn't want to answer it. I hate middle-of-the-night calls.
Most parents hate 3 o'clock calls because they worry that there could be some bad news about one of their children or grandchildren or another relative. Why else does the phone ring at 3:00?
It's a good thing I answered the phone.
It was my son calling from California to ask me if I would pick him up (here in Utah) at the Salt Lake Airport in a few hours.
I learned he was coming home early from a business trip because his sweet wife had just been rushed to the hospital in labor. That wasn't good.
She wasn't due for 5 more weeks but the baby was insisting on arriving today - dad or no dad around.
All morning long I worried about my work schedule and all the things I had planned to do today. I worried that I needed to write some blog posts at the Lone Wolf, create some letters, and catch up on some calling, do some emailing, etc.
How was I going to meet my commitments and also deal with this family emergency?
Well, I was jolted back to my senses as I draped a tiny little hand over my baby finger later in the morning. This precious little 5 lb angel lying in front of me struggling to breathe should have been my only thought.
I had blinders on. I was so focused and caught up in my business life that I almost overlooked the truly important thing that means so much to me - my family relationships. Work didn't seem to matter in the least as I shared a few tears of concern with my family.
I often preach (write) that business owners can't afford to be consumed by their new "babies" (the business.) They need to maintain perspective, balance, and diversity in their lives.
When you start neglecting the very things that you hold dearest, it's time to step away from whatever you're doing (work, hobbies, social life) and evaluate just how far you've strayed from the very few things that are really worth worrying about: family, friends, relatives, God, service to others, etc.
Well on this anxious and harried Friday, I saw just how blind I can be to the really important things around me. I made up my mind that I was going to do better in the future, beginning right now.
My son Ryan, his wife Kallie, and their sweet little daughter Avery are doing well - as well as can be expected under the circumstances.
I know many of us feel we are well grounded, invincible, and that we control our lives properly and keep a good balance. That's exactly what I thought of myself, too, before I stepped away from my business for a few hours.
It wasn't until I was forced to deal with a family emergency that I realized I've got some immediate balancing and evaluating to do.
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Post#83 |
