This is a really great reminder, and nothing short of the absolute truth! Having a balance is key. In the earlier days of my career, I was averaging 60 flights every year. You might think that's a lot (Ok you're right, it is a lot), but the reason behind that was so that I did my best to never miss a moment with my girls, so I had a lot of back-and-forth trips, East Coast back to the West Coast. I was tired, but it was worth it when I got home! I had a 3-day rule: I would never be on the road more than 3-days at a time, and I've been blessed that every company I worked for always respected that. Sure, there were times I had to break that rule on a very rare occasion, but I didn't allow myself to fall into a habit of doing it. This was always important to me, and it started when I was young. My dad (now retired) spent 40 years at GM in senior management. His work brought him to Kansas City, Detroit and Texas. Until I was in my late-teens, I saw him once, maybe twice per year. And back then there was no Facetime, so I was thrilled when I got a call from Pops on the landline! What did this experience do for me as an adult? It taught me the importance of keeping a work/life balance, understanding that "time" is the only thing you can never get back, and lastly making sure to be the best example for your family. My dad and I have a great relationship now, and he learned a hard lesson from this experience as well. C'est la vie! As I close on this comment, I will leave you with this story: It was my daughters 3rd birthday and we had it at a park. In order to get a good spot at the park, you had to be there as early as possible, so I was there at 6am. Shortly after I arrived, a man and three young kids came into the park and reserved the spot next to us. They immediately started playing on the playground, going down the slide, his kids were jumping on his back, laughing and having so much fun. This is all before 7am! I hadn't even had my cup of coffee yet. I had to compliment this guy on how active he was with his kids and I told him that I really admired the relationship he has with them (on the surface of course, I didn't know him personally). He looks to me and says, "A wise man once told me, ' do you know how kids spell LOVE?" Feeling that there was a catch to this, I paused. He says, "Kids spell LOVE, T-I-M-E". That will always stick with me.
Why You Need to Balance Life and Work
in Joe's Blog
A blog by Joe Marconi in AutoShopOwner Team
Posted
This is a really great reminder, and nothing short of the absolute truth! Having a balance is key. In the earlier days of my career, I was averaging 60 flights every year. You might think that's a lot (Ok you're right, it is a lot), but the reason behind that was so that I did my best to never miss a moment with my girls, so I had a lot of back-and-forth trips, East Coast back to the West Coast. I was tired, but it was worth it when I got home! I had a 3-day rule: I would never be on the road more than 3-days at a time, and I've been blessed that every company I worked for always respected that. Sure, there were times I had to break that rule on a very rare occasion, but I didn't allow myself to fall into a habit of doing it. This was always important to me, and it started when I was young. My dad (now retired) spent 40 years at GM in senior management. His work brought him to Kansas City, Detroit and Texas. Until I was in my late-teens, I saw him once, maybe twice per year. And back then there was no Facetime, so I was thrilled when I got a call from Pops on the landline!
What did this experience do for me as an adult? It taught me the importance of keeping a work/life balance, understanding that "time" is the only thing you can never get back, and lastly making sure to be the best example for your family. My dad and I have a great relationship now, and he learned a hard lesson from this experience as well. C'est la vie! As I close on this comment, I will leave you with this story: It was my daughters 3rd birthday and we had it at a park. In order to get a good spot at the park, you had to be there as early as possible, so I was there at 6am. Shortly after I arrived, a man and three young kids came into the park and reserved the spot next to us. They immediately started playing on the playground, going down the slide, his kids were jumping on his back, laughing and having so much fun. This is all before 7am! I hadn't even had my cup of coffee yet. I had to compliment this guy on how active he was with his kids and I told him that I really admired the relationship he has with them (on the surface of course, I didn't know him personally). He looks to me and says, "A wise man once told me, ' do you know how kids spell LOVE?" Feeling that there was a catch to this, I paused. He says, "Kids spell LOVE, T-I-M-E". That will always stick with me.