Business and bicycles

In high school a teacher once told me that I don't just burn the candle at both ends. I cut the candle in half and burn the other two ends as well.

I'm typically a pretty busy guy. I like to be busy. I like to have a lot on my plate. I like to be involved. I like to go into work early and get things done. But with this lifestyle there is also a lot of stress. Plus, I feel like I'm missing out on part of my kids lives. In fact my five-year-old told my wife that he'll never be able to finish riding his bike because his dad isn't ever home to teach him.

So, I'm going to change my ways.

As of yesterday, I've started to block out my morning for time to "sharpen my saw" and spend more time with my family. I figure everyone else at work rolls into work at 8:00 or 8:30 and they still have a job. Why can't I? Sure. There will still be times when I have early morning or night-time meetings with partners in Europe or Asia, but for the most part I'm going to try this out and see what happens.

So, yesterday I stayed home in the early morning hours and let my wife go running. Although I still did e-mail from home. She was happy.

Today I went running (to begin my training for a 10K in a couple of months) and still had time to read a book before leaving for work. I also got to see how my kids look in the morning when they wake up :). I was happy.

I even told someone that I couldn't meet at 7:00 am for a meeting and he didn't complain. We're meeting at noon instead.

Guess what? The earth hasn't exploded and I still have a job.

I'm commtted to this new way of life. I believe that I will be happier, more productive, healthier and most importantly, my kids will know that their father really exists.

But the best part though, is I taught my son how to ride his bike last night and he couldn't be happier.

A very wise man once said, "No success at the office can compensate for failure in the home." I've never been one to accept failure and I'm not going to start now.