Last week I along with most members of my industry were in New York for an industry Trade Show. By divine intervention, dumb luck or a little of both I managed to get out before Snowmaggedon hit the Northeast the end of last week. Next week I do the same thing again in Las Vegas. Yes, February and August for me is my bi-annual Super Bowl. We launch new product lines and meet with most all of our customers to hopefully secure business for the future and ensure our long-term company profit and operation goals.
February and August are exhausting months. Lots of travel - which is a lot more work than it used to be - lots of early mornings, late nights and even sleepless nights in anticipation of making sure all of mine and my colleague's work is paid off by generating great results with and for my customers. It's enough to make a middle aged guy feel old!
This past weekend I also celebrated another birthday. As I have said to many friends and family "it is the last official birthday that I can claim to still be young." I'll leave that for you to figure out my age. As I enjoy my last year of youth I have to admit that I am finally gaining some wisdom and getting to the age where I can share wisdom instead of only seeking it.
My observation to share this week is that there is no substitute for preparation. If we all know when the storms of life were coming and could prepare ourselves I am convinced that we would be much better off. Of course, there are many twists and turns where we get blindsided by things and all we can do is to pick up the pieces. In those cases, I think it's not what happens to you but how you respond that defines who you are. Let me address the idea of preparation.
No matter what you do, in what occupation you find yourself, there are times we know in advance that a busy time is coming. For me, it's February and August. For my wife it's the end of the school year or the weeks leading up to Christmas. For accountants April 15 is looming large. You get the idea. For many years my tendency was to just "weather the storm" and then take the weeks after the storm to pick up the pieces and/or to just take a few weeks to slowly "recuperate" which really meant just sleepwalking through March and September.
I find that by planning ahead not only am I ready and prepared to perform at my peak during the storms but I also have plenty of energy left to devote to the "March and Septembers" of life. In other words, it helps me stay on an even keel. Now, I must admit that there was a lot more down time in my schedule before I started along this path, however my productivity and energy level is at an all time high.
it takes discipline. It takes commitment. Sometimes I still screw up and wish I would have prepared even better. Sometimes I just have to take a nap. Most importantly, I have time to focus on more important things and I am not always controlled by the urgent. I have put away my fire fighting gear and am working smarter and having more time for important things. Like enjoying my weekends. My focus is not surviving the looming storm but rather it's a hopeful mindset to prosper even during them. I would much rather be a storm trooper than a fire fighter!
