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I was walking back to the hospital last Wednesday, where my wife and newborn daughter Charlotte were recovering from their birthing ordeal. Both were completely healthy but worn out from the journey. I was reflecting on the birth and our growing family and my life in general, and I had a profound realization:
This is it.
Now I don’t want to get preachy or too “California” on you, but it’s such a simple lesson that is so easy to ignore. And it was so clear to me at that moment, as it tends to be at pivotal times in your life. This, the life that I’m living now, is it, and if I’m not content and satisfied with what I have right now, I probably never will be.
Of course Buddhist monks spend years living in solitude in caves, striving to grasp and live by this concept of being present and letting go of attachments, so it ain’t easy. But with the holidays upon us and the tsunami of catalogs being crammed through our mail slot each day to buy-Buy-BUY, it’s useful to step back and realize that I already have everything I need. The best present I could possibly have is the ability to be present.
Needless to say, my business depends on people looking to the future and striving to improve and learn and grow. And nobody looks forward to his next vacation or new gadget more than me. But the more times I can stop myself yearning for something else and just enjoy what I have now, the more I enjoy my life. And isn’t that what we all really want anyway?
So there’s no sales or speaking or business lesson this month. Just a reminder from one very grateful dad to try to stop yearning for the future and realize that, as my father used to say, These are the Good Old Days.
Robert Graham
Robert Graham is the Principal of GrahamComm, LLC (www.grahamcomm.net), a consulting and training company that helps clients increase their sales and deliver outstanding presentations. He can be reached at 415-652-0763 or Robert@grahamcomm.net.
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