Here we are in December, so we can officially talk about Christmas now.
If you are thinking “he’s lost the plot — we’ve been talking Christmas for months”, then it proves you never read this column last month, or the memory’s been effected by getting too close to the silicon gun again.
Remember the campaign that you were supposed to show support for — “Kick Christmas into December”? Well, it’s upon us now and oh, how quickly it has happened.
Who remembers last Christmas (the non-silicon users that is) or the one before that? Yep, they seem like only yesterday. We hear the saying almost daily — “Where has the day/week/month/year gone? Time just flies.”
And it’s true — time seems to slip by much faster these days.
Apart from the hundredth of a second Big Ben loses every year, time does not go any faster. Nothing rocket science about that statement, so why, why does it always feel we are chasing our tails because time is short?
Again — and it’s not NASA stuff here, it’s simple — we cram too much into every day and do not leave time to sit and enjoy and savour and look upon the beauty of our lives.
Hold that thought will you because the phone’s ringing — both of them and, damn, there’s a knock on the door now. And look at the time! I was meant to be at Mrs Bucket’s five minutes ago.
My point exactly, dear people. And as business owners, the point is even more pronounced.
I was talking to a retired gentlemen the other day. He’s getting close to 90, and he said “don’t know where the years have gone. If I knew it was going to be like this I would have bloody well walked slower”.
He was sorting out his bait for a fishing trip and, as he’s about to turn 90 he’s one of the lucky ones — think of all those runners in life that never made 90.
So, now I have ruined your Christmas by sending you into a state of depression and a desperate search for a local psychiatrist, I am also going to give you some homework while you’re celebrating the festive season.
Now, if:
• this year has flown by for you,
• you can still remember the last New Year’s resolution you made which you have not got around to doing yet,
• you have still not opened Aunty Flo’s Christmas present from last year (knowing it’s socks is no excuse), and/or
• you are still keeping a low profile from Deidre’s husband after what you said at last year’s Christmas Party, then it’s time to wake up because Big Ben is about to lose another hundredth of a second, and 2016 is all but starting.
If you want the next one, 10 or 20 years to go as fast as the last, then keep on doing what you are doing.
But if you want to stroll casually, almost lazily, into your 90th birthday party with two snapper in one hand and a smile on your face, then take the time this Christmas to have a serious think about your future.
We are here only once, but the secret is not to waste a moment of it and still be able to manage the benefits of company ownership and the privilege of a family, as well as leading a life.
Is there a simple answer? No there isn’t, but that doesn’t mean there is no answer. It just means you need to want it, figure it out and fight for it.
Have a great holiday.
