Time
Seize the moment, and the rest will follow.
I do this every year.
Here it is, December 4, 2021
I’m looking forward to my annual meeting with myself. It’s like having a board meeting just for me. It takes place annually between December 27th and December 30th, from 8 am to 5 pm every day except Saturday and Sunday. So this year it’s only four days. Here’s my agenda:
Develop personal, relationship, retirement, and business goals.
Personal
Things that will help me become a better person, husband, father, grandfather, friend, Mason, business person, and leader.
Relationship
The issues to consider include goals with my six children, fifteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren—further developing the friends I have and the ones I want.
Retirement
I’ve tried to retire six previous times. Finally, on September 1, I retired with just investments left in old businesses. My retirement years are about ensuring my legacy, ensuring that I have solid relationships, and have set about providing for those important to me.
Business
Other than completely closing the last business I sold, there will be no more businesses for me to own, run, and or lead. However, one of my daughters started a business in 2021. So she’s gone from a zero startup with no debt to a substantial six-figure income with no debt. She’s asked for my help with an acquisition and growth plan. So, of course, I will.
I also use this time to pursue my hobbies, woodworking, writing, and the preservation of clocks.
As I write this article and look about, I can see eleven clocks, not counting my cell phone and wristwatch. Except for the two guest bathrooms, each room has at least five clocks. Our master bedroom has 12. Our family room has nine and the kitchen has 6. My Cadillac-themed garage has 10.
I’ve always been fascinated by time. My parents died at 42 and 44. They ran out of time—my sister at nearly 60 and my brother at 64. Until my 42nd birthday, I felt I would be dead about that time. When 44, then 48 came, I decided to make every decision count. We only get to be here for a certain amount of time. Everyone has an expiration date, and we don’t know what it is. Not knowing exactly the hour or the day, it’s best to live every minute to its fullest.
My brother from another mother, Gavriel Sanders, likes to say, “You never really know the power of an hour until you fully live the minute within it.” He’s right, you know.
I’ll leave you with these thoughts, “Do you want to spend the rest of your years, months, days, hours, and minutes doing exactly what you do now? Is it the life you wanted for yourself?”
Seize the moment, and the rest will follow.
