So your vacation’s coming up – Have you got the bags packed? Got everything you need? What’s first on the schedule?
No matter how many times we have a vacation it’s always the same routine – do this, go there, see that and meet them. Think back to your last vacation, how did you spend it?
My last vacation was over the X-Mas holidays and I was able to soak in the sun for 10 days at my mother’s place.
It was good to get away from all the hustle and bustle of things but, as is the case with any vacation, we had some things we wanted to do.
We had to meet some friends for a beach party, organize a hotel for some friends, get some clothes, do this and that, you know the drill.
Naturally we made a plan so that we made sure we fit everything in and didn’t forget anything.
That’s the way a vacation works. Nearly every one of us has spent hours online or at a travel agent going over the various possibilities that exist. There’s no way to squeeze everything in so some sacrifices need to be made. Sometimes there are money constraints, sometimes time constraints. Everything needs to be taken into consideration if we’re going to get the most out of our holidays.
But a few years back I heard something of one of the CD collections of the late Jim Rohn that really made me think. He said that most people spend more time planning their vacations than their lives.
Yikes, how true. I don’t know about you but I didn’t have a plan for my life and had never thought about even making one.
So while my vacation went off without a hitch, my life wasn’t quite where I wanted it. Maybe you can relate.
8 years ago I got started after reading Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” But it wasn’t until a few years later when I really understood what I wanted out of life and how I wanted to do it.
Now I have a plan. It’s on my fridge at home for me to look at whenever I get a drink of water.
I have goals. Yearly goals. Monthly goals, Weekly goals. And even daily goals.
I have my homework. To accomplish the goals I’ve got work that needs to be done.
I still look forward to my vacations each year but I look forward to my future even more.
Do you?
Adrian Shepherd
It is true. We wake up each day and often do not have a plan for even that day. But Adrian, it all depends on if you want to accomplish something or not, right? When you have a vacation you need a plan because you have to accomplish something and do several things. You also cannot wait till the last minute to make reservations etc. So you make a plan and take action to achieve it. In life we also do it sometimes. But most of the time we just take life as it comes. But it is important to realize that life is not all about achieving wealth. Wealth is meaningless without good friends and good family relations. And at my age I am starting to think I need to do some volunteer things too at least once a week. I seem to keep putting that one off.
But on another note, I saw a documentary about Matsushita Konosuke, the founder of Matsushita Electric also known as the brand ‘Panasonic’. He was a very inspirational man. He started from humble beginnings and worked hard to create a huge company. But the one thing that struck me most about the story was that at when the big depression hit and the company’s warehouses were filled up with excess inventory, he refused to take the advice of his top managers to lay off the workers. Instead he paid them full wages to work half time in the factory and half time going out to sell the excess products. The workers were very grateful for his kindness and worked hard to sell the products. The company survived and came to thrive again. I think today’s young people need to find the kind of drive that Matsushita had and channel it into ways to create their own successful futures.
Great post Al. Wealth is just one part of success. As you said, our relationships with our family and friends as well as contribution is vital to our “success” in life. Then there’s health, career, fun and dreams. Forsake any of these and we could find ourselves in trouble. But it most definitely depends on one factor that you stated – whether we want to go for it or not. That is the $1 million dollar question. Some will, some won’t.