Salute!

Posted by: Shaun | March 20, 2011

Salute!

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play…

Enough already. I’m afraid I’ve been a dull boy lately. So I’m taking a much deserved break and enjoying what I would consider a perfect Saturday night. I’m just back from a huge family get together — a weenie roast around a huge campfire out in the countryside complete with s’mores, birthday cake (my mother-in-law’s birthday is on St. Patrick’s day), and a bottle of Left Hand Brewery’s “Fade to Black”. (It’s a heavy duty smoked Baltic porter – very tasty with lots of kick). After a shower and a generous pour of MacAllan’s 12 year and the HDTV on Palladia with the 2010 Big Four concert from Sofia, Bulgaria on (Oh yeah. Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica. \m/ \m/ ), I just can’t dream up a better evening. Well actually I could, but you all would be screaming “TMI! TMI!” and this is a family friendly blog, so yes, in the G-rated version of my world, it’s a perfect Saturday night.

I just finished reading an article earlier today from Entrepreneur magazine called “Don’t Melt Down”. No, it’s not about recent events in Japan. (To all my good friends there, you’re in my thoughts and I hope you and your families stay safe). It’s actually another addition to the long list of business articles and books already out there about balancing work with your personal life and not allowing yourself to turn into a totally consumed, frazzled, stressed-out workaholic. And once again the advice is about learning to say “no” and setting limits and boundaries. Same message I’ve heard a million times. But you know what? I need to keep hearing it. Because it does make me stop and look around and take a timeout to enjoy the life I’ve created. It amazes me every time I hear it that I actually need that wakeup call and I can’t do it on my own. Are you that way, too? I guess sometimes you really do need someone to pull you back and tell you that the numbers in that spreadsheet or the hatemail in your inbox or the criminal indifference from folks you are counting on just aren’t worth the apoplectic hissy fit that’s lurking in your office waiting to pounce.

So if you’re identifying a little too closely with the madness I’m describing, and calling “timeout” sounds like your idea of heaven, then join me now in serving up the one-finger salute to that unrelenting stack of papers, laptop, and smartphone that are all conspiring to drive us insane. A little rebellion is liberating and therapeutic. Go ahead. Start raising that finger. That’s it. Keep going… Keep going… Stop. Perfect. Freedom! Now go enjoy!