Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is
June 4th, 2007
I’ve blogged about life/work balance a few times in the last month, and haven’t done much about it. I’m kind of like that – big talk on what you *should do* but a poor example of doing it (imho).This morning was different. I got up at 6am, got three of my kids out of bed and we went fishing. My fingers still smell like catfish bait (not sure how that dumb stuff is supposed to work). We caught nothing (well, my three year old got a tumbleweed on the last cast), but we had a terrific time. No one cared that we didn’t catch anything – we all had a blast.
One of the most interesting things about this morning was that our hour spent before we got the pond (driving, and some time at Wal-Mart) was about as exciting as when we were at the pond. You know how the anticipation of going to Disneyland sometimes trumps the few days you are at the park? Same thing. It was probably the most exciting Wal-Mart trip I’ve been on, and it was all before 7am!
So there you go, I feel this is so off-topic but I wanted to share with you that in addition to blogging about all of this important stuff I’m actually doing it! I hope you take time this summer to do what’s most important, also. I doubt you’ll have any regrets if you take advantage of the 6am fishing trips with your kids!
Work life balance is quite challenging depending on your area of business and level. If you are a CEO it is much more challenging because of the responsibility, while if you are an intern, you have much more free time.
The idea is that if your not balanced, it will affect both ends of the spectrum.
You’d think with a fly fishing equipment business that I’d be fishing every weekend… And taking the kids. Nice reminder. But please, next time stay away from any “bait” that smells!
I didn’t know there was bait that didn’t smell? Of course, catfish bait wins hands down over stinky stuff to put on a hook.
Here’s a funny thing from the trip – I can’t cast worth squat (it’s been years since I’ve really been fishing) … so I took about 10 min’s to practice while my kids very patiently waited. And there were a lot of “good job, Dad” comments to make me feel good. However, my kids cast very, very well – in fact, they out-cast me time after time! I would have never known! It was worth the trip for sure.
Ehem… The “bait” I was referring to is the artificial fly that is most fairly thrown with a bamboo rod…
Of course I thought of all kinds of blog posts that I could write around the fishing experience, and the job search. Having the right bait is fodder for an entire post. Knowing my limitations (if I can’t cast with a normal pole, how in the world am I going to learn with a bamboo rod :p) is another! I guess this is where a “coach” comes in :p
I read a quote: When you teach your son, you teach your son’s son.
Not to get deep on everyone, but I like that quote. Put’s the right perspective on the life/work balance.
Glad you had a great time Jason. I enjoyed every minute hunting and fishing with my dad.
BTW, it sounds like you put your money where the fish’s mouth was (or at least tried!).
I count the 4 days we spent driving back and forth from Cincinnati, Ohio to Ft Worth, Texas as nearly as important or memorable as the time spent in Ft Worth.