Don’t Neglect your Most Important Investment

Like so many driven entrepreneurs and business owners, I struggle with when to shut it off. Holidays are meant to be a time to enjoy our families, but for many of us, it`s much harder in practice. We`re restless. We feel guilty if we`re not being productive or connected, even as we`re surrounded by family members right next to us.

Most leaders don`t get to where they are without tireless passion, investment and sacrifice. But the one thing I cannot stress enough is making sure you put as much of that passion and investment into life, and to make sure those sacrifices don’t always come at the expense of the people who are most important to you.

This time of the year is challenging on many fronts. I call it “look - in – the – mirror time,” because 12 months’ worth of efforts are reflected in these final few weeks of the year. Some of us will like what we see. Others will not. If you`re in the group who had a banner year, try not to let the success get in the way, particularly regarding the integrity piece. If you`re ending on low, consider how you`ll handle it. Will you take it as a learning experience, or mope around?

For those of you who know me personally, you know that I really love music. One of my favorite singers is David Ruffin of the Temptation, and one of my favorite lines of his is from “My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)”. He says, “How can I face tomorrow when yesterday is all can see.” This is the perfect sentiment for December: Soon we`ll have to put away our yesterday, 2019. However we ended the year – with many accomplishments, with some failures, with the wish that we had focused more on our families, with the knowledge we tried our hardest – we will never change or improve it tomorrow if we`re still living in the past.

-Peter Novak-