Getting A Do-over - I Would Have Embraced The Adventure

Getting a Do-Over - I Would Have Embraced the Adventure

MY GIRLFRIEND Ashley* is a self-made superstar who exudes confidence; she is calm and precise, with never a hair out of place. This gal walks the talk of a well-balanced life that comes from making wise, carefully considered choices. So needless to say I couldn’t wait to hear her do-over! Would she even have one?

I connected immediately with Ashley’s do-over. She said, “If I could do one thing over, I would have stopped and taken in the wonderful sights on my business travels rather than just focusing on getting my job done.” Because Ashley enjoyed a twenty-year career with a major entertainment company, she had the opportunity to visit many wonderful cities. Rather than really visit them, however, she blew through town. Why? Because she was focused on “doing the right thing” for the client or her company—always preparing for the next meeting or coordinating the next event, rather than just experiencing sixty minutes in a new destination and enjoying a new adventure. What would Ashley recommend to you girlfriends who are flitting about the country for business?

Arrive with the mind-set of a tourist. Many business travelers have the opportunity to stay in wonderful hotels. Stand in the lobby and drink in the sight of the people coming and going; smell the bouquet from the flower arrangement that is bigger than your house; sit by the window and watch the pedestrians pass by on the street. Don’t just rush up to the registration desk and check in—you’re in a new place that you may never return to. Live it.

Give yourself a thirty-minute power tour, especially if you’re in a wonderful downtown city like San Francisco, Chicago, New York, or Seattle. There is nothing like walking these sidewalks to feel the energy of that city’s people and culture. Arrive early or stay late, but don’t miss out on the opportunity to enjoy the ambience of the place.

Those of us who are results driven and working in competitive marketplaces often cheat ourselves of wonderful adventures and sights.

How pleasant to see a new day dawning. . . . Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. (Ecclesiastes 11:7, 9)

Are you working to live or living to work? Maybe you need rescuing from your overtaxed mind.

*Ashley is not her real name, but she is my role model for what confidence really looks like!