Sunday Morning Reflections - Your Bucket List

"When I was forty and looking at sixty, it seemed like a thousand miles away. But sixty-two feels like a week and a half away from eighty. I must now get on with those things I always talked about doing but put off."
Harry Belafonte

© iQoncept

Remember, I always go off track on Sunday mornings and today is certainly no exception. I'm trying hard to not preach to those of you who are younger photographers. At the same time, I hate the idea that I might be boring those of you who are older. The reality is, if you're over fifty, you know exactly how true everything is I'm about to talk about.

So many of you have a complete disregard for time, even though it's your most valuable resource. You'll never have enough of it. You'll never be able to get back what you wasted today. That makes time incredibly precious and as I've gotten older I've found every day seems to fly right by. 

How many times have you looked at your kids and tried to figure out where the years went? In terms of your business, look at the way technology keeps moving us along and how we do things today we never thought possible. Then, there's the challenge of communication. Too often, time flies by, and we just don't talk to each other enough - we text, we post, we email and tweet, but direct conversations get fewer and fewer.

This morning's post is nothing more than a plea to slow down and look at your priorities. Harry Belafonte's quote above says it all. Don't wait to knock off some of those things on your bucket list. You've only got so much time and if you put an over-abundance of it into building your business without enjoying life, then what have you honestly accomplished?

Ed Foreman, a motivational speaker from Texas, told a story at a Polaroid meeting years ago. I'm paraphrasing, but you'll get the point.

The husband turns to his wife and says, "Wait until the kids are old enough to go to school and then we'll have time for some fun around here!"

A few years later he says, "Just give me a couple more years to get my business off the ground and then we'll really have fun."

A few years later, "Wait until we get the kids through college and have some time to enjoy each other. Then we'll have some fun." 

Finally he says, "You know we're going to really have fun when we retire!"

Then one day he's in his coffin on his way to his grave, and it hits him, "Oh my God. I forgot to have fun!"

So, there it is. There's nothing wrong with working hard or chasing your dreams, just don't forget to have fun. Write down your bucket list. Keep it where you can look at it now and then and work to knock a few things off the list whenever you can.

If you never saw the movie, Bucket List, here's the trailer. It remains one my most favorite movies, and as I get older, there's more and more I identify with. 

Wishing everybody a wonderful Sunday and opportunities to have fun, enjoy your friends, family and whoever makes you the happiest. Go for those eleven-second hugs and don't worry about work today. It'll all be there tomorrow.

---