Today is the Time!

In our latest video Jeff Parton and myself decided to talk about family a little bit. Now, both of us are family guys that are willing to do anything for them in life, from providing a living to actually dying for them if that's what's necessary. Family is much, if not most, of why we do what we do. They are the fuel that drives us to work crazy hours and often times 6 days a week. But can that be all good?


That's  kind of what I want write about today.

In our busy day to day life at work we tend to get bogged down with taking care of other people such as customers and clients. We often go out of our way to tend to a customer's need or help out a coworker. There's been many times we've come in on our off days to deliver a car only to end up staying all day. It's a normality to come in at about 7:30 and work to at least 7 or so 5-6 days a week. It's not uncommon that we may not get to talk to or see our kids daily because of how late we might work.


Yes, I get it, It's the car business! That's what you should expect!


 I totally understand where you might be coming from by saying that. But, if that's the case, how are you suppose to run a happy and successful family when you focus most if not all your time on your job? Which is more important? Yes, we have bills to pay and a living to provide but if all the money and the job were gone in the blink of an eye would your family still be there?


What I want you to do is evaluate your life and ask..."If there was no tomorrow have I done everything that I can do to show my family how much I love them that doesn't involve a paycheck?"


I want that to sink in because yesterday is gone and you can't get it back. Tomorrow is not guaranteed either so the question comes down to... "What do I need to do today to show them how much that I love them?''


I will be the first to admit that I am one of the worst about putting my job before my family and that I continue to work on it daily. I try not to go more than a few hours without at least texting my wife to see how her day is and to tell her that I love her. Who knows when it's my last time to be able to tell her.


Jeff and I covered 2 pieces of advice that may can help gear you towards a better relationship with your family.(We haven't got it all together either so don't think that we are perfect at this and don't need work along with you).


The 1st thing comes down to you doing a self examination. In other words you need to look at yourself first and see if you're doing all you can do to show them your love. I'm not talking about just merely bringing home a paycheck or buying them flowers and candy, though that may be a part of it. I'm talking about how do you rank them verses everything else. I for one rank God first... though I'm not perfect at that either. You need to do an honest assessment of yourself and see if your priorities are in line. If you can honestly do that then you should be able to have a much healthier relationship at home because if the money stops coming in you still want them there to help you, support you and love you.


The next thing that we came up with is basically what I mentioned a little earlier. Tomorrow is not promised and yesterday is gone so what are you going to do today. Today is the Time so stop trying to put things off that need to be done or repaired today. What if you never get another chance to say 'I'm sorry' or 'I love you'? How would that effect you the rest of your life?(Again, I'm not near perfect at thinking like this either). Time is the one thing we can't control nor get back so don't live life with regrets...trust me... there are many regrets I have in this regard!


At the end of the day your family is more important than your job or money so make sure that your priorities are in line. Make sure that you take just a few minutes, if that's all you have, to tell your spouse and kids that you love them. If you can spend an off day with your family then do it without thinking about work (this is one that I struggle with for sure). If you are going to be there with them then actually be there for them!


I truly hope that this helps someone that is struggling with this. It's definitely hard to do any of this perfectly but you can't do any of it unless you try and actually put some effort into it! Much like it often takes hard work to be successful at a job it takes even more work to have a happy and successful family!