Vacation and the 80/20 rule

Spring break at Black Butte Ranch

A major goal for me this year was to get my two boys (ages 9 and 15) to be confident skiers. To this end, we passed on our usual escape-the-rain-of-the-Pacific-Northwest spring vacation to Hawaii or Mexico, and instead, opted for a vacation at Black Butte Ranch, in the Oregon Cascade Mountains. (http://www.blackbutteranch.com/)

Skiing at Hoodoo

Black Butte is a short 15- to 30-minute drive from a “steep & deep” little ski area, called Hoodoo Mountain Resort, where lift tickets are cheap, a lift line is rare and the scenery is spectacular (http://www.hoodoo.com/)

A win on two counts

Daily skiing converted my sons from timid skiers to confident skiers. A firm commitment to my wife to do zero work while on vacation, earned me major brownie points with her, and also gave me a great deal of perspective.

I knew it was coming

Unplugging from work for seven days is not easy for me. Had my wife and sons not pressed the issue, I might not have done it. I am very thankful they did. The perspective was powerful.

Getting a little distance showed me dozens of opportunities to step up my game with the 80/20 rule.

In or out?

I had gotten so busy before vacation that I had lost perspective. I can now see that I had drifted into investing in some activities that did not fit the 80/20 rule — to the detriment of both family and business. My post-vacation resolve is to make the hourly choice of “in or out” (to comply with the 80/20 rule). My life depends on it.

What really matters

My wife, my sons, my faith and my health are the foundations of success for me. Before vacation, I could not have been convicted in any court of having my focus in the right place. I was all business. I was kidding myself, and putting what I value most, at risk.

The irony

I can already see that most of the business that had taken the place of my family, faith and health, was simply not worth it. As of this week, I am acting on that conviction, and dropping things that don’t pass the 80/20 rule. This is more than a little scary…but it’s the right thing to do.

Are you taking those vacations?

Some of you don’t close it down and take vacations. If you do take them, great. If you don’t, consider doing it this year. If I could give everyone who reads this newsletter just one thing to help them succeed this year, it would simply be perspective. In my book, there is nothing quite like a fully-unplugged vacation for getting the perspective to help you succeed the rest of the year, no matter what the economy may be doing.

To your success,
Eric