Take vacations?
Where do you go? - What do you do?
Do you “turn everything off” or “leave your laptop at home?”
If you “need a vacation,” it may just be a symptom.
I am “on vacation” at this very moment in Nassau, Bahamas sitting by the pool relaxing. It is sunny and 82 degrees (with the wind chill factor, that makes it 81 degrees), and I am writing. Well actually, I am thinking, and capturing my thoughts in writing. I love to write, and even though I do it every day, vacation gives me more freedom to generate new thoughts.
What do you do on vacation?
Read three books?
Eat food that’s not part of your diet?
Play golf?
Just play?
PARTY!
Lay by the pool and read?
Ski the Alps?
Get a tan?
Relax? Just Veg out?
Drink a lot?
Jack?
Sometimes people party so hard on vacation, that when they get home, they need another vacation.
One common thread among the people on vacation: Everyone seems to be happy. Unless your bring your kids. Then the happiness factor reduces some. Kids wanna have total fun, parents want to restrict fun.
One more observation: If you think obesity is not a problem in America, sit by the pool and take a look at people in their bathing suits. YIKES! I joked to my partner Jessica that if we were invaded by an enemy, most of the people could not even run away.
Why do people look forward to a vacation, besides the things I named above? Because, it gives them a respite from their day-to-day responsibility.
What people fail to realize is that when they relax, and let go, ideas have a chance to “pop” into their heads. Same with you. In addition, those ideas must be captured if you seek to take advantage of them.
Think-write-relax-think - somehow, relaxing brings the next thought. Like magic.
You go away to refresh and rejuvenate your mind and body, and there are a thousand places you can pick. Problem is you spend too much time selecting. JUST GO! And once you get there, don’t spend too much time drinking. When you’re drunk, you miss out on thoughts and ideas. And you spend half your relax time getting sober.
My vacations are selected based on:
Doing what my body tells me to do.
Doing what my mind tells me to do.
Going someplace nice. I can afford them, so I go with fun in mind, not budget.
Going someplace new. There is an excitement in a first-time visit.
I know I will take my laptop and all connectivity devices with me, because I intend to work AND relax.
When I could not afford vacations, I didn’t go - rather I visualized all the other vacations I had gone on, and was, for the moment, fulfilled and grateful. I kept my momentum knob set on, “do what you love and work hard to succeed,” knowing I could celebrate later.
Lately I have been choosing weekend beach locations in the winter. For me, the sun has “relax power.” For me, the water has “renewal” power. Health spas for years have claimed they possessed “fountain of youth.” All they had was water.
People will challenge me to “just relax” and “leave work at home.”
UPDATE: Just because I am writing, does not mean I am not relaxing. It relaxes me to empty my brain of thoughts, or challenge my mind to think - and then lay back to let the sun have at me - like some elixir - the ultimate shot of vitamin D. I love what I do, and choose to do it while I relax.
The purpose of this dialog is to challenge you to take a little more time for yourself. But be prepared once you arrive. New ideas come to mind while you’re relaxing.
New thoughts bring new energy, and renewed enthusiasm for career and family.
Capture your thoughts on vacation. Elaborate on them. Bank them. And let them pay for the next few vacations.
There are 3.5 more things that I challenge you to do on your next vacation. To read the list, go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first-time visitor, and enter the word VACATION in the GitBit box.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on selling and customer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached at 704/333-1112 or e-mail to salesman@gitomer.com
© 2008 All Rights Reserved – Don’t even think about reproducing this document without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer
