How Many Vacations Have You Skipped?

I could not even count the weekends I did not go away as promised, the number of times I’ve canceled vacation plans, the Friday nights I came home late preventing my wife and I from going out as planned… and on it goes, all because I believed the business needed me. It’s unreasonable punishment for my neglected, understanding and forgiving wife and children. Stupid me. Even while on a vacation, I frequently had to spend hours on the phone. I may as well have been in my office, in fact, I was.

I am not alone in this area. Many entrepreneurs proudly exclaim that they have not taken a vacation in ten, fifteen or twenty years, as if this is something to be proud of. Some call it being a “workaholic”. Others simply believe they are indispensable. I say it’s dumb.

I recently had an extreme opportunity to view this issue from a different perspective altogether and thus I have a new vision on the matter. Recently, I got run over by a train, not literally, but figuratively. Without warning, I found myself in the hospital for three weeks–a very long time–and then home for another six weeks, another lengthy time period. I am actually still home healing so the experience is fresh in my mind. For one entire month, I had no contact with my clients. Now I am making calls, receiving faxes and writing e-mails a few hours per day and that’s it.

So, what happened to my business? To my surprise, absolutely nothing. Sure, things came to a temporary grinding stop but everyone survived. Progress slowed down but no one suffered. My cash flow survived, my clients survived, everything remained stable waiting for my return. Wow. I am both amazed and impressed. In other words, my business survived my being absent for over a month without calamity, degradation, major issues, screw-ups, etc. While I hate to admit it, everyone survived without my being present and fully involved. What a reality to come to terms with. Could I have advanced my clients’ causes had I been active? Of course, but the point is, all is well despite my absence.

What’s the lesson here? There are many, for certain, but the one I believe is most clear is the reality that I was able to take a month off without preparation or notice and everyone survived just fine. The point being, it could have been a vacation rather than a hospital stay. Maybe I didn’t need to skip all those previous vacations or stay late all those weekends. Maybe everyone would have been just fine had I taken the time off. Maybe I was wrong all those times.

During my current absence and forced rest, I read, wrote and spent a lot of time thinking, recharging my batteries, reconsidering my priorities and rethinking my direction. These are all very good things to do and all things one does (or can do) on vacation. A forced hospital visit is not the preferred way to get it done, a vacation is, and it should be cherished as a holy event not to be missed under any circumstance, certainly never to be canceled because of the perceived need to work. Forget this notion and change your way. Let my hospital stay teach everyone the value of a vacation and the absurdity of canceling one because of work.

Give yourself, your family and your clients a break. Take your vacations as often as possible. It is as necessary as work.