Life Really Is Too Short

SZ News December 18, 2009 15 Comments @niallharbison

My Little Brother

I got very very sick last weekend. I was only sick for a couple of hours but it was enough to make me go to hospital in a rush and be worried senseless for a while (don’t worry I am 100% now). This is not a personal blog so you are probably wondering where I am going with this but there is an important message that I hope I can pass on…

I was lying in hospital in the middle of night thinking about my life. The clarity was incredible. You don’t need to be a genius to figure out that work is my life at the moment. I work 16 hour days most of the time and love what I do. It is pretty much all I think about every single second of the day…how to improve, how to get bigger, get more efficient etc etc. Now as I lay on a hospital bed for the first time in my life fearing the worst I didn’t even think about work for one single second of those few hours. I didn’t think about unique visitors, or managed accounts, or retainers, or Re tweets on blog posts, or Facebook fans, or iPhone app sales, or my inbox, or any of the other things that I normally consider crucial. Those thoughts were replaced with why was I not a better brother, a better son, grandson, boyfriend or friend. You could have torched all my computers and files and everything I had achieved work wise and swapped it for a big group hug with my family and friends and a pint with the lads.

I think too many of us sacrifice the lure of a few extra quid or a bit more growth in our businesses at the expense of the things that clearly matter. We all chase this magical land of happiness and wealth and abundance of everything we think we want when it is actually staring us right in the face. It’s the journey there that should be magical and the people you share it with is what really matters.

So my new goal is to enjoy life a little more as it flies by. Make some other people happy. Mend some bridges. Eat more cake and surf (real world not online) a little more. For the first time in a while at Xmas I am going to lock the laptop and iPhone in a room for about 4 days and watch rubbish telly, get fat and play with my brother. I’m sure business will be just fine in my absence.

You should do the same. Put other people first this festive season and forget about the business altogether for a couple of days. Life really is too short.

P.S I thought long and hard about writing this post and don’t need any sympathy as I was literally 100% by the next day. I know the subject matter is more personal and slightly off the normal social media topic but the message is an important one no matter what business you are in.

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life

http://www.wakeupcloud.com/ Henri

Awesome stuff, Niall. I love reading personal stuff. Maybe I’m just nosy but that’s me. I’m glad you got your priorities in order, it’s easy to lose focus, so we have to be reminded once in a while.

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Yeah it can be really easy t just drift along and get all caught up in work sometimes and forget about the people who really matter alright!

http://digitaltimes.ie Stephen Conmy

Well said Niall. Don’t forget to watch ‘It’s a wonderful life’, the black and white version. And Happy Christmas to all at SZ.

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Ah you are a gentleman thanks for that The old movies are the best ones no doubt about that!

http://ideasasylum.com Jamie Lawrence

Honestly, one of the best experiences in my life was a potentially-fatal car crash, 13 fractures, wheelchair for 2.5mths etc, all about 5 weeks before my daughter was born.

Nothing gives you clarity like children and a near-death experience.

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Hehe funny how one of the best experiences of your life was a near fatal car crash Sounds like you have your priorities sorted now anyway

http://www.joelennon.ie Joe Lennon

A truly enlightening post Niall – well said. It can be difficult to get the work/life balance right, especially during the early years of a business, employment or opportunity. Of course, the problem is that you set your personal life to the side “temporarily” for short term productivity or growth, but it becomes increasingly difficult to bring this back. With growth comes new challenges and almost always, increased work loads and pressure – and of course, this usually means less time for your personal life. I’m very guilty of putting my personal life on hold while I try to move forward in my work, but I’m going to take your lead and take a break this Christmas

Have a great Christmas, and enjoy the time off!

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Cheers Joe. Really did take something like last week to make me sit up and take notice. I would have been there all during Xmas just glancing at my lap top at stupid stats and stuff that wouldn’t change anyway if it wasn’t for my new way of thinking! The problem is people like yourself and myself are in the trenches working on stuff day in day out and you just think it is so bloody important and really at times you are probably just being busy fools. Busy for the sake of it. A bit of stepping back and taking stock never did anybody any harm and the hunger you have when you come back is something else. I was watching a good interview with Alex Fergueson there the other day and he was saying a good holiday and constant breaks getting away from it all were crucial. Look at his success and you can’t really argue with it too much. Enjoy the time off yourself Joe and have a good one

http://www.glissmedia.com John McLachlan

Niall, thank you for sharing this. It is very critical to remember all the things you mention, all the time though “life” intrudes so easily. I lost my best friend in a plane crash in 1993 and as horrible as it was for me to come to terms with it at the time (and still is sometimes), I learned, like a tonne of bricks falling on me, that the most important thing in life is people and relationships.

I’m almost 50 years old now, and I’ve gone through periods where work completely wraps me up and though during those times, I was charged up by it, motivated and driven, I’d start to forget what else is important. It’s so easy to get caught up in the race and thrill, but it’s not everything.

Sounds like you had a gift given to you by the short, but serious illness. That’s a wonderful gift.

John

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Yeah I can imagine that losing somebody in the way that you lost your friend would be the hardest, never getting to say good bye or anything like that. Am sure it was very tough on your for a couple of years. Getting wrapped up in work is good and I still intend to do just that but like you say getting the balance right is the key!

http://TrustTommy.com Tommy Collison

Fantastic post N, with a great message!

http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

Cheers Tommy although you don’t really need to read too much in to it as you already put a lot of it into practice from what I see

http://www.theinfopreneur.net TheInfoPreneur

Great Post Niall,

Life is a gift and every day we get a miracle.

Good post
http://website-in-a-weekend.net/ Dave Doolin | Website In A Weekend

Niall, you’re willingness to work so hard is also a reflection of your commitment and your sense of responsibility to help you and your family live a better life. That’s not an excuse, but never be ashamed of your passion for your work.

I went down with cold, then flu, then severe lack of energy for about a week, just now climbing out of it. Operating at less than 50% for days. More like 10-20%. Sometimes, these things happen.
Sidrah Zaheer Siddiqui

I think we need to lead a normal life off the social media too, because the world exist out there and not on our screens.

Life Really Is Too Short

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