the busi-ness of Christmas

This one sentence "Did I tell you I was diagnosed with cancer 3 months ago?" completely changed my perspective on a busy time of year. As I sat across from my colleague (who prefers to keep the matter to himself) and considered his world of a hundred plus team of personal trainers, a management team, Christmas business deadlines, kids, a wife and a serious health challenge, I found myself considering this busy time of year and the busi-ness of Christmas in a refreshing light.

It seems inevitable to be busy during the lead up to Christmas. Consider the changes that occur this time of year.
-The weather and the energy requirements needed to deal with this shift
-General increase in business combined by finishing up clients and starting new ones and a real need to be ON
-Increase in social events results and normal productive downtime being exchanged for interaction with people
-Overall energy demands required to deliver in all areas is increased with the need to be everywhere for everyone
-Mental stimulation of the demands of Christmas life and trying to juggle all the requirements of business and personal demands
-The big deadline! A lot of people behave like the world ends this week... with the deadline of Christmas the urgency for response(s) and a normal days business is put on steroids as clients and colleagues overcompensate in order to get your response

So with all these changes at this extraordinary time of year, a strategy on the busi-ness of Christmas can only help us to survive. Let's face it without a strategy you will end up like most people limping into the end of the year low on energy, 'over' dealing with people and overwhelmed with the overall busi-ness of this time of year. It certainly is not business as usual during this time, so consider perspective as the key ingredient to survival.

I have a mission to serve. To develop the health and fitness industry to have more profitable businesses and create leaders who positively effect a great population of healthy people. I find great advice and inspiration from someone right in the middle of a battle. Beating cancer requires a different strategy to daily life I imagine. So the extraordinary lesson passed on to me to help beat the unusualness that comes with this time of year is best summed up here.

Embrace the busi-ness of Christmas with all your might. Work hard and rest even harder so that you can get up again and give it another crack tomorrow. Enjoy the work that it brings, the people you meet and the rewards that come from working hard. For it will be short lived if you lose perspective.