I tell myself that I lead a full life. I'm always on the go; I'm always juggling more balls than seems to be comfortable; I constantly struggle to find time so I can catch up with friends, not to mention see my family. Yet, there always seems to be someone else who is getting more done; doing more "stuff", catching up with more friends and finding time to jet off on an exotic holiday 2 or 3 times a year!
So what am I doing wrong? Is it time management? Poor organisation, or are there just people in the world who have buckets more energy than other people and a knack for squeezing loads into their diary?
I have a very good friend who lives in New York (in fact he was best man at my wedding). He is VP of a certain Swiss Bank, and we catch up once or twice a year when he's over in London. (If I can find time!)
Whenever we meet he speaks of 15 hour days, flying all over North and South America on a weekly basis and socialising until the small hours at least twice a week. He manages to hold down his high flying job and still has time for fantastic holidays 3 or 4 times a year (at least).
I have to conclude, for my own sanity if nothing else. That the grass will always be greener and that it's very easy to look at other people's lives and see the good bits; the bits they want other people to see. Maybe my friend is under 5 times more pressure in his job than I am. Maybe he has high blood pressure? Maybe he is lonely?
To feel better, all I need to do is take a step back and look at my own life as if through someone else's eyes.
I love what I do.... I vowed years ago, only to ever have a job that I loved doing no matter what. And the day you stop loving the job is the day you quit and try something new.
So far I have managed to stick with that vow. I have 3 great businesses that definitely keep me busy and definitely don't make as much money as the VP of a Swiss bank. But I love all of them! Since the last day I worked for someone else back in 2000 I have never once woken up in the morning and not wanted to go to work. And of course I've never called in sick!
On top of that I have a beautiful wife and 2 beautiful daughters. I love watching them grow and endeavour to give them all the opportunities they need to try everything in life.
So, I may not have much time but it's only because I'm making the most of all of my time engaging in my passions.
After my family, cars have always been my one real passion and hopefully that passion rubs off on anyone I meet. Especially if they want to talk about cars.
