I've spent a lot of time in the past twenty years marketing. I've golfed. Had dinner meetings. I've hosted luncheons. I've put together speaker venues. I realize that I am a farmer. While on my charter boat, I ran nearly 1,000 charters with a ton of customers. On the boat, I saw a lot of interactions amongst them. Many of the trips were "customer appreciation" trips. Very little business was ever discussed on my boat. Time, however, was always appreciated.
Time is one thing very few of us ever get enough of. Taking someone fishing on the open ocean...no cell phones or messages or texts for 9 hours. You just bought someone freedom. If they are able to bring their kid, Dad, or friend, so much the better. That's time that we can all use dearly.
As a financial advisor, I saw too many people near the end of their lives with regrets. It's why I got out of that business. As a captain, I had many people on my boat "taking that last trip" with their family and friends. Horrible, yes, but also uplifting. Many times, just sitting there watching their kids enjoy themselves, I saw contentment. They were seeing what they were passing down to their kids. It wasn't money, houses, or things. It was experience. It was how to have a good time.
Get out there and spend some time away from phones and responsibilities. If it's business, share some time with your customers. If it's family, do that as well. I'm sitting in my office today; my loose ends on current cases are tied up and going through underwriting or we're waiting for paperwork to come in. I'm sitting here thinking about fishing.
The weather this weekend is supposed to be perfect for fishing. Reports of much better fishing than last year. My charter boat season starts tomorrow. My new captain is ready to run, but I'll be there as well Saturday and Sunday. I can't sit on the sidelines! He'll do all of the work; I'll just be along for the ride. Without my cell phone!
If you are in Massachusetts and want to fish; I have room on Saturday's charter. Room for 2 if you have someone you want to bring along. Cost is $250/person. Leave your phone in your car.
Rich Antonino
