I’m a husband, a proud pop, a business coach/executive, a new blogger, a weekly traveler 200 miles back and forth to do my job of the past 5+ years, which I love, and at 52 years of age the years have become more precious with each passing day. Life goes by fast and I understand now more than ever the importance of enjoying the ride. 
It’s a new year, resolutions? Well sure, same ole same ole, be a better listener (especially to the wife), more time at the gym (yuck), drop 10+ pounds (much more fun putting it on!), eat healthier (buh bye In & Out), travel more (leisurely that is, should be at the top of the list!), and so much more.
It’s a new world. I work in technology with an amazing team. I love technology, can’t live without it, can’t get enough of it. Our business like most was tested this year. We learned a lot, less top line, more bottom line. Truly an extraordinary economic time, and like all challenging periods in our lives we come away with a greater understanding and education of core values, in business and in life.
Technology is here to stay and growing faster than ever. I recall attending a conference in Vegas in the early 80’s hearing Bill Gates say, “some day it will all be in the palm of our hands,” wow. Quick side note, and final recession reference, Microsoft was started during a recession.
We live in a “drive thru” world where mobile communication devices are glued to our hips. I can’t tell if people walking down the street are talking to themselves or on a mobile device. I know when my brother, 200 miles away, is shopping, eating or having coffee. And I personally go through painful withdrawals when my mobile device(s) are left behind.
I carry two devices, a BlackBerry for ease of email/phone communication, and an iPhone for applications, to read my 5 newspapers each morning, to keep up with current news as I stalk Twitter and Facebook daily, Yammer with my team, listen to Rhapsody while I drive, navigate my travel turn by turn, review a restaurant, well, you know the drill. And I can’t imagine my life without them! Life without Google?
So I now find myself asking the question, what happened to the good old days and the old values?
As kids mom used to kick us out the door on a Saturday morning and told us to be home by dark thirty for dinner. We always made it home safe and sound, mom didn’t have a means to communicate with us while away, no money in our pockets yet always found something to do. We were active outdoors and we had lots of friends we saw face to face. The simple things in life were precious. We couldn’t wait for the time of the year The Wizard of Oz came on television and the only time we got up from the davenport (couch) was to turn up the volume, pop some jiffy pop or run to the bathroom during a commercial. DVR? We sat together, the only distraction was a phone tied to a cord and a jack in a wall, and no idea whatsoever who was calling when the phone rang (in every room of the house). We listened to one another, laughed, cried, and chatted (in person).
Now I’m not saying we’re so in touch in this day and age that we’re sometimes out of touch, or am I? Is your device in your pocket on vibrate when you’re at a movie? Do you put it on the table when dining? Are you texting/emailing or listening to music as you walk down the street, avoiding cars out of the corner of your eye? Do you withdraw when driving several hours wondering who sent an email or text? Are you frustrated when the person you are with is head down into their mobile device? Are we so connected we’re becoming disconnected from what’s in front of us and losing touch with our core social values?
I ask these questions because I am as guilty as anyone. What is proper social etiquette in this day and age? Fact is technology is moving faster than ever and changing the world, and we’re not going to, nor do we want to, stop it. However managing how we use it is another story.
I respect teachers today more than ever as they are challenged to not only educate but instruct and distinguish between proper spelling and punctuation in and out of new social media boundaries, wow!
I always said I’d never become my parents. I love my parents but recognize how they truly allowed change to pass them by. My two sons are in college and if not for a simple thing like text messaging, I’d not communicate with them as much as I do. Honestly, I should be seeing them via Skype!
As the older guy, (amazing, seems like yesterday I was the younger guy) I take pride in trying very hard to keep up with change, but whatever the case, I will always be that guy that yearns for the hand shake, the hug, the face to face hello, the simple things in life, all the while my BlackBerry will continue to buzz away in my pocket as I read the latest tweet on my iPhone.
And so we march on to a new day, a new year, a new world, filled with promise and hope, new opportunities as a result of new technological advances, and this guy is hopeful to see the resurgence of some old school values. Open a door for someone today, at a four way stop on the road let everyone else go first, hold your head up and say hello to a passer by, and have a Happy Healthy New Year.
