I’m sure most of you have seen Pazazz Printing’s video on why printing is awesome, which went viral quite a while ago. I recently found out that there's a follow up to it.
It got me thinking about what we love. Cause this guy LOVES printing. And presumably, we have at least some kind of love for putting ink on paper (or plastic, or whatever you put ink on). Anyway, I hope we all love printing, because we spend at least one third of our life at work. But what else do you love?
The obvious answers are family and friends. But how much time do we actually spend on those other things? I always said that I hope that my work is one of the least interesting things about me, at least to a stranger, and I get disappointed when the first question that a new person asks me is, “So what do you do for a living?” Really? That’s all you got? I make it a point never to ask a person what she/he does for a living. It will come out eventually, and there are way more interesting things to talk about. Or are there?
OK...I’m getting off on a tangent, but here’s my point. What else do you love; besides your work and your family? I decided to test myself, to see what else I am truly passionate about. I’d like you to do this exercise too—really examine what you love to do, and examine how much time you give yourself to enjoy it. And, if the answer is, “not enough!” well, what can you do to change that?
Here is my list as it stands today.
I LOVE to read — I have read more than 20 books since the girls were born in February. Now that is largely because I do not have a TV in the room where we spend all of our time. So I have removed any obstacles to enjoying my love of reading.
Movies — One year I saw 72 movies in the theater alone. I really love them. Now, I have not gotten to see as many in the last seven months, just because we have no family here in town and babysitters for twins are not plentiful, but I have seen a fair amount in the theater, and there is RedBox, the library and cable. I still see a lot of movies. I love them.
Riding my bicycle — Here, I get a BIG FAT "F"! I have not been on my bike once this year. But you better believe the only item on my Christmas list is a Burley trailer, so next spring I can start hauling these girls out with me. I WILL get back on my bike. Now, I may not get back to 1,000 miles a year, which was my best year ever, but I will commit to getting out there whenever I can.
Writing — Well, you’re reading my blog, so I am doing at least SOME of that. But I can always do more. I keep saying there is a book inside of me somewhere, so I need to make more of an effort here, too. If I wrote every day, I’m sure I could get closer to that book. So I am laying down the gauntlet to all of you readers out there. I will make more of an effort to write at least a few pages everyday.
Having things other than our work and our families to fire us up just makes us happier, more interesting, and more well-rounded people. I have some great friends that I would never have met if not for cycling. And you would not be reading this if not for my love and passion for both writing and print sales. So come on...What ELSE do you love? Share it with us. And more importantly, give yourself this gift of more time to enjoy.
Blogger, author, consultant, coach and all around evangelist for the graphic arts industry, Kelly sold digital printing for 15 years so she understands the challenges, frustrations and pitfalls of building a successful sales practice. Her mission is to help printers of all sizes sell more stuff. Kelly's areas of focus include sales and marketing coaching, enabling clients to find engagement strategies that work for them and mentoring the next generation of sales superstars.
Kelly graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Political Science and, among other notable accomplishments, co-founded the Windy City Rollers, a professional women's roller derby league. She is also the mother of two sets of twins under the age of ten, so she fears nothing.