I love living life. There is not much better than traveling, exploring, and photographing America the Beautiful in the comfort of my motorhome, which I call my “Inspirational Vehicle.” I have seen and done so much over the years, but know there is still much more. I am reminded every day to not take this precious life I have for granted; I will actively embrace life!
Success means nothing if to attain it you are letting life slip by unnoticed. While everyone classifies success in a different way, I think it is imperative to never define success in a way that limits your ability to live and enjoy the simple things: family, friends, the great outdoors, sports, art, and even work (yes, work can be enjoyed). There are so many things that make life worth living and to ignore these for the sake of a limited version of success would be a shame.
People occasionally ask me why I still do what I do. I could have just stayed retired, but there is within my heart a voracious appetite for life. What seems like work to some is my passion. I get to travel this beautiful country interviewing some of the greatest minds in healthcare, and I enjoy every moment of it! I get to pass the insights of these great men and women on to the next generation of healthcare. I get to tour the cities and capture these moments. I get to live life to the fullest doing the things I enjoy every day.
Throughout my travels, I have noticed that many of the most successful leaders actively embrace this philosophy of success. Here are a few tips from some of these leaders:
Be willing to spend the time:
“We try to have a lot of quantity, and you never know where the quality’s going to bubble up.” [On spending time with his family]
– Geoff Brenner, President and CEO of TPC
Know how you define success and live accordingly:
“As a young leader and parent I was driven toward external success in the industry… motivated in terms of not the time I could spend with my kids, but the money I could make to provide them travel and things that they otherwise might not have had. But I’ve learned over the years that one of the most valuable things we can do for our family is to spend personal, focused, and dedicated time with them.”
– Mike Williams, President and CEO of Community Hospital Corporation
Do what you enjoy doing:
“I’m really close to my family. I have always been. I spend a lot of time with my family—my wife of course, and my children and my grandchildren. That’s a big part of my life and always has been. I’ve got mountain biking as a hobby and friends that I do that with. I like to travel. I feel like I’ve got more things that I’d like to do than I have time to do, but those are the things that get most of my time.”
– Marc Reynolds, SVP of Payer Relations, Scripps Health.
Each of these leaders, while successful in their careers, have managed to still live their lives. They spend time with their families, enjoy different hobbies, and want to achieve so much more than the limited external success. I encourage you to do the same. Find what you enjoy doing and spend time pursuing those things!
