Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/588168
October 2015 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 17 FROM THE TRENCHES are good and f it your lifest yle, I'm particularly happy for you. If your habits don't include an appropriate balance, it is prety easy for your life to get out of whack . Some people bel ieve they f ind ba lance through religion, yoga, exercise, reading or other activities, but it is clear that a balance of choosing something from many areas, as pointed out above, and focusing on things important to you is a formula for personal and profes- sional success. For example, I know that siting in t h e h o t t u b e a r l y S a t u r d a y a n d Sunday mornings with my wife is a great way for us to catch up, speaking a b o u t a l l k i nd s o f t h i n g s , w h i l e rela x i ng a nd enjoy i ng each ot her. W hen I've been traveling all week, we ofen don't get to speak as much as I'd like. W hat I fnd fascinating, though, is that we seem to communicate more directly and clearly than some of our friends who are together every day. I know I need downtime on weekends to recharge my bateries. A former business partner used to work most days for si x weeks, and then would t a ke Wed nesd ay to Su nd ay com- pletely of f whi le being completely disconnected to take a mini-vacation somewhere. He used this as his suc- cess strategy for decades. I'm concerned that people are too connected to technology, particularly mobi le phones . H ave you looked around and paid atention to people in public places lately? Tis can be at work, at the mall, in restaurants or in places of worsh ip. W hat a re t hey doing? Looking at their bloody cell phones while ignoring those around t hem! Come on, get a l i fe! I s t he elec t ron ic gossip of Facebook , or should I call it Foodbook, so impor- tant that you can't have a meaningful interaction with those around you? I nstead of l iv i ng l i fe, you may be leting the electronics distract you and help you pass life by. For vacation this year, my wife and I h ad t he plea s u re of v i sit i ng K 2 Enterprise's Dr. Bob Spencer and his w ife. W hile enjoy ing the beauty of t he g reat state of Kent uck y, I was a mazed at how ma ny people were eng u l fed i n t hei r cel l phones . A t Mammoth Cave, a truly wonderful national park, I'd suggest that fully 1/3 of the people spent so much time on their phones, that they couldn't appreciate their families, the beauty of the caves or the magnifcent visitor c e n t e r. M o s t i n s i g h t f u l w a s t h e "complete darkness" experience that is ofen done by guides in caves where the lights are turned of so you can experience total darkness and quiet- ness of a cave. Te ranger had to ask multiple people to turn hide their cell phones even afer clear directions to put the cell phones out of sight before the lights were turned of. If you've been in a plane in the past fve years, you have to appreciate the frustration of f l ig ht at tend a nt s t r y i ng to get people to turn of their electronics. Now picture that same experience in a cave! Pay Attention To All Of Those Around You So what does all this have to do with t he C loud , mobi le, a nd work l i fe balance? I'm sure you have thought of this by yourself before reading this article, but I believe that using tech- n o l o g y t o o m u c h o f t h e t i m e i s hurting our ability to interact with others. Preliminar y science is indi - cating the same thing. However, we c u r rent ly have a societa l t rend of i g no r i n g s c i e nc e i n f a v o r o f t he opinions of our peer group. I learned from our ranger at Mammoth Cave that a cubic inch of stalactite or sta- lagmite material takes approximately 200 years to form in the cave. How long does it take us to build lasting relationships, and how quick ly can we destroy them by doing the right or wrong things? Give some thought to the issues around us. I don't have the answer, but I know the primary motivating factors of greed and fear are being used by many to infuence our behavior. We are falling into the trap of not main- taining balance by our own electronic self-centeredness, impoliteness, and lack of respect and interest in those around us. How much does it cost us to pay atention to other people? How much is that worth? How much do your clients and your friends deserve from you? And what is the right thing to do for you?