“Take care of the pennies,and the dollars will take care of themselves.”
My uncle has recited this line to me more times than I care to count. For many years, I took it with a grain of salt. I laughed usually. But as I’ve grown older, progressing through the rites of becoming a business-owner, a husband, a father, a civic-minded citizen, these words have taken on more meaning.
As a business-owner, the past year or so was as trying a year as we’ve experienced at Topics Education, now entering our 15th year. Given the state of the economy, we were forced
to double our efforts, make hard decisions, tackle short-term issues, and revise long-term goals. In short, we were forced to focus, and we did. As a result, 2009 turned out ok. We got our feet back under us, ended the year on an up-note, and put ourselves in a good position entering 2010.Just as importantly, though, the business experiences of the past year taught me a valuable lesson: by getting back to basics, I am more closely in touch with our business, our clients, and our products and services. My short-term decision-making and my long-term planning are better served by the tangible exposure to the everyday mechanics of our business. Additionally, I am finding that by paying attention to what’s right in front of my face – as a Zen master said: “when you are washing the dishes, wash the dishes” – I am also appreciating and enjoying my work that much more.
With this nugget of wisdom in mind, I considered expanding on this business lesson, translating it into new resolutions for the coming year, the coming decade. I considered laying out my personal “Seven-point plan for achieving business Nirvana in trying times.” And then I came to my senses.
It did dawn on me, though, that this same realization is playing out and bearing fruit in my personal life … as a father. My wife and I have three wonderfully-unique children, ages two, five, and seven. Like most fathers I know, I strive to be the guy who does it all, to be there whenever my kids need me. But I’m not sure I’ve always done as good a job living in the moment with them, experiencing what they are experiencing, proverbially getting my fingernails dirty and my feet wet. The times when I have been able to achieve this, though, I recognize it. And I’ve been recognizing it more as of late. It leaves me feeling great. It’s addictive, and I want more of it.
Maybe these realizations come with age, maybe the tough economic conditions trigger (or enable) soul-searching. All I know is that like many people, in my professional and personal lives, I tend to look toward the horizon, the next challenge. As a result, I tend to miss a lot of opportunities to do good, to give thanks to those who care about and support me, and to slow down and experience peace. So this year, I’ve made a resolution for the rest of my life: focus on the everyday all around us.
Now, back to my uncle’s saying: “Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves.” On the surface, it seems to be talking about a strategy for achieving financial success. At least, for most of my life, that’s how I understood it without going much deeper. But these days – like a good Chinese proverb – its layered meaning and relevance strike me much more deeply.
My current interpretation? If we really focus our attention on what it is that’s right in front of us (the pennies) – whether it’s our kids, our work, or our hobbies – then the big picture (the dollars) – happiness, balance, peacefulness – will fall into place. It’s working for me. Ommm …
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