It’s good to unplug from time to time. For the last week, we’ve been on our annual family Spring Break trip. We usually take Spring Break trips somewhere where there’s lot of sunshine, beaches, palm trees and drinks with little flags in them and this year we decided to go to Atlantis in the Bahamas. It was a fun week of eating great meals, drinking lots of margaritas, sightseeing, sleeping late, playing, watching sunsets, swimming in the ocean, in the pools, playing in the water slides and a private swimming encounter with the Sea Lions. The kids had a ball and of course, so did Karin and I.
This afternoon I’m flying from here in the Bahamas to Chicago to deliver two speaking engagements tomorrow at a large Financial Services conference. Back to civilization. I made a pretty obvious observation in the beautiful Bahamas. It was interesting to see that even in the Bahamas at a luxurious resort such as the Atlantis, there were huge numbers of people walking around staring at their iPhones, Androids, etc. We were surrounded by the most beautiful scenery of flowers, waterfalls, the ocean, bikinis, sharks, turtles, etc everywhere and people were walking and looking down at their phones. Amazing.
This may sound like an odd thing for a “Social Media Guy” to be saying, but in case you’ve never heard me say this before, I’ve been saying for the over 10 years that I’ve been in the Social Media world, “I’m not a Social Media guy.” I’m a relationship guy who has an understanding of how to use current technology (Social Media) to create, develop and enrich relationships.
Whether you’re at home, work or a resort, unplug from time to time. Turn the phone off. Not on airplane mode or vibrate. Off. Get a cup of tea, coffee, tequila, whatever, and just sit. Look around. We’re surrounded by beauty. Have a conversation with someone and look into their eyes and listen to them. Really hear them. The technology will still be there when you return. Savor your moments off-line. At the end, you’re not going to wish you could have read one more post about someone playing Candy Crush or why Gwyneth and Chris are breaking up. This is your life. Live it.