BNI SuccessNet - May/June 2004

By Jim Blasingame

"I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's; His hair was perfect."

This is one of my favorite lyrics by one of my favorite songwriters. It's from the 1978 song, "Werewolves of London," by that great 20th century poet, sage and malcontent, Warren Zevon.

If poets were punctuation, Warren Zevon was a great big, bold, in-your-face exclamation point, in a world where most of his kind were periods and commas. Sadly, this important punctuation recently passed from our prosaic world at the much too young age of 56.

Having penned songs like the never more ironic, "Life'll Kill Ya," it's difficult to connect Zevon's life to the world of small business—with one exception: He was an independent artist who, like small business owners, worked without a net, passionately creating his products, in hopes of finding customers who would appreciate and pay for his wares.

But in preparing for death, Zevon had one very important thing to say, especially to small business owners. Being interviewed by David Letterman, both knowing Zevon's days were numbered, Letterman asked what he had learned about life. Looking straight through the camera lens into every soul watching, Zevon said, "Enjoy every sandwich!"

Zevon didn't mean, "Life is short so go get more sales." "Enjoy every sandwich" was Zevonese for "Slow down to the speed of life. Hug your kids. Listen to a bird. Contemplate a cloud."

In a former life, I counseled small business owners who were going through difficult times in their businesses. Often the circumstances would be so desperate and the prognosis so dire that the person on whom this business's buck stopped would be consumed by the stress to the point of being unable to function.

Having been there myself and calling upon what I had learned about what's really important in life, I started asking this question: "How are your children?"

With a look that screamed, "Haven't you been listening to me? I'm about to lose everything I've worked for!" they would invariably say, "What?!"

When I asked the same question the second time, they would just as invariably say, "They're fine. Why are you asking me that?"

I would respond, "Does anything else really matter?"

Small business owners can get so wrapped up in their businesses that they risk losing their grip on the things that really matter in life: health, happiness, relationships with family and friends and their own soul.

Professional success is important, but not at the expense of love. Financial security is a good thing, but it's not more important than health. And all the credentials in the world can't begin to move the scales when weighed against having joy in your life.

Write this on a rock…. "Life is short. Enjoy every sandwich!" Thanks, Warren.

Jim Blasingame is the creator and award-winning host of "The Small Business Advocate Show," the author of Small Business Is Like A Bunch Of Bananas, the 2002 Small Business Journalist of the Year, and a member of Talkers magazine's Heavy Hundred, the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America. Find Jim at www.jbsba.com.