Chris and I planned to take Jivvie on a walk last week on the Raleigh Greenway.  I had been looking forward to this walk all week.

 

Being tucked between acres of tall trees on a small winding path with my two favorite hearts is what I desperately needed during a very hectic week.

 

When we asked Jivvie to hop in the truck to go for a ride, she just about lost her mind.  She smiled and howled with excitement the entire ride to the start of the Greenway.

 

As we entered the beginning of the path, I breathed in fresh air and felt so grateful for a mental break with my favorites.

 

And then it happened.  Two minutes into our walk, Chris’ phone alert went off.

 

It was an urgent message from our website host: our credit card had been declined. They had taken down our website, and our whole back end inventory system.

 

Remember last month when someone stole my credit card info in Atlanta?  As it turns out, I forgot to update our new card information for our website host.  Big #WHOOPS.

 

Chris looked at my panicked face and said ‘Do we need to go back?’

 

Messages started coming in from our staff — who all got the same alert driving home from work(!) — and customers who were trying to make purchases online. I had a choice to make:

 

1. Tackle the urgent.
2. Focus on the important.

 

I looked down at Jivvie’s wagging tail, and up at my husband’s loving face and I answered a confident ‘No.’

 

And I turned off my phone.

 

 

As an entrepreneur, I have to consciously make this choice over and over again throughout the day.

 

What gets my time?  The urgent, or the important?  The past few years, I’ve had to intentionally fight for the important.

 

But that’s not unique to entrepreneurship.  We ALL have to make these choices throughout our days, weeks, months, and years, don’t we?

 

We may have missed several hundred dollars in orders over those 2 hours, but I don’t want to look back in life and miss out on the biggest blessings right in front of me.

 

What have you been missing out on by saying yes to the seemingly urgent?

 

 

Today is the start of a fresh new month, and the unofficial kick-off to a fresh new season.  Are you ready for a challenge?

 

This weekend, I want you to make a conscious decision to say ‘no’ to something urgent that comes up, and say ‘yes’ to what’s truly important.

 

Those ‘urgent’ things?  They can wait.  I promise.  

 

The important things?  They’ve been waiting for you.

 

With joy,