TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS (TCB)

Rock 'N Roll, Jamestown, NC

Elvis Presley liked to give away rather expensive presents to folks in his circle and I’ve read that one of his favorites besides Cadillac’s was jewelry with the inscription of “TCB”. His mantra in life was “Taking Care of Business” and I’m sure he was under a lot of stress to do just that with one sold out concert date after the next and the need to be on his game for every one of them. Now, I’ve never considered Elvis to be one of my spiritual leaders in life, but as a child of the 50’s I’ve always liked his music. I think TCB not only applies to work, but to the personal and spiritual aspects of life as well. When any one of these becomes out of balance with the rest, problems usually surface. Of course, sometimes it’s unavoidable, and we just need to creatively find a way to move along and keep things between the ditches.

I recall years ago that I had hit an unusually long stretch of time where I was constantly traveling away from home on business. That was tough on my family and it was tough on me. But I also recognized that one of my key responsibilities was to take care of my family. I wouldn’t be doing that if I lost my job by refusing to be out in the world where my services were needed at the time. One of my business associates once challenged me by stating that I was missing some key events in my daughter’s life. I thought about that and then responded that “Yes, I’ve regrettably missed a few of those first steps, but I fully plan to be present when she walks across the stage to accept a college degree”. And by the Grace of God, both my wife and I were there to see her receive that degree with honors a number of years later. Nobody ever said that life was easy, but it’s doable by the GOG and TCB.