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New and Old

Guest post by: Jim Stovall

Article Overview: We seem to be constantly on the search for something new to replace something that is old. We are bombarded with advertisements, promotions, and sales pitches imploring us to experience the latest, best, new, and improved items that may be available. While, in many cases, new things are better than old things, there are certainly many exceptions in which old things are best.

New and Old

We seem to be constantly on the search for something new to replace something that is old. We are bombarded with advertisements, promotions, and sales pitches imploring us to experience the latest, best, new, and improved items that may be available. While, in many cases, new things are better than old things, there are certainly many exceptions in which old things are best.

My late, great friend and mentor Paul Harvey was fond of saying, "Not everything we call new and improved is."

As a small child, I remember that my mother would divide my toys into two groups. One group went into my toy box which I would play with immediately, and the other group of toys went into a cardboard box that was stored for later use. At a point and time known only to my mother, when I started getting bored or my toys seemed stale, she would immediately replace the group of toys in my toy box with those that had been in storage. I instantly felt as though I had all new toys. Everything seemed exciting and brand new.

You can have this same experience as near as your bookshelf. Some of the greatest titles you have ever read are waiting for you to revisit them and delve into the treasures that you have forgotten or simply missed the first time through. There are some books that, frankly, are not worth finishing, but there are others that bear reading many times. I re-read some of my favorite authors annually and would swear that they somehow rewrote sections of the book or added chapters while the book was sitting on my shelf, because it seems so fresh and new to me after multiple readings.

All of us enjoy meeting new people, making new friends, and forming new business relationships. It is great to be actively pursuing new people in our lives, both personally and professionally, but always remember that some of the greatest people you will ever meet in your entire life are people you have already met. Unfortunately, too often, we think of people we already know like a book we've already read. We let friendships slide and business relationships dwindle away due to lack of attention. With a little thought and care, along with some of the new social media tools, there is just no excuse for not staying in touch with people who are meaningful to us.

One of the new year's resolutions I actually made and have kept for several years involved getting together with my parents each week. Several years ago, I realized that even though my parents live a few miles from my home that I had gone several months without getting together with them. After making the decision to see them each week, I have found the experience to be imminently rewarding in many ways, and I have learned things about my parents and other people in our family tree that I had never known before and wouldn't have ever known had I not made the effort to stay in touch.

As you go through your day today, explore new people, places, and things, but don't forget the treasure of the people, places, and things you can revisit time after time.

Today's the day!

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Article Tags: Business Relationships, Jim Stovall, Paul Harvey



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