“For parents, this is a Shackleton moment.”
This according to Tim Armstrong, CEO of the DTX Company (I’m paraphrasing).
“Your family is frozen in time. You have to spend more time with each other. During this time, I’ve gotten to know my kids 25% better.”
His interviewer, Scott Galloway added:
“You’re going to look back at this time as historic. You hope your kids and family look back on it positively.”
What Tim and Scott are saying is: play offense. Everything we do, we can frame as either offense or defense:
- Parenting
- Personal finance
- Business
- Relationships
- Fitness
I believe the old adage holds true: “the best defense is a good offense” (apparently so did George Washington).
We make a choice on how we’re using this time:
- Get to know your kids better, or get mad about the canceled daycare you’re still paying for
- Trim the fat from your personal finances, or glue yourself to CNBC
- Reorient your business to catch tailwinds, or go into hibernation mode
- End each day with a glass of wine and a laugh with your partner, or just try not to kill each other
- Squeeze in an extra workout with the commuting time saved, or eat more chips on the weekend
Sometimes the right play is defense. Sometimes it’s the only play.
If you’re sick, play defense: stay in bed and get well.
If you lost your job and your savings are depleted, play defense: cut to the bone and save what you can. (Warren Buffet quotes about fear and investing don’t apply in this situation, so save it.)
But as much as possible, choose offense.
