On a flight from Dallas to Los Angeles, I sat next to an unaccompanied 6-year-old boy. We played games, talked about where he had been and where he was going. Periodically he would ask, "How much longer will it be?" I would look at my watch, and give him an answer. After what seemed like the "umpteenth" time he asked, I replied, "We'll be landing soon. It just takes patience." With big brown innocent eyes he looked up at me and asked, "How long is patience?"

I smiled to myself for the rest of the trip, for surely that is a question we would all like answered! By now, many of us have long forgotten -- or at least feel guilty about -- our New Year's resolutions! So perhaps it's a good time to look at them again, and see whether they were good ideas after all. Maybe all we're missing is the patience!

One of my resolutions - again! -- was to slow down. What a challenge that has proven to be! In America, we highly value speed, efficiency, action, and results. When was the last time you heard someone brag, "I got ten hours of sleep last night!" Many companies expect their employees to put in 50 hours per week, and you only begin to impress the boss after 60! Unfortunately, many people think this type of commitment is necessary to succeed in today's highly competitive global economy. However, it may be worth nothing that the average German works 954 hours per year less than those described above. But the last time I checked, the Germans were pretty competitive in world markets!

As an entrepreneur, I know that long hours are often essential to start-up companies. And certainly, in every business, special circumstances arise and demand that extra mile. However, these situations should be the exception, not the norm. Ignoring one's family, abusing one's health, and demanding the same of others is a sure road to disaster.

Several years ago, after a flood in California the driver of my airport shuttle told me she had just spent much of the night sandbagging her house against the deluge. And then during the three hours it took us to get to LAX, this young woman told me an incredible story. Just two years before she had lost everything accept the clothes on her back in the earthquake. She was working alone in a trailer at a construction site. She found her way out of the door, now located above her head, by using a cigarette lighter to burn paper, so she could see to stack up furniture and climb out. She drove to her apartment to find her cousin with whom she lived, only to discover a pile of bricks. As she went around the corner, there stood her cousin, holding her dog. As they hugged, her cousin said, "I don't know how to tell you this, but you've lost everything." "No," my driver said, "I have everything I need right here!"

I was truly moved by her story, and it reinforced my belief that one of the most important items on our "to do" list should be to slow down and pay attention to our relationships. How easy it is to think, "Oh, it's OK if I work this weekend. I'll take some time off later." The weeks and months pass, -- and that takes time -- and slowing down -- and lots of patience!