Paying Your Taxes – A Reflection On Your Life

I just finished calculating my taxes and completed the ordeal by hitting enter on the keyboard. I cringed as I imagined the electronic dollars floating across cyberspace into Uncle Sam’s coffers. I know we all have to pay taxes… well, most of us anyway. I suppose there are the extreme outliers, the destitute and the super rich, but for the vast majority of us, taxes are just a reality of life.

As I sat here crunching numbers over the past few nights, I relived 2008. Business trip to Denver. Business trip to Ohio. Presentations given. Presentations canceled. Miles driven, meals eaten. Excitement. Disappointment. Success and setbacks. Wow. For some reason, paying taxes this year was emotionally draining.

As I took inventory of the past year, it dawned on me that this was a great exercise. While we reflect and plan in January of each year, the hard reality of numbers during tax season really paints a clearer picture of your business last year.

So, how did you do? Did you make your financial targets? As we are now in the second quarter of the calendar year, now is an excellent time to ask yourself,

“Am I doing what I need to do, to make sure this year is better than the last?”

Remember, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. What are you doing differently? If nothing…. you should take some time off to reassess what you are doing…. so this year will be better than the last.

All the best,
All the time,
JT