Last month, my wife and I celebrated the birth of our first child, a healthy and precious baby boy. We named him Daniel JuEun, which means God’s grace in Korean. Going through the nine months of pregnancy, enduring the long eight hours of labor and being there in the delivery room as he came out into the world were incredible, emotional and life-changing experiences for both of us.
Daniel, at just over a month old, is now in full control of our lives. We willingly spend all our money on his clothes, toys, CDs and what feels like an infinite number of baby care products. We sleep only when he allows us, we feed him whenever he demands, and we eagerly serve as his diaper changers. He gets a special kick out of it whenever he pees into the air while we put on his new diaper. Within another month or so, when he doubles his age, I fully expect his urinary projectile to reach our faces.
In the midst of it all, we are absolutely enjoying and loving every minute of being new parents.
Sometimes, when we are lucky, our infant, angelic son endears us with his irresistible smile and perhaps even a blabbering sound. Our hearts melt whenever this happens. We also clap with pure joy when he yawns or raises his faint eyebrows. There is just as much exuberance in our house when he burps.
Indeed, these are precious moments and days – once gone, they will never return.
One of my hard-learned life lessons is that time travels in only one direction. We will never get a chance to relive this very moment. We have all been given the wonderful and miraculous gift of life, but our time on this earth has a definite expiration date. It is crucial that we spend this one-way gift wisely. I reflect on this simple truth whenever I face a major decision or when I need to reprioritize my life.
My own belief was put to the test early last week when I received a call from an executive recruiting agency. The recruiter asked for my interest level for a C-level position at a relatively large, publicly traded U.S. company. It sounded like a great, “once in a life time,” as he described it, opportunity. The company was well known and highly regarded within the industry, the compensation was significantly more than what I was making, and the position also came with several executive perks, most notably a generous stock option. All in all, this new job’s monetary value was nearly twice of what I was currently receiving. It was very tempting.
The recruiter continued to inform me that the role had global responsibilities, which required approximately 80% to 85% travel. Basically, the job required visiting various regional and branch locations across several continents and returning home for less than one week a month.
Towards the end of our phone conversation, the persistent recruiter requested that I update and email him my resume. I thanked him for the potential opportunity, but I informed him that my current work already required almost 50% time away from home, and that was the maximum limit I was willing to take. This comment surprised the recruiter. He had touted the fast-paced, jetting-setting life style as yet another major selling point.
A few days after our initial discussion, the recruiter called me back on a late Saturday morning. As it happens, my wife and I were quite occupied getting a major booger out of Daniel’s nose in the midst of his screaming protest. The recruiter had spoken with the company on my behalf. He happily and proudly reported that the travel will significantly drop below 50% once a major corporate initiative, which I will be leading, is complete in a couple of years. I thanked him again for his kindness and the consideration. I also firmly informed him no compromise will be made for time at home for the next several years.
As I hung up the phone, when my wife asked who it was, I simply replied with our son still crying in the background, “tempting distraction, but no match for our JuEun (God’s grace).”
Joong (“Joon”) H. Hyun is the author of soon to be released Outswimming the Sharks: Overcoming Adversities, Naysayers, and Other Obstacles to Lead a Meaningful Life.