I consider myself somewhat of a fan of Mike Joyce, the CEO of Hargrave Custom Yachts. Well, more appropriately, I should say a fan of his style. I think it was a few years ago when we were looking into a winter escape to Fort Lauderdale for the first time that I initially came across some YouTube videos for Hargrave Yachts, who are headquartered in Lauderdale.
You know how Google works, some search results aren't spot on to your query, but I'm OK with the odd happy discovery like this thrown into the mix. Geez, it's almost like Google purposely plants these things to get us all coming back to search for more - or get lost on something else ;-)
 |
| Some of the acres of gelcoat in Fort Lauderdale |
Well, as part of my happy diversion into the world of super yachts and the acres of gelcoat that includes, I found myself impressed with Mr. Joyce's down to earth, plain talking style as he discussed the 'Hargrave approach' to selling boats. After all, here's a guy sitting on multi-million dollar yachts but making the viewer - me - feel like he was just another guy talking about the joys of boating. I mean, this stuff was really compelling. By the time I was done watching a few of these vids, I felt like I should be jumping on the next plane south and seriously consider buying one of these things. And he hasn't even shown us around ONE boat!
OK, so we weren't and aren't in the position to actually buy one of those beauties, and with our current plans to slow down and take it easy, it's more than likely that the Boogaboo Crew won't be seriously perusing the used mega-yacht market any time soon. But hey, never say never. . .
That said, I wouldn't mind at least meeting Mike, shaking his hand and having the opportunity to let him know what a great job it is he's doing. I actually saw him at the Miami Yacht And Brokerage Show (don't call it the Miami BOAT Show) this past February, but he was busy with 'real' clients and I didn't want to disturb him. Next time.
 |
| Big boats, big houses and lots of palm trees. Welcome to Fort Lauderdale ;-) |
So, you are asking yourself, what the heck does all this have to do with that Q-T-R Factor that I asked you about? Well, if you've never had to look at yours, this may come as a real eye opener, so sit down.
Last week, I was looking up info on this past weekend's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) and saw a video by, you guessed it, Hargrave Yachts, starring non other than Mike Joyce. As part of the hook to get prospective clients to come to the show, he recalled a talk he had with a colleague (Dudley Dawson, formerly of Hatteras Yachts and current technical editor for Yachting Magazine) about this Q-T-R, or 'Quality Time Remaining'. In other words, what is the expected extent of your quality time that is remaining in your life - and how will you make the most of that time? Good marketing angle, Mike.
Boat shows aside, that basic question was suddenly and very bluntly slammed into our faces this year and resulted in putting everything into a new perspective for me and my lovely Anchor Girl. Besides being a little older than we used to be, our future years have become something a lot different than we had ever even thought about. To be diagnosed with a condition that was straight out of left field initially left us scared, confused and for me pissed right off! Sorry, but that's how I felt.
Now that we have had almost a year since the first suggestion of my MS, we are in a far better place, emotionally. To put it bluntly, we can no longer 'expect' to simply carry on the way we have before all this. Some would argue that we could, like most do, but not us - not ME. We have had too many great times over the past few years and we aren't going to be robbed of the opportunity to experience even more and that's why we are making dramatic changes for our better good. It is amazing how things like money, and plain old STUFF suddenly loose their importance completely. And it's awesome! It frees our thoughts to those of the new memories we are going to make through our new adventures :-)
Whatever your current life situation is, weather young or not so much, I urge you to consider where you might be in the all too close future and how you will ENJOY that time. We all have the freedom to make choices that will make us happy in what we are and what we are experiencing. For us, it will be enjoying sunsets on our boat in the summers, and walks along southern beaches in winters. For you, well, you will have to figure that out on your own. But do it while you still have a chance to make a free choice. . .
So, when I do get around to meeting Mr. Joyce in person, I look forward to thanking him for relating that story and putting it into terms that many can relate to. I hope most will ponder, take stock and ultimately make positive, forward thinking changes in their lives to get the most out of the quality years that we all have left.
And if that involves living on a boat, so be it. I know just the guy that would be happy to sell you a new Hargrave ;-)
 |
| Walking with Anchor Girl walking along a sunny Florida beach |
| :-) |