What Happened to Peace and Quiet?

I went fishing today after I took a midterm in Corporate Finance. It was a chilly morning and I decided to stay fairly close to the mouth of the Logan Canyon so I decided to fish along a stretch of the river that has a wide trail frequented by joggers and bikers. Here I was in this beautiful place, a perfect time to enjoy the scenery (pictured below) and think and was the one thing that every jogger had in common?

Every single jogger…and I mean EVERY SINGLE jogger had an ipod on!  Who knows what they were listening to, but what happened to thinking and pondering?  What does this have to do with business? Everything!  If I want my business to grow and thrive, I need time to take a step back and think.  To look at where things are going and make sure I haven’t become to wrapped up in what I am doing and lost focus on what could be needs to be done to improve my business.

Now, it is true that the joggers I shared the trail with this morning probably weren’t too concerned about a budding business they had waiting for them at home, but it is the pattern I see that is strage.  As I walk to school, everyone has an iPod.   When I am home, my roommates are always watching TV shows over and over again like Smallville, 24, and House.  We are so attached to our cell phones we put those goofy Bluetooth earpieces in and wear them everywhere (including to my uncles funeral, i wanted to punch the guy).

I guess to me its always been important to unplug my life and step back.  Think about where things are going and get rid of all the noise that surrounds me the rest of the time.  I don’t see how we can think clearly when we are always trying to fill your mind with distractions.