Many of us have been so busy with preparations and cleanups for the holidays. Before you know it, all the celebrations have come and gone so fast. Many of us who have approached our 40s and 50s somehow see time moving faster than those who are in their teens and 20s. Our Isabella, who is three years old, does not want to be called a baby, but rather an “ager”. She wants to look older, putting on make up at a very early age because her sisters and mother treat her like a baby doll. She also prefers conversing with older people.

Many of the young people also can’t wait to get older. They are happy to see their birthdays come and go fast. On the other hand, we want to delay the aging process. Occasions like birthdays and Christmases are those that remind us of our mortality.

My daughter Margarita just celebrated her 21st birthday. Christian, my eldest, also celebrates his 24th birthday today. I remember getting married at the age of 25. My wife was 22 then. Looking back, it seems like time has really gone so fast. We have made an effort as a family to have our big weekly family gatherings, which I host when I am in town. With my kids, we make an effort to devote the summer to spending time together and taking time out. I tend to be a dictator when it comes to family time. I am sure that as my children will have their own families one day, they too will want the same things.

My father also turns 80 this year with his twin brother Raul. They have both been blessed to still be healthy and now devoted to advocacies that are for the betterment of the country. Many of the country Taipans are now in their 80s. This generation is now passing the baton to our generation.

Life can pass by so fast. Before we realize it, we have already missed so many things, even the growing up years of our children.

In 2004, Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs announced that he has a cancerous tumor in his pancreas, which was eventually treated and cured. In 2005, he delivered a speech during the Stanford graduation. He had these thoughts to share in his speech, which I think many of us entrepreneurs should keep in mind.

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to hea-ven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

How true… We sometimes think that life is forever. Because we are so busy, we avoid reflecting. Suddenly, we realize that things have come and go so fast. While we entrepreneurs are challenged to take our negosyos to greater heights, we must keep reminding ourselves of the balance that we must keep.

Let us make sure that we are able to see the changes in the faces of our children and spouse as they age. Let us be conscious to realize the truths and things surrounding us. Sometimes we do not see how green the grass is or whether or not we have a tree in our backyard. We all want a better life for ourselves and our family. We all want to be wealthy. But, sometimes, we need to be content with what we have. This is the most difficult part — balancing fear and greed. We are all guilty of this one way or another. As we approach 2011 with full optimism, let us keep in mind what truly makes us happy.

I would like to greet Myla Villanueva a Happy Birthday. She is a good friend and a Go Negosyo trustee, who has been strongly supporting our entrepreneurship advocacy from the start. An entrepreneur by heart, she is also the managing director of MDI Group Holdings. We would also like to congratulate her once more for being recognized as one of the “The Outstanding Women in Nation’s Service”, representing the ICT industry. Happy Birthday Myla and we wish for more blessings to come your way!

We would like to invite all starting, aspiring and young entrepreneurs to the “Go Negosyo Day 8: Entrep Marketing Innopreneur Seminar” on Jan. 20, 2011 from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the AIM Conference Center, Makati. Learn from the country’s leading negosyo mentors, gurus and most especially from acclaimed Marketing Guru Josiah Go. Visit our website for more details on the registration and reservation

Contact me: feedback@gonegosyo.net or Joey Concepcion Facebook account. Visit www.gonegosyo.net. Watch the top rating GO NEGOSYO: Kaya Mo! In QTV, Saturday and Sunday 8 to 8:30 a.m., with replays in NBN every Tuesday 8 to 9 p.m. Get daily Go Negosyo Text Tips in your mobile phone by sending GONEGO to 2910.