There's a small greasy spoon in a small port town on Georgian Bay, a block from the town dock. It's a great place for breakfast, especially after a night spent on the boat. Over the years, I've noticed that the waitresses are all 30 to 40, thin, tattooed, and looking like that they have had some tough years. Many of them are naturally beautiful though, and despite the evidence of "living hard", there seems to be an emerging joy; a new sparkle in their eyes; a steely resolve to live the next 10 years better than previous 10 years. Maybe it's all my imagination, but that's how I see it and interpret what I see.

The restaurant is plastered with pictures of staff, of family, of regular customers - of people special to the owners. In my mind, I imagine that the owners are older - late 50's or 60's - with a soft spot for women than need a new start, new hope. So today, at breakfast, we had a waitress that we have never had before, and she fit the same pattern: natural beauty, no make-up, some evidence of living a hard life, and a tattoo. The tattoo was a text, written in Arabic, on the inside of her right arm. I asked her what it said, and she told me: "It's not what you did yesterday that matters. It's what you do tomorrow that matters." I asked her "what about "today?", and she said "today I rest, to get ready for tomorrow."

In some ways, I am like that waitress, resting, getting ready for tomorrow. I am just beginning the second half of a six month sabbatical. I am weary from the last 30 years, and as I have recently discovered, I too have a few scars from the toil. The wounds have to heal, and healing takes time, rest, and reflection. As good as I feel about what I accomplished the last 30 years, that doesn't matter as much as what I do in the next five years. The past, as they say, is history. All the effort up to now simply sets up the present. The next few years set up the future. Although I am often one that advocates looking to the past, looking to the future is more important and critical, especially today when the challenges seem larger, and drastic change is more constant.

Planning and strategizing is critical; it cannot change your past, or your present, but it does affect your future. But, before I can plan, or even hope and dream, I have to rest. Without a "pause" by removing yourself from the day to day action, it's hard to do an honest review of what took you to the place that you are at now, assess the challenges, skills, talents and opportunities before you, and to begin to imagine what it will take to get to where you want to be in the future. Whether it's a couple weeks, or six months, depends on you and your circumstances. How long have you been battling? How big are the challenges? How much time can you afford to stay on the sidelines? And most importantly, how healthy are your personal motivations to continue working hard?

Len's Skillet, my favourite breakfast spot in small town Ontario. Maybe it's not the place I imagine it to be, but I like thinking of it that way. I like the thought of second chances, and of people giving other people the chance to start again. What you did yesterday does in fact matter. It's what brought you to this point today. But, what you do tomorrow matters even more, because that is what can change the course of your life, and your company's future too. And as my waitress reminded me this morning, rest can be a critical bridge between yesterday and tomorrow.