Business + Life Lessons from Tutankhamun

We’ve just returned from our family holiday to Sharm El Sheikh where we re-charged our batteries and had some proper QT together.  As we were in Egypt, we just had to see the Great Pyramids of Giza, one of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This meant leaving our luxurious all-inclusive resort at 3am, to get a flight to Cairo to travel the 428km in one day and back.  

We booked an organised tour which came with an air-conditioned coach (the entrepreneurial driver making some cash on the side with his large cool box of never-ending waters and ice-cold cans of coke), an Egyptologist, and a security guard.  We had a packed agenda, with the Pyramids being the penultimate stop of the day later that afternoon.

After an early morning cruise along the Nile (another Bucket List ticked), we were taken to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo which holds the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities, including the Rosetta Stone and the golden mask of King Tutankhamun.

One area our Egyptologist focussed on for an entire hour was that of the Egyptian sculptures and statues.  She explained that many were created for funerary purposes and placed in tombs to accompany the deceased into the afterlife.  She also described that some had hidden elements, such as perfumed oils placed within their bases, to aid the deceased in the afterlife. 

After a thorough tour of the museum, we decided to quiz our 13-year-old twins James and Lily to see what they had learned (bearing in mind they were up at 3am).  They both knew a lot about the Egyptian mummies, how Tutankhamun's tomb was accidentally discovered by a young boy, and how those who first entered the tomb suddenly died due to a “curse”.

As we exited via the museum shop, James turned around and said:

“It’s great that they spent so long planning their afterlife, but it’s sad that they didn’t live more in the moment.”  

Very perceptive for a 13-year-old (and likely brain washed from our mindset!) – but being present is so important.

Too many business owners I come across are either too obsessed with living in the past, repeating the same mistakes over and over again, or are too busy running around like headless chickens reacting and fighting fires.  Not only is this overwhelming and exhausting, but it also means you – and everyone around you – lacks focus, direction, and purpose.

Yes, it’s good to plan, but being present means that you are 100% there for YOU, for your team, for your friends and family.  Whether I’m working ON the business, IN the business, Head of I.T. when Fortnite is ‘glitching’, being the Uber driver for the kids’ sports fixtures, or at family mealtimes, I make sure I’m only focusing on that ONE thing.  

It is hard, and requires discipline, but once you have the Habit, the rewards are massive.

This week, do some honest reflection: how present have you been this year? What can you stop doing/do more of to be present for the second half of 2025?

Today is a gift and that’s why it is called the present….

BW,

Martin

Martin Norbury

Investor | Business Mentor at Advocate | Author of I don’t work Fridays