When I began my first “business,” BALANCE was the buzz word du jour. Human Resource Directors studied it. Working moms used it as a rallying cry. Hopeful people jumped into the self-bossing waters hoping to create it for themselves.
I’ve long rejected the entire notion of balance. Why? IMHO, balance doesn’t allow me to dive deep enough into what I love. Also, balance — or juggling — requires that all things in my life (work, kids, hubby, home, fitness) “weigh” the same to me… which is simply not true.
Plus… I look at the uber-successful and see lives of FOCUS, lives of PURPOSE, lives of PRIORITY, but not lives of balance.
The untold truth about creating a level of success that SEEMS just outside the reach of the masses is — like I’ve mentioned before, in countless posts here and elsewhere I’ve been published — OBSESSION.
Obsession with your business. Obsession with problem solving. Staying up late / waking up early in pursuit of another goal, driven by the buzz of another idea, or a small tweak you can make to add more value. Passionately running in ONE direction. With blinders on. Because the always moving finish line compels you forward.
Obsession. Passion. Pursuit. Drive.
All good things in my book.
Nothing to be ashamed of.
Certainly nothing I’m seeking escape from.
But the masses encourage us to “take more time off.” OFF FROM WHAT, I WONDER? Away from that which provides us so much joy, stimulation, accomplishment, pride? Do you think Trump and Buffet wake up every morning by 5 AM because they have to? NOPE. It’s because they WANT to. It’s because they’re obsessed. It’s because they’re hard-wired to seek accomplishment, achievement.
And so are you. So am I.
Bottom line, I’m not into balance. This doesn’t make me a workaholic with no time to enjoy life. Quite the opposite, in fact. I enjoy life because I honor my God-given drive for accomplishment. I enjoy life because I live according to my own PRIORITIES. I enjoy life because my drive, my success allow me to set my own hours and agenda.
So, while I may sleep less than others… while I do sometimes stop my work out to jot down ideas that come to me for a client… while I wake up earlier than most… while my bag is often always weighed down with a notebook and something business-related I’m reading… I love it.
