In my previous post I told a story of the young man looking for the secret to success.
The secret he found was : Balance
Now the question is how do you balance your life? Do you work 1 hour and spend the next with your family?
Maybe that works for you, or maybe you think that will completely break your speed and concentration.
If you look at most of the succesfull people around you, you will notice that they all have different rythms.
They go through fases, kind of like a sine wave.
They have periods of intense work, where they focus on the task at hand, almost to the exclusion of everything and everybody else. Their work is their main goal. They get up early and go to bed late. Their families see very little of them. They are completely off balance.
But
When the job at hand is done
Then their families get them completely. They leave the work at work at focus on themselves and their loved ones. Play with their children, take their spouse out to a special little restaurant, and basically put them out of balance again.
So even though in the short run they are out of balance, in the longer term they do live a balanced life.
I don’t know what your balance is. I like my time with my daughter and my wife. So I make time for them each day. I work late at night when they go to sleep and early morning on the weekend before they awake. My balance is daily.
My brother in law is the type of person I described above. And for a long while I though he was a bad dad/workaholic husband, but now I realize that he isn’t. During the week he is a workaholic, but over the weekends he is a dad – completely. And his children adore him.
So try both ways and find the rhythm that’s right for you.
Be Motivated Today – To find your balance
Ben,
I agree that we all must find that balance which can only define our personalities. We are all have a unique business plan, which should involve quality time with our love ones..
I found that by involving my family in my business helps allot. If I had to send out say cards for my members for occasions, such as birthdays. My wife would arrange and prepare each one. Taken all the information from my contact files. Then we send real cards with pictures and my own hand writing. This is a way of getting her involved and spending time together.
I make my passion in supporting my members a family setting. That is what we build our relationships on. Real hands on support.
There are times when I must speak for a group, which my wife of seventeen years, is there on stage supporting and edifying me. We are a unit with love and support for what we share a passion for. Our business of support others and empowering them to achieve success, as they determined it to be.
There are lots of ways to balance operating a business and maintaining quality time with love ones. No one way is the best. Each must focus on what is really important to them.
I found success by building little pieces over time and that goes a long way. I spend allot of time communicating with my members. I answer all by myself. I do not utilize any auto responders, when it comes to answering questions that one may have. That is just my unique way of quality.
Ben, this is a wonderful share of information that will have all your readers and I. Continue to re-evaluate our business plans to maintain that balance of work and family.
I look forward in your next amazing post! Your a true leader in our industry and your quality shows in your writing abilities.
William Earl Amis, Jr III recently posted..Choosing To Build That Business
I found this post about balance to describe my plight as well as that of most professional women. It is impossible to raise kids and have all the time you want with them, be a professional and do everything people expect of you. My kids are now in their 20s I spent their entire childhood sleep deprived from trying to be everything to everybody.
Great points! My “balance” leans a bit more toward the scenario you described in your article but I tend to organize my work like projects so there’s a beginning and end. I dive in and work like crazy to finish a project – then I take time to rest and ramp up for the next phase. I find when I spread things out – you know, little every day – I get SO bored! Of course that’s the beauty of being self-employed – being able to organize your time and your life around what works best for you. Luv it!
Ben,
I had to revisit your blog to add to balance as away of living your life to the fullest. Not only applying to your business activities to include family time. Just after you have a system that works for time with family and your business operation performing at the rate you like. That is the final product you can make the way you life your life. Doing what you love and sharing quality time with you family is a great way to live your dreams. This is success in a way that only you can determine.
William Earl Amis, Jr III recently posted..Products and Service vs. Relationships
Wonderful topic here. I agree 100% Balance is the key. After all if you have all this money and no family at the end; how happy are your really going to be. For me I find the best balance when I follow The Slight Edge philosophy. Take simple easy to do actions daily in all areas of your life. Finance, work, family, health, relationships.
Ben,
I just had to come back. This topic is wonderful and there are so many ways this can be helpful to all your readers, and I.
Balancing work with family, is not an easy subject matter that has one solution. What works for me, may not be possible for many of your readers. Keeping it balance, as for how much time should one apply to family, and then the business. This will be a topic with many outcomes.
I have just added to included my nephew who is with us for the summer, until he returns to school. He will be a great part of my business. He has come a long way from that little nephew I watched over.
Now, my wife of seventeen years is always within all projects. She supports my ideas and keeps me energized to support all the wonderful people who have placed their trust in my abilities to lead. I have a wonderful support team, made of unlimited professionals of all talents.
I guess the balance is to have fun and enjoy every moment of growth with people you care deeply about. This will help create new and exciting procedures, that can increase growth and develop more solid support tools.
Ben, I thank you for the awesome chance, to vent like this. I love what your doing with your site. I look forward in learning more upon each visit.
William Earl Amis, Jr III recently posted..Products and Service vs. Relationships
Hi Ben,
My balance is daily as well… though I’m not consistent!! Some days I will work all day with very little time with my partner and some I will do no work and spent it exclusively with him and my animals. Most days though, I work in the morning before anyone is awake, at lunch time and for some of the evening leaving plenty of time for tasks around the small holding and my partner.
I keeps me, the animals and the man happy!!
All the best,
Emma
Emma recently posted..TSA iWowWe Tribe
Hello Ben, I’m probably like the person you described also and like Marquita:-) I love to work on a particular project until it’s finished, then relax and have a wonderful holiday with my family. Both my children are grown up now, but I have 2 little grand-children I love spending time with.
Your post just made me realize why my husband used to always be “trying to” get me away from my work. His way of balance is different from mine, his is daily, where as mine is based on my projects. Over the years, I’ve gone more towards his way, it is more fun sometimes:-)
bye for now, Julieanne
Julieanne van Zyl recently posted..MLM Leads generation system
Hey Ben,
You are so right and I know I fit into the category of working hard (really hard) and puling back for balance.
But no matter how hard I try, there is one thing I can never get away from… and that is the need to balance in one way or another. Some people call it “burnt out” while I think of it as reaching one side of the spectrum.
Thanks for the posting!
_D
Dereck recently posted..7 Secret Steps To Creating A High Traffic Blog Post
Hi Ben,
Inspiring post! We all have different styles in which to work and manage balance in our lives. However, I love my work and love to work and I also find myself explaining to my family on a regular basis that I want to and enjoy working intensely until I’ve achieved my goal; then, I can relax and enjoy their company immensely until I move onto the next focus of intensity! That way, I’m not distracted by thoughts of what I want to get done and can give them my entire attention. (I also get to enjoy that wonderful sense of satisfaction I get when I’ve achieved another goal.) I was so excited to find your post and know that there IS in fact balance even in the shorter term of imbalance. I knew it all along!
Loren recently posted..Search Engine Optimization, SEO For Beginners
Hello Ben,
I still work a full time job, going in at noon and returning home late in the evening.
I began my day in prayer and thanksgiving for God’s protection doing the night and then asking his blessing for the day.
After breakfast I spend a couple hours online and then it’s off to work.
I come back home and may get online another hour or so.
I walk for about 40 minutes a few times a week too, listening to uplifting
material. This is a big way I keep in balance.
Being single, I don’t have to worry about time for a spouse, and my kids are grown.
I am still working on keeping life and my online activities in balance.
It is important to learn how to master the balance of life, because otherwise it could literally make you sick, if you get out of balance.
Cheers
willie@freedom to be your own boss recently posted..Avoiding The Dread Of Information Overload Pt. 1