Over the years I have seen too many people pay a huge price to become successful in business and achieve financial prosperity.
Some have lost their marriages through neglect. Others have suffered permanent health issues through overwork, stress-related medical conditions or even premature death. There is no point making money if you have no time to enjoy it, no one to share it with, or no health to appreciate it.
Running a small business can be challenging and isolated enough without adding imbalance to it. Money can be a great tool but it is a terrible master.
- Money can buy amusement, but not happiness or joy.
- Money can buy a bed, but it cannot buy a good night’s sleep.
- Money can buy food, but not an appetite or a meal shared with friends.
- Money can buy medicine, but not health.
- Money can buy a house, but not a home.
- Money can buy companions, but not friends or loved ones.
- Money can buy flattery, but not respect.
So consider business as just one segment of your life. It should not be your life. Remember that while business is important to enable you to earn a living, it is not your reason for living.
Here are four things that you can do this week to improve your balance:
- Set boundaries so that when you are home – you are home. Don’t bring work into your personal time. Make sure you close that chapter of your day when you are home and be really present when you are home or with friends and family.
- Get involved in something creative that uses parts of your brain that you don’t often use in your time at work. I set time aside to paint as I find it very stimulating yet calming (it is very different to personal insurance policies).
- Put your money to good use. One of the greatest things about money is that it can be used to enrich the lives of others.
Through my business activities I have been blessed and honoured to be able to fund orphanages in India and The Philippines. Also, I have been able to establish our very own home-grown charity Breakthrough Houses which is making a difference in the lives of many people right here in Sydney.
- Develop areas of interest that you can continue when you retire or work fewer hours.
What do you do to help create balance in your life while running a business?
