Work-Life Balance

Back before I completely mastered life, I remember admiring well-balanced successful moguls, who seemed to have it all, while somehow juggling the countless responsibilities in their lives.

There I was, unable to earn a complete living in the music industry, even though I was spending more nights in the club than at home with my newborn son. Yet there were people who ran multiple lucrative companies, worked out consistently, made the time to read and learn daily, traveled regularly, and were able to handle all of their responsibilities; all while spending plenty of time with their spouse and kids.

Of course, come to find out being a good CEO doesn’t make you a good parent. And in fact, it’s often quite the opposite. But being able to balance all of those responsibilities is a skill that gets easier with intentional practice over time.

"I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can't truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles." —Zig Ziglar

We’ve all been told we can’t take care of others until we take care of ourselves. But it’s easier said than done, especially when you’re still at the beginning stages of your career. When you’re first starting out, work needs to be your priority if you ever hope to make something of yourself. But as you gain experience, you learn to work smarter not harder. You also start to surround yourself with a capable team, which allows you to take more time out for yourself and spend more time with your family.

Remember, nobody is truly self made. We all need others to get to where we want to go.

So long story short, that’s how it’s done. Work hard —> Attract great teammates —-> Work smarter and have a well-balanced life.

At some point, it won’t be all on you.

Speaking of the different phases of a career, I tweeted this week about the stages we all experience, including the beginning when you need to say “Yes to everything. And then when your leverage begins to shift, and you need to retrain yourself to start being more selective and saying “No”. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check out the thread here.

When I was at a career crossroads, trying to figure out what I was doing with my life, I found two books to be extremely helpful. And they may both be somewhat overhyped at this point, but the concepts are crucial.

Carol Dweck’s “Mindset” is the origin of the fixed mindset vs. growth mindset concept you hear ad nauseam these days, but it definitely made me realize I was no longer learning and growing, and my entire mentality changed in that moment.

Tim Ferriss’s “The 4 Hour Workweek” was another game changer, and although some of the resources are outdated at this point, it shifted my mindset, and I can proudly say I now live a life that maintains the kind of balance I was searching for.

Thanks for all of your support, and welcome to all of the new subscribers. I appreciate you all taking the time to read and share this weekly newsletter.

Please let me know if there’s anything specific you want me to cover here.

Til next week.