Having A Life and Being Successful in Business – How to Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
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There is a common school of thought that believes that you can’t have the best of both worlds. I’m not sure where it came from or how we all started believing this proverb was true, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship and leading a company to success. What I am sure of is that you have a choice in deciding what is true for you. Rather than affirming this saying by never attempting to be balanced in both your professional and personal life, I am encouraging you TODAY to change your mindset and prove this idiom wrong.
You can maintain work – life balance while successfully running your own business.
Don’t look at me with that tone of voice! While I understand that is a rather bold and somewhat radical statement, I make it my personal mantra. As a wife to the most amazing man, mother of four incredible children, daughter, friend, entrepreneur, business consultant, etc, I comprehend your reservations. How in the world can anyone accomplish all that needs to be done to lead a business, service clients, research new products, balance the books, support community fundraisers, network AND enjoy social outings with friends, attend their child’s sporting events, have dinner with the family and most importantly, rest your mind, body and spirit.
Well don’t just take my word for it. Here’s a quote from one of the most successful and significant businessmen of our time.
Having kids has been a fantastic thing for me. It’s meant that I’m a little more balanced. In my twenties I worked massively, hardly took vacation at all. Now, I, with the help of my wife, I’m always making sure I’ve got a good balance of how I spend my time.
~ Bill Gates
When a man who has voluntarily released his claim to the richest man in the world title by giving billions of dollars to his charitable foundation shares wisdom of the need to be balanced in life and business, I listen. I hope you do too.
Practical application to create a work – life balance
I would be remiss to not help you understand HOW to create this balance in your business. I’ve compiled 4 strategies to help you obtain harmony between your personal and professional time.
Define your personal mission statement and core values. Knowing what you believe in and what your purpose is in doing it is sometimes overlooked. When you don’t know where you are going, time is wasted getting there. Having a clear plan of action and vision of your goals will allow you to better filter what is important and what you can say no to.
Organize your time! If you have multiple hats that you wear daily, you comprehend that time is always of the essence. Having a system of time management will enable you to have smooth transitions from business to pleasure. It’s far less important about the tool you use to manage your time and more important that you are consistent in actually utilizing whatever strategy works for you.
Outsource tasks that take you longer than an hour. Most entrepreneurs are do-it-yourselfers. Often as a means to save money, business owners will take on multiple tasks in running the company. To achieve a more balanced lifestyle, be willing to invest money in surrounding yourself with the tools, processes and/or people that can alleviate your load. The time you save will give you more time to go build and grow your business and enjoy your life.
Give yourself grace. NO ONE IS PERFECT! Now that you’re freed from the perfectionism bondage most businesspeople have, forgive yourself if you can’t make that great networking event or a little-league game. It is impossible to be everywhere at one time and be everything to everyone. As long as you are striving to maintain a nice balance between your work and your life, there should be no guilt.
Share a comment below with your thoughts. If you are looking for more support in building the business of your dreams and living the life you envisioned, be sure to join me on Facebook now and follow me on Twitter.
Talk to you soon!
Frederika
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