Balance is earned. Not assumed.
The advice founders don’t want to hear.
Two weeks ago, I had a clarity call with a guy who is starting up his own company.
I gave him advice he did not want to hear.
I always do a clarity call to see if I can help somebody with coaching and if we are a good match.
He came to me because he was working 24/7
had absolutely no regard for his health,
his family, his friends and the pressure was driving him crazy.
He asked me if I could help him bring more balance into his life.
This was not the first time somebody
contacted me with the exact same story.
And unfortunately,
my advice is the same most of the time.
You see, in life we make trade-offs.
Starting your own company
takes an extreme amount of motivation and action.
It is like a rocket that uses almost all its fuel just to get into orbit.
Once in orbit, life becomes easier.
But you have to lift off first.
And I’m sorry to say,
there are hardly any shortcuts.
It’s just an immense amount of work.
Every time I have started a new company,
I have underestimated the amount of time
and money it takes to make it a success.
I hear the same from my serial entrepreneur friends.
So the trade-off is this:
If you want to start a company
and chase the promise it brings,
you will first have to work like crazy.
No balance.
I had the same in 2004 when starting one of my companies and moving to Spain.
All I did was work and think about work.
I neglected my health, my relationships, my sanity and yes, even my newly born daughter.
It helped me during liftoff.
And only once the company went into orbit
could I concentrate on balance again.
Every time I start a new company,
I start out of balance and then return to balance again.
Balance is my default state.
I choose to step out of it.
But I’m very conscious of what it costs me
and the time period I want to be out of balance.
By now, I know how to pivot back into balance faster.
And that’s what I help other business owners and entrepreneurs do.
The difference between burning out
and breaking through?
Knowing the trade-off before you make it.
Not stumbling into imbalance.
Choosing it.
With a timeline.
With intention.
With a plan to come back.
That’s not sacrifice.
That’s strategy.
The guy on the call two weeks ago
didn’t need balance yet.
He needed permission to go all in
and a map for the way back.
That’s exactly what I help entrepreneurs build.
Are you out of balance right now or just out of awareness?
PS: Enjoy this?
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