The Struggles of the Work-Life Balance

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I wish I could tell you that I have the proper balance in every area of my life. You are reading my blog, and I am supposed to be somewhat of an expert, right? The truth is that I suck at a lot of things and struggle more now than when I was chasing my dream. As I’m writing this, I’m struggling to resist the temptation to check Facebook.

Whether it’s social media, a blog, or some other place online, we like to show the best of who we are and what we do. We want to show the world we have it together—especially if we want people to buy from us. I do my best to be honest, but I put on a front from time-to-time like everyone else.

If you look at how I spent my time while chasing my dream, and how I spend my time now, you would be disappointed. My balance is out of whack, and I’m struggling. The only blessing is that the Lord blessed my business in a crazy good way so far this year. This year has the strong possibility of being a multiple six-figure year. If I can get my act together, who knows what will happen. UGH!

Balance While You Hustle

When you’re building your dream, you don’t have a choice, you have to hustle if you’re going to escape. More than that, you’re fueled by a desire to break free from what’s keeping you from the kind of life you want to live. The key is to not make the hustle the center of your life.

There’s a reason so many spouses hate the dream and the journey—we take it too far. It’s important to keep things in perspective. Your dream has to fit in your life. It can’t be the other way around. Chasing a dream/building a business with the proper balance make take longer, but it’s a smarter way.

After Freedom  

I haven’t mastered work-life balance, but I am learning some “on-the-job” lessons. It helps when you have goals—goals for your day, week, and month. When you don’t have a plan, you end up spending most of your time wondering what you should be doing. This sounds stupid to some of you, I know.

Goals are our roadmap and help us figure out what the best use of our time is. Many of us struggle with information overload. This comes when we don’t have goals or a plan. If you know what your goal is, you know what the steps are to get there—the big steps at least.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t let your hunger/fire die. You must have the hustle burned in your brain. You may not have to hustle as hard, but you still have to keep the desire to reach new and bigger dreams. That is what’s helped me accomplish some big goals in the last few months.

I may not be there yet, but I have some big goals this year. My main goal this year is to launch Jared and my new book to the New York Times bestsellers list. I don’t think I’ve shown you the cover here, so here it is:

I have spoken four times already this year. I want to speak six more times in some cool places. I want to finish a triathlon by the end of this year. I want to learn to live fully present and grow in my relationship with my wife. These goals fuel me and keep me busy. Working with great clients and companies also keeps me from slacking off.

It takes time to find that balance—no matter where you are on your journey. Take some time this week to get honest about what you need to work on and what can make this a smoother journey.

How is your work-life balance?

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Photo: Flickr/ kylesteed