Part of my job as a coach is to give tools, systems and, strategies to help clients achieve their Ideal Business and Ideal Lifestyle. Another part of my job is to give clients new ways of approaching business and life; to get them thinking in new ways; to challenge them to get out of a rut. Most of the time all that advice is very businesses centered.
I want to step back from that for a minute.
I’ve made it a priority in my life to seek advice, coaching, guidance, knowledge, and wisdom from those who know more than I do. Because of that commitment, I’ve been involved with many coaching programs, purchased hundreds of books, been to more seminars than I can count, and on and on.
Sometimes in the midst of all the great information you take in, you can get so caught up in succeeding in your business that everything else in your life gets sacrificed. The irony is, you began the quest of building and succeeding in your business so you could have the freedom to do what’s important to you, but you wind up sacrificing what’s important.
It’s easy to find yourself using family time, friends, and hobbies as mere coal to stoke the furnace of success. All that’s important becomes fodder for the flames as you push endlessly towards your goals.
That’s not good. It’s not good for your family, it’s not good for your business and it sure as heck isn’t good for you. I’ve had to learn that the hard way.
As entrepreneurs, we carry a burden that’s difficult for the nine-to-fiver to comprehend. In fact, it’s often difficult for our families and even our spouses to understand, even when they work in the business with us. As a result of this, I’ve sometimes been guilty of using the “you just don’t understand” mindset to justify ignoring my own family. When I’m being especially neglectful and (let’s be honest) when deep down I know that I’m being a butt-head and will do anything to NOT feel like a butt-head, my thoughts go something like this:
“It’s up to me to be the breadwinner. My family enjoys the fruits of my sacrifice, so they have no right to criticize the manner in which I provide it. After all, if I took more time off and my business began losing money, they’d be pretty upset.”
And you know what? … That’s total B.S.
And you know what else? … I know that odds are you’re probably guilty of doing the same thing from time to time. I know this because it’s a weakness common to most entrepreneurs, no matter how successful.
So in the midst of your time blocking, goal setting, implementing, and everything else, make time for what’s important; especially your family.
No, I’m not saying to not set goals and all the other things necessary to run our businesses. You know me, The Coach, better than that. But don’t let those success activities … activities that are not bad in themselves and are, in fact, quite good and necessary … tempt you to do something that is bad: neglecting the rest of your life. Your family. Your faith. Your health.
To Tons Of Customers!
Jim Augustus Armstrong is The “Coach”
Jim Augustus Armstrong is the President of Flooring Success Systems, a program that equips dealers to double their profits, cut their work hours in half and beat the boxes! Many dealers have totally transformed their businesses and their lives for the better after joining Flooring Success Systems.
See what real, live dealers are saying!