When someone asks you to close your eyes for a few seconds and recall an image of what true success means, what comes up for you?
Sitting with your feet up, staring contentedly out at the waves off the shore of your own private island?
Perhaps that picture of Richard Branson of Virgin Empire fame, parasailing with a naked supermodel clinging to his back?
Warren Buffet coming in for a landing with his family in Sun Valley, Idaho in his own private jet?
Ahh…the laptop life.
The ideal pushed by the internet gurus, claiming to hold the secret to internet riches if you just subscribe to their unique brand of instant wealth.
Yes, this can be you, too.
Scantily dressed big-haired hotties in two-piece swimwear.
Muscle cars with doors that open up, not out, and boil the asphalt with zero to 60 in seconds ferocity.
The Dichotomy
What do these people do for a living?
Do you think they trade their precious time for money in a pre-defined exchange known most commonly as “working for a living?”
Been there, done that, and there is a simple yet powerful truth to be told and embraced here.
You can’t fully enjoy life in the manner described in my opening thoughts if your time is rented out to the man and/or the machine.
Let me take a little time for some nostalgia, and some honesty about the number of years I’ve been treading the paths of Planet Earth.
I was in a cover band in the early ‘80s, and one of the songs on our set list was “Working for the Weekend,” by a band named Loverboy.
Great song, full of energy with a steady dance beat, and it was a crowd favorite.
Back then I was a lead guitarist, and I enjoyed the open sound of the wah-wah pedal solo I got to do in the break.
Drinking people in bars would come and dance to a bunch of local kids basically emulate their radio, playing material they didn’t write, because it was a cheap and fun way to party.
Not to mention meet and greet people of the opposite sex.
I remember they ate this song up with that feeling of nostalgia, and I realized something now, forty years later.
People rented themselves out to the Great Economic Machine for five days a week, in exchange for two days of freedom.
I didn’t, but I was also broke most of the time back then.
Local music is no way to make a living, let alone a life.
Have you ever heard this joke?: What do you call a musician without a girlfriend?
The answer:
Homeless.
Been there, done that.
So, for the dichotomy, the division or contrast between two things that are recognizably different…
Having money, and having a life.
That’s what we’re talking about here, people.
Can you do both?
I submit to you that to have true success and happiness in life, you HAVE to have both.
True Success
When I first sit down with a prospective client, after asking some questions to learn more about his or her business, I make it a point every time to approach the subject of work/life balance.
What do you do to fill yourself up?
Do you have a spouse? Kids? If yes to either, are you involved enough in their life that they know you care about them?
There is no point to business prosperity and success if you don’t have time to stop and smell the flowers on the path of life.
You don’t have to live like Richard Branson, but on the other hand you shouldn’t be grinding your teeth over your latest problem at 8 p.m., either.
If you’re working more than 48 hours a week, in my humble opinion, you either need more focus or more help.
And…if you can’t afford more help yet, you probably need to look at your metrics.
Are you charging what the market will bear, fairly?
Are you overpaying for what you need, or paying for things you don’t?
True success lies in the idea that you can have it all, accounting for the idea that “all” is a relative term that means a thousand different things, depending on the beholder.
Do the Things You’re Good At
In other words, leave the things you’re not so good at to those who like doing them more.
I’m leaning heavily on the accounting and taxes button here, people.
A soul who defends himself in court has a fool for a lawyer.
And an up-and-coming real estate investor is going to save more money, and more time that equals even more money, with quality professional accounting consultation.
With comprehensive client advisory services, you will not only unburden yourself of a huge headache, but have metrics, guidance, and tax savings that quite often equal positive return on investment.
Plus of course the fact that you’re investing in a professional that is partnering with you in your business, without any actual equitable interest in your profits.
But, a HUGE interest in your prosperity.
And your true success.
The kind your family will love you for.
Want to learn more? We should talk!