Designing Your Life-Work Balance
I’ve deliberately written Life-Work balance rather than the more common work-life balance because I want you to start with what you want to get out of your life.
What do you want?
What do you want to do, achieve, and be?
My Experience In The Dreaming Room
In the mid 2000s, I went to a Michael Gerber event “In The Dreaming Room” which was his project after he left E Myth Worldwide. The entire two day event revolved around answering one question, “What do you want”.
I expected more questions but that was it.
We were expected to build our dream… and dream big around that one question.
I found it easier start by thinking through what I didn’t want and getting that down on paper first.
It helped clear my brain of the negatives and you may find it helps you.
Your Turn – What Do You Want?
Try to build up a picture of your life going forward.
What do you want to achieve?
Who do you want to be? What do you want family, friends and work associates to say about you? What qualities do you need to have people say those things and what do you have to do?
What stories do you want to tell your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren?
You can even go as far as thinking what you want to be said in the eulogy at your funeral or the obituary in the newspaper or trade magazine.
It’s a bit morbid but it certainly gets you thinking about the impact you want to leave on the world.
The clearer you are on your own personal game, the easier it will be to see how other factors need to fit together and contribute.
Learn To Live Intentionally
This is a quote from Michael Gerber on page 13 of The E Myth Revisited
“…great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next.
The difference between the two is living fully and just existing.
The difference between the two is living intentionally and living by accident.”
I find these words very powerful as they contrast the difference between taking active control of your life and just letting it happen.
Creative Tension
Psychologists say that you have creative tension if you have a difference between your vision of the future and your current reality.
It is this tension which provides the motivation and energy for you to close the gap.
It only happens if you acknowledge the truth of where you are, even if that means facing up to some harsh realities and you can see clearly where you want to be.
The weaker and more hazy your vision, the less powerful the force inside you to change.
Write Out Your Personal Vision & Mission
Find something that works for you and inspires. It might be a vision, a mission or both.
You might want to look one year ahead, five years, ten years of to the end of your life.
There’s no right or wrong – only what works to give you direction and balance in all the different areas of your life.
Start with what you want. Be selfish and let your dreams race ahead.
Then look at the life with your husband, wife or partner. What do you want together? What do you want for the other person?
Then move onto your children. What do you want for them?
Then your wider family, your parents, brothers and sisters.
Then your friends.
And society and the environment.
Take the time to identify what’s important to you and especially what you are prepared to spend time, energy and money to make happen.
An alternative way to tackle the exercise and to help you to decide what you want in your private life is an exercise Frank Kern, the Internet marketing guru called Core Influence (link). It doesn’t directly lead to a vision or mission but you may find it useful.
Creating A Picture Board Or Vision Board
I haven’t done it myself but I know some people find this technique useful.
Create a picture board or vision board of the things you’re working towards and place it near your desk so you can see it and be inspired often during the day.
Find a photo of your dream house, car, holiday and create a collage of what you want.
Then imagine yourself having those things to remind you why you are doing everything you do.
Personal Vision First Then Business Vision
OK I can understand if this seems a bit light and fluffy to you and not connected to making more money.
My view is simple.
When you know what you want, you can start making plans and taking actions to get it.
If you don’t know what you want, you can lack direction and motivation.
It’s now time to identify what the deal is with your business. It’s time to go to P2M2 Part 4.
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