Entrepreneurial Balance
I have been an entrepreneur all of my life. When I was in grade school I mowed the lawn and gardened for my family. In high school I took the place of our regular maid for a few months and cleaned the house. I regularly offered flute lessons to younger kids whose moms would drop them off at my parent’s house. In grad school I taught classes, ran a private language school, and had a research assistantship – all while taking a full load of graduate classes. I saved my money so that I could travel as a foreign student to Mexico for a semester, and while there I taught a class at the University I attended. I was hired in 1980 to create an international training institute for a consortium of twenty-four colleges, universities, and corporations. Everything I did in that position as founding Director required entrepreneurial presence and thinking. Later in 1985 I started my own consulting and training business and it still exists today.
Over the years I have experienced varying levels of balance or lack thereof in my entrepreneurial ventures. For a number of years I was very much a Type A personality Achiever, and I could move mountains, but I wasn’t very NICE. Then I shifted into being a workaholic, losing myself in my work as my marriage lost its positive flavor. Again, I was able to create a dynasty, but I wasn’t real happy. Off and on I suffered from “Entrepreneur’s Disease” where I succumbed to the belief that only I could do something right, so I attempted to do EVERYTHING rather than delegating. Many of us take years to get over that disease!! And, it takes its toll!!
Being an entrepreneur, I was able to take a sabbatical leave from my work and my old life when that became a necessity. I focused on ME then, and the “work” was all on the inside of me – clearing out obstacles to my transformation and success in being ME. When my new life began I realized that I could still work as an entrepreneur, and this time it would be more in balance. Today, for example, I spent the morning visiting with the Love Of My Life rather than running in to my office to check e-mails and make phone calls. Even though he invited me to lunch, which at first I refused, I then decided that what was more important to ME was to be HAPPY. And, being with Martin makes me HAPPY!! So, I took another hour to make it back to the office, and guess what?? My day went fine anyway, I was very productive, and a lot got done… even though I allowed myself to have FUN in the morning… on a MONDAY MORNING!! ;-))
