These days, my idea of success is a well-managed balance between time with people I love and a project I’m deeply passionate about. Right now, that’s Campaign Monitor. Time spent with each one of these has a huge impact on how much I enjoy the other. When I get that balance right, I’m at my happiest. And in the end, isn’t that what success is all about?”
Dave Greiner in the latest version version of Offscreen Magazine.
This quote is pure love and contains an awesome mindset by Greiner, which in the end is also proof that it is possible to fix the generally broken mindset that most of us have when it comes to start-ups or our business environments. We spend so much time at work that all you hear about is burn-outs and not enough free-time. Get real folks. Here are my two scenarios:
1) The Employee – If you decide to work for any company to make your living (regardless of whether you are chasing your dream or not) than realize the fact that you are in control of your circumstances. You might not be in your dream job. You might have reached what you believe is your maximum potential. You might think you have nothing else to learn. You might believe that its everyone else’s fault. Guess again. The most successful people I know are those who CREATE opportunities. It may take a month or five years, but in the end you are responsible for your work-life balance and yes like Michael Bolton said, you do need to go the distance regardless of how “good” you are from 9-5. Get involved, become passionate. Dont just make it matter, make it happen! Then you will reap the rewards of success and happiness.
2) The Entrepreneur – We get so caught up in trying to fix everything that all our time goes into a mindset of seclusion and unbreakable work ethic to make sure our product or service is where we envision it to be. This often comes with the strong sacrifice of leisure time. Friends, family, a night out. Hey, I’m not saying its bad. What I am saying is that success and the idea of it intertwines with happiness by being deeply passionate about what your working on. When that is in equilibrium than we will be at our happiest which in the end is what success is about.
“I also wholeheartedly agree with Micah Baldwin “…that things don’t need to be in balance to be in balance. Balance is whatever makes you happy at any given time.”
So if balance = happiness = success, why then are we always chasing the next thing? I can admit that this is something that I struggle with quite often, regardless of the countless blessings & awesomeness I have in my life.
For me, I’ve found a balance where I respect that my passion & ambition is a beast that needs to be fed, and a space where I can truly appreciate a single moment.
My passion & ambition mostly relates to professional dreams & goals, which tends to be longer term in nature. This makes it very tempting for me to allow that burning fire to simply consume all other aspects of my life.
I’ve however actively countered this and by finding neutrality in the moments, where these characteristics & thoughts are the last thing on my mind. Time spent with my significant other and our dog have been the easiest moments to just fully immerse myself into and I’ve been trying to apply the same mindset to time spent with friends / family or time spent practicing whatever hobby.
It’s been hard work and a very active & conscious decision to pursue a balance that makes sense to me & my family – despite long working hours even late into the nights. Slowly but surely though, I’m finding myself in a much better space, where these things are becoming more natural and easier.