Worklife Balance is a Joke

Have you noticed that nearly everyone that talks about having a work-life balance has already "Made-it"? You know, the person on the top rung of the ladder that did anything they could to climb that ladder is now preaching how a better balance is the key to everything.

Don't get me wrong, balance is essential. But the question is when? When you're just starting and building your career or company, I don't think that's the place for "balance." You're trying to make your name and reputation. Your work ethic is one of the few things that can not be taken away from you.

Growing up with my Dad, he was an absolute workhorse. I never saw him take an unscheduled day off or even a sick day. He worked for a Kodak at a film processing plant(for my Gen Z readers, there once was a time where you had a camera that required film to....you know what, forget it), and every once in a while, he had to work on a weekend. He'd bring my brother and me to the plant. I loved it. We'd get into trouble for running around the place to mess with the machines, and he'd give us a dollar to get candy from the vending machine. To this day, the smell of Simple Green cleaning spray still makes me think about that plant(and my Dad).

As I was building my career, I "had" to do the same thing. Often traveling to tradeshows on weekends or bringing the girls into the office with me because I couldn't take time off. My Dad instilled in me the importance of a strong work ethic, which I want to instill into my Daughters. I hope that they look back at those times of coming to work with me as I look back at going to work with my Dad.

I have three daughters, and it wasn't until my last one was born that I took any real time off. With my third daughter, I took a month off, and it was great. I was able to drop off and pick up my middle daughter from school every day, volunteer at her school, and it brought us even closer together. Looking back, I wish had could have done it with my other two. The pointing being that you can't look back, and your current position is the sum of all your decisions/actions...for better or worse.

I can stand by all the decisions I made in my career because they ultimately got me to the point where I can now have a better balance.

My point being is that having a balance is excellent. But like everything else these days, double-check the source and understand where they're at now versus how they got there. My Dad used to say, "Pay now, Play later or Play now, Pay later" either way, you have to pay. If you're an ambitious person and want to achieve things professionally, you're going to have to make choices. Be realistic about where you're at in the journey and be ok with making a sacrifice to get to your destination because once you're at that destination, you'll enjoy that balance even more.

Subcsribe