heysander
Consistency is key
LEGACY MEMBER
- Member -
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Power to the work life balance thread of @heavy_industry
Reading it a few days ago resonated with me. I know @MJ DeMarco wrote about it and I always struggled explaining this to people around me. I am an all-in type and previous people in my life tend to judge that when it is work related (in hindsight all slowlaners and sidewalkers).
Me and my wife come out of turbulent years. Getting the business going, moving country, getting pregnant, giving birth, moving house three times, quitting a job, managing a growing business, cashflow pressure. This morning I had nowhere to be. I just be there with my family and it felt like the aftermath. Yesterday a very big customer signed, bringing the margin further in the green. I thought about how blessed we are.
Different people around me have said the same things to me. "You work too much." "Do you live to work, or work to live?" "Balance is important". These comments always felt paradoxical.
It is true that I work a lot. Past years my weeks were 60 to 80 hours. But now its more contained (approx 40hr). For example this morning I saw that Stripe revenue came in overnight, that would be a decent salary for most of these people.
So what's the difference now? "It's not all about the money, right?" No, it is not. But the lifestyle that comes with it is priceless.
My realization this morning
These friends from the past, who made these comments are like me all fathers now. For them, playing by the scripted rules, it went like this: they are allowed one week of paid leave right after birth and you can get a few half paid additional weeks. The mother gets sixteen weeks. After that, many parents bring their baby somewhere else so they can go back to work. If they can afford, Friday they have a day off for the so-called "daddy day". That thought, while looking at my daughter, broke my heart.
She is with us every day. I work from a home office while my wife is full time a mother. We have meals together and we raise our daughter together. We already decided we will homeschool her, mostly my wife since she has an academic background.
If you're in building mode, grinding through the hard times for a better life, do not give up. Be intentional about everything you do. The hard times make you stronger and it is all worth it.
Reading it a few days ago resonated with me. I know @MJ DeMarco wrote about it and I always struggled explaining this to people around me. I am an all-in type and previous people in my life tend to judge that when it is work related (in hindsight all slowlaners and sidewalkers).
Me and my wife come out of turbulent years. Getting the business going, moving country, getting pregnant, giving birth, moving house three times, quitting a job, managing a growing business, cashflow pressure. This morning I had nowhere to be. I just be there with my family and it felt like the aftermath. Yesterday a very big customer signed, bringing the margin further in the green. I thought about how blessed we are.
Different people around me have said the same things to me. "You work too much." "Do you live to work, or work to live?" "Balance is important". These comments always felt paradoxical.
It is true that I work a lot. Past years my weeks were 60 to 80 hours. But now its more contained (approx 40hr). For example this morning I saw that Stripe revenue came in overnight, that would be a decent salary for most of these people.
So what's the difference now? "It's not all about the money, right?" No, it is not. But the lifestyle that comes with it is priceless.
My realization this morning
These friends from the past, who made these comments are like me all fathers now. For them, playing by the scripted rules, it went like this: they are allowed one week of paid leave right after birth and you can get a few half paid additional weeks. The mother gets sixteen weeks. After that, many parents bring their baby somewhere else so they can go back to work. If they can afford, Friday they have a day off for the so-called "daddy day". That thought, while looking at my daughter, broke my heart.
She is with us every day. I work from a home office while my wife is full time a mother. We have meals together and we raise our daughter together. We already decided we will homeschool her, mostly my wife since she has an academic background.
If you're in building mode, grinding through the hard times for a better life, do not give up. Be intentional about everything you do. The hard times make you stronger and it is all worth it.
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
