How's Your Work/Life Balance?

[Vigilante]

“By working faithfully 8 hours a day, you may eventually get to be the boss and work 12 hours a day. ~ Robert Frost”
― M.J. DeMarco, The Millionaire Fastlane

It's Sunday night. I played a game with my youngest kid, then I settled in for a couple hours of getting a jump start on tomorrow before I am writing this post. By the time my competitors get up in the morning, I will have 3-4 hours worth of a head start on them.

“As Thomas Edison famously said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”― M.J. DeMarco, UNSCRIPTED : Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship

I did a quick Google search on this topic before I wrote this thread. There have been a few threads on the forum with this topic before. A few of the posters were like the rich guy that approached Jesus about how to get in heaven, and when he got the answer, he left. They didn't like the answer the forum gave them about their thread. They wanted the formula for how to "make it" while they "fake it."

There are a few thread starters here who solved the puzzle, and those guys are still here.

“Wealth eludes most people because they are preoccupied with events while disregarding process. Without process, there is no event.”― M.J. DeMarco, The Millionaire Fastlane

Work life balance is a crock of shit. I work 24-7-365, and my priority is simultaneously my family and non-work priorities 24-7-365. I work at 2AM, and I attend my kids soccer game at 2PM. I check emails Sunday night, and I hit our favorite restaurant at 4PM for a drink when we want to. Work and life are vertically integrated and indistinguishable. There's no compartmentalization.

“The average American watches more than four hours of TV each day. In a 65-year life, that person will have spent nine years glued to the tube. Why? Simple. Life sucks. Life needs an escape. Life is no good.
Show me someone who spends hours online playing Mafia Wars or Farmville, and I'll show you someone who probably isn't very successful. When life sucks, escapes are sought. I don't need television because I invested my time into a real life worth living, not a fictitious escape that airs every Tuesday night at 8 p.m.
Again, majority thinking yields mediocrity, and for that majority, time is an asset that is undervalued and mindlessly squandered.” ― M.J. DeMarco, The Millionaire Fastlane : Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime!

The concept of "work life balance" is not the language of CEO's. I think it's the language of workers who need to take a break from their slave wages. And for those who trade your time for income, you should be focused on doing the OPPOSITE of work/life balance. When the 5'oclock whistle blows tomorrow from your job, then start at 5:10PM working on your life. And your life... is your work. If you can't wait to watch a sitcom, play Xbox, or drink yourself into your next work day, then you're never going to make it. If you're working for the man, and you spend from 5:01PM until your alarm clock goes off at 6:01AM trying to escape work, you have no balance.

“Many people want to change their life, but they are not will to change their choices, and ultimately this changes nothing.”― MJ DeMarco

Balance comes from freedom. Freedom comes from independence. Independence comes from money. Money comes from providing value. You want "work life balance?" Get yourself in a place of financial freedom. Only then can you do what ever the F*ck you want. Until then, double down on work. Be present with family, but nobody's going to melt in the next 2-3 years. My last company took me maybe 6 years from concept through cash out. The company I am investing time in now will take even less. If your main goal is to figure out how to have more "family time" and less "work time" you may be at the wrong forum.

“All events of wealth are precluded by process, a backstory of trial, risk, hard work, and sacrifice. If you try to skip process, you'll never experience events.” - MJ DeMarco

The majority of people who opine about a work-life balance are those that are looking to de-emphasize the work.

"Create a life you don't need a vacation from." - author unknown

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I work 24-7-365, and my priority is simultaneously my family and non-work priorities 24-7-365. I work at 2AM, and I attend my kids soccer game at 2PM. I check emails Sunday night, and I hit our favorite restaurant at 4PM for a drink when we want to. Work and life are vertically integrated and indistinguishable. There's no compartmentalization.

This ultimately has been my life for the last 20+ years. In a lot of ways, you're talking about a strong purpose. When you have a strong purpose, it shapes your life and is "always on".

I feel like I've been on vacation for 20+ years.
But then again, I also feel like I've been working for 20+ years too.

As you say, the two are indistinguishable, but mainly in my control.

This is a very hard concept for the normies to figure out.

When I hear the word "balance" what I really hear is "I need a break from the life I hate."

 

[MJ DeMarco]

A gem from Unscripted ...



BALANCE IS BULLSHIT
Good father? F*ck you! Go home and play with your kids.
This classic line from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross is a statement about balance. And it must be said: Beware of bloggers and self-help nobodies preaching balance. It’s no coincidence that preachers of such baloney are relative unknowns. The key to happiness is a balanced life! Seven tips for a balanced and stress-free life! Blah blah blah.
Think balance is how Michael Phelps won twenty-three Olympic gold medals? Is balance how Michael Jordan won six NBA championships and four MVPs? Does that photo of Elon Musk give you fuzzy feelings of balance? The fact is, balance is another SCRIPTED trap. Think about balance in terms of a plank and a fulcrum, like a teeter-totter. How do you get the plank to balance?
Why, you put it in the middle. Middle equals average and ordinary.
You see, balance is bullshit—unless you aspire for middle-of-the-road results. Today’s top leaders lead anything but balanced lives. Once again, like many UNSCRIPTED tenets, the escape from conventional living is paved by doing the opposite of what conventional wisdom preaches. Great results[…]”

Excerpt From UNSCRIPTED : Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship M.J. DeMarco
This material may be protected by copyright.

 

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[heavy_industry]

"Work-life balance" is the most sinister way to go about living life.

Whenever I hear this bullshit I image an unhappy slave that was allowed 30 minutes of rest, before resuming work. Absolutely horrible.

As soon as you start separating "work" and "life", both will turn into shit. This is a false dichotomy.



As soon as I wake up in the morning, I can't F*cking wait to start working. This is the most fun thing I can imagine.

The only reason why I stop after 5 hours of intense focus, is because this is my current cognitive capability. Any more work done past this point will be of very poor quality.

But the rest of the day is spent doing all sorts of awesome things, including reading, writing, studying, improving skills, training hard, having fun, which are all conducive to achieving my long term vision.

I don't see any balance. All I see are 24 hours of pure joy.

I feel like I've been on vacation for 20+ years.
But then again, I also feel like I've been working for 20+ years too.

Looking forward to saying the same thing in my 50s.

---

@Matt Lee It's nice to see that I'm not the only one taking notes of what I learn on the forum.

 

[Matt Lee]

I work at 2AM, and I attend my kids soccer game at 2PM. I check emails Sunday night, and I hit our favorite restaurant at 4PM for a drink when we want to. Work and life are vertically integrated and indistinguishable. There's no compartmentalization.

I just want to say thank you for taking the time to write this.

Once the positive feedback loop came in, I haven't been able to turn off my mind. I had someone in the comment section a few days ago asked if I offer private coaching(and I had to tell him no since I haven't gotten to the point of delegating to offer coaching service). Cool thought experience though. It did fire me up because, "Hey, people are seeing value in what I'm building and are willing to pay". Making an offer to the audience shouldn't be too far away.

I find that I have to carry a small notebook wherever I go now. Sometimes midway through a shower, I'd have stuff I need to write down because if I don't, then I know I won't remember it ever again. (and having something on your mind but can't remember it 100% is not a pleasant feeling)

At times, I wish I can stay up all night to work because I know another hour into my own machine is another hour closer to seeing it printing FU money. Then I'll walk 5 steps to bed next to my workstation because I'm thinking "I should be sleeping at that hour", but I would find myself thinking of working still.

Two days ago, I actually had to buy a treadmill to put under my desk because I notice I'm at my desk(standing) for more than 14 hours the day. It'd be nice to get in more steps AND more work done.

It's really as you wrote. It's about

"Create a life you don't need a vacation from." - author unknown

The process towards that goal is the game itself and once you get that taste of positive feedback... it is the most exciting game anyone can ever play. (since the loots are FU money and a life worth living.)

Also, I'm taking that quote, planting it on a piece of paper, and immortalizing it on my wall. This needs to be a constant reminder!

 

[Matt Lee]

Of course, I have chosen to work to make some more wealth, but saying to someone that works a 9-5 that they are lazy (not saying that you people are) would be a generalization don't you think?

I don't challenge that anyone who works a 9-5 physical job is lazy. In fact, depending on how physically demanding the work is, it's actually hard work. Probably harder work than anyone who works with their brains and fingers.

Vigil didn't call anyone lazy if they work a job. He just questions where their time goes after the job. If you took "him calling people lazy" from the post, you might've missed his point by a long shot.

When the 5'oclock whistle blows tomorrow from your job, then start at 5:10PM working on your life. And your life... is your work. If you can't wait to watch a sitcom, play Xbox, or drink yourself into your next work day, then you're never going to make it. If you're working for the man, and you spend from 5:01PM until your alarm clock goes off at 6:01AM trying to escape work, you have no balance.

That is the point. Most people see work-life balance as an excuse to go sedate themselves with brainless consumption after their said "work hours". It's like how people stop learning after college. I've already paid my dues, now let me relax and enjoy. Numb my mind so I can do it again tmr. I deserve it.

If you're really in it to win it, then there is no off time. You'll be asking if you can get more time. If what he says makes sense, your mindset is in the right place. What he says shouldn't sound like "hustle culture". It's you do what it takes to get what you want and every second counts because your own biological clock is ticking. FAST.

Because even if you're sipping tequila or chewing down a juicy steak, your brain is still grinding on your current or next project. There's always something more to do that will get you to where you want a QUICKER.

I used to read a lot about people losing sleep over work. I thought it was bullshit and all romantic because isn't sleep and chill time important? But now when I'm trying to sleep at 1 AM and my brain is still running at 120 MPH... or When I'm chilling with the boys or on a date, I'm wondering what I should work on when I get home... I'm starting to think this is what the new world feels like.

 

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[Vigilante]

Would you like to know one point that most hustle bros miss out on? There are different types of work. Have you tried working 12 hours a day every day doing accounting, or data analysis, or computer programming? If you are honest with yourself and you REALLY WORK 12 hours it is hard. Like really REALLY hard. How much time would it take until you burn out? On the other hand, have you tried 12 hours a day of "work" in various activities? Activities like a couple of phone calls, talking a bit with clients, answering simple emails, pitching your product with people, bullshit meetings, and doing PR shit? Which one is more challenging? Now, I have a job that ends at 5:00 -no questions asked-, I will not get rich from it but I cannot say that work-life balance is shit and it does not exist. Of course, I have chosen to work to make some more wealth, but saying to someone that works a 9-5 that they are lazy (not saying that you people are) would be a generalization don't you think?

Hustle bros. Lol

You’re totally right. None of us have ever worked a 60 hour/ week job for somebody else before.

Your situation is completely unique. I can only imagine how grueling it is for you.

If I were there with you right now, I’ll give you a big hug. I’m sorry if I post offended you.

My post was mostly intended for the people that inherited a bunch of money and needed some encouragement.

It certainly wasn’t intended for people that are working as hard as you are. I see that you’ve read all MJ’s books. In the millionaire Fastlane , he talks about his early working years.

F*cking guy just got lucky.

For you? I’d encourage you to find that perfect work life balance. You’ve earned that Saturday night escape from your Monday through Friday.

 

[heavy_industry]

This is freedom right here.

I'm the complete opposite at the moment. I dread sending outreach message to get more clients, I procrastinate and have become basically addicted to consuming information I don't need online.

I used to be like you, whereas at the moment during the week all I can think of is going out at the weekend or I end up watching TV of an evening.

I need to find my way back to the place you're in. I want to wake up of a morning excited to do what I'm doing in my business. So that instead of binge watching some shit on Netflix, or counting down the days to the weekend when I can have a drink with friends (who'll be doing the same thing until they die with their 9-5 jobs) I'm excited to work on my business and grow it.

I've read countless books on most business subjects you can imagine, looking for some magic paragraph that's going to move the needle when the only thing that's going to work is to take action.

You'll get there brother.

I haven't always been like this, and it's very easy to slip back into doing what you are experiencing right now.

For me the key was to make a priority list based on what truly matters for me. I prioritize my actions based on how meaningful they are.

Hard cognitive tasks get scheduled for the first part of the day, in the morning. I try not to open the forum before the most important task of the day is completed.

Admin stuff, maintenance, and other things I have to do are scheduled for the afternoon.

I log my progress in a notebook. I execute the process every day.

Life has never been better.

---

As for the useless information consumption, here is a thread that I've made about the dangers of doing this type of thing.

Unplug everything and focus on what actually matters, and life will improve by orders of magnitude.

 

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[Johnny boy]

The problem is trying to find a "correct" solution to a subjective question of preference, while using vague definitions.

What is "life" in the work-life balance anyways?

What are your goals? Do your goals really line up with what will actually satisfy you? Then there's the question of short term vs long term.

What if your "work" is awesome?

What if your "life" sucks?

Do you have the right to criticize anyone else's priorities?

Do they have a right to do the same to you?

You don't care about the same things in 5-10 years that you do today. Should you be optimizing for what you'll care about in the future or today?

Sometimes it's better to be stupid. You don't think of all the nuance and you can end up with a simple answer and move on. I think 90% of opinions about work life balance are stupid because they're applying weird definitions and assumptions onto something extremely vague. The same goes for "money doesn't buy happiness". Full of assumptions.

I was in Morocco and had to talk with my employees on the phone about what to do about a locked gate at someone's house, it was 10pm at night and I was sleeping in someone's house for the night while on a trip riding a 50cc motorcycle across the sahara desert. Where the F*ck does that fall into work-life balance? And tomorrow it's friday and I'll be heading outside at noon to go ride jet skis and grill steaks. What do you call that?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

"Work/Life balance"

I'm at Work now and Life is great, and I'm Balanced.

View attachment worklifebal.mov

 

[Zizu]

I work as a bus driver in tourism. Sometimes it`s 2 hour long workdays, sometimes it`s have 16 hour long workdays. It is a pretty specific "job".

The main upsides are these:

1. There is a lot of downtime, which can be used smart (sometimes i only drive for 2 hours and have a few hours of waiting in the meantime) meaning i can work on my skills at work.
2. I meet a lot of people from all over the world. Canada to China, resort manager to entrepeneur. When driving small groups, I often have lunch with them and we share some knowledge.
3. I am paid to travel. I see plenty of places I probably wouldn`t usually go to and end up pleasantly surprised.

All of this leads to a weird downside of the job. If you can call it a downside. You sleep at hotels, do what you love, get paid to travel. So why would you ever want to quit to become an entrepeneur?

But as for work-life balance? There is not much of it but I feel like I spend most of my time in a good way, however there are always improvements to be made.

 

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[Happyheart]

according gem from Unscripted ...

View attachment 48582

BALANCE IS BULLSHIT
Good father? F*ck you! Go home and play with your kids.
This classic line from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross is a statement about balance. And it must be said: Beware of bloggers and self-help nobodies preaching balance. It’s no coincidence that preachers of such baloney are relative unknowns. The key to happiness is a balanced life! Seven tips for a balanced and stress-free life! Blah blah blah.
Think balance is how Michael Phelps won twenty-three Olympic gold medals? Is balance how Michael Jordan won six NBA championships and four MVPs? Does that photo of Elon Musk give you fuzzy feelings of balance? The fact is, balance is another SCRIPTED trap. Think about balance in terms of a plank and a fulcrum, like a teeter-totter. How do you get the plank to balance?
Why, you put it in the middle. Middle equals average and ordinary.
You see, balance is bullshit—unless you aspire for middle-of-the-road results. Today’s top leaders lead anything but balanced lives. Once again, like many UNSCRIPTED tenets, the escape from conventional living is paved by doing the opposite of what conventional wisdom preaches. Great results[…]”

Excerpt From UNSCRIPTED : Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship M.J. DeMarco
This material may be protected by copyright.

A few months ago I attended a seminar on work-life balance for future university professors. The (nice) person who was teaching us about work-life balance was a freelancer who talked a lot about taking breaks and having clear-cut division between work and free time, not taking work with you in the evenings and weekends.

How is that supposed to work for someone forging a career in a competitive field, where it is the norm to work evenings and nights and weekends and on vacation? Anyone taking this advise will put the breaks on their career.

I agree with all of you, that work-life-balance has been invented by people who did not like their work particularly. Especially people working for someone else, who may take away more of their free time.

If you take good care of yourself, you can work a lot and it will not be a problem. How much work / rest / free time is sustainable is different according to your abilities, environment, time of year etc.
You will only find out by trying.

 

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[Panos Daras]

Would you like to know one point that most hustle bros miss out on? There are different types of work. Have you tried working 12 hours a day every day doing accounting, or data analysis, or computer programming? If you are honest with yourself and you REALLY WORK 12 hours it is hard. Like really REALLY hard. How much time would it take until you burn out? On the other hand, have you tried 12 hours a day of "work" in various activities? Activities like a couple of phone calls, talking a bit with clients, answering simple emails, pitching your product with people, bullshit meetings, and doing PR shit? Which one is more challenging? Now, I have a job that ends at 5:00 -no questions asked-, I will not get rich from it but I cannot say that work-life balance is shit and it does not exist. Of course, I have chosen to work to make some more wealth, but saying to someone that works a 9-5 that they are lazy (not saying that you people are) would be a generalization don't you think?

 

[Paul David]

"Work-life balance" is the most sinister way to go about living life.

Whenever I hear this bullshit I image an unhappy slave that was allowed 30 minutes of rest, before resuming work. Absolutely horrible.

As soon as you start separating "work" and "life", both will turn into shit. This is a false dichotomy.



As soon as I wake up in the morning, I can't F*cking wait to start working. This is the most fun thing I can imagine.

The only reason why I stop after 5 hours of intense focus, is because this is my current cognitive capability. Any more work done past this point will be of very poor quality.

But the rest of the day is spent doing all sorts of awesome things, including reading, writing, studying, improving skills, training hard, having fun, which are all conducive to achieving my long term vision.

I don't see any balance. All I see are 24 hours of pure joy.



Looking forward to saying the same thing in my 50s.

---

This is freedom right here.

I'm the complete opposite at the moment. I dread sending outreach message to get more clients, I procrastinate and have become basically addicted to consuming information I don't need online.

I used to be like you, whereas at the moment during the week all I can think of is going out at the weekend or I end up watching TV of an evening.

I need to find my way back to the place you're in. I want to wake up of a morning excited to do what I'm doing in my business. So that instead of binge watching some shit on Netflix, or counting down the days to the weekend when I can have a drink with friends (who'll be doing the same thing until they die with their 9-5 jobs) I'm excited to work on my business and grow it.

I've read countless books on most business subjects you can imagine, looking for some magic paragraph that's going to move the needle when the only thing that's going to work is to take action.

 

[heavy_industry]

@Mario_fastlaner

No, it is not.

Because I don't see life and work as being fundamentally different. I don't think there is any way you could separate them into two distinct categories.

Life doesn't start when work ends. That is a very stupid way to go about living your life, with guaranteed mediocre performance and unhappiness.

Like I've said, the only reason I stop working is because the quality of my work starts to deteriorate after a few hours.

Then I go train, eat, recover, and get back to work.

 

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[Tomco]

First of all, I would like to thank you for this post. Ever since reading MJ's books I had formed this idea that balance doesn't really exist.

Meaning, to be above average in something, you have to give up something else. So for example, focusing on your business might take away time from activities done with friends and families. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't spend time with friends. But be more present in day to day situations.

It's like an endless seesaw, where if you put time and effort one one side, the other side will go down. If the seesaw is balanced, then you're not really going anywhere.

All in all, great read. Thank you!

 

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[Panos Daras]

I work 24-7-365, and my priority is simultaneously my family and non-work priorities 24-7-365.

Do you know that I agree with 99% of your post? The thing is that the quote above is a lie (albeit not a conscious one) Something gotta give! You can lie to yourself but it won't take you anywhere.

A gem from Unscripted ...

View attachment 48582

BALANCE IS BULLSHIT
Good father? F*ck you! Go home and play with your kids.
This classic line from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross is a statement about balance. And it must be said: Beware of bloggers and self-help nobodies preaching balance. It’s no coincidence that preachers of such baloney are relative unknowns. The key to happiness is a balanced life! Seven tips for a balanced and stress-free life! Blah blah blah.
Think balance is how Michael Phelps won twenty-three Olympic gold medals? Is balance how Michael Jordan won six NBA championships and four MVPs? Does that photo of Elon Musk give you fuzzy feelings of balance? The fact is, balance is another SCRIPTED trap. Think about balance in terms of a plank and a fulcrum, like a teeter-totter. How do you get the plank to balance?
Why, you put it in the middle. Middle equals average and ordinary.
You see, balance is bullshit—unless you aspire for middle-of-the-road results. Today’s top leaders lead anything but balanced lives. Once again, like many UNSCRIPTED tenets, the escape from conventional living is paved by doing the opposite of what conventional wisdom preaches. Great results[…]”

Excerpt From UNSCRIPTED : Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship M.J. DeMarco
This material may be protected by copyright.

Totally agree on this one and the devil lies in the details. So as MJ says "PERIODIC" imbalances. When you are in the flow state you should DEFINITELY NOT STOP. On the other side if you feel ready to crumble for goodness sake STOP! Use your mind. You should definitely push the limits of yourself to know what these are. But do not extend them constantly! It is not sustainable and can lead to health problems! I hope that makes sense.
No straw men were harmed in the writing of this reply.

 

[Panos Daras]

For you? I’d encourage you to find that perfect work life balance. You’ve earned that Saturday night escape from your Monday through Friday.

Thanks for the encouragement I guess? I work a full-time job and I cannot wait for Saturday and Sunday to come because I have time and mental clarity to also work for my business, better than after work. In the meanwhile, I also spend my time with family and lifting weights 3 hours a week. It helps with my mental and physical health. I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs which also helps. Shall I stop exercising, spend time with my family, and take some cocaine instead to work more? Thomas Edison did that and now we have a lightbulb!

 

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[Kevin88660]

The whole thing is what do you want to achieve after work?

This goes beyond entrepreneurship or money in general. I think is about spending time towards completing meaningful goals.

Spend time with your kid on what? Check that he completed his homework and memorized the vocabulary list.

As long as you do with goals and kpi in mind, they are meaningful work. No bullshit random talking with family members hours on celebrity gossip and politics.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nhs0yqnVVDk&pp=ygUkQ2xlYW5pbmcgeW91ciBob3VzZSB0byBidXJuIGNhbG9yaWVz

 

[ZF Lee]

It reminds me of the movie 2012, where the US President shoos away the staff rushing to hustle him
away from the apocalypse, shouting:

"MAKE TIME!"

Cause all he wanted to do was to encourage a young scientist to move on into a new world.

Goes to show if there is an activity or goal that is VERY important to us, we will make time for it.
Even if we are busy as F*ck.

In the last month, I was really underwater with all the projects setting up the list and all...and also building up what I had left out for a long time on my Fastlane: quality networking.

And most often, quality networking demands some contributions from you.

Doesn't always have to be money.

I'm helping the church's mens' fellowship to host their annual camp, for the 2nd time around. We doubled the no. of target participants for this year, and we need to do more of the marketing by ourselves this time.

Creating video teasers is not my best skillset, but I went about it myself on Canva. I couldn't hire a Fiverr freelancer because I KNEW I understood the ministry better than anyone else.

I also signed up for ushering work at services.

Mind, I'll be helping to welcome and look after close to a thousand folks over the weekend, with AT LEAST a hundred or so new visitors coming in. I'll be working alongside seniors who have been in the work for 10 years and more. Ya know how tacky church folks can be at times...

I expect many practical lessons on communications, empathy and 'diesel and coffee' to come out of it.

(there ARE really successful people in the midst...you just need to be a tad humbler to approach them)

Then there were the fortnightly dinners with another mentor figure on stocks trading...and eventually on business.

I can't say I totally enjoy outside dinners, as I'm an introvert. But I've since learnt to just flip the 'switch' on...have a little humility...and just go and listen to what he has to say.

A voice was SCREAMING inside my head all that time to quit and cool down, before I collapsed or something.

But I'm still here...I haven't gotten sick in bed yet.

Even better, I find I have less time to sink into depressive episodes or some shit habits that I used to
medicate my miserable soul years ago.

I do think that we can still keep our bodies well-oiled and rested, as long we have proper eating and resting habits.
We forget that the FIRST system we were given to manage (before any Fastlane business system) is our OWN body.

 

[ZF Lee]

I'll just drop this excerpt from Ben Settle's 'Breakneck Content' book.

See 'Superhuman Productivity Secret #3':



My hunch on why this WORKS is because the more the folks worked at it...the more they MASTERED whatever
they needed to get stuff done.

And better mastery definitely gets more efficient with your time and energy.

So I think we shouldn't be worried too much on work-life balance...maybe more on
'How do I become more efficient?' 'What key habits/systems/processes/extra help can I bring in?'

And we won't know the answer to these questions until we've worked long enough in the field.

 

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[marius84]

Un gioiello di Unscripted ...

View attachment 48582

L'EQUILIBRIO È UNA MERDA
Buon padre? Fottiti! Vai a casa e gioca con i tuoi figli.
Questa linea classica del film Glengarry Glen Ross è una dichiarazione sull'equilibrio. E va detto: attenzione ai blogger e ai nessuno di auto-aiuto che predicano l'equilibrio. Non è un caso che i predicatori di tali sciocchezze siano relativamente sconosciuti. La chiave della felicità è una vita equilibrata! Sette consigli per una vita equilibrata e senza stress! Bla bla bla.
Pensi che l'equilibrio sia il modo in cui Michael Phelps ha vinto ventitré medaglie d'oro olimpiche? È equilibrio come Michael Jordan ha vinto sei campionati NBA e quattro MVP? Quella foto di Elon Musk ti dà sensazioni sfocate di equilibrio? Il fatto è che l'equilibrio è un'altra trappola SCRIPTED. Pensa all'equilibrio in termini di tavola e fulcro, come un'altalena. Come si ottiene l'equilibrio della tavola?
Perché, lo metti nel mezzo. Medio equivale a medio e ordinario.
Vedi, l'equilibrio è una stronzata, a meno che tu non aspiri a risultati intermedi. I massimi leader di oggi conducono una vita tutt'altro che equilibrata. Ancora una volta, come molti principi NON SCRITTI, la via di fuga dalla vita convenzionale è lastricata facendo l'opposto di ciò che predica la saggezza convenzionale. Grandi risultati[…]”

Estratto da UNSCRIPTED : La vita, la libertà e la ricerca dell'imprenditorialità MJ DeMarco
Questo materiale può essere protetto da copyright.

Ho finito proprio oggi di rileggere Unscripted : in effetti l'equilibrio fra le varie attività (che siano lavoro, salute, affetti e tempo libero) è la cosa più difficile, ma anche la più importante.
Una soluzione può essere cercare di godere di ogni momento, senza "spegnere il cervello" dal lunedì al venerdì!

 

[Lyzmin]

Thank you @Vigilante for creating this thread. Great clarity in the subject. Instantly watched.

Work life balance is a crock of shit. I work 24-7-365, and my priority is simultaneously my family and non-work priorities 24-7-365. I work at 2AM, and I attend my kids soccer game at 2PM. I check emails Sunday night, and I hit our favorite restaurant at 4PM for a drink when we want to. Work and life are vertically integrated and indistinguishable. There's no compartmentalization.

As I do agree with you. I would add that I try to work as much as possible with 'jam sessions' and 'badging tasks' for lazer focus. This way I can be fully present in the moments I'm with my family or loved ones.

Balance comes from freedom. Freedom comes from independence. Independence comes from money. Money comes from providing value. You want "work life balance?" Get yourself in a place of financial freedom. Only then can you do what ever the F*ck you want. Until then, double down on work. Be present with family, but nobody's going to melt in the next 2-3 years.

Also here, mostly agree. I do spend extra time with my grandparents who are in their mid 80s. Weekly calling and monthly visiting. It doesn't matter how busy I am with work, I make time. Everyday may be their last. The thing that amazes me is that I'm the only grandchild who does this. With 2 siblings and 4 nieces/nephews I'm the only one.. If they visit once a year it's much in their world. It fascinates me.

Two days ago, I actually had to buy a treadmill to put under my desk because I notice I'm at my desk(standing) for more than 14 hours the day. It'd be nice to get in more steps AND more work done.

Nice going @Matt Lee! I have a standing desk. Would love to hear how you're experiencing the treadmill under your desk.

As soon as I wake up in the morning, I can't F*cking wait to start working. This is the most fun thing I can imagine.

So recognizable @heavy_industry
6am alarm, directly exercise, shower, breakfast. 7.30am game time!

Making exercise my first thing of the day was a big game changer for me in energy.
You are a value chaser/provider -> working = providing value.
Something to really get fired up about!

Why not be essential with your time, cut out the bullshit and get the job done?

Are you being active or productive?
A question I regularly ask myself during the day.
It's so easy to be fall in the activity trap.

Great stuff everyone, thanks!

 

[GuestUser4aMPs1]

Imagine you have a greenhouse garden.

Each plant has different water and sunlight requirements.

Yet against common sense, you place every plant in direct sunlight and provide equal water...

...Regardless of size or plant species.

What Happens?

Some burn up, some drown. But ALL are unhealthy.

Now, try to apply the same amount of effort and attention to every area of your life.

You'll learn quick how idiotic "balance" is, simply because not everything requires equal attention.

Great post @Vigilante

 

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[AndreiR]

The goal isn't work-life balance. It's 'flow' - that's what we're all searching for. Athletes, CEOs, scientists, engineers. Time spent in a zone where time seems to not exist and we are completely focused towards a meaningful goal.

 

[warping_boxer]

love the strongly worded and inspiring post Vigilante.

 

[Zizu]

Would you like to know one point that most hustle bros miss out on? There are different types of work. Have you tried working 12 hours a day every day doing accounting, or data analysis, or computer programming? If you are honest with yourself and you REALLY WORK 12 hours it is hard. Like really REALLY hard. How much time would it take until you burn out? On the other hand, have you tried 12 hours a day of "work" in various activities? Activities like a couple of phone calls, talking a bit with clients, answering simple emails, pitching your product with people, bullshit meetings, and doing PR shit? Which one is more challenging? Now, I have a job that ends at 5:00 -no questions asked-, I will not get rich from it but I cannot say that work-life balance is shit and it does not exist. Of course, I have chosen to work to make some more wealth, but saying to someone that works a 9-5 that they are lazy (not saying that you people are) would be a generalization don't you think?

Thank you. After spending a day at some jobs you just don`t have energy for anything.

 

[rory182]

Would you like to know one point that most hustle bros miss out on? There are different types of work. Have you tried working 12 hours a day every day doing accounting, or data analysis, or computer programming? If you are honest with yourself and you REALLY WORK 12 hours it is hard. Like really REALLY hard. How much time would it take until you burn out? On the other hand, have you tried 12 hours a day of "work" in various activities? Activities like a couple of phone calls, talking a bit with clients, answering simple emails, pitching your product with people, bullshit meetings, and doing PR shit? Which one is more challenging? Now, I have a job that ends at 5:00 -no questions asked-, I will not get rich from it but I cannot say that work-life balance is shit and it does not exist. Of course, I have chosen to work to make some more wealth, but saying to someone that works a 9-5 that they are lazy (not saying that you people are) would be a generalization don't you think?

Let's be real that most people don't work 12 hours a day accounting, analysing data or computer programming.

You can call it a generalisation, but the average person outputs average results (and people are getting lazier, we know this)

The average person wakes up into chaos, gets to their work just about on time, has their coffee, has their morning meetings, and maybe starts work at 10, scrolls on their phone for a bit, procrastinates the task until the last possible deadline and then produces average output.

Are you one of those people that are 'too busy' because you hate your job/situation which makes you not execute and get it done in a small amount of time? (This is a message to everyone, not specifically aimed at you)

Why not be essential with your time, cut out the bullshit and get the job done?

You know you have a choice - you can escape your job with 'balance' or just maybe building something in your spare time (the process) might become an enjoyable way to spend your time to achieve your goals.

 

[Vigilante]

A gem from Unscripted ...

View attachment 48582

BALANCE IS BULLSHIT
Good father? F*ck you! Go home and play with your kids.
This classic line from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross is a statement about balance. And it must be said: Beware of bloggers and self-help nobodies preaching balance. It’s no coincidence that preachers of such baloney are relative unknowns. The key to happiness is a balanced life! Seven tips for a balanced and stress-free life! Blah blah blah.
Think balance is how Michael Phelps won twenty-three Olympic gold medals? Is balance how Michael Jordan won six NBA championships and four MVPs? Does that photo of Elon Musk give you fuzzy feelings of balance? The fact is, balance is another SCRIPTED trap. Think about balance in terms of a plank and a fulcrum, like a teeter-totter. How do you get the plank to balance?
Why, you put it in the middle. Middle equals average and ordinary.
You see, balance is bullshit—unless you aspire for middle-of-the-road results. Today’s top leaders lead anything but balanced lives. Once again, like many UNSCRIPTED tenets, the escape from conventional living is paved by doing the opposite of what conventional wisdom preaches. Great results[…]”

Excerpt From UNSCRIPTED : Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship M.J. DeMarco
This material may be protected by copyright.

We could end this thread right here ^^^^^

 

[circleme]

Only then can you do what ever the F*ck you want. Until then, double down on work. Be present with family, but nobody's going to melt in the next 2-3 years.

Hi @Vigilante

I am currently in the "grind" phase myself and decided to go with the Fastlane a few weeks/months ago. Nevertheless, I would claim for myself that I maintain something like a work-life balance.

My workload has since decided by about 100%, even though I'm not even live with my product yet. However, I have decided for myself that I spend one "day" a week on family/friends and close friends. Whereas in the last few weeks that has always amounted to a few hours on one day per week. However, this period is also blocked from my side. It is important to me personally, even if it is not always positive, that I maintain regular contact with my said circle. It is "only" a few hours per week, but also this time, which procure me a kind of "reset". They do not always strengthen me, especially since I am primarily allowed to listen to the "worries" of my fellow human beings during this time and usually come up short myself, but still have a topic swing. This is something that I personally categorize under work-life balance and would not want to miss for me at the moment. It also includes the fact that some of my family members have reached a very advanced age. Here I am not debating whether or not I am currently taking a few hours out for these people. If the situation allows, this is a priority for me.

I agree most of your points and thank you for your comprehensive post, but still wanted to chime in with my opinion on your views of work-life balance.