The Well Balanced Entrepreneur

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About 12 years ago, I was in the throes of expanding my business from a local magazine to a nationally distributed publication. I tripled my team, started franchising and was working like a dog.

Then I met a very successful entrepreneur who has seemed to have it all. He had five thriving businesses, a great family and looked happy, fit and healthy.

Meanwhile, I was overweight, exhausted and only on my first business!

So, I asked him what the secret was.

And he told me a story I’ll never forget. 

Back in the 80's, he went to a conference where some of the business titans of the day were speaking.  One of them affected him greatly. But it wasn’t what he did that affected him; it was what he was neglecting. 

This business titan (who shall remain nameless out of respect), seemed to have it all. He was arguably the most successful businessman of his day. A true business hero – on the cover of Forbes, Fortune, Inc., etc. He was an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur…  

His speech was full of amazingly inspirational stories that wowed the crowd. It was safe to say, everyone wanted to have his level of success.

After the speech, my friend went over to his assistant and asked, “How are his kids?”

The assistant was stunned by the question because nobody had ever asked that. It was usually questions about his amazing business success. 

After a pause, the assistant said, “Well, actually, they aren't doing that great,” and then started to walk away.

Then he stopped, turned around, and walked back towards my friend. He continued, “Since you had the insight to ask, I feel compelled to be honest with you. Actually, his kids are really fucked up.” (Excuse the swearing, I am just quoting!). 

My friend said that statement hit him like a ton of bricks. 

Here he was working 24/7 to make his business a success but knew that it all would mean nothing if his kids turned out to be “f-ed up.” 

So he did a complete turnaround in his life and business, and he re-prioritized with his kids being first.

He credits that conversation to the assistant with giving him the cold water in the face that he needed. Years later, it has allowed him to be a more a balanced person who was not only able to build a strong family, but also five strong businesses. 

The question here is for you: Will a successful business be worth it if you have to sacrifice other vital things in your life like family, health, relationships, and more?