Find Balance in Life and Give Back

. . . play hard and work hard

My heritage is Polish. My grandfathers and grandmothers homesteaded on the prairies of Western Canada during the Great Depression. It was part of their heritage to play hard and work hard. They broke the land with hand tools and horses, and they enjoyed parties with neighbors and an abundance of homemade beverages. This upbringing taught me about the rewards of living a balanced life.

Today, people who work many hours often justify it by saying they have to sacrifice fun to get ahead. Our schools promote doing homework to get people in the habit of working long hours. But in reality they are sacrificing peace of mind.

Workaholism, whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a corporate executive, is as unhealthy as alcoholism. Both affect the people we love in negative ways. We justify working many hours because we worship either the financial rewards or the respect it brings, or we want to escape other parts of our lives. Yet society generally finds it acceptable to be addicted to work.

Finding a balance for myself and my family outside of work has been crucial to my effectiveness at work. Leisure time is a gift that rejuvenates me. It’s something to feel grateful for. After a good rest each evening with some self-reflection and quality time with family, I feel refreshed for work the next day.

After a nice vacation, I feel clear and able to be more effective at work. Breaks during work leave me refreshed for additional work. When I no longer felt like going back to work after a long break, I took it as a hint to begin the process of changing jobs.

Finding balance in life is not only important to our sense of well being, it allows us time to give something extra to society. If your funds are in short supply (and even if they aren’t), then volunteer somewhere, even if it’s only an hour a year. If we don’t like to volunteer, we can think of another option. When we give extra, we will be given extra back, someway, somewhere, somehow. It’s the law of attraction. And it fits with the principles of makin’ a million startin’ with zero.

Write ‘I can’ and ‘I will.’ Ask questions, find a mentor, build your networks, learn communications techniques, keep your agreements, think in options and choose wisely, write down your goals and desires, declare your rarity, become aware of your fears, get in touch with your positive emotions, keep your books well and sell well, and most important, go an extra mile—do more than you are paid for. Look for balance in life and give back. When you do these things you will be wealthy no matter how many belongings you acquire!

Thanks for reading!

michael

I believe in saving trees. Please do not send mail in paper format unless it is necessary for business purposes. Thank you so much.

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