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My entire life, I have always thought that age 10 was the best age. I remember turning double digits and thinking I was all grown up at that point. It seems that the biggest decision that I faced was who to pick to be on my team in the backyard game that day. My life was simple. School. Friends. Bowls of Cereal.
Adulthood, unfortunately, is nothing like being 10 years old. The volume of work. The complexity of finances. The balancing of hobbies and duties. The navigating of relationships. It's all just a lot honestly. The reality of being an adult always comes down to that of priorities. When you are 10 years old, your priorities are basically food and fun. That's it. There are many days today that I'd trade my entire house to live that simply again.
When you are a couple with entrepreneurship in your bones, the first challenge you will face is that of your priorities. I have always had a fondness for the word priority because I think so many people misuse it or throw it around like an old pair of shoes. If something has priority, then it is more important than something else.
{{first_name}}, the question is then, how do you only have a few true priorities as a couple and commit to seeing them through to completion? Undoubtedly, you have present responsibilities and future dreams. Your ideas and passions might be currently aligned or they may feel like they are competing with each other. The truth of the matter is, when you are communicating and working together on the same few priorities, you are going to find more satisfaction and more progress!
So, if your priorities are the first big challenge you will face together, what should you do?
First, you need to simplify. Most couples think that their high capacity is their greatest asset. Honestly, it is most likely costing you in the short term and is definitely detrimental in the long run. If you have too many priorities and you believe you can hustle them into submission, you will lose both your passion and your connection with each other. Simplify what you must do today, this week and this month. Once you've finished or made healthy progress, you can establish your next set of priorities.
Second, you have to serve. When working on anything together as a couple, if you view the partnership as a way to get more of what you want, instead giving what they need, you are set up to fail. You definitely each have different dreams, gifts and ways of accomplishing things. View your partnership as an asset. When you face the challenge of different or multiple priorities together, use it as an opportunity to serve each other. You will go further and faster together in this way, I promise!
When faced with a mountain of priorities you must simplify and serve. Check back tomorrow for challenge TWO that Entrepreneur Couples face.
I have lived the South my entire life. Tucked away in the Ozarks, I've enjoyed my small corner of the world and have benefited from everything this region has to offer. One of my favorite parts of living here is that I get a full dose of all four seasons almost every year. We have a hot humid Summer, a brilliant and crisp Fall, enough snow to scare people off the road in Winter and a vibrant Spring that just pops with color (and pollen unfortunately!)
I'm not sure I could live in a place for very long that didn't have variety. I love wearing new clothes each new season, going into my closet and finding my favorite hoodie all over again. I enjoy the different hobbies and activities that each season forces me in to. We have friends that we see outside in the summers and see at games in the winter. The forced change is good. It helps give my life balance.
{{first_name}}, finding the balance between "work" and "life" is something that has eluded even the most purposeful couple. If you are like me and my wife, you find that there are very few hard lines between what we call work and what we consider the other parts of life. There is an incredible amount of blending that happens throughout our days and weeks.
One of my mentors, early on in my professional career, had a saying that that has stuck since the first time I heard it. He probably said it to me once a year for the 15+ years I was around him. He said, Finley, balance is an illusion in time. His point was this: At any given moment you are out of balance with some other part of your life. While at work you are away from your family and the contribution needed there. When you are working out you probably aren't landing new business clients.
The second part of my mentor's statement, however, was always very helpful. He said that balance is only achieved over a period of time. Over the course of your seasons you need to have hours, days, weeks and months where your investment in your body, mind, family, friends, work and relationships are all given the priority they need to flourish.
So if balance in your work and life over time is the second challenge you will face, what mental approach is going to serve you best?
First, you need to know that blending your worlds together has a significant upside and downside. The good news is, when you are together riding in the car, eating a meal, drinking your coffee or laying in bed, you are present and able to talk through your dreams, plans, and strategies. The principle of proximity means that you are available at a very high frequency to be "co-workers" on your work. The downside is, you are not always going to be aligned mentally or emotionally to talk through the latest marketing idea one of you has or to discuss next months sales goals. This creates tension and the availability you have together can be fools gold for the balance you each want.