The Balanced Wheel and the Entrepreneur

Zig Ziglar has a great visual for life. It's called the "Wheel of Life". In short, he says that there are seven "spokes" or areas in life. When the spokes are balanced (when you are paying pretty equal attention to each area of your life) the wheel is balanced and life is fulfilling. Some people use this a quick measure of success for themselves as it's pretty hard to feel successful when your life is out of balance for any period of time. When areas of life are not balanced (when one or more areas of your life take a back seat for a period of time to other areas), life gets rocky. 

In the entrepreneurial world, the "Hustle culture" is one way to get off balance and stay there. You know the one. The mindset that almost glamorizes hard work, long hours and a constant drive to succeed. There are some good things about it like ambition, determination and drive. After 21 years of owning a small business, there is one question you need to ask yourself. 

Imagine yourself 5 years from now. Have your future self answer the question your present self "Was it worth it to hustle to the extent that we did to get to where you are?" 

I'm very open about where my priorities are, how they change and the overall life that I want for myself and with my family. For some reason the "Entrepreneurial lifestyle" gets mixed up in the "Hustle culture". I'm here to tell you that you can have a strong work ethic and a relentless pursuit of your goals and still be successful without buying  into the "Hustle culture".

The question we asked ourselves a little earlier is a super important one. The people you surround yourself with will put pressure on you to do more. Social media will have you buying into the idea that you're somehow "behind". I would encourage to sit down with a paper and pen (yes old school style) somewhere quiet with no interruptions and take stock of what YOU really want. There's a reason I phrased the question you should be asking yourself with the term "your present self." The present is all you have, Are you present with those around you? Are you present with yourself? Are you able to slow down and enjoy the present? We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, only the present.

Make no mistake: I'm NOT telling you to not have dreams, don't look to the future, plan for where you want to go and so on. But consider for a moment what "Hustle culture" can mean:

• Quality of work: You're working so fast to get this project done so that you can move to the next, you're not putting your best work out into the world.
• Prioritizing work over relationships: When was the last time you hung out with friends - not work colleagues, friends? And was it focused around a work event or center on work conversation? 
• High level of stress and burnout: We all know this one and it negatively impacts your mental and physical health. 
• Diminished Creativity: When you're churning out work like a hamster on a wheel, when do you have time and mental bandwidth for creativity?
• Work-Life co-existence: I actually like to use harmony here. This culture can prioritize work over your personal (and family) life. 

I would encourage you to download Ziglar's Wheel of Life pdf from the internet. It comes with a quiz where you rank yourself in the seven areas of life and you can see for yourself what your wheel looks like.

Of course there are seasons when a project takes priority, but when this becomes the norm I would encourage you to stop for a minute and take a look around. Isn't that one reason we are entrepreneurs, to create the life we want and the pace we want? 

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller