Reconsidering Your Lifestyle (Part 1)
Published June 20, 2011 | 
If you’re like me chances are you have experience with the idea of “do what you love and the money will follow.” Or, simply the idea of endeavoring to make money doing what you’re passionate about. It’s always gratifying and fulfilling to truly do what you love. But the “money will follow” part? Sounds great on paper – but it doesn’t always turn out that way.
Along the way you positively work your tail off because you want to reach the point where the money IS coming in the way you’d like it to come in. As a result you pass up so many other opportunities because you’re staying focused on doing “what you love” – and setting the intention for the money to follow. But sometimes you miss out on other things you might fall in love with – if you had the time and resources to give them a fair shot.
And, if you have a home-based business chances are it’s a service oriented business. That means you work countless hours in service to your customers. Probably more hours on marketing, operations and all the other aspects of your business.
The idea of creating a business that’s as automated as possible so I (or you) can run off and play was not a comfortable one for me to hear at first. After all, I love the satisfaction of seeing the lights come on for my clients when they get some important idea or concept. For me, it’s always been about that one-on-one contact, even if that contact is on Skype.
Yet, Michael Gerber, author of “The E-Myth” series of books, for a generation now has said we need to create systems in our businesses so we can walk away, or, create an exit strategy to sell the business at some future point in time.
Doing what I love has been about business for so long – thinking about doing things just for fun (other than temporarily) feels odd. Shouldn’t I be working?
Sure, I can take off a weekend or go on vacation for a week (might bring my laptop and do some relaxed writing) but taking several months at a pop without more than about 5-10 hours of work per week? It sounds great – but I’m still wrapping my brain around the idea.
Automation and the Internet makes it possible – but isn’t it sorta going against our notion of “The American Dream?”
3 Responses to Reconsidering Your Lifestyle (Part 1)
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Living any dream requires intention and attention. However, delegating and outsourcing are an outgrowth of intention. If we own our own business only to tirelessly run them, how fun is that? (let alone passionate) For me, it’s about bringing others along, who are good at what they do, supporting them in their business, supports me in mine! Whatever the long term goal of owning our own business is, selling them or walking away once and a while, we don’t need to be chained to them to monetize our efforts or feel satisfied. Yes, I am of the mindset of, “do what you love and the money will follow”, however, my emphasis is on doing what I love. The rest takes care of itself! Great thought provoking blog post!
Excellent comment, Kathlyn. I’ve improved a great deal this year when it comes to delegating. I think as women a lot of us want to keep believing that old line, “I can bring home the bacon, and fry it up in a pan,” stuff. Recently, in addition to a virtual assistant and others to do the things I don’t want to do or can’t do – I also started working with a Marketing Assistant. Yes, I can certainly do what she does – however I’m using leverage – and I’m excited about the results.
I love Kathlyn’s statement, “Living any dream requires intention and attention.” I agree. As I keep my eye on my B-All (my most important goal to accomplish in this lifetime), I will continually create more goals and intentional activities as stepping stones to achieve on my way to that top goal. Recognizing that this is a fact allows me to accept that I will always be in the process of achievement. Setting at least one of my goals to be money-focused, along with other goals that are passion-focused, keeps my life harmonized between the yin and the yang.
As I write in ‘Chi-To-Be! Achieving Your Ultimate B-All,’ it is also important to take rest stops along with way….a few minutes each day and longer periods of rest when necessary to keep myself re-charged, re-generated, and re-empowered. Between the notes of do, do, do, the rest stops create the music.