What Would Have to Be True?

If you’re reading this, you do a lot of networking on a regular basis as I do. You’ve likely made similar choices about how much coffee you should actually drink in a given day, regardless of whether you’re meeting for coffee or not. Our bodies simply weren’t meant to consume the sheer tonnage necessary to imbibe at every coffee chat.

Sometimes though, you get to visit someone’s office, as I did one afternoon with a colleague of mine. While we walked the neighborhood near her office, talking about our lives and our businesses, she shared that she was uncomfortably busy. So busy, in fact, that she was sacrificing her health and her family. And that’s not my diagnosis, that’s hers.

Our conversation is still ongoing, as are the sacrifices, but the solution isn’t necessarily simple or straightforward. There are opportunity costs to everything.

In situations like these (and these are very common situations) I like to ask the question:

What would have to be true?

What would have to be true for these sacrifices to not be necessary?

What would have to be true for you to prioritize your health and your family?

She was swamped because she was called to serve her clients. People would show up with a problem that she knew how to solve and she would help them. That’s why she started her firm in the first place. That’s why we all did. And that service absolutely can take a toll on you and your life. It did for her, and it’s likely taking the same toll on you, your health, and your family.

You just wrapped up a weekend in the middle of March. It was a beautiful weekend around here. It was mild, the sky was clear, the air was clean, the world teetered blissfully on the brink of Spring. I went to the aquarium with my family, celebrated my father’s birthday, hung out at the beach, went for a walk with my son, and I indulged in various geeky hobbies as I do.

What did your weekend look like? What were you worried about Sunday night?

How much did you work? What sacrifices did you make?

What would have to be true for you to live the life you started this business for?