Lifestyle Choices Now for Lifestyle Choices in the Future

It’s been a busy few days. I generally try to take half a day off, for myself, each weekend. That didn’t happen this past weekend. I worked Friday evening, most of Saturday and most of Sunday. I had planned to relax a little this evening, but that hasn’t really happened either. I did have a break on Saturday afternoon, watching my oldest play hockey. And Saturday evening we tuned into the Toronto Maple Leafs game.

It’s not that I mind lengthy periods with little RnR. I absolutely love what I’m doing, and can easily work non-stop on the business.

However, what I do mind is the potential for a drop in effectiveness. I’ve blogged before about “sharpening the saw,” as Covey likes to refer to it. I know it’s important to take time to keep that saw sharp. But, I’m also fully aware that creating a business takes a monumental effort. Most people that do so work basically all of the time for the first period. I’m no different.

I had an interesting conversation on this topic with a trusted advisor and new friend. He noted a disconnect between the lifestyle choices of my target audience (for this blog and for the golf training center), and my current lifestyle. Most of the people interested in Parmasters (as an investor, as an employee, as a customer, as a member) have an affinity for golf and also value leisure time very highly. They value time to relax. They value time on a golf course. And yet, here I am blogging about my workaholic lifestyle. He’s definitely correct. There’s a huge disconnect.

And in fact, Parmasters emphasizes “more life” as a goal for the entire franchise system and for all involved. “More life” means something different to each individual, but all agree that it’s a good thing, and synonymous with doing what you want more often than not.

So, at this stage in my life, yes I work almost all of the time. I do so, to build a future for my family, and to deliver an amazing return to my investors, all by delivering exceptional service to our future members.

I absolutely value “more life.” I value leisure time. Golf time. Family time. I look forward to a time when this business is generating wealth for my family and for my investors, and contributing to “more life” for our members also. I look forward to a time when I work very little on weekends and during evenings. I look forward to a time when my staff are taking on more and more responsibility, growing, learning and building their own futures within this business.

But for now, at this point, we are incurring short-term pain for long-term gain.

“Good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.” -unknown