Does that phrase bring up images of young fit people in business suits smiling as they rush to the next meeting holding their cell phone to their ear and a Starbucks treat in the other hand?
While this is often a popular stereotype seen on TV and the media, for those of us that actually make it there it can come with a lot of sacrifices that we might not even be sure (or even aware) that we’re willing to make.
So ask yourself this: Why does being successful have to stem from only your job? Aren’t there other ways or other things you can participate in that would be just as rewarding or fulfilling?
You may not realize it, but developing a healthy separation between work and home so that you can focus on your own personal goals and activities could be your ticket to even bigger greatness.
To Lean In or Lean Out?
I recently had the pleasure of coming across a great story in Money Magazine. It started out talking about the book “Lean In” by Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.
Her book was about how women could be more successful by advancing their leadership positions and presence at work.
For anyone who puts their career as number one, that is certainly true. Work can be a very competitive place, and being a force for accomplishment is the best way to establish yourself as a figure of success.
Then the Money magazine article took a different turn about for some people it may be better to actually “lean out” – meaning disconnect from work.
I was in love!…. Not because of what this article suggested, but rather because it was confirming something I had been doing more and more for years.
When Doing More Actually Accomplishes Less:
But consider this:
- What happens when you work 1 or 2 extra hours when needed? Everyone would probably praise you for your extra effort and hustle. It might get reflected in your next raise or promotional review.
- What happens when you work 1 or 2 extra hours every night? Again you’ll make life easier for some of the senior management and you may again get some reward. But now ask yourself what you’re giving up to get there. Is that raise going to be worth it? Will the new promotion mean doing this all the time? And how long do you have to keep this up these new hours anyways?
- Now add on working every Saturday for 4 or 8 hours? Now you’re probably completing the work or 2 or 3 employees in one week. Is that promotion, raise, or any other financial appreciation going to match all those hours you’re investing and be worth it in the end?
- What if you worked all 168 hours every week? Theoretically that’s not possible since you have to sleep. But I’m making an example here. Now you have NO TIME for anything. Ask yourself: Even if they made you the owner of the whole company, would it be worth it?
In all of these examples, I think we can all agree: At some point the amount of extra work we put into our job does not match the benefit we receive. It may not match it emotionally, financially, or any other sense of the exchange. But clearly there is some kind of very personal line in the sand where a person has to say “no more”.
Being Successful In Our Own Way:
A lot of people associate being successful with only their jobs:
- Making a lot of money
- Having a lot of power
- Traveling often or networking with the right people
All of these are great accomplishments. But you can also be a success in your own way.
For example: What if you went back to the example above of our misguided employee, took those one or two hours of extra work you were doing for your own job, and investing them back into yourself? What would the reward be then?
- Creating a blog and making money from the advertising
- Experimenting with niche websites
- Dividend stock investing
- Maximizing my credit card rewards
- Selling stock music
- And investigating lots of other ones …
There hasn’t been any overnight successes. It’s been work. But my ultimate goal is to eventually get each one of these activities working automatically. The ultimate goal is that one day these activities will either earn or raise enough cash to completely replace our current income. How would that be for success?
Again: I’m not implying that you slack off at work or do the bare minimum or be any less productive than you’re potentially capable of. No matter what you’re good at you should do it well. Whatever you do, don’t check out mentally and get yourself fired. That’s not going to help anything and will only frustrate you even further.
Instead, I am asking this: Whenever anyone invests their money, the first thing they want to know is what they will make in return?
Why shouldn’t your time, effort, and passion be any different? Take a step back and consider if certain areas of your life are producing the kind of return you’d like to be seeing. If it isn’t, then maybe you’ll have to rethink your approach to being successful and try something different. Every person deserves the opportunity to make things better for themselves. The only question that remains is what you will do with it when you have the chance. What will you do?
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I completely agree. There’s a line you have to draw when it comes to working extra for an employer, because it’s true – you’ll only be rewarded to a certain extent. When you focus that extra energy in hobbies you like there is so much more reward. The more you learn and put in the more you will get back. And, you might even uncover a new, better career to boot.
There is a point where your return no longer matches what you’ve invested into your efforts when it comes to your job. And I venture to think that certain people would probably be better off chasing after the things they were more passionate about and could potentially make more money.
The beauty of investing and working for yourself is that you reap all the benefits of losses thereof. Your results are commensurate with the effort you put in and you have the freedom to choose just what amount of effort you want to put in and focus on those things that you absolutely love. Passion certainly does account for a large portion of our sucess!
So yes, Lean Out & Succeed.
That’s a great example of when it counts the most. If you’re the type of person who is ready to give it his all, then for sure a business of your own where you reap all the rewards of a job well done is the way to go.
We learned this lesson first hand when Rick worked OT for nearly ever weekend for six straight months. Yes, we had more money, but he was miserable. After that, he said “No overtime” for a period of about 4-5 months. He wanted to be with the family instead. What happened? He got a clearer perspective on work, performed better, and walked away at the end of the “No overtime” period with a promotion and a 10% raise. 🙂
Overtime is okay when it is paid and unfortunate if you are salary and don’t get anything extra. But even still after a while it can get old. People forget sometimes that their bodies will go into shut down mode if we don’t it for ourselves. Not only are you wearing yourself out, but your attitude is thinning as well. Sometimes taking a break and getting a fresh perspective is worth the lost income potential. Making money and being miserable is no fun …
Great post!
Greg took on way too much responsibility at his old job and vowed not to do that at his new job. So far, he’s gone to work and gave 100% then came home. He’s a lot stressed out because he’s choosing not to worry over every little thing anymore.
Nice declaration for Greg! Years ago after the president of our company made some snarky comment about how people who work late or extra hours are incompetent, I vowed to work as little to no hours at home or outside of work as possible ever again. If no one appreciates it, then what’s the point? That’s where I think working for yourself can be a huge benefit. Whenever you do a good job, you’ll know who to say thanks to 🙂
This is a great post and is something I really struggle with from time to time. I have things I want to do and start thinking about where the time will come from, and it always seems like the only real answer is family time. Then I come back to trying to find more efficient ways to do the things I’m already doing, or cut out things that are unnecessary, but there’s only so much there. In any event, the need to focus on your personal life and your goals there is very real. For some people it may be all about work, but I think that’s the small minority. The majority of us feel much more fulfilled if we can find enjoyment in other areas of our life as well.
Definintely don’t steal from that precious family time! I used to totally under-value how much my personal time was worth and was always willing to sacrifice it for my career. But now that I’ve started to see some of the fruits of my efforts pay off outside of work, I question whether that is really the best use of my time. Let someone else take their fair share; I’ve already solved enough problems today. You’ve got to stand your ground and fight for what is yours.
Its all about time management. I think you should be able to get enjoyment from a lot of different things. Life isn’t just one thing and you should be able to look lots of places for happiness.
That’s a good point, and I feel like enjoyment should come from both your job and what you do outside of it. Otherwise there is no point in doing either. Getting the best return should be your goal in any case.
Certain personality types are very prone to being people pleasers and bosses will take advantage if you let them. I’ve had employees who do this and they get burned out when they don’t really get anything substantial out of it. There is work to do 24 hours a day, but no one really expects you do it or get paid for it. I’ve had to tell people just to go home. It would be much better to get a second job or start a side business to funnel that energy into if you must.
Isn’t it amazing when some people will simply not leave work? A few of my colleagues have self-institutionalized themselves, and that’s sad. All that hard work and passion – if they did something else that made them feel good, they’d probably react a whole lot differently.
I will never define my success by only what I do on the job. My most important roles are as husband and father. My true success will be determined by how I lead my family.
I couldn’t agree more. What you mean to your loved ones defines everything.
Sometimes I have an issue where I work so much that I just want to quit. Either that or I do so much that I end up with low quality things because they were rushed to try and get more done. I would rather do a job and get a decent income but ensure that I am not overworked or anything like that.
Sometimes you’ve got to pull yourself back. You can get in the zone and just want to go go go! But that usually never ends well because you just burn yourself out.
I’ve found that when I “lean out” there’s a certain level of respect that I gain from those above me in leadership. It’s a tough decision to make and I think experienced leaders recognize that. Good perspective!
Strangely enough, that is how it usually works. It’s because they admire your ability to delegate and get others to get the work done for you. Managing others is an art to be respected.
I always lean in – towards myself.
I do my best for my employer as they provide the majority of my income. However, I do not expect loyalty or reward from my employer. I expect money in return for my efforts on their behalf.
The next step in leaning towards myself is selling my time for money – becoming a consultant, or other professional selling my services.
The final step, as you mention, is to achieve leverage, where I trade my time for ongoing cash streams – be they from a blog, book, dividends, rental property, etc. Invest some time, receive larger, and ongoing, cashflow.
I can hardly wait!
We spend so much time at work that we often forget that that is the bargain. Money in exchange for time. When one no longer needs the other, the bargain ends.
Ever since I proved to myself that my income is not linearly related to my effort, I’ve decided that it is time to make income for myself that is outside that arrangement.
You’re walking down my street with this article! I work for a popular technology company during the day, and I absolutely love working there, but I ultimately want to be “free” from the traditional 9-5. Through grit, sweat and literal tears I’ve stuck with it battle after battle as I’ve seen for myself how using my creativity can generate a significant income that can replace the need for “the man”. The code for consistency is one that I’m searching for, so I’m dedicating my time and life away from life’s mundane to really get a hold of this and figure it out. My journey (most days) is filled with optimism and promise, while the other days are met with the deadliest doses of reality and skepticism. This post resonates with me in a mighty way!
Glad to hear you are trying to make a difference for yourself. It can really be challenging some days. But when I feel a dose of success every now and again, it motivates me to take things to the next level.
When it comes to success – almost everybody measures their levels in relation to money somehow. As for being rewarded for working extra – that is the beauty of being a blue-collar worker. Hourly pay means more hours = more money. I don’t know how that relates to success though.
Consider this: I try to focus my measurement of success as it relates to my relationships as a husband and father. I want a great marriage and a great relationship with my kids. If I ignore those relationships in order to “invest” in my monetary successes, am I really successful at all then?
There’s nothing more important than those relationships. I think this is where we go wrong sometimes. We forget why we work so hard, work extra hours, or even why we want to be financially free. It’s not for greed or material possessions. We want our time and to be able to spend it with people we love. Not under the control of other people. Every now and again when we work so hard, we have to shake ourselves and ask if this really fits into what we are trying to accomplish towards this goal.