week 67: your season sets your pace
set expectations early
thank you to over 11,000 of you who read this weekly and share with your friends and family for behind the scenes on building a million dollar business from scratch and beyond.
i also include a personal note in the end so i am grateful that you let me do that without judgement.
in my first start up, I did it all.
worked everyday and every night i could to keep things going.
i burned the candle on both ends as they say.
in the process, i also burned relationship with my wife, kids and forgot to enjoy the process.
this go round, i have leaned to keep the pace.
it’s a marathon.
so this time, i am having similar 8-10 hours work (startups are no cake walk) but consistently kept my Friday evening to Sunday until Church time free.
every Sunday, i have set expectations with my family, that I would work from 3-5 pm when they are relaxing so i can get organized for the week.
this planning time (highly recommend doing something similar before the week starts) has helped me reduce anxiety of work and allowed me have time to drop kids to school or go take a walk.
it has really helped me be happier and enjoy both work and life.
but this weekend is different.
i am working as my entire team is working on launching a new product - “the GTM emerging tech report” - why?
well, a product launch requires all hands on deck.
you shouldn’t do that weekly but when you do, it should be a one team approach!
So I sat down with my family and told them, hey, this weekend is going to be different.
the reason we keep Saturday as a Sabbath because not only God commanded it but it also helps us to focus on what God has done for us and the gift of life and rest.
it’s to free yourself on your own personal ambition and focus on God, family and rest. God knows better than us that our bodies and mind need time to unwind before mental health was a thing.
but i am working because my team is working and just like Jesus said —- God had given the Law to encourage the people to love him and to love others (Mark 12:30 – 31) and nothing bring more team work than working on a singular project, together.
so - it’s important to me and my family to keep the sabbath but to do good and work as a team when needed, is an action of love.
now, if it becomes a weekly thing, well, that will be a problem and go against God’s design of how we are created and what we are meant to do.
on a personal note, we reviewed our mid-term family goals last weekend.
and boy, i am so behind on my goals.
and as we reviewed it, each of us realized and supported each other who were feeling down on their own goals.
it felt like a team that is rooting for each other.
when my wife shared what she didn’t do, the kids were all over it telling her how much she has been doing and loving on her.
family goals are meant to be directional and to move us forward.
knowing that we all were missing on a few things was both alarming and comforting.
so we reassessed our new goals and now we are focused on it for next 6 months, as a team. i think that’s a win!
in life and in business, we need to set expectations and know which season we are in.
some seasons require you to work hard, and some seasons require you to rest.
at any point when you do too much of work or rest, that’s trouble.
leader point: know your season and set expectations.
curious, what season are you in right now, at work and in life?
I’m 45 and building my personal brand and consulting business. I work from home and sometimes have difficulty turning things off or creating separation, but I try. I really like how you all are one team (at work and at home).