Diary of A Nutty Entrepreneur
I'll admit that I'm not a great role model for balancing work and leisure. I try to prevent my business from completely swallowing up my personal life, but often I fail. One important reason for this is my upbringing, which prepared me well to be a entrepreneur, but less well for having a life of my own.
I grew up not knowing that there should be a separation between life and work. My mother ran a dry-goods store. We opened our store at 9 am and closed it at 10 pm, daily, all year round. We were never closed except maybe once each year on New Year's Day. We ate lunch and dinner at the store. Customers would still come in while we ate; and we would interrupt meal times to sell.
There were many moments, especially in adolescence, when I wished we had a family life. I longed for moments when I could have my parents' undivided attention. I wished we were in a home where people could not walk in off the street.
My situation was, in fact, the way most children have grown up in most times and places around the world. The family was, first and foremost, dedicated to economic survival. Children work from the time they can walk. Leisure is a rare exception, not a daily expectation.
I think there are some good things about such a life. Although I did not have many private moments with my parents, I was with them all the time, not separated from them as are so many children of contemporary households where both parents work. I held a sense of responsibility toward the family, and I grew up feeling that I could handle myself well with other people. I think that we entrepreneurs have an opportunity to set a good example for our own children about what work really entails, and that we should encourage them to help us out, when it's appropriate.
Comparing what I lived through as a teenager to what I have been doing over the last 26 years as a consultant working in a home office, I have a great deal of privacy. My business has a space of its own, and I can shut the door and sleep peacefully without hearing and worrying about the urgent faxes that come in during the night. I serve only a handful of customers at a time. People don't walk into my home office from the street. I have a great deal of autonomy.
Yet I still have not completely escaped from the life-long experience as a teenager growing up in a store. It took me many years to tell myself that it is worthwhile to have time that is reserved for one's life.
In the beginning of my practice, I was so intent on making my venture a success that work was the only reason to exist. Whenever I felt tired or depressed, I would give myself pep talks and I became easily self-motivated. I was rarely immobilized for more than a day.
Over the years, I have come to realize that working all the time may take its toll on me. The problem of continuously working shows up in the feeling that nothing is really meaningful. Even making money is not fun any more. And when unpleasant things happen, they become even more irritating. The final indication of burnout is a loss of interest in everything.
There is no reason to work oneself to death. On those occasions when I feel that I'm turning into another nutty entrepreneur, I attempt to walk out on my own job. I go to the museum, take a long, aimless walk in the city, read a novel, or sit in a park and just stare at the buildings, the sunlight, and the people around me.
We need time to lie fallow, to get rid of the waste of daily emotions that wear us down until we lose interest in anything. To me, nothing is worse than feeling that there is no meaning in what I do. When I catch myself feeling that way, I know that I should break away.
Diary of A Nutty Entrepreneur - To learn more about this author, visit James Chan's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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James Chan Video - James Chan, Ph.D., created the phrase "The China Formula" to help Americans understand China in one word.
Dr. Chan is President of the Philadelphia-based, independent consultancy, Asia Marketing and Management (AMM). AMM specializes in advising U.S. manufacturers, trade associations, and information companies in building business relationships in China and in exporting American-made products and services in China and Asia. To view AMM's detailed profile online, go to: www.AsiaMarketingManagement.com.
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