It’s All About The Hustle…and That’s Okay

Ever have people say you work too much?  I sure do. Many feel I need to take a break and take more time out for myself. And, to a degree, I agree with that. I mean, I went to Morocco for 10 days and people are still commenting on how less stressed I look since I came back. Which is good.  Part of what I work so hard for is the chance to travel – you guys know how much I love to see new places and experience things I haven’t before.  Snap back to reality though – there are more things I’m working towards – more accomplishments I want to achieve.

One of the biggest reasons I moved to Colorado was to pursue an opportunity that had the potential to grow into an even bigger career move. When I started the job here, it seemed pretty straightforward and I just had to learn some new products, customers and the culture out west. The was only the tip of the iceberg. The TIP. Two pivotal team members moved on a few months after I arrived; two of my departments more than doubled and the third took a nose dive and then we doubled the size of my team. People were internally promoted and we had to restructure and rehire. We took on a new brand of product. We kept growing. The third department totally turned around and we made all our profit back and more. We have a fleet of trucks to sell and a plan to move them along. All of this to say the vision keeps changing, growing and morphing into something I couldn’t imagine.

And guess what? I am so damn proud I am a part of it. I have been learning and growing throughout this whole process. Has it been easy? Nope. Could I have done it in 40 hours a week? Not even close. My point here is that sometimes you need to work hard over long hours in order to get it done. I can also tell you this – if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have the same job right now. I would have failed miserably.

Many of you know I’m a big reader and can finish off a book a day if I wanted to, provided it was fiction. I have the hardest time finishing a self help or business book though. It can take me months. (Mostly because I’d rather read for fun!) Enter the world of audio books. I have a long commute with this job, so audio books are my new best friend. I recently finished listening to Daymond John’s book “Rise and Grind”. Daymond (of FuBu and Shark Tank fame) is widely known for his side hustles and entrepreneurial spirit. In this book, John examines a lot of different people and what they do to make themselves successful. It’s been an interesting read, but I found myself feeling vindicated for my crazy hours and work outlook.

I can make everything and it’s mother about me if you give it enough time, but that’s only part of it. There are a lot of people out there working long hours and pulling their weight in order to fulfill their dreams. It just looks different for different people. I can get up before five and get to work before six and not get home until after six to seven pm. Why? Because that’s where this stage of life has me right now.

One of the successful people Daymond interviewed in this book is Gary Vaynerchuck, a Belarusian American entrepreneur, New York Times Best selling author, speaker and Internet personality. Gary says “People talk all the time about finding a work-life balance but it is not the same for everybody. And it’s different at different times of your life.”

How true is that? I used to work weekends and now I don’t. I made a promise to myself when I moved here I would find ways to make the best of it and that’s what the weekends are for. (Or an occasionally extremely lazy Saturday because I’m wiped from the workweek). I’m working longer hours during the day, but my weekends are free. See? Even though my hours have increased, the balance is different. And, occasionally, I actually take a good chunk of time off to recharge.  Like Morocco.  It makes such a difference. 

There were so many interesting people interviewed in this book and one of the others that stood out to me was Catherine Zeta-Jones. She has had a successful music career and is very active in charitable work. But did you know she launched a home goods line in 2017? She is quoted as saying “I was taught to dream big. To this day, I dream big.”

A dream is just an idea until you have a plan. And I have some dreams I still want to come true, so I’m working through my plan to make them happen.

I read this somewhere once and it currently lives on a sticky note on my wall at work – “A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action becomes reality”.

So basically, your dream cannot become reality until you have a plan of action and put it in motion.  If you’re looking for me, I will be somewhere doing just that.  Making my dreams come true.  One step at a time.  Even if it means I have a crazy work schedule for a few years – it will inevitably change again once the next stage starts.  And I have a pretty good feeling that I’ll be okay with that as well 🙂