For this week’s column, I’m going to take things in a bit of a different direction and share a bit about what’s been going on in my personal life, to put things into perspective for you.
I’m a single workaholic. I’m blessed to work with DemGen and spend much of my time with my cats, working from my home office. Within a week one went through a serious decline at only 11 years old. One day he wouldn’t eat, the next his legs were paralyzed, soon after he had passed in my arms.
When situations like this arise in life, it truly makes you take a step back to evaluate your life. Pets are part of the family. The loss can be even harder to deal with given they provide truly unconditional love.
As I process and work through this tough time, I’m so thankful to be where I am. The DemGen Team is truly amazing. Members of our amazing team talent vault that I’ve never even met have reached out to provide support and insights.
This situation has taught me how important it is to surround yourself with the right team and people. DemGen has provided me support and space without pressure, which is exactly what I needed.
I’m still pressuring myself to get back on top of my agenda, but our Strategic Team has reminded me living life is the most important thing of all.
Given what I’ve been through in the past week, I beg to ask – are you letting life pass you by for your business?
As a workaholic myself, I understand the commitment. It takes a traumatic experience to make you see a different perspective. Instead of waiting for the worst to happen, appreciate every day and ensure you live life to the fullest.
Your business can survive without you. If that seems crazy, you need to bulk up your team and delegate. Success means nothing if you haven’t embraced life. Consider what you would speak about in a worst-case scenario… Probably not your most recent work achievements – more likely personal memories.
DemGen was founded with the mandate of giving life back to busy entrepreneurs and business owners. Though I always understood that, I have a different perspective now.
When life hands you lemons you can make lemonade (which I’m ironically drinking right now)!
The only reason to be stressed out is that you can’t let go. There are awesome people out there that can help! Don’t wait until it’s a critical situation.
Life is too short to work 24/7. It’s possible to achieve work goals AND have memorable personal adventures. (Trust me, when sh*t hits the fan, you aren’t thinking about your latest ROI…)
Be sure to always make memories that will last forever. DemGen can help and I say this through personal experience, not as shameless self-promotion.
Here’s a pic of my lil guy in his glory days…
If you need support for a similar situation or want to provide some, please share in the comments section.
RIP Busta 2001-2013.
© Tamara Smith, DemGen Inc 2013
