balance : The Art of Non-Conformity

Work

How to Run a Business and Still Care for Your Family

I met a guy who was a busy executive at a startup in Silicon Valley. His family, a wife and three young kids, lived several states away. He lived in a hotel during the week, worked every evening, and flew home every weekend before returning to the office on Monday morning. Not a very dedicated family guy, right?

On the contrary. When I asked him about living in two cities, he admitted it was sometimes a challenge. But then he talked about what the weekends were like. “We do everything together,” he said. “We go camping. We bake and cook. We play hard the whole weekend long. I know I have to go back on Monday, so I'm constantly thinking about how to squeeze as much time and as many experiences in as we can.”

His family had discussed the arrangement of him being away mid-week, and they re-evaluated it twice a year. So far, at least, it was working.

The Traveler and His Work

Once upon a time, there was a traveler. He began traveling because it helped him feel alive. Gradually, he became more and more comfortable with traveling, and therefore more motivated to see the world. The more he wandered, the more he wanted to wander. He memorized flight schedules, lists of the world's capital cities, and random airline trivia. He didn't have much material wealth, but he was a millionaire in Frequent Flyer Miles ...

Four Burners and Balance: The Follow-Up

Thanks again for all your input on the four burners theory. That was fun. I should say first that all is well in my life—I'm not concerned about falling off the edge or anything. I sometimes say that I'm going to start a “maximalist” movement because I don't believe in limits or shutting ourselves off from the world. So it's all good. But nevertheless, I wonder about things sometimes, and the Sedaris quote was an interesting way to look at the issues of balance and focus. As a couple of people wisely said, the point is that we all have the same 24 hours every day.