My blog a couple of weeks ago was all about the beginnings of my life as a professional writer (All Change). It is exciting stuff and this week I even bit the bullet and created a page on the website for my copywriting services (Here).
Exciting – yes! But hard work too. I have a day job too, after all, and while I grow my business as a writer, I’ve got to balance those two challenges. More importantly, I need to take care of the even more important third element of me.
You see, just over a year ago, I burnt out. I pushed myself too hard, worked long hours, under a lot of pressure and, in the end, couldn’t work out why I was working at all. In the end, exhausted, I took a sabbatical for six months – using it wisely for planning my future and finishing Balance of Betrayal. I returned to work, refreshed and recharged and, most importantly, sure of what I wanted my future to be – helped in no small part by Mi365 and the free online coaching of the amazing Pete Cohen.
Now I’m impatient – I want to reach that future, so I’m doing everything I can to get there as soon as I can. So I’m using my evenings and weekends on my writing, while working during the day. Today, for example, I’ve been checking design ‘spreads’ and my house looks like the Andrex puppy came to visit!
Don’t get me wrong. I’m loving it. I haven’t felt this energised and motivated in ages – and the prospect of doing this kind of thing all the time is really appealing – and the sooner the better. But, as I consider how hard I’m working, I’ve been reminded of an excerpt from a speech made by Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca-Cola:
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit … and you’re keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or evenshattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for Balance in your life.
So, as I contemplate a week of leave in which I might just find myself working, I need to ask myself – am I risking dropping one of the glass balls?
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