Live to work or work to live?

I admit it, I’m a workaholic. I love to work. I often wake up at 5:00AM and go into the office before the family gets up. I surf the web and Twitter and Link in and really enjoy leading a creative team of individuals towards a common goal and I have been very successful in taking TeamBonding to the level of premier team building companies in the world. It wasn’t always this way, or was it?

As I prepare for my daughter’s graduation from high school I think back about the life changing decision she helped me make over 11 years ago. The business was struggling and in debt and the first calls each day were threatening. The internet was just starting and I had my AOL account. I had given up, I decided that I was going to get a job. While I was doing that one night, my 6 year old daughter came over and asked me what I was doing. I told her that I was going to find a job where I could go to work, do my job, come home and not have to worry about it. She looked at me and said as only a young child can do, “Dad I don’t want you to get a job like Jamie’s dad”. I asked what kind of job does Jamie’s dad have? “The kind of job that he leaves in the morning before Jamie wakes up and comes home after Jamie goes to bed. I don’t want you to get that kind of job dad.” Well, I didn’t want that kind of job either. I worked a little harder and decided to take the company in the direction of corporate work and slowly but surely, the debt disappeared, the new clients appeared and I got to spend a lot of time with my daughter, her sister and brother and haven’t missed anything along the way and I owe her a debt of gratitude for opening my eyes and helping me see another way.

I have just returned from a vacation in Ireland with my wife to celebrate our 20th anniversary and again I was reminded that yes, I love to work, I love the company and the people in it but I don’t live to work, I work to live and have enjoyed every minute of it. I hope you have the opportunity to do make the same choice.