Personal Growth Means Getting Your Priorities Right

I recently came across a disturbing blog article where the author, George Cloutier – “ The Turnaround Ace” had written the following:

“Your cell phone is for keeping in touch with clients and sales managers in the field, not for taking calls from your spouse throughout the day about what groceries to pick up on the way home. Cutting out early to take your kids to baseball practice three times a week, or picking up your Aunt Tilly or Uncle Ned from the airport, are unacceptable interruptions to success.

You can keep doing these things and waste dozens of hours each week. Or you can focus on the financial future of your business and work all day, every day. You are the only person responsible for fixing your business and making it better, and that isn’t going to happen while you take 14 personal phone calls a day and attend local Cub Scout meetings three-times a week.”

He goes on a short while later to write:

“Of course you have every right to a life, if you don’t care about making money that is. You have your priorities, and I understand that. If you don’t want to put your business before all other considerations, then prepare yourself for a life of financial mediocrity.”

If you want to read the full article, it’s here.

I find this all rather sad and disagree strongly. I believe that life’s too short to deliberately miss out on spending quality time with those you love. The older I get, the stronger that feeling grows.

I guess it boils down to how you define success. To me, achieving all of your business goals but sacrificing family and social life is not being successful. Let’s change the focus slightly – would Mr Cloutier say that if someone achieves business success but ruins their health, that they are truly successful? Most people would say not – so why apply a different approach to relationships?

To me, part of personal development and growth means getting your priorities right and  learning how to balance all of the important areas in your life, of which business is just one.

Technology provides us with the opportunity to work both more effectively and more efficiently, which suggests that we can be successful in business and have a fulfilling family and social life - what do you think?

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