Business and Busyness
On my way to school to bring lunch to my kids, I thought of our friend who is very busy in her business. She has a growing list of clients and walk in customers. From my guesstimate, her business is earning at least 30k pesos a day, that’s gross. I am happy to see their business grow and stay in competition.
Imagine going to your shop early in the morning, dealing with a mix of tough and kind customers, and closing late. Imagine you are not feeling well and still you have to go early, open your shop and be ready for the business day. How about missing family time, fun with friends, nice talks with neighbors, great time with your hobby, quality time with your partner.
In a busy business, you must pay the price. You’ve got to lose something to earn money.
The basic question, is it worth it?
Being busy in a business is not easy. Sometimes it’s fulfilling, sometimes it’s really frustrating. Going back to essentials, what is the purpose of business anyway? To earn more money? To keep yourself meaningful? To keep closer to your goal? To become financially free? To be the boss with bragging rights when you reconnect with your friends after 5 or 10 years?
What is busyness? From dictionary.com, the quality or condition of being busy. Lively but meaningless activity.
The word meaningless is strong. I hope the definition gives busy individuals a new perspective.
In our country, the first thing to ring our mind when you say business is a shop, store, trade, occupation, work, money-making etc.
Being Busy in Business
You will learn a lot from a hands-on businessman. Their hard work, dedication, focus, love in their trade and a whole lot more. A business is not designed for too cautious and too pessimistic individuals. Why? Because they think too much. Analysis paralysis.
You’ve got to be brave and spontaneous. There are a lot of perks of being a busy in your business. More money and possible new friends and contacts. But I’m going to highlight the disadvantages not to scare you, but to keep that balance.
The more you spend your time in your business, the less time you spend time with your love ones. The more you earn money, the more you lose your quality time with someone dear to you.
Your wallet will be fat, but your heart will be thin.
You can buy anything you want, but deep inside you will be incomplete. It’s not all about money ladies and gentlemen. Remind yourself why you put up your business and again verify and check its purpose.
I believe a business is a test of stewardship from our Creator.
Challenge of Staying Balanced
I think the magic word in busyness is balance. We’ve got to learn to weigh and decide every time we choose between business or something else. It can be choosing over your family, reunions, important events, visiting people close to you. You can’t put 20 hours in your business, sleep for 4 hours and 0 hours to people you are living for. There is a big difference living FOR them versus living WITH them.
I am not saying being busy is bad but being busy for a good reason is tolerable.
Listen, even if you are the best businessman in the world and if you are not who you are meant to be then you are nothing. We are designed with a purpose and stick to that. Don’t overwork and keep your time complicated. I’m sure a lot of you know about the YOLO thing, you only live once.
But please give yourself a break and stay smart instead of being busy. Trust your staff, your people or your partners.
Don’t be that one-man army in a business. Hire someone, put them into a test and trust them.
Share the load of life! Stop carrying all the load.
Busy or Free
Face the challenge of staying free instead of being busy all the time. Earning more than enough of what we need is better. You can’t afford to bury yourself in your business and come back one day only to find out your love ones are gone.
Admit that all things in this world cannot be achieved alone. We need others. We need to coexist and be free from any burden that grinds us out of our purpose.
Free up some of our time and do the important things and of course your priority list.
Stay balanced and free from busyness.
It’s not all about money, sometimes it’s all about touching lives.