“Determine that the thing can and shall be done and then we shall find the way.”  ~ Abraham Lincoln

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never scoring.”  ~ Bill Copeland

I have no problem with hard work. I had a hay crew when I was in college. Anyone from the Midwest that has bucked bales into the top of a barn on a summer day knows what I mean. I put in lots of hours when I was building my businesses.  

What I’m talking about is the mindless dawn to dusk, six or seven day a week guy. I’m talking about the person who neglects their marriage, children, and health. They give lip service about wanting things to change. They say they want a life, but at the end of the day, nothing changes. They take the path of least resistance. Work is their identity… work is what they are comfortable with, so work is all they do. It’s just another form of laziness. You may say: “I’m indispensable, I’m the only one who can competently do this.” I say, “Bullshit”.

The bottom line is that your decisions have a huge impact on relationships. When you make the decision to bring loved ones into your life, you now live for things other than work. Your spouse and children would rather have you than all the toys. You probably don’t tolerate unfounded excuses at work; you want results. Definitely don’t tolerate excuses from yourself. So, if you find you’re spending too much time working, then wake up and do the real work of making changes. When that happens, you’ll find yourself “getting a life”.

“Doing less meaningless work, so that you can focus on things of greater personal importance, is not laziness. This is hard to accept because our culture tends to reward personal sacrifice instead of personal productivity.”  ~Tim Ferris, The 4-Hour Workweek