Author info: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.
As I have mentioned last week, having the right priorities in life is definitely a must and family should always come first. I have also explained that a lot of folks choose to simply hide behind all sorts of foolish excuses and try to find all sorts of explanations for the fact that they are unable to find time for their beloved ones.
“But I want to be successful as an online entrepreneur”, you may think. Go for it! “But I will have to make sacrifices, right?” Yes, that is also true. Do you see a contradiction between my “family comes first” statement and the fact that I encourage you to maximize results as online entrepreneurs, even if sacrifices will need to be made? Well, guess what: there is none! And that, my friend, brings us to the following question:
Are All Sacrifices Worth It?
It’s all a matter of seeing things in perspective. There are sacrifices which need to be made and sacrifices which are simply not worth it. So you want to be successful as an online entrepreneur? That’s great and yes, you will have to make more than a few sacrifices.
But, and here’s where it can get tricky: the ability to identify sacrifices which are worth it and stay away from those which are not can make the difference between being an individual who is successful as both a person and an online entrepreneur and being an individual who is successful as an online entrepreneur, yet feels miserable as a person.
What Can Money Buy?
The approach I personally recommend is asking yourself the above question. Can money buy a TV, for example? Definitely, so that sacrificing the time you spend in front of the tube can and will prove to be worth it down the road. The same thing goes for all sorts of other things which may seem important, yet pale compared to the things which actually count as far as the big picture is concerned.
On the other hand, can money buy back the time you could have spent with your beloved ones? I don’t think so! There are sacrifices you can afford to make but anything which has to do with family is not one of them.
The Big Picture
Are you starting to see the big picture? Are you starting to think about the things in your life which actually count? In that case, I am pleased to let you know that you are on the right track and that you have finally understood which sacrifices are worth it and, most importantly, that only being successful as an online entrepreneur is not enough.
Best wishes,
Alan Johnson
It is important to know what success means to you. If you are happy with family and have peace of mind then there is no need to desire more money to get happy.
When “things” are needed to give you happiness, it is time that you took a hard look at your self and found some way to get your head and heart in order.
At 18 all I could think about was immediacy, now at nearly 40 I try to look at the “big picture”.
Success means different things to all of us but I can relate to Eva’s comment. Money does help though!
It’s always good to have priorities, and when money is at the top of them, I think you better think again.
Making a sacrifice is stupid.
You should make an intelligent trade off or an investment.
An intelligent trade off is when you chose one thing over another because the thing you choose, all things considered, is more valuable to you.
An investment is when you put something valuable aside now (time, money, etc.) with the expectation of receiving more value in the future (time, money, etc.)