Make a Fortune, Have a Life, or Both? - Wholesaler Masterminds®

We have great clients at Wholesaler Masterminds and they always get me thinking.

Last week it was a discussion about the conflict wholesalers face regarding the quest for money, the desire to reach the top of the leader board and having a life.

How do you decide what the priority is?

If you make the commitment to have more balance in your life does that mean you have to forgo the fame of the #1 wholesaling spot in the firm?

After all, and by nature of the beast, we all have egos that are large and goals that are high – how can balance and ‘fame’ be reconciled?

Does it mean you’ll have to settle for less income to have more balance?

One reason (the main reason?) we do this work is to make incomes that other professions simply can’t afford us – if your income drops to afford more time with family, friends and pursue interests beyond work is that o.k.?

I’m still formulating additional thoughts about this and while I do here’s some things for you to think about/read/watch.

Update: we received this thoughtful comment from a reader:

I was thinking about your question regarding work/life balance as it is something that I struggled with throughout my career. I have had wholesaling gigs that require weekly cross country flights and I was gone M-Th every week, New England gigs where I was sometimes home, and now a sales management/wholesaling role that puts me in the office more often than not.

As you are formulating your thoughts, here are a couple that I have:

1) Believe it or not, your wife/children create more stress about time allocated than any sales manager will.

The worst your manager can do to you is fire you. Your family is different. When I was cross-country, my wife knew that when I was on the road I was working and when I was home I was home. I got my work done in hotel rooms, or would carve a few “working hours” into my office days.

When I had a local territory, it all went to sh*t as I was pulling out my laptop in the evening when she felt it should be “our” (or her) time. All of the work I used to do in hotel rooms was now being done at home. I did not change how I worked, when instead I needed to include my wife in what/why I was doing what I was doing. It was not until my wife and I set parameters as to work time versus her time that the balance (and the stress at home) finally resolved itself. And when it was her (or family) time, I was NOT working (phone/laptop/blackberry off).

2) Let me preface this with the fact that I am terrible at organizing my time effectively….however, when I do, my work/life balance is not only better, but my sales are higher and I am more efficient at work.

I can lose an hour or six without blinking, but when I set time parameters for when I am doing what, I find I have more free time. By writing out a list of people I need to call (with phone numbers) before I get on the road, I am effective behind the wheel. By setting a specific time each week for meeting notes and expense reports, I never get behind.

By sticking to these set parameters, I always find that 1) my sales are higher, 2) my manager is off my butt, and 3) I have more free time for what I want to do (fun family etc).