A Social Life in Business
I’ve been talking to friends a lot lately about the weirdness that I’m experiencing in my dating life. Now, I don’t have a problem meeting people whether it is through online dating, friends or just meeting people in general. That isn’t the issue I’ve found myself in but I think what’s happened is that I find myself treating dating a lot like a sales call. Very very bad.
Now, this isn’t happening with every woman I meet but it certainly is something I’m noticing lately with some women who have amazing confidence in themselves and I find them very interesting to talk to. I associate those types too much with the business professionals I deal with everyday and it is a bit scary.
This post is nothing about dating except the intro. I’ve noticed over the last 4 years that there’s been a significant change in the way that I communicate with people in social settings. I’ve been finding myself so used to talking business to the point that all I want to do is talk about business. I feel amazingly comfortable talking about business and everything there is to do with it. I’ve been told that I’m a very good conversationalist but I think it is only during my business conversations, not my social setting conversations.
The last 4 years certainly did change me and a mistake I’ve found and learned from is that you must have a solid work and life balance. Your friends and family are some of the most important people in your life and it is really important that you make sure to spend time with them and get out and do things that have nothing to do with your business. And I know, your business is your life, hobby and everything above. I feel the same way but as I’m getting old I certainly am feeling the need to separate myself more from the business and simply becoming a business owner. I love what I do and love how I help clients day in and day out but it is evident that my dedication by day, night and weekend is becoming a wear on me. Things need to change and they already have.
Some of the things I started doing included taking up snowboarding a year ago. I haven’t done any skiing since I was a kid except for some cross-country skiing I did back in Grade 8. This is fun stuff. I’ve also taken up a lot more hockey to keep myself active and as of the last few weeks I’ve re-focused my health and the time that I spend at the gym each day.
There’s nothing wrong with sacrificing yourself at the beginning but I must encourage everyone to keep their social life. I made that mistake and I’m paying for it through a variety of different social habits I’ve acquired. I’m working to fix those things but I think many others can avoid all of the headache. I have a really good friend of mine who’s on the same entrepreneurial journey and she has consistently maintained a social life that I envy. She’s maintained a very close group of friends but still kept the work ethic that’s continued to make her successful. I’ve seen her to her very last penny but yet she’s still remained positive, didn’t shut out her friends and maintained that social aspect of her life.
But keep in mind that you’re still a business owner. You’re still the person in charge and running the show. There will always be some times you can’t get out but I think making a point of including social activities in your weekly schedule is a must. I’ve certainly learned the lesson over the last few years and I’m sure I’ll continue to grow and stop talking shop when I’m out.
Then again, I am a big Vancouver Canucks fan so many people might not want to hear me talking about how good the Canucks are!
