One of the teachings that stood out to me in a Introduction to Entrepreneurship course this week was a talk by Jeff Hawkins.
You can watch that talk here…
He talked about how a stereotypical view of a successful entrepreneur is someone who works long hours, burning the candle at both ends.
He, however, didn’t agree with that view.
In fact, he felt that an entrepreneur could be successful by taking the time to rest and leave the issue, and come back to it the next day with a refreshed mind and rested body. It doesn’t seem to add up, and is quite counter-intuitive.
Whenever someone gives any type of business advice, I always ask myself, “how qualified are they?”
It turns out that Jeff Hawkins is quite qualified, being the founder of three companies; Numenta, Palm Computing & Handspring.
Jeff went on to explain that he made a commitment to spend quality time with his family every day, and for him it meant that every day he would be there with his family for breakfast and also for dinner.
While other associates were working longer hours, Jeff would leave the office despite any challenges there being faced. For an entrepreneur this can be very hard to do. We want to continue working on the issue to get it resolved as quickly as possible. Sometimes it can mean the difference between having a successful day, week or even month. It can mean the difference between winning or losing a big client.
However, what Jeff found was that by forcing himself to remove himself from the office, when he took that time away, it helped him to reflect on things and gain insights that he might not have if he had continued to do long hours, overworked in the office.
I have found the same to be true from my own experiences.
It is interesting how a flash of inspiration comes in the most unlikely of times. It can come while sitting at the dinner table taking with the family about topics totally unrelated to my work. Or it might come as I’m taking my dogs for a walk, going for a run, or mowing the lawn. That inspiration will then go on to solve my problem, and might have saved me a lot of time and effort.
This kind of thing has happened to me many times. Maybe you can relate?
It is my personal opinion that this happens to a lot of us in this same way because of a loving God who wants us to have balance in our lives, and to take the time to do those things which are most important, i.e. nurturing relationships and taking care of our mind and bodies.
I believe that as we put our trust in God, rather than in our own efforts, by taking the time to do those things that truly matter, that have eternal significance, that God then helps us in all the other areas of our lives also. Including our business.
So next time you are considering whether to continue working hard on an uncompleted project, or to pry yourself away to get home on time to have dinner with the family, I’d recommend that you trust that it will all work out okay, and leave the office.
When we pass away, we are not going to be remembered for the work we did, but the time we spent with those who are most important to us; our family.
And if you were to pass away today, your position at work would be filled within a few days or weeks, but your position at home will never be replaced.