Apr 22, 2024
on the road in New Mexico….

“When people talk about work, life balance, what’s your honest opinion about that?” “Kobe Bryant wasn’t doing free throws at 3:00 AM for no reason.”

(Can’t read the full email – click here for the online version.)

In this woke age, it is rare to hear anyone, let alone a successful and young entrepreneur tell you that balancing life and work is a stupid idea. Yet that is exactly what George Heaton tells interviewer Steven Bartlett. (Diary of a CEO)

In 2012, at the age of 18, he and his brother decided to start a clothing line, out of their father’s shed. In just 3 years they were selling half a million dollars and incorporated.

Today the company grosses over $100 million, has 100 employees and is one of the UK’s top brands for chic, casual clothing for the younger set. Plus, George is not running the company day to day – he hired an outsider as CEO, with large company management experience - so he can concentrate on design, styles, and strategy.

So, what did he mean that the attempt to achieve a work/life balance was a foolish goal? 

Furthermore, in this podcast, George even says that motivation or trying to find motivation is also a fool's errand. One can get motivated for a short time, but it will never be enough to sustain the energy and drive one requires in order to build a company to the success of his nor propel it to the next level - $1 billion.

These are interesting views. And not ones that have popular appeal. 

Upon first hearing of it, my own impulse would be to tell him he was full of it. But as you listen on, you realize he is right – and here is why.

There is no question that to achieve anything, especially from nothing, one must put all of one’s focus and energy into the endeavour. You cannot go halfway – if you are serious about achieving mastery level. This is important because not all of us are interested in achieving mastery. Being number 1. Which is probably a good thing, as where would one find employees? If everybody wanted to own and run the company, it wouldn’t work.

But, if you want your company to be a much greater success than it is, the first place to start is to compare your desire with your discipline to do what it takes to achieve the goal you want, in the time frame you want it.

The key word is discipline. 

And Steven dwells into this with George at great length. George admits that there was a period when they had reached a few million where he just wasn’t that into it anymore. Sales were flat. The company comprised of him, his brother, and some friends and they were basically working on a shoestring with little operational efficiency or clear goals. 

And the two brothers weren’t really making any money themselves either.

That’s when they realized that if they didn’t make some serious changes in how they operated, what their real mission was, who they served and what they wanted – they would fail.

So, two things happened.

First, George realized that there are a lot of smart people in the world; people who were better than him, at many aspects of running and managing a business. As a founder – that is a scary idea. “To grow, I must hire (and pay) people who are better than me. I am the obstacle that is preventing this company from growing.”

One of their chief hires was a fellow they lured away from a $500 million/year firm to be CEO of theirs, when they weren’t yet doing $20 mm. 

Now – here is the second part and to me – it is even more important.

Around 2018 – after they had reached (remember, these guys were just in their mid-20s) several million in sales – they reached a plateau. And received some bad press. Furthermore, George admits that he did not like how he looked, how he handled social media, how he handled hiring. 

In addition, they had a year where they lost money.

So, with no real mentor – he read, researched and then did one fantastic thing.

He drew an image of how he wanted to look, act and be. He didn’t just think up a vision, he created a physical copy of his best self and put it in a spot where he would look at it every day.

Basically, he decided to recreate himself and in turn – the company.

For inspiration, from his research, he found a guy named Andy Fritzello, who wrote a book called 75 Hard. A combination of working out, eating and drinking healthily, reading 10 pages of book – doing this consistently for 75 days.

The consequences of his following this regimen and determination to improve himself gave him the structure to organise and prioritize his day – which meant better focus on the company. 

Most importantly – he saw and felt real improvement. This energized him even more.

Self-discipline – doing the important but not urgent things, every day – religiously – that provides and gives one the motivation and energy to accomplish great things.

Robert Ringer had this great title for one of his many books – “Action: Nothing Happens Until Something Moves!” Meaning, to get motivation to do something, just get doing anything that will get you to your goal. The act of doing in turn provides the motivation.

In conclusion – is there such a thing as work – life balance?

I’d say yes. Provided you have a concrete goal on what you want to achieve, and you take responsibility and be disciplined to organize your life in such a way that you accomplish those goals. Whatever they may be. 

Until next week, 

Stay healthy and focus on profit! 

 - Hugh 
The “Profit Accelerator” Expert

P.S. Do you have a burning question, challenge or business issue you’d like an answer to? Look no further. Click here and ask me anything you’d like, and I’ll get back to within 24 hours – no cost to you. 

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