“Why are you going to work?” This may seem a strange question, but is it because:-

You want a good life for you and you family?

• Is it about the money and power?
• Are you trying to build something?
• Do you want to make a difference?
• Or do you just feel that you have no choice…?

Normally it is some combination of the above, but whatever your reason, when did you last stop and consider if you are on track to meeting this goal?

We are all creatures of habit, and every Monday morning we go off to work, sometimes not even taking time for breakfast, let alone considering what we are doing it for.

Figure 1: Why Work?

We often think that the harder we work, the more money we make. The more we make, the more choices we will have, and this will give us the quality of life we want for us and those we love.

It is more often true that the harder we work, the more stressed we get, and the less happy everyone around us becomes.

Here are a couple of thoughts that may help:-

If you are not in control of you life and your business then you will feel stressed and perform that much worse.

If you are looking to retire early, or sell your business, put your children through university, or see them married, then you need to make sure that your ‘money making machine’ (your career, or your business) is going to deliver what you need. This takes careful planning, and sometimes some expert help. If every day you go to work your goal draws a little closer then you will feel that it is all worthwhile.

Whether you want to build your business or sell it, whether you want promotion or retirement, it is all a matter of planning. And having planned, measuring your progress, checking that you are still on track, checking that you still want the same things, and if necessary, changing your plan.

A little plan can take you a long way, and like the man said “If you are failing to plan, then you are probably planning to fail!”

So when you finish reading this, talk to you wife, your children, your partners, your colleagues. Tell them what you want, and why you want it. Find out what they need and want too. Then begin planning to do that, and only that.

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You cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters are continually flowing Heraclitus, in. ca. 500 BCE