I’ve always loved my work. This was true in college, when I was running my own music business playing gigs and teaching classical guitar. It’s been true of the work I’ve done for my congregations over over nearly the past decade. And it is also true of the work I do for my clients in real estate.
I can vividly remember a meeting we had at my first parish in Colorado. One of the leaders of our congregation (a very sharp guy and successful businessman) expressed concern that I was going to “burn out” because I was “burning the candle at both ends.”
A few months later, I recall him confessing in another meeting that he came to realize that far from burning me out, my work was actually having the opposite effect on me: it energizes me. (I’m pretty sure he was the same way)
And so, when I came across this fantastic quote by Debbie Millman, it immediately resonated with me.
I do not believe in work-life balance. I believe that if you view your work as a calling, it is a labor of love rather than laborious. When you work is a calling, you are not approaching the amount of hours you are working with a sense of dread or counting the minutes until the weekend. Your calling can become a life-affirming engagement that can provide its own balance and spiritual nourishment. Ironically, it takes hard work to achieve this.
When you are in your 20s and 30s and want to have a remarkable, fulfilling career, you must work hard. If you don’t work harder than everyone else, you will not get ahead. Further, if you are looking for work-life balance in your 20s or 30s, you are likely in the wrong career. If you are doing something you love, you don’t want work-life balance.