For the past two years, my wife and I have traveled with friends to the Caribbean for the first week of the new year. This year, we headed to Marigot Bay in St. Lucia. It was my first trip to St. Lucia, and it’s a beautiful country known for its rum, rolling mountains, and really clear water. I enjoyed two of the three. I’ll let you guess which two. As an aside, if you thought the water couldn’t be as clear as it is in the pictures and the landscapes can’t be that beautiful, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
While we were at the pool one day, we were talking with one of our friends. He is an accomplished sales leader in the software-as-a-service (SAAS) space. He shared with us that the pace of the vacation was too slow for him and that he started thinking about things like “how I’d like to quit my job.” That statement was said with a smirk and a chuckle, but much truth is said in jest, as the saying goes. He recently took a promotion in which he is now leading the whole sales team from a senior leadership level versus being a team leader and a producer. It’s a big jump to stop being a producer and start investing in others, sharing the best of your gifts with the best of theirs to achieve remarkable results.
At the same time that he was sharing that, I was reading two books. The first is Blind Spot, a book written by Gallup CEO, Jon Clifton, in which he shared data his organization has collected on the rise of unhappiness and its root causes. Chief among them: workplace dissatisfaction. The second book is The Power of Full Engagement, written by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. They share stories from working with “corporate athletes” in managing their energy. Their claim is that energy is the resource that needs to be managed more than time. They share stories of work they have done with their clients—like I often do here—and the solutions that they co-created with them to get the outcome they desired. As I listened to our friend, and I reflected upon what I was reading, I saw a common theme: we often allow the workplace to be the sole determinant of our success. We give everything we have to it to the detriment of our health, family, friends, and overall well-being.
Allow me a story from the incredible work that one of my clients is doing to illustrate the point further. Shortly after I met him, he texted me about a book he was reading. I asked what he was learning from the book and he vulnerably shared the fears he had about his business. I texted him back and acknowledged him for doing that and shared that I was a business coach and see these things often. He asked if we could connect for a conversation to see how I may be able to help him. In our initial meeting, he explained that he was recently married and his wife was not expecting him to be working as many hours as he was. I asked him about the size of his business and how that has changed over the years. He told me that they had the high water mark a few years ago, but now they were “comfortable” with where they were. I recall sitting there and thinking, “He’s not comfortable. He just can’t imagine doing anymore work right now because it’s all he does. He’s exhausted and his wife is unhappy too.” At the end of the meeting, he asked me for a proposal. I sent him one and a week later he chose to hire me as his coach. I don’t want this point to get missed: he hired me so he could have a better quality of life, not a better business.
And here’s the irony of it all: he got both. Four months in, he has a better business than he did in August. His revenues are up 38% and his profits are up 83%. While those results are extraordinary in and of themselves, he now only works five days a week and a few hours on the weekend. He sends me pictures of him and his wife heading out to dinners. He texts me to let me know that he stopped working at 2pm one day so he could spend more time at home. And, because he is developing a leadership team with good systems, he is considering adding another regional outpost to his business. His business is growing and he is working less. He’s creating a business that serves the life he has always wanted, rather than a life dominated by his business.
Meanwhile, on the way home from our vacation, I took the flight to watch two movies—something I rarely do. The first one was You Gotta Believe, a film based upon the true story of a Texas youth baseball team who had a coach that was diagnosed with terminal skin cancer. It’s the story of a group of people rallying around that cause, transforming the worst team in the town to a Little League World Series contender in a short period of time. It’s a story of purpose, vulnerability, hope, and commitment. It’s a reminder of how important our health is, yet how often we take it for granted.
The other was A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a story based upon the life of Fred Rogers, who most of us know as Mr. Rogers, the one with the red sweater who we all watched when we were growing up. Tom Hanks plays the kind, gentle soft-spoken man from Philadelphia who agrees to an interview with a hard-nosed reporter. In the process, Hank’s character converts the reporter from a cynical journalist to loving son, sacrificial husband, and adoring father. Originally, the reporter was supposed to produce a 400-word profile. It turned into a 10,000-word Esquire cover story entitled “Can you say…Hero?” It’s a story of unwavering commitment to one’s values, of serving rather than pleasing, and of a long obedience in the same direction.
So what does Marigo Bay, Mr. Rogers, and a minor league baseball team have in common? That’s easy. Commitment creates results. Progress beats perfection. Success comes in all forms. Opportunity is everywhere. As we embark on a new year, it’s tempting to write 15 goals down, as opposed to the three you’re willing to go all in for. It’s tempting to post resolutions that impress others but leave you feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and unsatisfied. Here’s your permission slip to create a business plan that creates the life you want, but doesn’t take it over. Here’s your reminder that overnight successes really aren’t overnight successes. What isn’t celebrated is the consistency and perseverance to become an overnight success. That’s the manure beneath the surface. Here’s your invitation to do work that matters to you, rest before you think you need it because that’s already too late, and to live with purpose in 2025.