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    101 Ways to Have a Business and a Life
    101 Ways to Have a Business and a Life
    101 Ways to Have a Business and a Life
    Ebook293 pages3 hours

    101 Ways to Have a Business and a Life

    By Andrew Griffiths

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    About this ebook

    The simple, practical and easy-to-apply ideas in this guide will help business owners identify the main reasons behind their lack of work-life balance and, most importantly, how to fix it. The experiences, tips, and coping mechanisms of thousands of business owners around the world who were consulted in the writing of the book are compiled into one easy reference that can get even the most out of control business owner back on track. The tips can be implemented quickly and with little or no cost, allowing readers to become the boss in both their businesses and their lives.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAllen Unwin
    Release dateNov 1, 2007
    ISBN9781741158656
    101 Ways to Have a Business and a Life
    Author

    Andrew Griffiths

    Andrew Griffiths is highly regarded as one of the leading small business and entrepreneurial authors in Australia. He has written 14 books, published by Allen & Unwin and Simon & Schuster. Andrew's books have been translated into 10 languages, from Russian to Chinese, and they have been sold in 65 countries. Andrew is also a Book Writing Coach; he has personally mentored 750 new authors to write and publish their first book.

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      Book preview

      101 Ways to Have a Business and a Life - Andrew Griffiths

      101

      WAYS TO HAVE

      A BUSINESS

      AND A LIFE

      ALSO BY ANDREW GRIFFITHS

      101 Ways to Market Your Business

      101 Ways to Advertise Your Business

      101 Ways to Really Satisfy Your Customers

      101 Ways to Boost Your Business

      Secrets to Building a Winning Business

      COMING SOON

      101 Ways to Succeed at Network Marketing

      101

      WAYS TO HAVE

      A BUSINESS

      AND A LIFE

      ANDREW GRIFFITHS

      First published in 2007

      Copyright © Andrew Griffiths 2007

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

      Allen & Unwin

      83 Alexander Street

      Crows Nest NSW 2065

      Australia

      Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100

      Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218

      Email: info@allenandunwin.com

      Web: www.allenandunwin.com

      National Library of Australia

      Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

      Griffiths, Andrew, 1966- .

      101 ways to have a business and a life.

      Bibliography.

      ISBN 978 1 74114 787 2.

      1. Quality of work life. 2. Work – Psychological aspects.

      3. Work and family. I. Title.

      306.361

      Set in 12/14 pt Adobe Garamond by Midland Typesetters, Australia

      Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group

      10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

      Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Introduction

      Section 1: How balanced is your life today?

      Where are you at right now?

      Section 2: Start the retraining process today

      Section 3: The words that come out of your mouth are as important as those you hear

      Section 4: The ‘F’ factor—bring it on

      Section 5: Beware the energy drain

      Section 6: It’s all about people and relationships

      Section 7: Nurture the mind, the body and the soul

      Section 8: Use the right fuel to create calm

      Section 9: Invite balance into your workplace

      Section 10: Balancing the business and the family

      Section 11: Balancing tips specifically for men

      Section 12: Balancing tips specifically for women

      20 bonus tips that will help right now

      Where to from here?

      Appendix: Blank forms to help you regain balance

      Recommended reading and websites

      About the author

      Acknowledgments

      As my life keeps getting busier by the day, I realise there has never been a better time for a book like this. In fact, I recently made the comment at a keynote presentation that I couldn’t wait to finish writing 101 Ways to Have a Business and a Life—because I really need to read it.

      I could write a book to thank all of the people who have continually supported my writing and business career, but instead I hope I tell you often how much I appreciate everything you do. To Allen & Unwin, you are truly exceptional people and publishers. Thank you Ian, Carolyn, Andrew and Clara.

      But as this book is about my journey towards and experiences with finding balance I have to thank a few people who have played a major role in keeping me on the planet a lot longer. First, Jenny Hayes and Louise Nelson, owners of Emerge for Life Health Centre in Cairns, who got me started on the journey that changed my life. Then there are my two amazing personal trainers, Sammy Slade and Kelly Sinclair, who have helped me lose a lot of weight, climb mountains and lift heavy things over a number of years—in spite of countless excuses from me, all of which were completely ignored.

      Last, but not least, to Dr Debra Ruth Lawson, thank you for reminding me to love what I do.

      Introduction

      Why write a book about having a business and having a life?

      The inspiration to write a book to help business owners find some balance in their overcrowded lives came to me from two equally significant sources. I am sure that since you are reading this book and clearly looking for a few answers, what you find here will ring true for you in some shape or form. Rest assured, you are definitely not alone.

      The first source of inspiration is the sheer number of business owners I meet who feel that finding some kind of balance is the biggest challenge they face. I have done training seminars, sat on panels, been interviewed and conducted keynote speaking events on the topic. However, it never ceases to amaze me when I look at an audience and see the almost desperate look crossing hundreds of faces when the possibility of having a life and a business is tantalisingly introduced.

      There was a time when just running the business was challenge enough. Today that is only a part of the problem, for trying to have a life as well as a business is increasingly a much bigger issue. Without doubt, when I ask business owners if they could have one thing, right here, right now, the answer is almost always the same: ‘I wish I had a life.’ How crazy is this?

      So now you know—if you feel like this you are not alone, and that in itself is important. In this manic, intense world of ours, where there are a dozen ways to communicate with everyone else and expectations are higher than ever before, it’s easy to see how we can lose control of our lives and get sucked into the vortex.

      The second source of inspiration was the difficulty I had myself faced in doing the same juggle and dance. While I have for a long time now battled with finding any kind of balance in my life, I arrived at a real low point about five years ago.

      I had never been busier, had as many obligations and commitments, or fought harder to keep some kind of sanity in the craziness that was my daily life. I was running a marketing company with lots of clients, writing books, sitting on company boards, working for charities, mentoring other business owners and generally making sure every minute of every day was full.

      I had workaholic tendencies (OK, I was a workaholic!) that saw me starting at the office around five in the morning and working through till eight or nine at night, seven days a week. I lived like this for so long I forgot any other way of life. Looking back, it was ludicrous and sad. At the time I paid a heavy price, physically, emotionally and spiritually, but I hid behind the long-suffering business owner’s belief that running a business was supposed to be all-consuming and that really, you didn’t get to have a life because small business owners don’t. I wore these beliefs as a badge of honour. Other business owners would sympathise with me over just how tough it was to run your own business and how, if you weren’t putting in at least 80 hours a week, you really weren’t serious about the whole thing. And I believed and helped to spread this propaganda.

      In my most out-of-balance stage, my weight ballooned and I put on over 50 kilograms. I never exercised, I ate poorly, my marriage broke down and my friends stopped calling because I was always too busy to talk to them. The turning point came when my sister died suddenly from a heart attack at the age of 35 (I was 33 at the time). This shocked me into realising that the life I was leading was going to kill me. My doctor, my wife, my friends and even my clients were all telling me the same thing. Old habits die hard, however, and even though I realised that my life had to change I didn’t really know how to change it. But the shift had started.

      Today my life is busier than ever. I have come to terms with what balance means to me (and it is a little different for each of us) and I know that it is something every business owner can achieve. I don’t want to be a Zen Buddhist monk—I like a certain degree of stress and I do my best work when I am under pressure. I like the buzz of having a lot of projects on the go at once and doing exciting and stimulating work, but I realised that the one thing I really wanted to lose was the manic nature of my daily life. Now I understand that there is much more to life than work and how sensational it really is to be able to enjoy every aspect of my life equally.

      I don’t think there is any one simple piece of advice that will bring the balance and harmony back. Many small changes are required; basically it means reprogramming and refocusing to undo the bad habits that have been created often over many years.

      Today I am healthier, happier, more successful and definitely achieving far greater results in every aspect of my life. The day-to-day craziness has gone (most of the time), and I have a deep sense of calm and understanding that makes getting out of bed every day a delight. I get to face each day with a sense of anticipation and excitement that I had forgotten. And I like the way this feels.

      So, my motivation in writing this book is to share some of the lessons I learned the hard way in the hope that you too can improve the quality of your life and your business. I believe that it is possible to have both and, if you can balance them and find your own sense of harmony, the end result is magnificently rewarding for you and for everyone you come into contact with.

      But do I have all the answers?

      When I was writing this book I knew that my experiences would be relevant to many business owners; however, I felt that I needed to draw on more experiences than my own. I discussed the concept of business–life balance with a host of business owners from around the world. I spoke to mothers in business, husband and wife teams, young entrepreneurs and veterans in the small business world. I have drawn on their experiences, challenges and advice in writing this book.

      Based on this I address a wide range of topics, most of which are targeted at people who have probably already lost their sense of balance and are feeling totally overwhelmed—those of you whose businesses have taken over and who are searching for answers to get your lives back. This book includes everything from how we get out of balance in the first place to ways of retraining ourselves and those around us, the importance of what we eat and how we treat our bodies, and lots more.

      If you are just getting into business and want to prevent yourself from getting out of balance, good on you for having the initiative to think ahead, because there is no doubt that this is a challenge you will face at some time. The very nature of small business makes it all-encompassing, wonderful, demanding, hard and rewarding. Being able to maintain a sense of balance and wellbeing while having your own business is a skill that will dramatically increase your chances of success.

      What exactly does balance mean for you?

      This is an important point, and I refer to it often throughout the book. Balance means something different for each and every one of us, and to find out what it means to you is the first step to achieving it. For some people it means no stress at all, having everything in perfect order, living a perfectly healthy life, feeling energised, calm and in control. For others it is cutting back the workday from 18 hours to 14 hours, the number of coffees from ten to five . . . You get the picture.

      This is not a book about spiritual enlightenment, but a practical guide to help you find your own balance between your business and other aspects of your life. As you work through it you will form your own mental picture of how you would ideally like your life to look and feel.

      What will you get out of this book?

      Some of the benefits you will get from this book are tangible, others less so, but all are equally as powerful. These benefits include:

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