A quick look inside … Live, Love, Work, Prosper
Quite simply, this is how life goes.
My new book Live, Love, Work, Prosper is launching on 9th January!
I have to say that nothing quite compares to the feeling of seeing many hours of writing in hard copy – ready to share with the World.
Before that all happens though, here’s a sneak preview – with a few extracts and lessons from the book.
Just a taster of the many many more lessons in the book which also gives you access to exclusive videos via a QR code.
All in all, the life experiences I have drawn on for Live, Love, Work, Prosper are a healthy mixture of highs and lows, stresses, strains and fair amount of fun.
Quite simply, this is how life goes.
LESSON 1: BUST THE WORK/LIFE BALANCE MYTH
“There is no such thing as the much-vaunted work/life divide … Rather than thinking in terms of a divide – something that reduces and diminishes both work and life – it should in fact be a powerful multiplier. In other words, work, life – and love – can draw on the strengths of each other to create, and enhance, an integrated, potent way of existing, a proper prosperity in the true meaning of the word: not just material wealth, but a flourishing well-being.”
My experience of business, both while heading up major corporations and latterly as a one-man operation, is that there are frequent bumps in the road and subsequent lessons to be learnt, as long as you give business and personal life – the time and space to blend harmoniously together.
LESSON 2: WORK WITH TECHNOLOGY NOT AGAINST IT
“Technology (and hence work) is a friend, not an enemy … Never feel guilty about working, and never hide it from your family. Let them know what you are working on, even if they don’t need all the detail.”
I believe technology used in the right way is liberating … Technology can free us from worry if we know we are always reachable for colleagues, friends and family – this explains why I always, unashamedly, have my phone by my side in my office, in meetings or at dinner!
Technology can provide connection and comfort in the loneliest of times.
Technology can also power you through a to-do list in a moment of otherwise unproductive time – say when waiting for a flight or during a coffee break before a meeting.
LESSON 3: EMBRACE FLEXIBLE WORKING
“9 to 5 is now ready to be consigned to the history books. It is becoming – in reality has already become – a thing of the past. We need to remain connected to business and leisure all the time. There is no going back.”
Technology has made the world a smaller, more accessible place, far better connected and more efficient in its operations.
And smart-thinking businesses recognise that employees don’t need to be present in the office during the expected office hours for productivity to be at its best. In fact, a 2017 Deloitte Millennial survey found that the majority of millennials believe that flexible working arrangements support better productivity and employee engagement, enhancing well-being and happiness.
For me the 9-5 concept is doomed. And this is echoed by Douglas Copeland who says: “The 9 to 5 is barbaric. I really believe that. I think one day we will look back at 9-to-5 employment in a similar way to how we see child labour in the nineteenth century. The future will not have the 9 till 5. Instead, the whole day will be interspersed with other parts of your life.”
Work-life balance is an outdated approach to take in finding true happiness, for balance cannot be achieved without some kind of central axis.
Work life integration is the way forward.
I believe that staying connected to business and leisure at all times allows us to better focus attention on the right area at the right time. For example, slotting in a conference call after watching your son play a rugby match. Yes, you might be standing on the sidelines in the freezing wind but you will fuel that call with positive energy because you’ve just experienced the high of your son scoring a try!
This is true work/life integration and it is incredibly rewarding.
Once you master the art, there really is no going back.
LESSON 4: LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Last of the taster lessons, but not least, I believe the leadership skills required to lead a family and a business are much the same.
“The role of the business leader has a lot in common with being the leader of a family. There can be plenty of misunderstandings, feuds and brooding resentment – but equally that paterfamilias or materfamilias role can infuse the whole of the family/company with purpose and vision.”
If you think of it as just being a case of different subject matter – moving home vs IPO, shopping list vs agenda, school play vs presentation … you get the idea.
Once you apply the same way of thinking to both areas of life, you’ll be able to move between them seamlessly and with minimal effort, without having to stop to “change hats” between roles.
So, why on Earth would you not want to – and not be able to – integrate work and life?
We all like to go into a New Year full of positivity, fired-up for a new challenge, a fresh start, an open mind.
If you like what you’ve read here and want to work on a new empowering approach to work and life in 2018, Live Love Work Prosper is the book you need.
It’s a life-changing approach to finding a new you!
Live Love Work Prosper launches on 9th January 2018 and is available to pre-order from Amazon.
