How Can Your Relationship Survive Your Business?

For the last 5 years we have been running a course each May called: How Can your relationship survive your business?

Over this next month, I want to focus on some of the keys we have found in not just surviving being in business together, but how to build a thriving business and a thriving relationship.

Currently, 46% of all first time marriages end in divorce. This is what a real pandemic looks like. This statistic is staggering. Second relationships have even worse statistics.

38 years ago we started our first business, an electrical contracting business, in the middle of a mini recession and many businesses were shedding staff which created a lot of other small electrical contracting businesses. Within 6 months of starting our business, we knew of 25 other people launching their shot at business too.

Many of these business owners I have stayed in contact with over the years, and of those 25 debutant businesses nearly 40 years ago, there are only three of us that are still married to our first wife!

So many of those young men I used to connect with would have answered that they were doing what they were doing, working long hours and making big sacrifices for the wife and kids however the sacrifice ended up being their wife and kids.

Being in business is not easy. As business owners, we have a different layer of stress than just being an employee. Nowadays, as a business coach, I work with not just male owners of businesses but equally as many ladies. And the pressure to manage our relationship, family and business in harmony is not as much gender biased towards men as it once was.

Donna and I have had our vegemite sandwich years and our roast dinner years as well. We have had our difficult clients, bad debtors, clumsy contracts, staff problems, extended sick leave, lost quotes we were really hoping for, sick kids, teenagers, young married kids and now grandparenting years. Every season brings new challenges.

Every time I have seen people strive for work life balance, I seem to find they discover GUILT:

Giving

Up

In

Logical

Thinking

I personally believe the work live balance is a myth! However I am an absolute advocate for professional/personal life harmony.

What's the difference you ask? Harmony is achievable and balance often isn’t. Harmony between our professional and personal life is more available to us when we focus on the elements that make up harmony. Balance is rigid, but harmony is fluid.

To create harmony and reduce frustration and increase feeling fulfilled...

Frustration  

F Fear of the unknown circumstances I am in. I currently feel out of control.

R Regret for decisions I have made and now living with the consequences of.

U Unsure of unconfessed things I have done wrong and I am trying to hide, cover up, or suppress.

S Scared of the next season of my life or changes I have to make.

T Time is poor.  I have overcommitted and now I am busy but underdelivering.

R Resentment for a decision I’ve made. Relationship breakdowns. Ruminating on hurtful experiences.

A Anger. I tend to find I am unreasonably angry with people too much.

T Taking on more responsibility than I should. Not holding others accountable. Being a people pleaser.

I Intentionality is lacking I am losing my enthusiasm, excitement and engagement.

O Opposition seems to be coming at me on multiple fronts.

N Not fulfilled. Nothing ever seems to go right and mistakes are regularly turning into failures.

Fulfilled

F Faith-filled - Expecting great things ahead of me by trusting and believing in great outcomes.

U Understanding - My circumstances and my life are measured, not placing too much pressure on now.

L Love - I can give and receive love. Love is an action and decision of my choice.

F Future-focused - I gaze on good things that are likely to happen to me, not my problems or past failures.

I I - I know who I am. I know my “why" and I live intentionally.

L Living. I am living a full and exciting life and not just existing. Enjoying being present in moments.

L Life- I Planalife I want to live in! All I do and feel is alive and inspired.

E Energised - I am energised for today and excited about tomorrow. I plan to live motivated.

D Dedicated - To my purpose, family and future. I have patience, persistence, consistency.

The more you live intentionally feeling fulfilled in your life rather than frustrated with your life, the more you will find harmony and have a thriving relationship and not just a surviving relationship.

Stay tuned for next we as we discover more from “How can your relationship survive your business?” Get ready to book in for our next course in May. There is still opportunities to book in for HELLO Marketing (our April course) too!