Personal
Are You the Owner of Your Life?
Where do you want to be in six months? A year? Five years? I’m not talking about physical location; I’m talking about those three areas on which we focus at View from the Top—business life, personal life, and spiritual life?
On page 27 in The Impact Equation, our recommended book this month, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith said, “There will come a time when everyone will think this way (like an owner). Everyone will know that they are in control because no one else will really take care of them.”
Brogan and Smith contrast the thinking of employees with that of owners. They point out that employees wait for opportunities to come to them while owners search out opportunities. So, let’s take a quick look at these three core aspects of life and think about the question posed in the title of this post.
Do you own your business life? This doesn’t mean you have to become an entrepreneur. It means you set boundaries and keep your business life from intruding in other areas of your life. Are you constantly checking email or social media? How often are family experiences interrupted by your need to hop online or take a call. If you don’t make decisions about your business, you’ll become an “employee” and the decisions will be made for you. Own your business life and it will own less of you.
Do you own your personal life? For many upwardly mobile individuals, their personal lives are the first thing to get out of balance. People get too busy to exercise, read, play with their kids, or go on a date with their spouse. They try to squeeze every ounce of life out of every minute, often at the expense of those they love the most. I understand. Our families are far more forgiving than the demands of our professions. However, it is our responsibility to take care of ourselves so we can care for those entrusted to us.
Do you own your spiritual life? Have you ever walked away from church and said, “I didn’t get anything out of today’s sermon”? Statements like that come easy when we place responsibility for our spiritual development in the hands of others. Your spiritual growth is your responsibility. The spiritual growth of your family members is your responsibility. The church and its ministries are a support structure designed to equip you to grow spiritually so you can help others grow spiritually.
Brogan and Smith are right—no one else is going to take care of you. However, you can be a part of a community of people dedicated to supporting each other in their business, personal, and spiritual lives. That’s what we do at View from the Top.
Live on purpose,
Aaron Walker
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