Have you ever felt like your entrepreneurial spirit is overshadowing the precious moments with your family? I have walked that tightrope, and it's time I shared the revelations from my personal crusade for harmony between boardroom triumphs and bedtime stories. My story isn't just about the hustle; it's a heartfelt chronicle of the moments missed and the connections reforged. Attend the tale of the carpenter's "trouble tree," a symbol of resilience and a boundary between the pressures of work and the sanctuary of home. This episode is more than a conversation; it's an invitation to transform your daily routine and reclaim the joys of undistracted family dinners and soulful presence with your loved ones.
If you're searching for the elusive secret to a life where passion for work doesn't eclipse the love for your family, you'll find solace and strategy in my words. Share this journey with someone entangled in the same struggle or keep it as a reminder to yourself; either way, it's a story that resonates beyond the echo of the closing credits. As you listen, remember to connect with us beyond the airwaves through our Facebook, Instagram, and website, where the dialogue continues and the community thrives. Embrace the lessons from my missteps and stride towards a future where balance is not just an ideal, but a lived experience.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast, and share it with someone who could benefit from what you heard. Also, head over to https://theerinolson.com/links and sign up for the email list, and you can get all the downloadable PDFs and tools! News: We finally have a YouTube channel! Visit us HERE: https://youtube.com/@theerinolson?si=xPNSU1-C7Yt9zXgD
Have you ever felt like your entrepreneurial spirit is overshadowing the precious moments with your family? I have walked that tightrope, and it's time I shared the revelations from my personal crusade for harmony between boardroom triumphs and bedtime stories. My story isn't just about the hustle; it's a heartfelt chronicle of the moments missed and the connections reforged. Attend the tale of the carpenter's "trouble tree," a symbol of resilience and a boundary between the pressures of work and the sanctuary of home. This episode is more than a conversation; it's an invitation to transform your daily routine and reclaim the joys of undistracted family dinners and soulful presence with your loved ones.
If you're searching for the elusive secret to a life where passion for work doesn't eclipse the love for your family, you'll find solace and strategy in my words. Share this journey with someone entangled in the same struggle or keep it as a reminder to yourself; either way, it's a story that resonates beyond the echo of the closing credits. As you listen, remember to connect with us beyond the airwaves through our Facebook, Instagram, and website, where the dialogue continues and the community thrives. Embrace the lessons from my missteps and stride towards a future where balance is not just an ideal, but a lived experience.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast, and share it with someone who could benefit from what you heard. Also, head over to https://theerinolson.com/links and sign up for the email list, and you can get all the downloadable PDFs and tools! News: We finally have a YouTube channel! Visit us HERE: https://youtube.com/@theerinolson?si=xPNSU1-C7Yt9zXgD
See ya next week! Erin
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Quality of Life podcast. I'm Erin Olson, a wife, a mother and a serial entrepreneur. After starting three successful businesses, I've learned some hard lessons regarding the ins and the outs of starting and running a small business. My intention is to share my knowledge that I've learned from the School of Hard Knocks, so you don't have to learn it the hard way like I did Each week, I hope, to guide you to the next level in your business or in the business that you're working. So let's go. Hey guys, welcome back to the Quality of Life podcast. I'm Erin Olson, your host, and today's episode is all about how to be present with your family when you own or run a business.
Speaker 1:
This is such a hot topic, let me tell you. And first I gotta tell you something I am not perfect, nor do I ever claim to be. I am doing this podcast strictly to help you with all of the things that I have struggled with and fought about for years. So this topic especially is something that I have struggled with for years and I still have issues where I struggle with it, and I'm gonna tell you that, as a business owner, I have failed my family miserably. I had to learn how to do this whole life balance thing better before I destroyed the most important thing in my life next to God my family. I grew up with a single mom who had to work extremely hard to support my brother, sister and I, and she is a great inspiration for how to work hard. But as I applied the work ethic that I was modeled into my Type A personality, I quickly became a workaholic Hyper, focused on getting business running smooth and making a decent living to help support my own family. My motives were pure and I wanted to do this for my husband and my son and I don't know if you're with me on this or not, but work quickly took over my mindset and pretty much every thought I had in my head for way too long, and my family relationships suffered until I had something happen that brought my family back to the top of my priority, where I believe it belonged. While I'm not gonna get into what stopped me in my tracks, I will tell you how I got better at the whole work life balance thing, and I hope that it can keep you from near disaster in your own life too.
Speaker 1:
One thing that I have found over the years is that when you talk with people who are high achievers or people who are really deep into the throes of entrepreneurship, where you eat, drink, sleep and breathe your business is that it is very easy to spend absent minded time with your family, with your spouse, with your church, with your God and with your friends and even your pets. It's actually pretty much acceptable in today's culture. I mean, just look around the next time you're at dinner, the t-ball game or just about any other place where families or friends gather, and you will see a lot of people just aimlessly scrolling, or heck, is it even possible to go to the bathroom without a phone nowadays? Oh, my gosh, tmi. So sorry, but no, this is not about your phone. I just want to tell you what I have learned over the years to help you to have more presence with your family, your friends, your God, your spouse or anything that matters to you. Bottom line, there are a few things that I have used to help me leave work at work even if it is in the office in the next room over. The first thing to do is called the worry tree or the trouble tree. This is a story that I heard years ago and you can put your own spin on it, but I remember hearing it and it was enlightening, to say the least. So the worry tree can be a real or imagined thing, but here is a story as I remember it.
Speaker 1:
There once was a carpenter who was hired to help a man restore an old farmhouse and had just finished his first day on the job, and everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. First of all, on his way to work he had a flat tire that cost him an hour's worth of pay. Then his electric saw broke and after work his old pickup wouldn't even start. His new boss volunteered to give him a ride home, and the whole way the carpenter sat in stone silence as he stared out his window. Yet when they got to his house, he invited his boss in for a few minutes to meet his family. As they walked towards the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. Then, as he opened the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned, weathered face was one huge smile as he hugged his two small children and kissed his wife. Afterwards, the man walked his boss to his car to say thank you.
Speaker 1:
Now, on their way out of the house, the boss's curiosity got the best of him so he had to ask the man about the tree on the front porch. The boss said I noticed when you came up on the porch before going into your house you stopped and touched the tree. Why, oh, that's just my trouble tree. The carpenter said I know I can't stop from having troubles out on the job, but one thing is for sure my troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I just pick them up again. The funny thing, he said, was when I come out in the morning to pick them back up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before. Now, friends, we should all have a trouble tree of our own. We owe it to our families to give them the best part of us, not the worn out, exhausted second hand part.
Speaker 1:
The second thing that can really help you to be present with your family is to make and have a sit down dinner without the TV or phones allowed. Now let me warn you this will be awkward at first if you have never done this. But man, do we really get a glimpse into what our family is dealing with when we are not around. I heard someone once say that their first question at dinner was what did you fail at today? Now I know that that seems a little negative and I'm a pretty optimistic person, but when you make sure that they know that a failure is not a bad thing but a lesson, it really opens the idea up to talking about anything that we are struggling with and to know that it is normal to have failures. Another thing to talk about is what plans there are this week when. What are they looking forward to the most for this weekend? Well, the kids might roll their eyes, and maybe even your spouse.
Speaker 1:
I also suggest that you prepare, eat and clean up dinner together every day. That way, they realize how much work it really is. They can also help you decide which meals to make for dinner and that gives them buy-in. Dinner is such an important meal that we are all guilty of making an on-the-run, out-of-the-bag kind of thing. There are lots of proof and articles out there that cooking at home is not only healthier, but it is also cheaper. If you want a hint to making your meal planning easier, check out my podcast number five from last season, named what's for Dinner.
Speaker 1:
But there is an extra easy life hack that I want to just tell you about right now. It is called Hello Fresh Home Chef or Blue Apron, among others. They not only give you the recipes, but they deliver it to your homes, so you can avoid the grocery store as much as possible. Let me tell you, it is worth it. It may seem kind of expensive, but in reality, it's really not that much more money than going and shopping for yourself, because, first of all, you don't buy all the impulse buys because you're starving and you want something crunchy and salty Believe me, I know or even that little candy bar that's at the checkout. But it also makes it so much easier for your family to be involved. Let your spouse or your kids pick the meals. You might be surprised at what they pick.
Speaker 1:
Also, having dinner together is so helpful for our mental stress. In fact, the American Heart Association reported a survey in 2022 that found that families who eat together regularly are 93% less stressed than those who only have dinner together. How is that for a stat 93% less stress? Ha, doesn't that sound like something we all need a little bit more of? And finally, the third thing that can really help you be more present with your family or friends is yes, put the phone away.
Speaker 1:
I know I know I told you this wasn't about your phone and it isn't. This is about spending the valuable little amount of time with the ones that you love the most and making it count, being present where our feet and our seats are, and our phones are just like a ball and chain, not allowing us to pay full attention to the things that we say are a priority. Here's a hint Turn off your notifications around dinnertime or win out with friends. You will be amazed at what you will notice when you actually look each other in the eyes and have a real conversation without your Apple Watch or your phone dinging or buzzing constantly. This is harder than you think. Have you ever been in a conversation with somebody and you see their phone buzz or light up or their watch light up, and you know that you've lost them? I have, and I know how it makes me feel less important, even if they dismiss it and they come back to the conversation. It is such a game changer to not have that distracting you for even a half a second and you don't lose your train of thought. You don't have to pick up where you're left off, because you can continue the conversation. This is so hard to do, but please turn off your phone or at least silence it.
Speaker 1:
One thing that we've started doing lately in our house and with our friends is playing cards or games, and when you're rassing each other about the game or carrying on, you really have no time to look at your phone. I have forgotten how fun it is to play cards. We play this game called Five Crowns, and it is such a good time. It's very easy, so even your kids can play, but it's also very fun and challenging it. Anybody can win at any time. So if you see it at Walmart, target or online, it's called Five Crowns. I'll put that in the show notes as well. We used to play cards all the time when we were younger, and it is a great way to spend time together.
Speaker 1:
Now, guys, we are not guaranteed any more time on this earth, not even the next minute. So make the most important moments count. Work hard at work and when you are spending time with a family or friends, be intentional about that time. Remember when we talked about blocking time way back last year. Well, block out a little more time for them. Then, if you still have work to do, do it when everybody is asleep. The house will be quieter and you'll probably get way more done in less time.
Speaker 1:
Oh, and I have one more little hint. Remember episode number three last year Free your mind. Well, if not, I'm going to link all of this in the show notes, but I talk about carrying a notebook, and when you do, if things come up that you need to address for work, you can write it down and then come back to it when you're not trying to be present. This is also going to help you to let it go, so you can have your whole mind when you are trying to be present. It really works. Well, guys, that is three ways that I have personally found to help me be way more present with those that are the most important to me. I hope that you can use them to help you too.
Speaker 1:
If you know anybody struggling with this work life balance thing, please send them this episode. I thank you so much for listening and I am going to see you next week on the quality of life podcast. See ya. Thanks for listening to today's episode. Be sure to check us out on the quality of life podcast, facebook and Instagram pages and our website, the Aaron Olson dot com, for downloads and more information. That is T H E E R I N O L S O N dot com. Stay up to date by joining our email newsletter. Together, we can improve all of our quality of life.