Stop Focusing on Work-Life Balance If You Want to Be Successful If you're not willing to work harder than everyone else, you'll never get where you want to go.
By Nick Gilmour Edited by Amanda Breen
Our biggest sale — Get unlimited access to Entrepreneur.com at an unbeatable price. Use code SAVE50 at checkout.*
Claim Offer*Offer only available to new subscribers
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
A quick Google search about important aspects of the workplace will result in many experts emphasizing the significance of a work-life balance. Most of us have heard that maintaining a work-life balance comes with a myriad of health and productivity-related benefits: stress reduction, burnout prevention and more.
Sure, if you work a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. office job, you can go home at night, take a bath and forget about work for 16 hours, and if that's what makes you happy, then having a work-life balance is great. On the other hand, if you really want to succeed at what you do and be the best of the best in your niche, then work-life balance isn't going to get you there.
Cue the angry comments saying how horrible I am for telling readers to give up on that balance in lieu of their dreams. But that's just it. If your dreams and goals are important to you, then you've got to work for them. You've got to become obsessed with your goals in order to succeed. Giving up half your day to scroll through TikTok or watch Netflix is not going to get you anywhere anytime soon. If you can't effectively manage your own time, then how are you going to lead a flourishing business?
Related: Stop Expecting to Get Paid for Your Time
Stop being afraid of hard work
In a previous article, I mentioned that people need to stop expecting to be compensated for their time. I'm not saying you need to work for free or "the exposure." Instead, I'm telling you that you can and should be willing to put hard work in now without expecting immediate rewards in order to fulfill the big dreams you have for your future. You have to make the decision to use your valuable free time to do and learn things that will get you closer to your goals — even if there isn't someone paying you to do it.
Everybody loves the grand idea of being in business and having endless money. Having a nice car and a big house is glorified in our society, but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, no one wants to put in the work. Eventually, people give up, uninterested in doing what it takes to get where they want to be. So many of us want something for nothing.
Unfortunately, life isn't that easy; life is tough. I didn't come from a privileged background. I came from the exact opposite, and I had to work my ass off. It's not always fun. At first, it'll be the complete opposite of fun. But you're doing it for the greater good of your future and your children's future if they're in the picture.
Related: 7 Ways Focused Hard Work Crushes Self-Limiting Beliefs
Be the hardest working person you know
Work ethic outshines work-life balance when it comes to success. You need to outwork everyone you know. Surround yourself with hard-working people and then strive to work harder than them. You can use them as guiding examples of a threshold you can't fall below.
Execution is so important; without it, you have nothing. You could have the greatest and biggest ideas. You could be the smartest person in the world. You could have everything you need to succeed, but if you're not willing to work harder than everyone else, you'll never get where you want to go.
Real success comes when you're dedicated enough to execute your plans and be consistent with your actions. Executing consistently is the key. Do it over and over again until you reach your goals — and then go even further.
If you want to be elite in what you do, then "work-life balance" must take a back seat — at least until you've gained stability. If it were me, however, I would never put in all that hard work with the sole goal of having work-life balance one day. Oh no, that hard work is laying a foundation for more hard work so I can achieve as much success as possible in my life. I would never put all I had into it just to give up and fall back at the first sign of a bit of money.
It's time to decide you're going to do something and then go all-in with it. Don't half-ass it in business or as an entrepreneur. This message isn't for people who don't want to be self-employed and achieve more success. You may need to sacrifice a few things in the process, but you're going to get where you're going much faster if you put in the work.
Related: Purpose Is Created Through Hard Work
