Hi, my name is Steve Liang, and I am an entrepreneur. I want to share some of my challenges and struggles being an entrepreneur.
One of my biggest struggles has been finding the right balance between my work and my life.
Early on, I was a workaholic. I would get up at 7, 8 AM, and work until midnight, and I would work nonstop, just focus on building - build systems, marketing, client base, infrastructure… you name it, the work is endless.
I LOVED this life. It was fun, and it was addictive because over time, you figure out what it takes to make the business grow, and growing is fun, addictive, and awesome.
But this “whatever it takes” attitude is not healthy. It was great for business but very bad for life. I was so focused on solving problems in the business, I neglected my personal life relationship. You know it’s funny, I always read about startup founders end up breaking up with their girlfriends, or getting a divorce, and I always thought, we are OK - it’s never going to happen to us, we are doing fine. Boy was I wrong.
About 3 years ago, my wife Kathy and I got married, and when we started talking and reflecting back, we realized that our relationship was on the verge of falling apart! I was so focused on business, and I didn’t pay much attention to my girlfriend or the life we had at the time. And because I was an absentee in the relationship, we stopped investing in the relationship. We didn’t keep up our house, we had a thick layer of dust, I was cranky and highly irritable, and generally not a very pleasant person to be around. In fact, if we didn’t follow through and got married, we would have broken up, and that would be one of the most devastating things for me, because I always prided myself in taking care of my people, and I didn’t take care of the most important person in my life.
So I decided to change my priorities and refocus on reworking our relationship and taking care of family, but now the struggle becomes over correction - how much energy do I spend in improving family versus my business? And the workaholic in me is always wanting to break out and when that happens, my family suffers.
So that’s the struggle I’d like to share today. If you have experienced similar struggles, please share in the comments section - I think our society tends to glorify successful entrepreneurs, but the struggle is real, and a lot of us are doing this alone - the fact is, we are not alone, if we would just put down the facade of “I’m doing great!” and share all the struggles and sacrifices we have made along the way in order the grow, I think the world will be a better place. Thank you for listening and I look forward to exchanging stories with you!
Health and Happiness,
Steve
To learn more call the office of the West DFW REI Group at (817) 599-8058, and we will be happy to assist you in determining the best way forward to help you get started. Fill out our website contact form to fast-track the process and give us details about yourself. We'd love to hear from you and assist you in finding the best solution!
The West DFW REI Group is a Veteran-owned and run business and has been helping investors across the DFW Metroplex since 2009 take their business to the next level. Google West DFW REI Group to see what others have to say about our group.
To view additional BLOGS topics on our site, click HERE.
Be sure to reach out if you have any questions on anything HERE.
The "Watering Hole" for North Texas Real Estate Investors!