Money & Life Balance

This week has given me an opportunity to reflect on what type of life balance I wish to have as an entrepreneur.  From discussions with classmates as well as my spouse, I have come to the conclusion that keeping my marriage whole is the most important thing I can do.  If I find myself in a situation that my marriage is suffering, I will stop what I am doing and reassess what I can do to strengthen my marriage.

I will make sure that I put some controls in place before I run into issues with my marriage.  Among them will be regular family meetings to measure each family member's current feeling of inclusion in what is happening with each other and the business.  I will make sure that my wife and I sit down and have a thorough discussion as to how much time needs to be spent with each other.  We will also discuss what types of things are important to each other in maintaining our family unit.  Examples would be to not check voicemails, text messages, email, etc. while we are having family time.

My attitude towards money is very simple; I consider it to be a tool.  Like all tools it has uses that are very desirable as well as uses that are not desirable.  I know that I will need a certain amount of money to support my family.  Once I have that amount, I am open to donating the remainder to helping other.  I know that having enough money saved up so that I am living off of the residual income will greatly enhance my ability to give to others.  It will also allow my wife and I the time we want to be able to serve missions together.

The way that I view money will have a profound effect on the way that I live my life.  When I am focused on attaining money, I will not be paying as much attention to other aspects of my life.  If I am viewing attaining money as a means to an end, I will still be able to focus on those things that truly matter to me.  Things like my family, giving service, fulfilling my church callings are what bring happiness into my life.  I want to keep them front and center in all of my endeavors.

Some rules that will help me to prosper include following the six steps in the Ministry of Business, having 10 or more friends that are older, younger, and the same age as me.  Having older friends will help give me perspective.  Having younger friends will give my energy a boost.  Having friends that are the same age as me will help to keep me grounded.  Another rule for prospering would be to continue to live a modest lifestyle.  This will make it so that I have the funds available to do what I want while not having to work an insane amount.