Find Balance

 

Many ask me about how I find and maintain balance; between my work and lifestyle, internally and more. In this episode I share some of my tips and insights on how I find balance in my own life, and you can too. Full audio and transcript below. Lmk your thoughts!

 

 

Finding Balance

(0:02 - 0:16)

What's going on? Let's get into balance today. Balance is a topic that keeps coming up. A lot of people ask me and they're searching for balance.

(0:17 - 1:19)

And they're curious how I find balance and the different things I do, because I think it's also reasonably evident that I do things that are in different areas, different areas, different, you know, disciplines, different interests that aren't always obviously, you know, taxes follow me or this guy just pounded on my tail. You know, different interests and stuff that aren't always evidently complementary. So when you do things that are different, when you do things that are quite unique, not necessarily complementary in any way, then it's important to find balance between them.

(1:20 - 2:05)

And it's more than that, you know, balance is balance in our activities, is balance in our lifestyle, is balance in our work, you know. It came up the other day, a person was asking me, it's inspired this topic, you know, how do you find balance between what you do for work to make money and the things that you love? And that's work. That takes some work to find that harmony or just, you know, a little bit of focus in the right places, you know, kind of knowing how and where to look and what's already inspiring you.

(2:06 - 3:00)

So I'll just kind of tune that a little bit. So it's ironic that I'm taking this and I'm riding this scooter, going on a little adventure today and this thing also definitely requires balance, although I feel I'm pretty good at this thing as well. So look, in this app, I wanna drop into this topic and talk a little bit about balance in and of itself, how I find balance, give me some tips and insights on how you can find balance in your own world, in your life, in your work, and hopefully, you know, you'll have some great actionable takeaways from this and you can apply them in your own world.

(3:01 - 3:27)

So, starting out on this topic, I wasn't always balanced. On my journey, I feel that I've explored the kind of deep streams of different lifestyles and different careers. We talked about like, things that are, you know, excuse me there, sorry.

(3:28 - 4:04)

It's obnoxious, that bell. When you do things that, you know, are a bit extreme, right? So like, when I was younger, I was overweight in my business activities because I was just all into that stuff. So I was fully suit and tie and clean shaven in the office all the time and work in long hours and just really overweight that lifestyle.

(4:05 - 4:43)

And so then when I kind of had enough of that or I needed a break from that, then I went the other way. And then I was all about like, you know, Syslox and Sunshine and, you know, faraway lands and adventures and, you know, different types of experiences like that, like soul food, you know what I mean? And when I did it, I went with just everything I had on my back. So I took like an 80 pound pack and I was just totally burnt out.

(4:43 - 4:58)

If you've heard this story, you'll hear, you know, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't heard me say this story, you'll hear it again. Cause it's just a big part of my journey when I transformed here, my life and my lifestyle.

(5:02 - 5:21)

But I took this like 80 pound pack, I packed it with everything I possibly could, kind of a ready for anything, you know, setup. And I left and so I started, you know, exploring my life and it was with what I had on my back. You know, I didn't know where I was going to go.

(5:21 - 5:55)

I wasn't really sure, I just went exploring and I let inspiration take me wherever that was, right? So there's quite a departure from like the heavily, you know, mentalized, structured world of, you know, downtown urban living, corporate. Excuse me guys, thanks. And so then you explore that side of life.

(5:55 - 6:45)

And then, you know, as one buddy says to me, he just is so funny, business colleague, he says, you know, Chad, I remember talking to you and you were down somewhere in Mexico, you were like hanging out of a tree with a bow and arrow. And I know I said that day, I said, Chad, I think it's time to come home, you know? And it's funny, I wasn't up a tree with a bow and arrow, but I wasn't far away because I went through a hurricane in Cabo and, you know, the city and the town has recovered. But at the time, like we got smoked and like everything was busted and broken and, you know, buildings were all kinds of damage and we had no power or water.

(6:47 - 7:21)

There were armed gangs roaming around, you know, like patrolling at night that were like holding people up and it was just really wild. So we had taken like debris in the streets and we blockaded our road and we were patrolling at night. So I had like a flashlight and a machete and I was sleeping outside for a while with my neighbors and we were just doing all that and shifts and stuff, right? And it was wild.

(7:22 - 7:44)

So it wasn't far from the truth. But anyways, you go on that little adventure and you, you know, really fill your bucket and learn kind of stuff about the world and about yourself. And what really fills your bucket, right? So from those two extremes, like where's the harmony? Like, I'm not trying to live away from my friends and family and all this.

(7:44 - 8:06)

I'm not trying to, you know, I'm not trying to just like hide from the world, but I'm trying to find my balance in it. And it was a big exploration of doing that, you know, journey. So when I came back to the circle, I had explored, you know, both of those extremes.

(8:06 - 8:49)

Like still even in the business side prior to that, I mean, I was, you know, on road shows and in various cities and hotels and living out of my suitcase and, you know, lots of meetings and late nights and all this kind of stuff, right? So, you know, where do you go? And, you know, so it was a big exploration of that. And that's what I did. And, you know, I learned so many things about what actually really matters and how to find that balance.

(8:49 - 9:09)

And the first thing is just taking no time for myself. And you're getting to somebody who says, this is the place you want to be at. So there's like lifestyle balance, right? So like, if you're working too hard, you feel, there's all this, whatever it's called, you know, hustle core mentality that says like, you know, you gotta focus and you gotta bury it.

(9:09 - 9:32)

You don't work until you can't anymore, you know? And then, you know, you have those other days where in the future where you'll be able to take a break. Well, you know what? Like I live that lifestyle and I work my ass off. And simply just working your ass off does not guarantee that you're going to be successful in whatever you're working on, right? That's just a fact.

(9:32 - 10:07)

Like there's not a pure formula that says, if you work hard, you will succeed. People want to believe that, but that's not necessarily the case, right? If you're smart about what you work on, if you solve amazing or challenging problems with amazing solutions, then you have a very good chance of succeeding. You've heard the stories of people when they're like, you know, I wrote that script overnight or I wrote that book in a weekend.

(10:08 - 10:36)

I came up with that, you know, solution, that project, you know, we coded this software in a few days, our MVP, you know, Minimum Viable Product in this software in a few days. You hear that stuff. That doesn't mean these people who are doing this are just like, you know, burying themselves in it, right? So that's a fallacy that needs to be called out, I feel.

(10:36 - 11:23)

And, you know, it certainly makes people money in their content to find people that, you know, ascribe to that. And it doesn't mean that, you know, working with a reasonable degree of discipline and consistency is not going to be helpful. It is, but you don't need to do it until you're out of gas, right? And balance is recognizing that it's a marathon, not a sprint, right? So you need to sustain yourself in the work as you build because as you're building, you're an entrepreneur, you'll recognize that, you know, building is experimentation.

(11:24 - 11:40)

Entrepreneurship is experimentation. And a lot of it, you know, you're experimenting with the ideas you have and you don't know if they're going to work until you've tested them. And if that doesn't work, then you got to try again, you try something else.

(11:40 - 11:47)

And you keep doing that until something breaks through. But again, like there's no guarantees that it breaks through. It breaks through if it's third.

(11:48 - 12:32)

It doesn't break through if, you know, you just punch in your hours and say, well, look, I put in this many hours, I should be successful now. It just doesn't work, right? So, you know, to do that work, to work on these things for the time that's required with the energy that's required and doing that sustainably over time requires balance. And, you know, that will give you the staying power to do this for as long as it takes to see some results, to recognize, realize success.

(12:34 - 12:49)

So the balance comes from a number of different, you know, areas. There's things that are just right in front of us that don't cost money or much at that. But so many people overlook.

(12:50 - 13:18)

And they're also the things that people tend to put last. So, you know, let's just look at like the kind of baseline principles of wellness, right? So when you start your day and you do things about your day, like how much of what you're doing in your day are you doing for yourself first when you start your day? A lot of people don't. Like they just jump right into things.

(13:18 - 13:28)

And I didn't used to. I used to roll over and the phone would be ringing and it would be like right into it right away. And if I was tired, then I'd be irritable.

(13:28 - 13:40)

And if I was irritable, then they'd be really shitty phone calls. And, you know, that's how you start your whole day. So, you know, and maybe I was hungover, like all this type of stuff.

(13:40 - 14:20)

So none of that helps, right? What we're trying to find is like a degree of consistency in certain aspects of our days that we can reasonably control that allow us to engage in a feel good way with the rest of the day. And whatever comes up, whatever is required and also have the energy to face whatever that might be in the rest of the day and whatever we're working on. So now as an example, I prioritize my wellness at the beginning of my day.

(14:21 - 14:41)

So a few things to help balance yourself and your life and the way you start your day in ritual. And it starts for me with meditation. Before I'm out of bed, I just sit like I'm awake, but I'm just there with my breath.

(14:41 - 14:54)

And I'm meditating just to listen to where I'm at, checking with myself and feel into my day. So I kind of run it in my mind's eye and go, okay, what are my goals today? Right? I need to do this. I want to do that.

(14:55 - 15:16)

There's other thing I need to get done. I got that meeting at 11 or whatever, you know, I get that call, there's this thing. So I just kind of walk myself through, okay, what are those things, you know, that I'm aware of that are in my world that are my goals today? And I'm also calibrating myself.

(15:16 - 15:34)

So in my meditation, in my breath, when I start in the morning, I'm just letting myself feel. I'm feeling into myself and checking in with my body. How do I feel? Are there any kinks in my body? Is anything sore? Like, do I need to stretch? Do I need a little movement? I do these types of things.

(15:34 - 15:58)

Just a full check in, right? And even just doing that, it doesn't take long. Now you're not jumping out of bed, searching for something or racing for something or chasing your tail. You're coming out of bed, like grounded, centered, clear on your day, at least, you know, the things you can control.

(16:01 - 16:24)

And you're ready to get started. So from there, then I wanna turn my system on. And, you know, there's a reason we all intuitively don't just go and grab like a piece of cake to start the day, or we don't just go and like, you know, grab a, you know, a beer to start the day.

(16:25 - 16:32)

I think, you know, some people do. That's not my MO. I'm not here to judge you at the moment.

(16:33 - 16:52)

If that's what you do, but there's reasons we kind of generally advise against it, right? So what I do to start my day then is I put my hot water on and I have, you know, a hot cup of lemon water. I don't do coffee. I don't do caffeine.

(16:52 - 17:12)

I moved off of that a long time ago. And what you find is like the first couple of weeks of getting off caffeine, it's like a thing where you're like, oh, I don't have any energy. But the reality is if you fuel your body properly with nourishment, side note, and a bit of a tip, you don't need caffeine because you wake up, you're rested, and you're nourished.

(17:13 - 17:29)

So what's the caffeine do for you? When I drank caffeine, you know, and coffee, I mean, hair just used to stand up on my head. Like I would just ride from it. I don't know if that's just me and coffee and how that would work, but like, I was just blasted.

(17:30 - 17:44)

So didn't need that. And I do also, as I go on my journey here, I listen to my body and it tells me things which I need or don't need. And if it doesn't feel good, I let it go, right? So kind of same with that.

(17:44 - 18:10)

But I have the glass of lemon water, hot water with lemon. And that, they say, gets your engine going, gets your system going, your digestion moving, and, you know, wakes your body up. So I do that and then I get into my kind of nourishment phase and I, you know, I spend a little bit of time just kind of getting my morning started.

(18:10 - 18:24)

You know, I'm comfortable, I'm relaxed. I check in with the world, see what's going on out there. I start kind of checking in with the various business interests of mine, and any messages I have on my phone I can start looking at.

(18:24 - 18:37)

If it's appropriate, I like to go down, maybe jump in the water, jump in the swim. Some people do like cold plunges. It's amazing doing that stuff, I find.

(18:37 - 19:01)

Feels really good, very invigorating, but also a lot of physical benefits and physiological benefits. And so, you know, now I'm in my body to start the day. And I'm flowing, right? And then I can start tackling those objectives.

(19:03 - 19:11)

And as I do that, you know, I do have my training. So I'll do my training as well at some time in the morning. Morning's always way more effective, I find.

(19:11 - 19:46)

My best training has come from setting that in the morning is prioritizing myself. And it's easier to do before you leave the house. It's very hard to do when you go out and you have your day, and then you're running into other people who aren't on the same pattern or routine as you, and they come back, or, you know, they come with you, and you're trying to go back to train, but you're rolling with them, and, you know, they just don't want to do that.

(19:46 - 20:01)

That's not part of their pattern, but you're trying to. You're trying to stay on your program, but you don't get there. You instead maybe go to the restaurant, you go for a drink, whatever, and it doesn't get done.

(20:01 - 20:18)

But in the morning, before you leave your house, then you're dialed, right? And you get it done, your first thing early, or you can do it after you do a bit of work. You're productive and break up your work morning a little bit. And go from there.

(20:18 - 20:25)

And then you can go out for the dinner, and you can go out and hang out with everybody for the rest of the day. It's like, no problem. And you don't need to feel guilty about it.

(20:25 - 20:36)

You're not missing anything. It's all good, right? So that's another trick on how to do that. So that's like lifestyle balance.

(20:37 - 20:52)

And then for the rest of kind of my day after I've got some of that work done, then I'm still working. I'll work from like a coffee shop, or I'll go for meetings, or I'll see people, or I'll go on an adventure. It could be a mix.

(20:52 - 21:06)

It could be in the city, or it could be elsewhere. And I'll just flow in the afternoon a little bit. And it's a combination of my creative work, client work, my own business needs that I need to work on.

(21:07 - 21:28)

And whatever comes up, because then that way I'm a bit present. When I'm out and about my day, and I've cleared some of the things that I needed and wanted to accomplish early. And now I can just be present with the world, which I'll suggest also brings another opportunity, because you'll run into people you didn't expect to see.

(21:28 - 21:42)

You'll be invited to places you didn't expect to go. Stuff happens, right? So you're also holding space for the spontaneity of life. So it doesn't feel like you're just totally locked in and just mentally structured all day, every day.

(21:42 - 22:05)

You do some mental stuff, which is part of the mental participation in the world. And you do some in the body and fluid things that allows the spontaneity, serendipity, synchronicity, and all that magic of the universe to meet you along your path as well. So this is like lifestyle stuff, right? So that's like lifestyle balance.

(22:06 - 22:34)

These are ways I find that. And I think on top of that, you mix in a trip or so every so often, and you're doing pretty good, right? You're definitely more balanced than just burying it all the time until you're totally exhausted and you're drained, right? So you gotta rest properly. You need enough rest regularly, consistently.

(22:35 - 22:55)

You need to, I'd suggest meditate because it's relaxing, it's grounding, it's also clarifying, you know? That's conversation. You have a meditation with yourself. So, you know, your truth and your needs and your wants and your methods become very clear in that stillness.

(22:56 - 23:22)

You know, proper nourishment so that you're fueling your body properly. Movement, so regular exercise, you can put endorphins, obviously just overall wellness, physicality. So you can do the things you need to do physically in your day, you know? And then that's kind of pretty good core stuff.

(23:22 - 24:34)

There's probably a few more things I could add there, but that's like, those are the broad strokes, right? And so then you have this balance in your lifestyle. So then you drill into your work life, so how do you find the balance in your work, your joys, your passions, and the work you do? Everybody kind of says it as a cliche, like do what you love, right? And that sounds like really easy. You get someone who's like had all this success or something like this, they do what you love, right? And then you get the nervous, financially independent, like, okay, great, thanks, yeah, I will, you know? Like, what does that mean? And you know, it's not totally obvious, but the balance of this, and we think of things like polarity in this topic for sure, right? Because we're talking about balance, which means the middle ground between what? Between two opposites per se, or two ends, or two areas.

(24:35 - 25:14)

You know, which is a funny side note is I should probably share my signs are Aries, Libra, Libra. So I've got two Libra symbols deeply in my chart, in pretty powerful places, which is part of why balance is important to me, you know? I do seek it. And when I work on things, I'm looking to bring balance because a lot of the companies and situations I work on are out of balance when I start working on them.

(25:15 - 25:26)

My presence in meetings can bring balance just because I'm chill and centered. People have expressly said that. They're like, we want you here because you can stay grounded in these conversations.

(25:26 - 26:15)

Your emotions won't get the better of you, or your behavior won't throw things off and help everybody else centered, grounded, chilled out, that sort of stuff. So it's a big part of my world, and it is in business also, right? So how do we employ that in business? How do we employ it in the work we want to do? How do you find the balance of working on things that can make you money and things that you love? Well, here's my take on this, in that, and I've done a bunch of work in this area as well. Like I work on projects that I care about, that I'm interested in, that I enjoy working on, people that I like to work with, that feel right to me.

(26:16 - 27:11)

I throw a lot of fish back, so to speak, in relationships, in business ventures and opportunities, in a lot of different scenarios, because if it just doesn't feel right, I'm comfortable and confident in myself to know that I can say no to that. It's okay, if that's my truth. And two, that I don't need to worry about letting something go, that I might miss something, because sometimes when we hold on to things that aren't serving us, or aren't meant for us, in our highest and greatest good, they're harming us, we hold on to them because we think what'll happen if we let it go, but we don't realize that by holding it there, that energy is creating a block that is impeding other better opportunities for you from reaching it.

(27:12 - 27:49)

So I let it go and trust that something else is going to show up, and it does, right? So in this exploration of this balance and work, we're all already doing things. We do things that we wanna do, and we're doing them on topics that we care about, and that may or may not be fully working, but equally so, we already have all these innate skills in us as well. You're not starting from nothing.

(27:50 - 28:21)

You're not lacking life experience, relationships, a network, you've been making choices your whole life, right, consciously or not. And then when we talk about strategy and all this content out there, so much of it, it feels like it's from a cold start. So it's like, oh, you need to find your niche, and you need to do this thing, and it's all from you have no idea whatsoever what you're doing.

(28:22 - 29:31)

But we're way more dynamic than that, in that we've all already started our journey and been making conscious choices. So part of finding the balance is going, okay, what are the skills I have? What is the work I am doing just already? And do I enjoy doing that work? Are there other skills that I have that I could do and could offer the world, right? And what are those? And then equally so, what am I working on? What are the things that I am interested in? What are the things that I do even when I'm not working? Are the things that you're working on already enjoyable to you? Are there areas, and it's not always just broad strokes either. Are there areas within the things you're working on that you like more than others? You really wanna unpack this stuff, right? And I would suggest take like a notepad out or whatever and create the two columns.

(29:32 - 29:45)

Here's all my skills and the skills that I enjoy working with. And here's all the things that I do, both in my work currently and in my life, right? And you can do that. Draw some lines to these things.

(29:46 - 30:00)

Now, two ways to think about that. On one hand, you can look for a job that fits those criteria. On the other hand, you can do the work and build yourself a business.

(30:00 - 30:39)

And I'm passionate about the latter because it's empowering. And downright, it's also liberating. So you will have more freedom to establish your own patterns and lifestyle and live it the way you seek, which supports a more balanced journey, experience by having that flexibility and that versatility, right? So if you create that list, you really just brainstorm it out.

(30:40 - 31:11)

Just sit there with your lemon water and flesh it out and just kind of write as much as you can on both sides. And then see what attracts you the most, what feels good. And even just doing that exercise will start to attract opportunities to you with respect to that because now you're becoming more conscious about how you actually wanna work and what you actually wanna work on than just going, ah, I'm out of balance.

(31:11 - 31:26)

I don't wanna do this thing. Now you'll be drawing in more about what you do wanna do and you'll be finding and discovering more ways to make those things happen. And it could be a basket.

(31:27 - 31:40)

It doesn't have to be one line for one thing. Maybe there's like five skills you have that are all related to like five different things you love to do or similar things you love to do. And then you could put a big lasso, draw a big circle around all of that.

(31:41 - 32:20)

And that could be a whole thing. And then around that is something you could either find a job to work in, right? Now you're looking consciously for something you're gonna really enjoy or you build your own brand and your own business around that. And done right, if you listen to my online business building episode or any of my other stuff, or if you're following my journey or whatever, done right, it can be both lucrative and liberating and deeply fulfilling and all kinds of fun stuff.

(32:21 - 32:30)

And I mean, ultimately that's the objective. Like, look, let's have a good time. You know, we're here for the time that we're here and everything is possible, I believe.

(32:31 - 32:58)

I've seen all kinds of amazing things happen and occur in all kinds of different ways through a variety of both, you know, humbling and wildlife experiences that I've experienced and seeing the things that people say could never happen, happen. So it's all possible and you can do it too. And you can find deeper, greater balance for yourself in your journey.

(33:01 - 33:11)

And I believe in you and I believe in that. So for my part, I do this work also. And I take note and if something feels great, I'm flowing with it.

(33:11 - 33:55)

And if something isn't feeling great, I'm exploring to unpack why it is or why not and how I need to make adjustments, you know, to realign, to just continue to operate from that higher vibrating place, which is a joy and, you know, contribution, fulfillment, similar. So in this spirit, those are my thoughts for today on balance. But if you have any more questions about any or all of this or any of the other episodes or what have you, I mean, one, I invite you to follow me if you haven't already and keep tabs on what else I'm gonna be dropping because it's gonna be all kinds of stuff on a number of different topics.

(33:55 - 34:17)

And two, is basically, as I said before, I'll just reiterate this. The premise of this podcast is to answer questions of people asking me. So if you have questions, then I'll answer them in a podcast so that not just you hear it, but anyone else who might wanna hear that answer also at its core.

(34:18 - 34:46)

And then on occasion, I might get worked up about something or need to participate or feel I wanna participate in a conversation about a hot topic or an urgent topic or who knows what, right? So I'm gonna keep flowing with that because that fills my bucket. Feels good for me to explore and express. And if you want some help with any of this stuff, you can reach out to me.

(34:46 - 34:56)

My information is below. Any more questions you have, help along your journey, let me know. I'm here to help you or not.

(34:56 - 35:03)

And until the next app, I wish you a great day and we'll talk to you soon.