When Is Enough, Enough?

When is enough, enough? 

One of the great loves of my life was being a lawyer. I loved everything about it; the contests, the intellectual stimulation, and yes… I loved the prestige too. And while I miss those things (and happily, have found other rewarding pursuits), I don’t miss the business of law. 

Being on the hourly rate treadmill, always recruiting and nurturing talent only to lose people to the next highest bidder, being weighed down by the ever increasing and unreasonable demands of needy clients, and constantly pursuing growth in an (erroneous) effort to have enough cash to meet these demands; I don’t miss those things one bit.

I think the same is true for many in the business of strata management. You love the idea of strata and working for yourself, but you fall out of love with the very thing you’ve created - your business. Rather than giving you wings, it becomes your ball and chain. 

The toll adds up. If you’re not careful, you end up paying a heavy price for paddling your own canoe. At risk – your body, your mind, and your relationships.

But most of all, you risk losing yourself and your life experiences.

Despite many long hours spent at the office at night and on weekends, and my ridiculous (self-imposed) domestic travel commitments, I like to think I didn’t miss my children’s big events - their birthdays, performances, and graduations. But the truth is, while I was there, I wasn’t always present. It must be so much harder now with smartphones constantly in the hands of the addictively inclined. 

Wall Street Journal bestseller, Dan Martell (2023) argues in ‘Buy Back Your Time’ that conquering your systems and mindset to manage time is the biggest hurdle to scaling your company and growing rich. I would add it’s also the biggest hurdle to achieving a balanced and healthy life.

It’s hard to disagree with Martell. Just like it’s hard to disagree that exercise and a healthy diet are good for us. Yet it often takes a cataclysmic event for us to change our ways.

Cataclysmic events come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The catalysts for change in strata management are upon us – 

• Declining profitability
• Rising staff costs
• Depleted talent pool 
• Negative media attention 
• More laws and compliance burdens 

So, when is enough, enough for you? 

Imagine you wake up one day, as I did, in intensive care on life support emerging gingerly from a three-day coma. You might just find the point at which you say enough is enough.

But don’t be fooled. Your ‘enough is enough’ moment by itself changes nothing. Change requires discipline and daily work.

Making time to conquer time is the smart response to cataclysmic strata events. Use that time to build your systems and train your mind. As the author Martell says, ‘get unstuck, reclaim your freedom, and build your empire’.