Life's Work Doesn't Balance

For Work and for Life - Get Jazzed Up

Summer's not giving up without a fight here in Charleston – we've had more family beach trips in September than we did all of July and August combined. But there's no denying we're sliding into that annual gear shift: school schedules and that Q4 hustle before holiday season slows it down again.

If you weren't already feeling that energy, listening to Bill McDermott (CEO of ServiceNow) this week would've locked you in. The man's a beam of light when it comes to work, life, and partnership perspective.

And so today rather than me drone on, I wanted to bring you – husbands and wives, partners alike – some of his thinking. In just one podcast, Bill covered work, life, and partnership with such optimism and perspective that you can actually live out. And a quick Maddy Hattie rant, too.

DATE NIGHT, done.

1. Go to DateNightDone.com

2. Write down as much or as little as you want about the type of date night you’ll enjoy.

3. Hit submit and get back to work/life. A quality date night is booked in 1-2 business days (you take care of the sitter).

4. Make sure ya show up and enjoy your date night when it arrives.

Giving away the next 5 that come from this newsletter, any city this time!

Optimism at (Life’s) Work, by Bill McDermott:

"Every day is a chance to reprove yourself. Every day is a chance to reinvent your dream. Dreams are not stagnant. They're constantly on the move and if you don't chase them, you'll never find them." 
Not b/c you NEED to reprove yourself, but b/c you have a chance to change, move, and grow every time you wake up.

"I really feel sorry for people that don't see the love of work itself and the passion of the job itself and the chance to go in and do a good job and accomplish something and feel good about yourself because you are doing something meaningful."
I hope we can all find this purpose and fire in one modality of life or another. Can you?

"From the beginning, she respected what I am and what I do, why I do it, how I do it, and for who I do it... she always knew me." 
Damn. Let’s all know our partner that well. Should make the giving contest easy.

"We were always a team. We were always a partnership. We always had common goals and shared values and lots of love and lots of admiration and respect."
I’m lucky enough to have an infant at home (among other things) that makes admiration for my wife top of mind every day. What’s your reason to admire and respect your partner right now?

"If you can't be present, don't show up. They have to go hand in hand."
Could not be truer for every single “you” out there. Work? Stop texting home as soon as you arrive at the office. Home? Quit emailing your team “one more task”…it can wait. Friends? Don’t go on the golf trip if you’re going to stay in the cart to half ass a work call so you look “online”.

"I'm totally into this moment with you right now. I'm totally into the day. I'm living today and I have an eye on tomorrow, but I live today and I'm all in on today."
I think this is how you piss excellence. I want to give you everything I have in every word I write. When I hit publish I want to go give my family every ounce. And when I’m developing a product, I want to lock-in entirely.

Life's Work, Not Work-Life Balance

Bill also shared something about work/life balance that I thought I made up 😅 so it definitely resonated. He said it's not work-life balance – it's just our life's work.

Your moonlit obsession with building something meaningful? Your desire to show up better for your spouse even when you know you come up short? The undying effort to give your children the best you're capable of?

That's all life's work. All in a day's life's work.

As we gear up for the year's final sprint, remember what McDermott knows: every day is a chance to reprove yourself. In your career and in your relationship.

Maddy Hattie Detour: The Bag Situation

In all this productivity, inspiration and aspiration – I gotta take a little jab: I think many women may be just one plastic bag away from being the person who carries their entire life in a shopping cart.

When going on our 3-night family trip this past weekend, I applauded when my wife got everyone into one large suitcase. But then I realized: there were actually 39 other bags coming with us. She had masterfully planned a bag for baby stuff with 6 more bags inside it like Russian dolls. Our beach bag had two different pool/sand toy bags in it and another bag for the dog. I had a backpack, she had a purse. Kid had a bag with 7 bags tucked inside it.

Women love bags! I guess the difference is we chose an Acura MDX as our life vehicle of choice instead of a shopping cart.

Reality: I'm thankful for those bags... she keeps my chaotic ass organized. I'm a satisficer so I could do with fewer options, but for this current trip we're on making memories? I'll take some bum vibes.

🍻

Hat