If you’ve been stuck in hustle mode for years, yet stagnated personally and professionally, maybe it’s time to shake things up. Doing the same things will net the same results. It’s time to evaluate if your business fuels or drains your life!
In this episode of Dadpreneurs Rising, Carl Taylor reveals a blunt truth — the only people who will remember you worked late nights and weekends are your wife and kids.
This wake-up call urges business dads to rethink their priorities and make some drastic changes, if necessary, in how they manage their time.
While demanding clients and critical projects may feel pressing at the moment, your family bears the real impact of absent presence in the long run. Prioritising work over nourishing connections inflicts a quiet and lasting pain.
With care and some boundaries, Carl reminds us that we can have a flourishing professional life alongside a thriving home life. It starts with taking responsibility for the environment you’re creating and taking courageous steps towards change.
Remember, what truly matters most in life are people and experiences, not accomplishments and assets. If business eclipses these priorities, it’s time to face this tough reality head-on and correct mistakes before regret sets in. Bear in mind — your wife and kids are the only people who will remember.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL DISCOVER…
- What dads in business really need to hear (00:38)
- Why you should start thinking about your work-life balance (02:46)
QUOTES
- “The only people who will remember that you worked late are your wife and your kids.” – Carl Taylor
- “If you set things up correctly, and you have the right approach to how you think about where business fits in your overall kingdom, your overall life, then business can be a thing that fuels your life rather than takes you away from the things that are really going to matter most.” – Carl Taylor
- “Ultimately, it comes down to the decision of am I going to let this business run my life or am I going to let business be a component that fuels my life? The difference between living to work versus working to live.” – Carl Taylor
RESOURCES
WHERE YOU CAN FIND CARL TAYLOR
Automation Agency
CarlTaylor.com.au
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
TRANSCRIPTION
Hey, welcome to Dadpreneurs Rising. This is our very first episode under the new branding. So, welcome. So great to have you here. I’m your host, Carl Taylor. If you’ve not listened to previous episodes when we had a different name, then I’m a business owner, I’m a dad, and I also happen to be financially free. And I run a coaching program called dadpreneur.com, where I help other dads who are in this business journey to balance business and home life to ultimately step into being the king of the four key arenas of their kingdom, which are business, health, wealth, relationships.
So today’s episode, I want to talk about something that when I first heard this, really smacked me in the face, and when I’ve shared this same comment to many other dads in business, it’s a bit of a gut punch, but it’s something you need to hear and hear.
Here it is. The only people who will remember that you worked late are your wife and your kids. Just let that sink in. I’ll say it again, the only people who will remember 20 years from now, 10 years from now that you worked late, your wife and your kids. The important client, those team members that you know, whatever the key project, and the reason you tell yourself that you got to work, you got to work, you got to work, you got to work, you got to hustle, the only people that are going to remember that you weren’t home for dinner, the only people going to remember that you weren’t available to play, that you weren’t available to connect, that you felt distant, are your wife and your kids.
Now it doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, business is like another baby, it takes a lot of attention. However, if you set things up rightly, and you have the right approach in how you think about where business fits in your overall kingdom, your overall life, then business can be a thing that fuels your life rather than takes you away from the things that are really going to matter most. I mean, there have been so many studies and discussions with people on their deathbed, that usually they’re not saying, hey, I really wish I made more money, hey, I really wish I started that business. Well, that might be true. Some people might say, I wish I’d started that business because they stayed safe. But that’s not you, you’re already in business. Usually they’re saying I wish I’d taken that chance with, you know, that love or I wish I’d spent more time when my kids or it’s usually about relationships and experiences that they truly care about on their deathbed, not that, you know, I wish I’d spent another five hours working so I could try to win that client.
Now I’m not taking away from the hustle required in business. I’ve had my share of that in my 20 odd years in business. But there is a different way that you can go about it. And so I encourage you to really think about it right now. If you’re spending hours working, if you’re telling yourself, I got to keep working, I got to keep working. And you know that things are suffering at home, that your relationship with the kids, not where you want it to be. You’re not spending the time with them that you’d like to, you haven’t been able to be there, you haven’t been able to be the person they can lean on because you’ve been so busy at work, or things are really strained between your wife, maybe they’re not terrible, right? Maybe your relationships, okay. And you’re happy, you’re happy. But you know that she’s happy? If she’s sitting there, you know, grinning but inside feeling neglected. I don’t know, I don’t know your personal situation, but many women, that’s their situation. Many women who are in relationship with entrepreneurs. So, really ask yourself, is it worth it? The answer might be yes, in this phase. But if you’ve been doing that, for a sustained period of time, if you’ve just been only in this hustle mode for about a month, that’s probably fine. But if you’ve been in this hustle and grind mode for a few years, and you feel like you’re just kind of moving in quicksand, you’re not actually going anywhere, you’re just spinning wheels in sand. And then it’s probably time for a whole different approach.
Don’t keep doing the same thing because you’re gonna keep getting the same results. Change things up. If you want some help, you can find us over at dadpreneur.com Reach out, love to see if we can help you. But ultimately, it comes down to the decision of am I going to let this business run my life or am I going to let business be a component that fuels my life? The difference between living to work versus working to live. I’ll leave you with that. Till next time. Keep up the journey.
Hey, fellow dadpreneurs. Thanks for tuning in to today’s episode. If you’ve missed something said on today’s episode, you can find transcripts, links, and other notes from today’s episode, as well as all other episodes us over at rising show that’s show not so. Head over to rising show to get all the information that you need.
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