“It pays the bills, I like what I do…,” confided Rob, a senior executive with a large well-known company, “I do get paid well, it’s a stable company and I can’t see any way out. So, I show up, do my job and go home. I am tired of the travel and being away from my family so much. My situation is not ideal, but it provides the lifestyle we have come accustomed to.”
But he often wonders if there’s more to life.
And this isn’t just Rob that is experiencing this.
Sadly, around the world today there are millions of people who go to work every day disliking their job and wishing they were elsewhere. 7 out of 10 executives are interested in doing something else, and according to Gallup organization, only 13% of people are actively engaged in their jobs. It is likely these people are not fulfilled In life.
It’s not that creating an exciting fulfilling work where you are in control is difficult, it’s believing that it is possible, that is what is difficult. So many continue to grind away.
From our work with hundreds of top executives, here are the top reasons they have told us why they are not fulfilled in their lives.
These could be reasons why you’re not fulfilled in life
#1 You are not in control.
They are not in control of the business and the decisions in the business. They want the authority to make their own decisions in a business they own instead of running one for someone else. There’s an old saying: “there’s only room for one person’s dream in any business.” As a result, they make personal sacrifices themselves and pay the price for someone else’s dream. They cannot be happy unless they are in control, which will never happen while working for someone else.
#2 You are not your own boss.
As mentioned above, they are not the boss so they are not in control. While they enjoy times or seasons of having control, a boss could change due to a company buyout, or merger or retirement. One executive we recently talked with was lured away from a company he was working at for years with a promise of a better tomorrow, 9 months later the person that hired him retired and the new boss decided that his position wasn’t necessary anymore. Sure, he got a severance package, but now he spends his time interviewing with recruiters half his age telling him he’s not qualified. If you’re not the boss, you’re not in control.
#3 Financial independence.
Many executives we work with have high net worth and liquidity, however, they are not financially independent. They need income to support their lifestyle, pay the bills, pay for trips, pay for college tuition, build their portfolio, fund their retirement, etc. They long to be financially independent so they can have more freedom and control. Freedom to do what they want, where they want, with whomever they want, being able to just take off somewhere and not needing to check in with the office. They don’t have the financial freedom to do this, so they keep working despite the fact they are not fulfilled in life.
Everything is at the expense of something else. If you are giving the best hours of your life to a job, it is at the expense of something else. What expense is it for you?
What is surprising is they think they are far from being financially independent, when in reality, once they learn about the options available to them, they are shocked at how quickly they can get there.
It’s their limiting beliefs or thinking that is keeping them back.
#4 Flexibility and owning your schedule
Most executives cannot get away at the drop of a hat. Why is it that something urgent always seems to pop up when you are leaving to go to your son’s baseball game or your daughter’s dance class? It seems like there is a giant conspiracy to keep you from doing what you want. So they end up compromising, if they are lucky enough to slip out early, they end up at the baseball game or dance class spending most of the time on their phone or iPad. Most executives tell us they cannot just randomly take off and go off the radar on a vacation to some remote area. They cannot because they have someone else’s company to run.
They sacrifice their goals and own family time for someone else. Do you?
#5 Generate your own revenue
Let’s face it, you’ve had to work hard to get to where you are! Few people enjoy the level of success that the senior executives and professionals we work with have. With their success comes a good salary or compensation package. But when given the choice between generating revenue for themselves vs. someone else, they unanimously want to create revenue for themselves. Why? Many reasons, one of which is pride of ownership and being able to give themselves a raise any time they want. Again, they have to settle and sacrifice their goals and ambitions to fit into someone else’s.
#6 More time with family
To be successful, most executives have to make sacrifices. They have to work instead of enjoying time with their family. They miss sporting events and dance recitals because they have looming deadlines or important projects, or have emergencies and fires to fight. They are needed. They are also needed by their families. How many nights have you sacrificed, how many events have you missed, how much time have you given to your job and career instead of giving it to your family? One executive we are working with told us he hasn’t taken a vacation with his family for 12-years! Keep that up and there will be no family. How much have you missed out on in life? How many nights do you have to travel instead of tucking your kids in or playing with them?
Most executives have made countless personal sacrifices. And carry all the guilt for doing so — for someone else who controls whether or not you deserve the job. You don’t have to live your days in a way that is not fulfilled. In life there fewer days than we imagine.
You can have your cake and eat it too. Some of the greatest joys in life are the simple ones – waking up without an alarm clock and having coffee with your spouse and just hanging out with your kids doing something fun.
If you’re constantly sacrificing time with the family, you’ll always feel frustrated, stressed and unhappy.
You are more important to your family and needed more than ever by them. Kids grow up. It’s like that song by Harry Chapin “Cat’s In The Cradle”.
Don’t miss out. Don’t look back with regrets. You’re better than that. It’s never too late.
#7 Better work-life balance
Doesn’t it seem like life is like a see-saw or roller coaster? You have periods where you are working l-o-n-g days, burning the midnight oil, staying late at the office, missing dinner (again), or having to take an important business trip. You do that and then you take a day off or a long weekend and life seems so much better. But then your phone starts beeping and buzzing and your inbox has urgent messages about a looming catastrophe that is going to happen unless YOU do something to fix it.
Is there really work-life balance? No, not unless it’s your business and you can hire people to take care of the problems.
Let’s not kid ourselves, work-life balance is a nice term somebody came up with to justify working so much and then taking a significantly smaller amount of time to spend on the “life” part. If it is work-life balance, if you’re working 10 hours, shouldn’t you spend 10 hours doing fun, exciting things with your life? There’s simply not enough hours in the day.
Successful executives, when we talk, agree that working 10-15 hours a week while increasing their income, and spending the rest of their time on other things that are just as important to them, is a much better work-life balance.
Why not have less work, have more income and wealth, and have more time to do whatever you want? Work smarter, not harder — sound familiar?
You can, but you may have to change how you think. Can you do that?
#8 No excitement or challenges. Not actively engaged in their jobs, tired
This is incredibly common. Many successful executives and professionals lose the fire they once had. They were driven as they climbed the corporate ladder, but at some point, that passion that was once a raging fire has now dwindled and become smoldering ash.
When was the last time you bounded out of bed in the morning excited about the day that lays ahead of you? And you also can’t afford to slack off because there is a younger version of you chomping at the bit to take your job. Many executives in their quiet, honest moments, they are weary and tired. They don’t want to get up and do it again, but they have to because their limiting beliefs tell them they have to. They don’t. There are options.
Life is too short. It is too short to be not fulfilled in life.
Why not do something exciting? Why not build something of your own that allows you the time, control and freedom along with building true wealth for yourself?
#9 Building a lasting legacy
When you’re working for someone else, you can’t pass that legacy on. You can pass on wealth and wisdom. You can’t pass a job on. Even if you could, most executives wouldn’t want their kids to do the same. They wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Instead, they would prefer to build a business that they can pass on to their kids. This thought starts growing and growing in most people when they hit their mid-40’s and continues to grow into their 50’s and 60’s. Wouldn’t it be nice to build something with your wife, or your son, or your daughter that you can pass on? That you own, that they can take over at some point? Most say that would give them a great sense of pride and feeling of deep down accomplishment.
What are you building that can be a lasting legacy today?
#10 Missed moments make you resentful
This is all too common and really needs no explanation. How many have you missed? If you start missing enough, eventually you get numb. What have you sacrificed on the altar of success – time with family? Friends? Kids? Your passions? Dreams and goals?
Time is a Finite Commodity
I think this verse in Cat’s In The Cradle by Harry Chapin sums it up:
I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
“I’d like to see you if you don’t mind.”
He said, “I’d love to, Dad, if I could find the time.
You see my new job’s a hassle and the kids have the flu,
But it’s sure nice talkin’ to you, Dad.
It’s been sure nice talkin’ to you.”
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me,
He’d grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.
Don’t miss any more moments. Life is too precious to be not fulfilled in life. YOUR life is too precious. You always have a choice.
You may not be happy where you are, but you can be. You can have your cake and eat it too.
Is it time to leave your corporate job? Ask yourself these questions:
- Do I LOVE what I do?
- Is my work energizing and fulfilling me or depleting and restricting me?
- Do I feel inspired by my work?
- Do I want more control in my life?
- Do I want to build something for myself instead of someone else, that I own, that can create more income and wealth and lots more free time?
So how do you create a life of more happiness, joy, excitement, and fulfillment?
- Determine the lifestyle you want to have
- Determine how much money you want to make
- Determine how much time you want to work a week
- List out all the things you want to do that are enjoyable to you
- Talk with your spouse about what is important to each of you and what your ideal life would look like
- Find a proven franchise business that you can own that will get you there
- Get ready to do something exciting
- Go after your dreams and goals
If you want to escape corporate America or put an end to the job search and want help, let’s have a simple talk to continue the conversation. Go here: https://franchise-logic.com/buying-a-franchise-consultation/
All the best!
Careyann
P.S. Free Guide to Escaping Corporate America here: https://franchise-logic.com/escaping-corporate-america/
P.P.S. Want to talk, go here, learn more and schedule a free initial 15-minute conversation: https://franchise-logic.com/buying-a-franchise-consultation/