A question came in this morning in response to my email yesterday about my “rules” for making money while still being happy…
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Hey Justin, I liked all your rules…One thing that I’m concerned abt… Don’t you think, when you are in your hustle period, like if you are in second year of your freelance journey and starting from zero to reach somewhere noticeable… You have to compromise on these goals?
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Great question.
Overall, my answer would be “no”.
I think your day-to-day life needs to have some balance, even in your “hustle” period.
And that “balance” really depends on what’s important to you…
So maybe that’s sitting down for dinner with your family every night…
Or driving your daughter to school…
Or maybe it’s hitting the gym with one of your buddies a few times a week.
Even in your “hustle” stage you shouldn’t be all work all the time.
That’s how you burn out…
And how you wind-up miserable.
I’ve seen this happen too many times (myself included).
I think you’re better off from the start setting some rules for yourself.
For example…
A good rule you might have is that you won’t write copy for a project if the niche or topic is not interesting to you.
So maybe you really like writing copy in the men’s dating market…
But writing a blood sugar promo bores the hell out of you…
Well, then having a rule that you’ll only write copy for a topic/niche you’re interested in would be a good idea.
This is just one example of a “rule” you could have.
And you can fill the rest of your “rules” in with things that matter to you.
That’s the whole idea behind the rules.
They’re intended to help you focus on the things that matter to YOU, so you don’t just wind-up on autopilot working all the time.
And one last thing I’ll leave you with…
Most people who read this will ignore the advice I’ve given in this email.
Cause they think they’re “different”…
And that they know better.
That’s fine…
But I want you to consider something.
If you’re in this for the long haul – meaning the next 5, 10 or 15 years…
You will actually make MORE money over that time period if you have more balance in your life.
Why?
Because if you have balance, there’s a much better chance that you will last 15 or 20 years in this business.
You’ll be more likely to keep going…
And to not lose interest…
Contrast that to someone who doesn’t have balance…
Someone that’s working 12 hours a day, ignoring his health, not sleeping, and who’s putting his family on the backburner…
That person will not last for the next 15 years.
I can guarantee you that.
They’ll either have a health scare…
Or go through a nasty divorce…
Or lose interest in their work…
I’ve seen it too many times.
So my advice?
Figure out what matters to you, and put some “rules” in place for yourself.
This way you have balance…
And this way you have staying power in this business.
Make sense?
I hope so.
Cause that’s all I got for ya today.
Enjoy your Tuesday.
– Justin
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