Comments on: Always On Call

By: Adam McFarland

Adam McFarland — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:30:54 +0000

Well said Brian. Unless you’re really really removed from the operations and you don’t make any of the important decisions, there’s always going to be some minimum output required. But an hour a day sounds pretty appealing

By: Brian Weidner

Brian Weidner — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:03:30 +0000

This is very true. I was in Europe for 15 days last month. It was a vacation but I brought the laptop with and worked a little bit each day (about one hour per day).

It was frustrating, but what you say is true…no one else can fix most problems that come up…so I must stay accountable.

Maybe the key will be to always work one hour a day…like “four hour work week”, then spend the rest of the time on “vacation”. Something to strive for I suppose…

By: Adam McFarland

Adam McFarland — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:58:54 +0000

Love the children analogy…although I too do not have a child so I cannot say for sure if it’s accurate And there’s nothing wrong with always being “on” so long as it doesn’t prevent you from enjoying other things. It’s weird to explain – I can be totally focused on watching a football game but the moment the phone rings with an issue a switch flips mentally and I could care less about the game. But that doesn’t mean that while I’m watching the game I’m constantly thinking “oh man, what if something goes wrong…” I just deal with it when it happens and accept it. And most of the time nothing happens and the potential disaster never crosses my mind.

By: Adam McFarland

Adam McFarland — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:53:05 +0000

Some more comments over on the Brazen Careerist

By: TIm

TIm — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:17:53 +0000

Amen brother! This is what separates those who make it and those who don’t and never understand why. In the past I have likened having a business to having a child and as someone who doesn’t have children I don’t know if I am spot on or not, but there seem to be many obvious similarities and this is one of them. Those who are not entrepreneurs just don’t get this mindset, the concept of personal sacrifice for a greater cause seems to be a lost philosophy in the modern business world. Successful entrepreneurs never fully disengage, I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but even when I am with friends, or reading a fiction book to unwind, or whatever, my mind simply cannot shut down, I am always thinking, planning and generating ideas for my business.

As an aside, this is one of the reasons I think it’s very important to have a strong understanding of every aspect of your business. No one person can be good at everything, but as a business owner you must understand and know about everything that goes on within your business or things will start slipping.