Is it time to make a change?

Is the work that I am doing making myself and my family happy? Time with family is precious and you need to consider whether the time at work is worth the salary you are being paid!

Fred had a good paying job in Vancouver but the boss demanded he worked overtime to complete his project on time. So, he would work weekends to finish his work to deadline sometimes 60 hours a week. The 1 ½ hour commute back and forth to the suburbs and his working overtime, he hardly saw his children by the time he got home. He was never there at dinnertime to share time with the family. He worked 10 hour days and his sleep and his family relationships suffered. However, he had the childrens after school activities and bills to pay. His wife Tracy knew how tired he was but she was busy with the kids.
One morning, he woke up with a pain gripping his chest and he was rushed to the hospital where a heart attack was diagnosed and bed rest ordered. His doctor said he was getting too old for 60 hour workweeks and he should change his lifestyle. He went onto temporary disability and he wondered how he would pay the bills. Fred had to weigh his options and make an important decision about his life. More later.

If there is a crisis in your life, you need to stop and take a day to ask yourself “is this really what I want for myself and my family?” Is having five iPhones and a big boat in the driveway what I want in my life? A life-changing illness like a heart attack shouldn’t be the first time you think about your future.

Take a day to ask yourself:

• Do I enjoy the work that I do? At the end of the day, do I feel I have accomplished a good day of work. Would you do this work even if you didn ’t need the money?
• If I add the time spent commuting (at an hourly wage rate I earn) and the expenses for the workday together and subtract it from the daily wage what is the value of the daily wage? –  i.e. The total net Daily wage – ((hours commuting x hourly wage rate) + Gas expenses).
• Do I have sufficient time for myself and my family?
• If I had a “nest egg” or temporary funding to support myself and my family, would I consider making a change to do something that I would love to do?

Try the quiz “Be your own Boss” to see if you have the abilities to become your own boss.

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