Human beings are wired to work. In this article, I would like to highlight the importance of realizing that work should not your life, and why this is a more urgent realization than you might think.
While the pandemic forever changed the way the world sees work, we can still look at entrepreneurs in every sector and realize that their DNA is a bit different than others. As I have written on previously, it’s okay to embrace the purpose work gives you, because humans are created to work. But for many of us who own a company, it is hard to “turn off” the work switch – whether you’re at the end of a business day or the end of your ownership part of a career.
If you worked 40 hours a week, 2000 hours a year, from age 20 to 65, you would have worked 90,000 hours. I’m guessing that readers of this book would typically work more than that – say 50 hours+ – which would equate to greater than 108,000 lifetime hours of work. That is a lot of time dedicated to your chosen profession!
In prior articles, I have highlighted the truth that entrepreneurs see their business in different ways. However, after spending hundreds of thousands of hours during a lifetime building a company, a business often becomes more like a home for many people. The business and their office are a comfortable, safe place and going there each day is beyond what they do, it’s who they are.
Not only because many entrepreneurs are so driven, but more so because many of them mainly identify themselves as “Founder/Owner/President of XYZ Corporation,” my clients often have a difficult time “untangling the work wires” which keep their mind and identity chained to the job. But once you’ve tackled the challenge of embracing the way your brain works as a business owner, it’s time to untangle the wires so that your ability to find purpose isn’t attached to your business, but to whatever you put your talent and skills towards.
It is truer today than ever before that business owners are retiring later in life. This is in part because they haven’t prepared themselves to let go of the business.
Going back to the 2008-09 great recession, it was expected in the Merger and Acquisition markets for privately held companies that there would be a ‘catch up’ period in 2010-12, when the owners that had planned to sell in 2008-09 finally would. Interestingly, that wave of activity never materialized.
However, because Father Time and Gravity are still undefeated, eventually a large percentage of America’s privately held companies will transition ownership in the next decade.
Business owners that will sell in this coming wave of transitions, like you, have the ability to be better prepared. It is time to begin untangling the wires that drive you to work so that they’re ready to find purpose beyond your company. It’s wonderful that your work has brought you purpose, and it’s time to expand that into your next season of life.
Why is it so important? For starters, it’s literally a matter of life and death.
In October 2016 The Harvard Business Review published an article titled “You’re likely to live longer if you retire after 65.” (1) Then, in July 2018 Forbes published an article titled, “How early retirement might be killing men.” That article states:
“There is also suggestive evidence that males engage in more unhealthy behaviors once they retire.” the researchers wrote. “In combination, the results suggest decreased labor force participation upon turning 62 as a key reason for a discontinuous increase in male mortality, although other factors may also play a role.” (2)
Both articles ultimately get to the same root issue – a life best lived requires a purpose – ALL Human beings need a purpose.
My objective in the Sojourner Process™ is for you to realize it can extend beyond the role you are exiting. As Viktor Frankl’s work teaches, for entrepreneurs like yourself, knowing your purpose in the next season of your life – before exiting your company – may literally be a matter of life and death.
For yourself and for those who you love, it is time to start thinking about these things. However, it can be daunting to begin this process. One main reason for this is that it’s hard to ask for help when it comes to transitioning out of your business.
Who do you have that can help you with this critical issue? If the answer for you is ‘no one’, please email me at andrew@lifeonthetable.net and I’m happy to help you or connect you with the right advisor.
Footnotes:
1 https://hbr.org/2016/10/youre-likely-to-live-longer-if-you-retire-after-65
2 https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwasik/2018/07/09/how-early-retirement-might-be-killing-men
