I recently had a conversation with Morgan Curley. Morgan is a designer, brand expert, and partner a Public Eye. While there were many intriguing points during our talk, her philosophy and mindset towards leading a healthy work life balance was particularly intriguing.
Morgan spoke of the importance of creating and cultivating an anti hustle culture. I had never heard this term before and I was immediately fascinated. Morgan went on to say "after going through so many cycles of burnout, and understanding that our industry can be both predatory to creatives via working conditions, ageism and the gig economy, our mission to provide super high-quality creative without killing ourselves has been a major focus. While our clients are happy with the value we provide, we've worked hard to develop a company that is remarkably anti-hustle."
I was refreshed to hear that Morgan had been able to grow her business sustainably while placing value on her personal life.
Virtually all of my guests on the podcast have informed me that achieving a sustainable work life balance is not easy. Many of my guests are business owners and speak of a grueling work schedule - especially during the early years of their business. I sat down with a successful realtor today and he commented on having to be "always on" to provide the best customer experience. It seems that most business owners just assume part of running a business means a sacrifice personally.
Where do we draw the line between nurturing our business and having boundaries for down time with our personal life? Could the anti hustle mentality be the key to sustainable, long term growth?
I don't profess to have an immediate answer but I now know of at least example where protecting and investing in your personal time can be rewarding for you and your business.