Zhuang Zi was a brilliant philosopher who lived in ancient China. He had many abilities and all the rulers would seek him out for his wise advice. One of them, King Wei, sent his workers out to Zhuang Zi’s home to invite him to come to Wei’s court and be his chief counselor at the palace. They found him there fishing by the river bank.
Seeing how poor he was and the meagre lifestyle that he led, they thought Zhuang Zi would jump at the chance for status and financial reward. Yet when they gave him their proposal, he replied with a parable:
“Once upon a time there was a sacred turtle, which was happy living his life in the mud. Yet, because he was sacred, the king’s men found him, took him to the royal palace, killed him and used his shell to foresee the future. Now tell me, would that turtle prefer to have given up his life to be honored at the palace, or would he rather be alive and enjoying himself in the mud?”
The men replied that they believed the turtle would be happier in the mud.
Zhuang Zi smiled and replied, “And so you have my answer to your request. Go home and let me be a happy turtle here in the mud.”
Often, we become Internet Marketers because of financial reward and status. We see a potential life for ourselves that will bring us great success. We can get easily bewitched by advancement, fame, and reward and even often neglect what is truly important.
We can become enthralled by our trade that we often waste our most precious resource, time, to get what we want. We tell ourselves that we need more, that it is for our families and our closest loved ones and that in the long run, it will all be worth it.
This may be true. However, there is just one thing I want you to remember and that’ to not forget while you are spending those hours on the laptop or in cafes or traveling away from home, why you are even building this business in the first place.
Don’t forget to spend time with your family. Don’t forget to kiss your children goodnight. And don’t allocate all of your time without compromise to the business because whilst we can spend many hours and many extra miles getting successful, we must simply keep in mind that taking some regular quality time out to remind your loved ones that this is for them – is worth it all.
I’ve seen many highly successful entrepreneurs lose their family in the process of building their fortune. Don’t become one of them.
You must spend some down time enjoying quality “in the mud” too.
You don’t have to stay in the mud long, but take a dip every so often to keep it real and authentic. Take time for yourself too.
I’m talking to you consistent and brave workers, who devote much of their time online to the great cause of success – just don’t forget the moments that really matter as well.
The true secret to success is balancing all the important areas of your life so they continue to grow throughout your lifetime.
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