I was in Covent Garden a couple of weekends ago.
As I strolled past Shake Shack, I heard an “OOOOOOOOHHHH"...
Followed by an “AAAAAAAAHHHH”…
And then a loud applause.
I turned to look.
A big crowd of people were stood in a circle.
In the centre was a guy with a wooden ladder. Maybe 12 feet tall.
(the ladder, not the guy)
The guy (let’s call him Ladder Guy) was balancing on the top of the ladder.
And as I got closer, I could see there was nothing to prop up the ladder.
It was standing tall, all by itself.
It took me a moment to process what I was witnessing. A cross between a levitation illusion and an acrobatic miracle.
Why wasn't the ladder toppling over? How was Ladder Guy staying balanced?
As I got even closer, it all became clear.
The ladder wasn’t
still.
Ladder Guy was moving his body very slightly backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards. And the ladder was moving slightly too. The bottom of each leg slid a few centimetres here, a few centimetres there.
Tiny movements which allowed Ladder Guy to maintain balance and control the
ladder.
So why am I telling you all this?
Well, this short story
is a great example of how you can find more balance in your day to day life too.
Because here’s the thing:
You might have an amazing work/life balance right now. Or it might not be where you want it to be.
But whatever you work/life balance looks like today, I promise you this:
If you rest on your laurels, your work/life balance will suffer.
Why?
Because you can never maintain balance by staying still. You need to keep adjusting.
Just like Ladder Guy.
Without the small adjustments, the ladder would topple right over. And Ladder Guy would crash head-first through the Shake Shack window.
There’s nothing balanced about that.
So he made a small tweak here. A little
shuffle there.
And if you're thinking of making a few tweaks to your own work/life balance, I have a gift you might like.
I’ve just released a short pdf guide called The Work/Life Balance Blueprint.
The Blueprint is full of ideas to help
you find more balance between work and other parts of your life.
It tells you why “put your phone on airplane mode” or “schedule date night in advance” is some of the worst work/life
balance advice out there…
It shows you the crucial step you need to follow before you start making any work/life balance changes (most people overlook this
step)…
And it reveals the sneaky way your work starts to take over your life without you even realising.
Plus it gives you an easy-to-follow 4-step method (the “EASE Method”) to help you boost you work/life balance.
Best of all?
The Blueprint is completely free.
If you’d like a copy, reply to this email with the word “blueprint” and I’ll send it straight over.
That’s all for today.
- Tom