Sats Solanki

The story of most entrepreneurs starts with a frustration of the 9-5. Or in London (where I live) the 8-6. Add in a commute and you have a few quick moments to grab some questionable food, scroll past a few memes and get ready for the grind to repeat the next day.

Until one day you wake up and wonder to yourself. What the heck am I doing spending all this time working for someone else when I could slave away from day to night on my own projects.

Well no, perhaps that’s not the thought that crosses our mind.

We imagine this carefree life where we lie in, take an extended lunch and finish early whilst our business accumulates wildly passive income. All whilst you swan around in Bali.

Now neither of these two extremes are healthy.

We all know that passive income isn’t passive. Despite what the content creator influencer types are telling us – they’re spending tons of time very actively creating passive income.

And whilst sunning ourselves endlessly with the occasional mocktail sounds delightful, in actual fact it’s very boring.

Why do you think the super rich make such terrible life decisions? They’re bored of course.

An escape to paradise can be fun for a few weeks. But after a while you’ll crave the normality of home-cooked meals, church community (yes even the weird sort of friends you accumulate along the way) and the ordinary daily rhythms.

Whilst so many are trapped in the endless demands of the corporate life, just as many make the jump to start their own business only to find that their new boss is even worse.

Yes that’s you of course. Instead of enjoying and embracing the flexibility, left to our own devices we tend to overwork and never stop really.

Which leads me to my conclusion.

16 hour days are really for idiots.

(Bless you if you’re working 16 hour days – I’m not really calling you an idiot. But I am making a point that it’s not super clever. And not being super clever can sometimes be described as being slightly idiotic. Ok I take it back, I just might be calling you an eejit).

Who wants to work all day? Life is so much more than work. And by the way, I absolutely LOVE my work.

My favourite moments of this year have been:

• Playing chess with my 9 year old daughter
• Going on a mini skiing trip with my wife and friends
• Playing ridiculous games (remember spoons?) until late at my friend’s house

Can you see the thread?

All of the best moments in life involve other PEOPLE.

Money can enable us to create great experiences and level up our quality of life.

But true freedom is the ability to be present with the people we care about.

This is where the paths of the corporate robot and the adventurous entrepreneur often converge. Neither of them know how to switch off.

And both are trapped by work instead of released by it.

But what if you could build a business that makes legit money AND figure out how to unlearn your toxic work/life behaviours.

Wouldn’t that be worth fighting for? What about investing in?

That’s exactly the life I’m living right now. I work hard. But I enjoy this beautiful thing called freedom.

Would you like to live that sort of life? That’s exactly what my coaching services are about. Find out if you’d be a good fit for coaching by clicking here.

Hot take coming up. Can we really call someone successful if their personal life is in shambles?

This post is genuinely not about judging anyone. Life is complex and we can experience all sorts of hardship and pain when we least expect it.

So let’s start with me.

I haven’t burned out personally but I’ve been on the trajectory towards it. I’ve made many mistakes where I’ve let others down and myself. There are seasons of life where I look back and regret or even cringe.

We’re all human and imperfect. But I see a worrying trend online and in today’s culture that I do want to talk about.

I’ve noticed that many of the people I admire and follow online for their business wisdom or creative insights often reveal that the rest of their life isn’t doing so great.

If it’s not said openly, it’s kind of obvious when you read behind the lines.

Of course worst case scenario, it’s revealed in a big way through some sort of public failure.

I still think we can learn from people who are imperfect. And I always look for kernels of truth from those who are further ahead than me in an area.

But I wonder if it’s time we stop glamorising and idolising people who have only succeeded in ONE particular aspect of life?

• Business is one aspect of life
• Relationships are another aspect of life
• Spirituality is another
• Fitness and nutrition
• Parenting, marriage etc

We make a fatal area when we assume that one area of success represents all areas of a person’s life.

We consult <insert celebrity here> for their input on <insert topic of the day> even if it’s nowhere near their expertise.

• Musicians know music
• Artists know art
• Business people know business

Here’s the problem for me.

I don’t want to succeed in business but fail in my marriage.
I don’t want a ton of influence on Instagram but lose connection with my kids.
I don’t want to get flown out to speak at conferences whilst my own soul is depleted.

I don’t want success in one area. I want it in all areas. I want health. I want balance.

I want to have influence and wield power but I also want to protect myself from the darkness of it all.

I definitely don’t want to sacrifice one area on the altar for success in another.

Not everyone who is succeeding is doing it in a healthy way.

I’m at different places across the different areas of life that I’m growing in. For example, I’m well versed in communication. And I’m relatively new to fitness.

The important thing is that we’re aware of our need to succeed as a complete human being.

We may fail because of course we are imperfect. (And if you’ve already failed then there is grace for you too).

But let’s get honest about what we want and what we should value.

It’s holistic health and success.

We don’t want to partially win. We want to truly win.

Here are some practical ways we can succeed across all areas, not just some.

1. Build slowly

Ah yes, the S word. Why would we want to get things slowly when we can get them quickly? Because in most (not all) scenarios, success that comes quickly often ruins us.

• The lottery winner doesn’t have the fiscal capacity to manage his newfound wealth.
• The young superstar musician hasn’t yet developed the character to resist being treated like a god.

Pride comes quickly to us when we succeed too quickly. Wealth can ruin us. Having wealth is good as long as your relationship with it is healthy.

Be mindful of your capacity to handle things and cautiously build the future. Yes, there are moments for accelerated growth and you’ll know when to maximise them. But don’t covet overnight success. It’s not what it’s cracked up to be. Just ask famous people who can’t go out for a coffee without being mobbed.

2. Work on your inner life more than your external life

The externals are where the fun is. Money. Influence. Impact etc.

But the internals are what sustains the fun.

• There’s no point having more high paying clients if you can’t respond to emails on time.
• There’s no point having money if you have persistent back pain (cos you never move from your desk).
• There’s no point being known if you can’t sleep at night because of the incessant stress.

Build the back end of your life and the front end will flourish.

Build your character and your gifting will thrive.

Build the systems inside your business and you’ll make more money.

Whenever we try to do more than who we are, we compromise in an area. It may be slow or gradual but it is inevitable.

3. Face your weaknesses

The reason we fail in an area is because we don’t focus on it. And we don’t focus on it because it’s not our sweet spot.

When I started my first business teaching music, I noticed that students would frequently skip over the most difficult part of the piece.

That meant that they practised the easiest bits over and over. And rarely touched the difficulty ones

And of course they got better at the former and never improved at the latter.

But when you hear someone play a song, which bit do you notice more? The bit that sounds good or that awkward mistake?

If we can make the decision to face our weakness, we will always find ourselves growing. And the good news is that these basic growth areas will actually have a disproportionate impact on everything you do..

The impact of moving daily if you never exercise is huge. Much greater than the regular fitness guy who starts wants to go to the next level. Newbie gains are a thing and it translates into all areas of life.

So what are you genuinely weak in? Face it head on. Get help by delegating to others in your business. Or paying someone to help you in your personal life. Get mentored. Get stronger.

That’s all I’ve got for you. Thanks for reading this article. I want to encourage you to be an outlier to the rest of the world. Let your story be different. Dare to succeed in all areas.