Putting it all in Perspective

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Today is Father’s Day, which gives me a minute to put it all in perspective for myself, and hopefully anyone else reading this. Fathers Day is an important holiday, not because we celebrate the men who have played a role in raising us, or because our families celebrate us, but because it is all about family, period.

The reason we fight through the rat race, work hard, invest, etc. is so we can have the resources to take care of our families (at least most of us, anyways). What I’ve noticed over the past several years is that, while technology has come in to help us all connect with one another, the same technology is doing a bit of tearing us apart. Instead of spending time with our families after work, we jump on the ‘net and socialize with our virtual friends. Instead of sitting around the TV (not a great activity, but one where people can, in fact be “together”) as families, we break apart and go to our individual computers, phones, or games and isolate ourselves.

It’s not just tech that is to blame . . .

We also get caught up in work and the fight to be successful. I’ll argue that in doing so, we’re missing out on the real success — having time to spend with those who we care about and who care about us.

Setting Priorities

I made a conscious decision many years ago, that my family would ALWAYS come first. Work, friends, socializing, etc. would have to take a back seat to spending time with my family. While an admirable goal, it has absolutely had a negative impact on my business and success.

Guess what?

I don’t care!

What I’ve discovered is that success isn’t important if you don’t have anyone to share it with. I know a lot of people who are quite successful financially, or in their careers, but that is all they have. They are often lonely, sad people. The part of their lives that is missing is the quality time spent with a loving family.

Coming Full Circle

I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’m going off about family on this real estate blog, so I’ll tell you. Being successful in real estate is completely meaningless if we can’t share the success with those that we love. I know many of you who are workaholics, and who feel like they can’t ever take a minute off, but that just isn’t true.

Stop and breathe. Take some time away from chasing the dream to experience the real dream – a happy life with those who care about you. Real estate and everything else can wait.

Happy Father’s Day!

Photo Credit: AirBeagle

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.