The Boss of You

In my ongoing attempt to reduce the amount of non-crucial email I receive, I have slashed the number of email lists I subscribe to — but one of my email indulgences is Rob Brezsny’s Free Will Astrology. No matter what your views on astrology are, his writing is a brilliant example of out-of-the-box thinking and fresh insight. It’s always a bright spot in my week.

Last week’s newsletter included this passage:

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to become dramatically clearer about the nature of your ambitions. To jumpstart the process, read this insight from career counselor Robin Hirschberg: “People tend to confuse their purpose (‘What do I love to do?’), with their ideals (‘How am I comfortable behaving?’), and their desired results (‘What can I achieve?’).” Now get to work figuring out the truth about those three foundation stones, Virgo. Once you do that, develop a plan for getting them to work together synergistically.

Now, whether or not you’re a Virgo, I think that’s good advice. A quick Google search turned up a Fast Company article called “Get a Life”, as the source of the Robin Hirschberg quote. And that article has some more gems in it — not least of which are a couple of headings: “You Can’t Love Your Work If You Work with Jerks” and “You Can’t Love Your Life If You Hate Your Work”. Hear, hear!

Mostly the article is a paean to work-life balance, but it skews toward high achievers, and there’s lots of wisdom there for entrepreneurs.