Entrepreneurs don't need work life balance. Really????

The article Entrepreneurs don't need work-life balance ( http://bit.ly/Hmg6qE)

 brought to mind three of my very good friends.  Entrepreneurs all, they were focused, worked like possessed men and were all very, very successful.

Andrew.-   In a city, in a  profession, where the only way one could really get ahead was through family and political connections, Andy fought his way to the top with sheer hard work and intelligence.  He was brilliant.  He would be up at 5 a.m., lecture at ILS Law College at 6. 30 a.m. then drive 200 kms  to attend a hearing in the Bombay High Court. His Sumo had a desk fitted in where he and his assistants would be drafting briefs during the drive. He never had a minute to spare.  But no matter how busy, he always managed to find time for his three kids.    I used to tell him to have some fun and he would reply, “Some day, R…some day.”

Mohan.   His food is his fortune.  Starting from scratch, with nothing but a drug and alcohol history behind him, he has built up several eateries, all of them successful. He never goes to the movies, never travels, never visits restaurants that are not his own, unless he’s forced to do so.  All the time he can spare is for his two sons.

Suhas .  Although he made it to Chief Prosecutor of the State, with the help of family and political connections, nevertheless to stay at the top he had to work like a dog.   Even after having had a surgery, and unable to sit, within hours, he was back working , standing at his desk throughout the day.  He loved traveling, but rarely left his offices, or the court rooms.  He had no time for anything except work.  But he prided himself on always finding time for his two sons.

Andy had a stroke and died at age 45. But he did live long enough to see his eldest daughter defy him, elope and divorce within the year.  His two sons were too young to carry on the huge practice he had built up.  Strangers have taken over the firm he had worked so hard to set up.

Mohan has had three heart attacks in quick succession.  He is not 50 yet.   His  sons have made it clear that they have no interest in the business and will  be settling abroad.  And last month, his wife left him.

Suhas lives with his family.  He’s made his millions.  But at 72, he is bitterly lonely. His wife and sons have their own lives, which they built while he was busy with career. There’s no place in there for him.  Every time I call, he is full of regrets for not finding time for the love he ultimately lost because he had no time to devote to it and for his failure to find the time to build relationships which would last.

Conclusion:  Although the names are changed, the stories are true; and you are so clever my love, you don’t need to be told the moral, do you?

Rosemary