We clinked glasses. The event was finally over, and it was a massive success. 

At least on the surface.

Hours earlier, I delivered the closing keynote at a business conference and now, with a drink in hand, I was sitting at a bar with the founder who finally had time to take a breath after months of hard work.

We talked about the future: plans for a bigger and better event next year, revenue goals for our businesses, and the hiring spree he was on to grow his team 3x within 4 months.

He was meticulously detailed and knew exactly what was going to happen and when. Business goals on point. 

After about an hour, I was curious and changed the topic:

“What about outside of business? Any big goals with the family this year?”, I asked.

After a quick sip from his 3rd old-fashioned, he said, “Oh, you know. Just making sure we’re all happy and healthy.”

I nodded my head and raised my glass.

Clink.

We continued to chat about random things throughout the rest of the night, and close to midnight we said our goodbyes. He had a debrief with his team the next morning, and I had a flight to catch.

While getting ready for bed, I couldn’t help but think about his answer to my question from earlier and how ironic it actually was. 

Underneath the surface, I knew he wasn’t the healthiest of people. He slept poorly and ate worse. At home, things weren’t much better either. People close to his family knew that he and his wife were not doing well, and any relationship with his son was usually just what he could fit into his busy schedule. 

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon story in the world of entrepreneurship. We’re so focused on our businesses and their goals, that other parts of our lives take the backseat. 

We can become so specific with our business goals, yet when we’re asked about our personal life, it’s just a generically broad answer that’s more akin to “I’ll eventually get around to it, someday.”

That’s not how it should be.

Since 2011, ever since I caught myself falling into the same trap, I made sure to never let the business become the center of everything in my life again. 

Rather, the business is one important part of a much larger whole. Each part is equally important, and each part deserving of time and attention to real, specific, and measurable goals.