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Work-Life Balance: Understand Your Entrepreneurial Operating System

How to Supercharge In the book The EOS Life: How to Live Your Ideal Entrepreneurial
Life, author Gino Wickman presents the concept of the Entre-
preneurial Operating System. In it, he says that living the ideal
Your Goals and Live life encompasses five major principles:

Your Ideal Life 1. Doing what you love
2. With people you love
By: Trent J. Keenan, PLS 3. Making a huge difference
4. Being compensated appropriately
An abstract of a Mentoring Monday’s presentation from 5. Finding time for other passions
January 22, 2024
Doing what you love means identifying your unique abil-
ity: something you are good at, enjoy, and are committed to
improving long term. At the core, this should be something
that gives you more energy than it takes away. For Tony, tasks
like answering emails and dealing with frustrated clients take
energy away, while completing a boundary retracement leaves
him fulfilled and invigorated.

“So many people have no idea what their unique ability is. They
just go to the job, they get the work done, they go home. You’ve
got to find something that you really enjoy that you’re good at,”
he says.

One exercise recommended by strategic coaches is to take a
piece of paper and separate it into three columns: A, B, and C.
Under A, write down the work you’re really good at. Under B,
write down standard work that you do regularly. And under
C, write down the annoying tasks that seem to sap your time
Each new year is a blank slate that provides a fresh opportunity and energy. Then, try to delegate one thing from column C
to set resolutions and priorities. While many people make a every quarter until you’re doing more of the high value work
generic pledge to get in shape or travel more, they often fail to you enjoy.
set concrete goals that work in service of a greater vision.
Once you identify your unique ability and start honing in on
Dr. Tony Nettleman is a professional surveyor and licensed at- what you love to do, make sure that you are surrounding your-
torney who frequently serves as an expert witness in bound- self with people who help fuel that positive energy, take time to
ary easements and title disputes. He is also passionate about give back, and charge for your work appropriately.
learning the best ways that people can maximize their time, Finally, even if you love your job overall, don’t neglect making
energy, and happiness. He sat down on Mentoring Mondays to time for passions outside of work. “You have to have a hobby
conduct a workshop that put goal setting in a new perspective. that takes your mind away from things. It’s amazing how much
time we spend worrying about stuff, especially work, that really
Think about Life Goals Versus Career Goals won’t matter,” Tony says.

One of the most popular resolutions people have is to work Identify Your Primary Aim
harder, make more money, and advance their careers. While it’s
a logical place to start, Tony advocates for a more holistic ap- Managing the competing interests that allow you to achieve an
proach to setting goals. ideal life can seem daunting. A program that Tony has enjoyed
using to make sense of everything comes from E-Myth Mastery:
“Instead of thinking about your career and your business in the The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World-Class Com-
new year, think about your own life. What do you want out of pany by Michael Gerber.
your life?” he asks.
The name E-Myth refers to the fact that just because you’re
It’s all too easy to get stuck in existing routines and habits a business owner doesn’t mean you are automatically a good
that keep you focused on small-scale tasks and don’t help you entrepreneur. In fact, many business owners are miserable, and it
takes work — and coaching — to become successful and happy.
achieve big-picture goals.
A key exercise that the program recommends is a questionnaire
While the question “What is your ideal life?” may be broad, that helps you identify what they call your primary aim. “The
there are ways to think about it that help clarify exactly what point of this exercise is to put your life first, because most small
you want — and help you get there. business owners have a business that runs them,” Tony says.

16 The Nevada Traverse Vol.51, No.1, 2024