Zlín, 25.01.2022
Czech Forbes had a rematch with Yannis Samaras after ten years (interview HERE). It’s a nice read. A soul-stirring shift from a man focused purely on business, money, numbers, to a man focused on value, meaning, respect, fulfillment and happiness. I read both the first and second interviews and the responses from the latter evoked feelings of joy in me. Although I like ambition, business, self-esteem, I like the latter even more.
But you know what, it’s mostly inseparable. I’ve been meaning to write something about this for a long time, so I’m gonna do it here and now. Work-life balance is complete bullshit. There’s no such thing, or there certainly shouldn’t be. By the very nature of things, we’d have to bring these scales into all areas of life. Sport – Rest balance, Sleep – Awake balance, Watch – Read balance, Learning – Doing nothing balance, etc. etc. Bullshit. Work cannot be separated from life. Work is a natural part of life and certainly not meant to be a counterbalance to living.
We live while we work (otherwise we wouldn’t get much done), we live when we don’t work, we live while we sleep, we live until we die. Life doesn’t happen in separate sections outside of the office or defined work hours. Work and Life are one. That is also why it is of utmost importance that you seek work (Work) in life that is in harmony with your life (Life). Once you feel fulfilled and focus purely on the creative power of your activity, any artificial division between Work and Life will become passé.
But beware. That demented Work-Life Balance formulation has a big piece of wisdom in it. And that is Balance. Balance is almost the highest value attainable. Even if you’re living your dream at work, you can overdo it. Hurt yourself. A hundred times, nothing has made an ass red. I’ve tried it on myself. I love the power of creation. I love new opportunities. Ideas for new brands and products keep me awake at night from my dreams. Twice, however, I’ve forgotten that balance needs to be sought in all aspects of life and hit hard.
Balance defines our lives. On an individual and societal level. Find your state of balance and you will find happiness. Perspective, perhaps you could say reconciliation, your true calling, fulfillment, well-being. Balance in eating habits and sports will bring you ease of physical being. A healthy body. Balance in relationships and family will fill you with feelings of happiness and most importantly deep love. It will uplift the soul. Economic balance including work and creative activity will bring you independence and freedom.
As part of the reflection on the equilibrium state, a final detour to business. The conversation with Jannis turned several times to the extent to which responsibility for the world around us (or rather our world, since this world and this reality is not created by anyone other than us humans) goes together with the hard world of business, numbers and money. Here again, I think it must be said that this is an artificial and therefore meaningless division. All human activity, including performance as measured by money, constitutes one and the same reality. This means that business cannot be separated from its environment.
It also means that if someone says that they don’t need to shout to the world every day Sky is the limit or There is no limit and they don’t need to think in terms of Most is Most, they are absolutely correct. Regardless of whether this or that business generates 10 million dollars in turnover or 100 billion dollars in turnover, it is still part of the same reality for which it is logically responsible. So if, for example, Jannis says that it makes a lot of sense for him to care about the places in which he does business, he has come to a natural conclusion. And a very inspiring one.
We set similar goals for our business, our projects and our investments some time ago. And in line with Václav Smil’s recommendation, we have made big plans for the future. They are not necessarily plans based on turnover and numbers. They are plans built on lasting value and responsibility. More profits allow us to improve more things, but having the most as quickly as possible is not consistent with the theory of equilibrium. Everything will come at the right time. And if a person finds balance in all aspects of life, there is a good chance that he can spread his big plans over a long period of time. A long life.
May we all succeed.
Libor Zezulka