Work-life balance may be defined in the following way. A fluid balance between performance and pleasure. It’s basically as simple as that. Getting to world-class in terms of a work-life balance is managing performance on the one hand, with pleasure on the other hand. I call this the Platinum Equation, because once you get it right in your life, all things are possible.
Work-life balance is an ideal. We’re all striving to get there, and the way that balance looks
changes every single day. As a matter of fact, work-life balance cannot be defined in objective terms. Work-life balance is subjective. What’s a great balance for me might not be a great balance for you, so it’s subjective and it’s definitely an ideal. It’s something each of us have
to work on every single day.
Don’t beat yourself up if you’re not in perfect balance tomorrow or the day after or a week after. It’s a daily challenge.
In the definition I articulated for you I not only spoke of it being a fluid balance, but I suggested that the key is to balance performance with pleasure. I think this is a big idea. I think to get really brilliant at work-life balance, you have to manage on the one hand the imperative of getting to your goals and your hopes and your dreams with a missionary zeal, with on the other hand doing whatever it takes to enjoy the journey of life and to have fun and to experience pleasure. That’s what I mean. It’s this fluid balance, or this fluid tension, between being an elite performer and going out there and getting great results and getting important things done, which is the performance piece, and yet at the same time enjoying the journey of life and watching the sunrises and enjoying times with your family and your friends and celebrating life and living in the moment, and that’s the pleasure side of the
Platinum Equation. Performance on the one hand, pleasure on the other.
Once you figure out how to manage those two competing priorities, I think you’ll be amazed by the level of success, fulfillment, passion, and genuine peace that you will experience.
