There is a phrase by a well respected religious leader Gordon B. Hinkley that once said: “Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.” When I first started my company Cytrus Logic I was enduring. I was naive. I was an excellent programmer but I had to learn the business. So I did what I thought I was supposed to do and tried to run my company with a corporate mentality.
I micromanaged to make sure that clients were happy and that projects got done on time. I promoted synergy(whatever that means) and I presented my company as a faceless company that was an enigma.
The result of this was that I had to keep up the appearance and it was taxing. Micromanaging cost me time. A lot of time. I was working 60-80 hours per week! I never had time with my family. I never had time for myself. In short, I was miserable.
After scaling back my company in order to focus on the important things in my life(my three children and my sweet beautiful wife), I decided I wanted to expand again. This time, however, I was going to do it my way or not at all. I started going anti-corporate.
I set up systems that would allow me to work completely remotely. These systems allow me to reduce my workload by 75%. Instead of micromanaging I created a system that allows me to keep people responsible for their work while at the same time ensuring customer satisfaction.
I work from home. My children can visit me in the office at any time. My 2-year-old son often watches cartoons with me while I am working. My dogs are in my office with me and I often take breaks to engage in one of my passions, dog training.
I get to work with charities. I go on dates with my wife often. I go on dates with my two daughters. I get to be a dad which is the most important thing in my life. Corporate life was exhausting. It took my life. I learned to hate it.
These days I run my company completely online. I live in Guatemala and I love it. I use technology to help people get gainful employment. I have my life back. I am happy. I don’t feel like I have to live a charade anymore. I enjoy life, I don’t simply endure it.
