This email will likely piss a lot of people off, but that is okay. Sometimes the truth hurts.

But first a sponsored note:

The cold hard truth:

If you’re overworked inside of your company, it is your fault.

If you’re overworked at your job, it is your fault

In life, you get what you tolerate.

Tolerate a friend taking advantage of you - you’ll attract other folks who take advantage of you. Tolerate the person you’re dating treating you like shit, they’ll continue to treat you like shit. Tolerate customers bullying you and beating you up on price, you’ll attract customers bulling you and beating you up on price.

It’s that simple.

Work is no different. If you tolerate a boss throwing you project after project or a client sending you email after email after hours and you respond to them and you turn it around and you get it done, they will OF COURSE KEEP DOING IT.

To maintain a work life balance while working a high powered job with upside you have to be good at two things:

1.	Saying no
2.	Delegating

If you suck at setting boundaries, the people around you are going to milk you dry.

Now let’s talk about delegating.

People think that word is only for entrepreneurs. And if you work at a company you just do what you’re told and produce as much as you can. The more you produce the more you can earn.

That is bullshit.

If you’re good at your job you can get paid well.

If you can lead other people and make sure they’re all good at their jobs you can get paid phenomenally well.

Period.

As an entrepreneur the best and most valuable folks at my company can lead other people. They can solve problems. They can manage branches and customers and the folks who service those customers.

If they can lead others there is no limit to how much you can earn - wether it be for yourself or at a company.

If one of those folks come to me and tells me they need to make a hire to support them, I’m all ears. I’m ready to invest if more production is a result.

So if you’re sitting at a desk working 70 hours a week for somebody else and they just keep throwing job after job at you - remember something:

It is your fault.

You get what you tolerate. Every time you say yes or answer that email at 10pm or bend over backwards for that client’s ridiculous request, you’re encouraging them to do it again and again.

And you’re failing to delegate. Tell your boss you want to use Shepherd to hire a VA in the Philippines. You don’t think your boss will invest $12k a year to take a bunch of menial tasks off your plate so your work life balance makes it so you want to stick around?

Take ownership over your situation.

I get it, there are a lot of things outside of your control. Your boss is a dick. The company doesn’t have it in the budget. The economy is tough. You’re in law or medicine (which is a dumb decision in and of itself).

Take ownership.

I know there is nuance here. In some fields it just isn't possible to work less and earn more. Here is the test:

Look down the hall at your boss's office. Is she in the office? Is he on the golf course? Does he spend a lot of time with his kids? Or is she grinding away 70 hours a week and laying it all on the line for the company?

That is where you are headed if you win.

Like what you see? Good. Don't like what you see? Make a change.

What do you need to do to earn more money and work less?

Start saying no and start delegating.

Onward and upward,

Nick

P.S. The folks at RE Cost Seg let me know the schedule for this fall and spring tax season is filling up. Get a free proposal and get on the schedule sooner rather than later if you need a cost segregation study done on a property you bought this year or last.
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