Russ Towne's A Grateful Man

A reader recently wrote that said she struggled with the “work/live” balance and asked me to let her know if I ever solved it. Many face the same challenge. I have for most of my life. Here is my reply to the reader:

“It took me nearly forty years to figure out how to do it (I’m a slow learner) but I finally found the recipe that works for me. It took time and multiple steps, and the transition had setbacks along the way, but the changes I made have made a huge difference in the quality of my life and the amount of joy in it.

“I got out of a profession I’d been in decades and had come to hate, and found something I love to do so much that I did it for free for friends and family before they convinced me I should make a profession out of it. I now professionally manage investments and wealth of many of the people I care deeply deeply care about and love doing it. In that way, “work” is play.

“I also found I love to write. I finished my first book less than four years ago and have since written nearly thirty more. I enjoy the writing, reader compliments and support, and the royalties I receive for my efforts. It’s another form of “work” that feels much more like play to me most of the time.

“My professions make for a very flexible schedule. I can also perform them from almost anywhere. When family or friends need or want to be with me, I can focus on them. In that way I can be maximally available to my family and friends when it is convenient for them. They get all the time they want with me, and I with them. There is rarely any work/play tension because I get to play all the time, doing what I love, with the people I love.”

With Love,
Russ