Consulting can give you the freedom to do anything you want. Take Fridays off. Be home for your kids. See matinees. Take your aging parent to the doctor’s office. Semi-retire. Travel the world. But are you really staying true to the cause?
IT consultant Alex Williams notes that he originally aimed to take Fridays off (original link expired) and meet some other goals. Still, he often finds himself working Fridays. But he notes:
What I didn’t fully understand – and it didn’t take long to figure out – was that I was the one and only person who could mess with that dream. I was the only one who could alter it, and I did.
If your consulting business isn’t aligned with your dreams and goals, take some time to re-focus. Sometimes, you just need to ask yourself what’s important. I know I’ve fallen prey to the entrepreneurial trap before. For example, when I came home from the hospital with my first baby, I got a dream call from a reporter who wanted to interview me. I started thinking about prepping for the interview…then realized that my four-day-old baby needed me more. It was hard to step back from such an opportunity. But I realized that, 10 years before, I’d got into consulting so I could have work-life balance.
Do you struggle with focusing on your true consulting goals?