Page 11 - January 2021: Hustle Mama Magazine

How difficult is it to maintain a work-life balance? What measures do you take to ensure that you have that?
For me, I've always worked very, very hard. I would say in my early days, I didn't have an outstanding work-life balance. I wasn't there for my first two children very much. I was on the road to give seminars, give lectures, speak, appear on tv shows, and promote my books and things like that, doing book signings. I think they paid the price for that, and looking back, I think I paid the price well.
But, I've learned by the time they were teenagers I don't want to keep on doing that, so the son I had from my second marriage I spend more time with him and what I do now with my wife is every Sunday is our date ( no work allowed) we play ping pong, we play scrabble, we make gloves, we sit in our hot tub, we go out for dinner but no so much this covid 19, but we used to. Still, we ordered in, we cooked our meals, but we order in, which makes that a particular day.
Also, we took a month off every year. Last year we took a month off, and we went to India for a month in Mumbai, at the healing clinic just to detox. We did a lot of yoga, breathe work, and meditation, and we ate a lot of Mung bean soup. The previous year we rent a house in Hawaii, so just knowing we have a month to be and would only be and don't have to do anything other than hanging out and have fun. With my kids, you know, Christmas and thanksgiving and summer vacation and family reunion and things like that all will fit that into the schedule. There's one year we spent 12 days in Africa.
Traveling around to the different villages and when my kids turned 16, I would take them anywhere in the world for a week. We would bond and create memories, and so I think it's more of building a schedule and building into your schedule like my wife and I sit down at the beginning of the year, and we plan out our long weekends, our vacations, the time we're going to spend with our kids (I have a seven years old grandson). My wife at night 5'oclock our time and 8 o'clock New York time (He lives in Brooklyn). They get on facetime, and they spent an hour together. She reads to him, plays games, and probably gets on there once a week, but I said connection, so it's essential to have that schedule.
Would you consider yourself a driven person? What makes you a powerhouse? What is the source of your strength?
Yes, I am! Driven by a purpose. I believe everybody is born with an inborn purpose. Something you're uniquely designed to express or to create or to do or to learn, and when you're fulfilling that purpose, you're going to be happy.
For me, my life purpose is to inspire and empower people to live their highest vision in the context of love and joy.
So, inspiration from the chicken soup for the soul stories, other stories like that I would tell, empowering people through the book like "The Success Principles" and "The Success Principles Workbook" and "The Power of Focus." Books like that I have written and then the workshops I do, the training I put on the breakthrough to success, or trainer program for trainers, for coaches, for speakers. How to teach and coach to success principles. I love what I do. I'm 76, and my wife keeps saying you should retire and do what? Golf?
I love working with people; I love writing; I love working with clients, helping them breakthrough blocks; I love teaching; I love playing games, even singing and dancing. All the things we do in our seminars that, to me, is the best time ever.
I love it, and I would say early on in my marriage, my wife probably thought I work too much; travel so much, but now I was Covid, and I am staying at home for almost a year. We found a new balance, and I think working online helped us and allowed me to do the work I do without all the traveling like I can do webinars, podcasts, and things like that.