Juggling balls

Juggling balls

There has even been a term coined for it: time poverty. As women entrepreneurs we are constantly fighting the clock to get work done without neglecting household chores, family, friends and spiritual development. How much do we sacrifice to run our businesses? Can we achieve a balance between work and life? Is it possible?

Two tough, mission driven, macho men blow the myth of ‘balance’ out of the water: the Argentinean Bryan Dyson, former CEO and President of Coca Cola and the American Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric…

Dyson compares life to a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. ‘You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it.’

Welch agrees but comes to another conclusion. ‘Work-life balance doesn’t exist. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences. Taking time off for family can offer a nice life but the chances of going to the top on that path are smaller.’

Do you believe there is such a thing as work-life balance?