Full disclosure…I am a major Gary Vaynerchuk fan. I’ve read (and highly recommend) his book Crush It!. I think he’s a prophet when describing the impact of social media on business. I consistently learn from his video blog and Wine Library TV, and even had a chance to see him speak in person (again, highly recommended).
So imagine my excitement yesterday morning when I see that Gary has posted a video, “Work/Work Balance.” (below). After watching the clip, I realize that, even though he doesn’t know it (because he uses the b-word and focuses on work/work even though he does mention other parts of his life), Gary Vaynerchuk is a work+life fit intuitive in action!
First, what’s a work+life fit intuitive? It’s someone for whom flexibly managing his or her work+life fit day-to-day and at major work and personal transitions is second nature. The funny thing is that they have no idea how unusual they are, and they often assume everyone else is the same way. Over the past 15 years working with tens of thousands of people, I’ve estimated that about 10-15% of the population falls into this category…and one of them is Gary Vaynerchuk!
Second, what’s he doing? In the video he explains that he will be resetting or readjusting how he is going to work, what work he is going to focus on, and how he is going to build more time for exercise and his family into his “fit” (although he calls it balance). Watch the video and you will see he follows the main the steps found in my book and highlighted in the “Work+Life Fit in 5 Days” series from earlier this year:
He recognizes that his work and personal realities have changed. Over the past three years, Gary has put his heart and soul into expanding his Wine Library TV brand and into helping others leverage their brands using social media. He prides himself on walking his talk of customer service and interactivity, which was fine until the demands on his time began to grow beyond his capacity to continue to perform the way he wanted to. Add to this the fact that he became a father for the first time last year. And, as he has publicly stated, family is very important to him. Three years ago, his work and personal realities were different. That “fit” no longer works, so he’s making a change that’s a win-win for him and his business.
He is creating a new, clear vision of what he wants his new work+life fit to look like and how we will flexibly manage it. If you listen to the video, he describes the work he is going to let go of (mostly travel for speeches), and he talks about how he is going to perhaps create public Q&A sessions so he can stay in direct touch with people in a more efficient way. He interjects that he’s going to find more time for the basketball court and being with his family, although there’s still A LOT of work in his work+life fit. He’s answered the smallest, hardest question: What do I want?
He challenges his fears. Even Gary Vaynerchuk encounters the fear roadblock as he gets ready to reset his work+life fit. We all do! But he challenges it. His fear is that if he isn’t as generous with his time–spending hours in the store one on one with people or going out to dinner every time someone asks–people will think he sold out and is no longer authentic. But he challenges it in part with the video and by explaining what he is doing and why. Plus, his is brainstorming other ways to keep that connectivity without the level of time commitment.
He is redefining success to match his new work+life fit. For the past few years, his definition of success was sharing what he knows (either about wine or social media) and trying to help others understand how it could help them. But now he’s feeling like he needs to stop and “execute” for awhile. Learn, read, and know more. From that doing and learning work, he will ultimately be more valuable and more helpful. That’s his new definition of success, and it matches the change he’s putting into place.
Gary, good luck! And add “work+life fit intuitive” to your list of your accomplishments.
Did Gary Vaynerchuk’s work+life fit reset inspire you? I know it’s reaffirmed the decision I made a couple of months ago to reset my work+life fit to finish two big writing projects I’ve been trying to complete for the past year. I’m pleased to report that one writing project is down, and I have one to go!