"In 20 years only your children will remember that you worked late."
Are you sacrificing something you can’t get back?
Over my career, I've been a part of many close teams. Teams that worked hard, ate lunch together, and went out to social events.
We worked long hours; evenings and weekends.
I consider many of these teammates to be my friends, and there are dozens of them from over the years. I love to catch up with them when we find time to call one another, or if an event brings us together.
But here is the thing:
Out of all of these friends, I speak regularly with almost none. This isn’t a reflection on me or them, it is simply the truth of work friendships. If you have had a long career, you certainly know what I am talking about. The truth of work friendships is that they diverge very shortly after you part ways professionally.
The point of this is that it is important to remember 2 things:
1. Your company will not love you- It will not sit by your bedside when you are old and sick.
2. Your work friends, as wonderful as they may be, are not the same as your true friends and family.
It is possible to have real friends you work with- someone you also hike with, play tennis with, etc. But purely “work” friendships are simply that. There is nothing wrong with this, but remember the two points above each time you stay late, go in early, or miss a special moment because you choose to work.
Your true friends and family are the ones who are waiting on you.
Sometimes we have to stay late or work on the weekends to get the job done, people who take their career seriously know that. But we need to be conscious of overdoing this in a culture that continuously pushes us to work more, more, more.
Be friendly. Enjoy your coworkers. Work hard. Earn money. Play the game.
But do not lose sight of what you are working for. Do not give your love to the company. It will always go unrequited and there will always be someone else who needs it much more.
Your kids, your spouse, your friends, your parents. Your time with these people is limited, and they love you.
Never work so hard that you can’t give your love and time to them.
Because when the office lights go out and the laptops close, they are the ones who remember that work always came first.
Changes come from taking action: plan time with family or reach out to a longtime friend and set something up.
Your one stop shop for ongoing career success, with purpose and balance: https://buff.ly/3Q9UHPd
The Original Power Platform Advisor. 11x Microsoft MVP. Low-code 4 life.
1yIn case anyone is interested in seeing a statement that confirms the Dynamics 365 App for Outlook being the email tracking app that's within Power Apps licensing model scope, here's an example from the Microsoft Partner Community forum: https://www.microsoftpartnercommunity.com/t5/Pricing-Licensing-Incentives/Outlook-app-license-requiremnts/m-p/47750/highlight/true#M3567 A really long thread where MS licensing concierge keeps arguing with MS partners who are presenting evidence on the commercial connection between Power Apps and App for Outlook. Luckily there are knowledgeable and stubborn partners out there who are able to help the licensing professionals discover the true "Spirit of the Licensing Guide" 😄 Without having a direct channel to engage with the Power Platform product team members through the MVP program, as well as an amazing group of fellow BizApps MVPs who keep asking them the tough questions - I would have never dared to start writing about licensing topics out in public either. Yet when I've seen the struggle that many brilliant technical experts have to endure when confronted with Dynamics 365 & Power Platform licensing related questions, I felt like "well somebody's gotta do it". And so here we are 😅