Affiliate Summit started at a time when my wife, Vicky, was pregnant with our third baby, Kerrigan.
Thinking back, the near decade of babies in the house marked a different stage in our relationship from the first few years we were married. Suddenly, I assumed the role as second fiddle at home and started working more.
I understood it on a rational level that Caity needed non-stop TLC when she was born in 1999, but still it was somewhat lonely and isolating, compared to the way things used to be. It left me looking to fill the void.
This repeated itself in 2001 with Lexie, then 2003 when Kerri was born (a month after the first Affiliate Summit), and on to Jack in 2006.
In a way, it was perfect timing for losing myself in the entrepreneur lifestyle. This period coincided with some of my most productive years as an entrepreneur.
I prided myself in being called a workaholic. To me, it was a badge of honor that I was working like crazy, and people would marvel at my productivity.
It felt right then – there was the need to support the family, so the long hours, skipped vacations, and little sleep equaled kicking ass in my mind.
For the first year or so of Affiliate Summit, I was also working full-time at ClubMom.com as affiliate manager, as well as juggling a handful of affiliate management clients.
I was so excited and consumed with what was happening in my professional life that I became blind to what should have been my true priorities.
My wonderful, patient wife was essentially an entrepreneur widow who was raising our kids largely on her own. That was no good and not fair.
It took some tough conversations for me to wake up to my lack of balance that had evolved into my new normal.
I am proud of many things I have done, but I am not proud of what I didn’t do for too long… be the best husband and dad I could be.
So, I’ve got a new startup (BITTW.com: Blood Is Thicker Than Water) with a focus on family life. This is the new stage where I rededicate, rediscover, reboot, renew, and rebalance.
How about you… are you picking work at the expense of people you care about? Don’t wait until it’s too late to start keeping your eyes on the right prize.
I wrote this for the Editor’s Note in issue 26 of FeedFront magazine.