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Don’t Rev Your Engine Constantly at the Red Line
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At around this time, you might be wondering – who is this Larry Chiang guy?
I read his Taking Two Down the aisle a couple years ago and wrote about how great the idea was. We got to talking over Twitter every once and a while, I met him at Finovate NY, and I’ve liked the guy ever since. I swear his mind runs at 7,000 RPM because his sheer output of ideas is incredible and I don’t understand half of them. The ideas I do understand are gems. For example, his idea of getting towed twice a year is another one that I liked (enough to make a video about it!).
The (new) gem out of this morning’s post was the idea that you can’t “rev your engine constantly at the red line.” It’s a simple analogy for work life balance except it focuses on work balance. Look around you at the people who look older than they should, the ones with too much stress and not enough life, and they’re likely folks with poor work life balance. The ones who look ancient, they have poor work balance.
I like the 70-20-10 rule – 70% necessary work, 20% invested time, and 10% donated time. You can make the splits whatever you want but the key is that you achieve that balance. You can’t survive, let alone thrive, if you’re running on overdrive all the time. There’s a reason why Presidents age so much in office. 
Larry wants to hear your reaction to this idea – tweet him @6502838008.
While we’re talking his ideas, I think paying kids to take basic financial education is a good idea.
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I need to take this tip into consideration more. Sometimes I just push myself too hard and get overwhelmed. I really do need to find better balance in my life to keep myself happier and to stay more motivated.
It’s crucial that you keep that balance so you can make it for the long haul. That said, I think that it’s easier to go 110% when you’re younger and have fewer commitments. Once you start a family, going 110% means you suffer even more.
Yeah… this guy definitely gives me a creeper vibe, reading his blog and the way he conveys his ideas (which range from not particularly groundbreaking to downright dishonest or sleazy). I really like your blog Jim, and I know I barely register on your blog, but if I see another post about this guy I’ll def. unsubscribe. Thanks and good luck.
Completely off topic but did you shorten your posts on RSS feeds? Google reader is cutting off all of your articles.
I have the Bargaineering blog on an RSS feed on Yahoo. Tuesday, 3/20, it disappeared. Wednesday AM it was back again. The IE9 feed was not affected. Strange…
Balance, what’s that?