Over my career, this point has been reinforced to me time and time again. As I matured in sales (and business), I have noticed that the best salespeople and executives are not the harried one. Yes, we all go through phases where everything is nuts and the 90 hour weeks are required, but that cannot be the norm.

Some of the best reps I have known have disappeared in the middle of the afternoon to catch a flick. At first I found it odd, but over time I came to understand. If you know your business, you do not need to be the one who works 90 hours a week all the time. I made this point when I passed on that success = 15. In the case of my first mentor, it was not movies, it was the O.J. Simpson trial (smile).

I will now provide a case in point: Last year, when I was still a client manager (I have moved back into management), I grew the business 22% and nailed every single one of my MBO’s. I also played lots of golf with clients and had a wonderful time with my family (The boys are growing very fast and pretty soon this period will be gone). I live a very balanced life – work hard, enjoy life. In my mind, that is success.