Hey Reader,
You’ve probably told yourself one or more times that you just need to find balance.
Balance between being a CEO, business partner, parent, and best friend.
Balance between building the company, staying fit, reading books, launching a product, scaling a business, being active in a mastermind, and still doing self-care.
And somehow doing it all without dropping the ball.
Most people struggle with inconsistency because they’re trying to live ten lives at the same time.
In today’s issue, we’ll explore the illusion of balance and how to embrace the seasons of life for more sustainable success.
💭 She woke up in blood...
You know Arianna Huffington, the woman behind The Huffington Post?
She’s one of the clearest examples of what happens when you try to carry everything at once.
In 2007, Arianna was running hard, and HuffPost was exploding.
She was trying to be everything at once: leader, mother, public figure, builder, connector etc
Then one morning, she collapsed from exhaustion and lack of sleep.
She hit her head on her desk.
She broke her cheekbone, and she woke up in a pool of her blood.
That incident changed her approach to life.
Years later, she described it as a wake-up call that changed how she worked and lived.
And eventually, she built Thrive Global, a company focused on performance, well-being, and preventing burnout.
That’s the point.
Success shouldn’t cost your health.
There’s a better way.
Let’s dive deeper.
🧠 You’re trying to win every role
To think you can handle every area of life at the same time already creates a problem.
You add one more commitment because you’re capable.
Then another, because you don’t want to fall behind.
Then another, because you don’t want to disappoint anyone.
Funny thing is, attention is an expensive asset people don’t realize they need to be more brutal about giving.
The cost of giving it carelessly catches up with us one way or the other.
You’re kind of in the meeting, kind of with your partner, kind of with your kids, kind of taking care of your body…
The weight of trying to be present in everything at the same time keeps you half-present in all of them.
Because when you’re trying to be great at everything, you end up being average at the things that matter most.
If we’re being honest, trying to give everything equal attention is driven by fear.
It’s probably you trying to avoid the discomfort of choosing.
Because choosing means some things will wait, and something may go wrong.
So you keep trying to balance out everything.
And the more you try, the more miserable it gets.
Because nobody is great at handling everything life demands at the same time.
There’s a better way to live.
Tradeoffs.
Let’s get to it.
❤️ Life is in seasons
The best life comes from doing a few things well, with full attention and energy.
When you embrace the idea that there are seasons of life, you care about what you care about at the time without guilt.
You get to love each season: falling in love, starting a company, launching a product, getting an investor, training for a marathon, and so on.
You realize there are seasons where you’re building something big, and the business needs more of you.
There are seasons where love needs more of you, or your body needs more of you.
Your mind becomes open to the fact that some people will not always get the version of you they want, and that’s fine.
Some opportunities will pass, and that’s not failure.
You’re giving full attention to what matters now.
That clear focus on NOW helps you make better decisions.
You feel more grounded, fully present, and very alive in what you’re doing.
You’re not trying to balance out anything.
You’re living on purpose.
And that’s what makes you unstoppable.
Excellent, great, and unfuckwithable.
🤲 What are you willing to be bad at for a season?
Focusing on a new season doesn’t necessarily mean throwing away other things you’ve built.
You can make tradeoffs without burning bridges or losing yourself.
Start by practicing these simple steps:
- Figure out what matters to you most. This week, this month, this quarter. What must you do or everything else you’re doing won’t make sense? Don’t make a long list. That’s how you lie to yourself. Pick three things that get the best of you in this season.
- Direct your energy accordingly. You have to say lots of no, like your life depends on it. Everything that comes your way should go through a maintain, delegate, or pause filter to decide if it’s worth your attention.
- Let someone else do it. If something falls under the pause or delegate filter, don’t hesitate to let someone else handle it. Hire a VA (could be temporary). Hire a caregiver if need be, or add a new team member. Do anything you can to help other needs go on while you handle more pressing needs. And if you have to pause it, well, then let it wait.
- Keep communication with loved ones and valuable connections. Don’t burn a bridge you already built trying to build another. Tell your partner, team, and key friends what season you’re in. What you’re saying yes to, what you can give, what you’re pausing, when you’ll be able to pick up on other things, and the like. That one conversation saves months of silent resentment.
🎯 What season are you in right now?
Where are you still trying to prove you can do it all?
What would change if you stopped chasing balance and started choosing tradeoffs on purpose?
The goal isn’t to be great at everything.
It’s to be great at what matters most.
As Goethe said, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”
You’ve got this.
With appreciation
Huw
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Huw Edwards
Founder & CEO, h3.xyz
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