The challenge with work/life balance is the insidious mindset that being successful means you have to work 20 hours a day. It’s this mindset that is forcing talented women in the workforce to opt out. I made significant contributions to my job both when I was working part-time and when I was full-time. And my husband is very successful in his field and makes a positive impact on his clients everyday and is the model for work/life balance. We need to redefine the picture of success in this country.

Maybe he should have said, “These posts are aimed at people who have no life and therefore are free to devote every waking hour to their work…”

I agree you can’t have much of a life at all if you live in a vacuum (or at work, for that matter) in order to gain the success that Marc talks about. But how many successful people really do that? Sure there are a few that sacrifice friends and family for business success, but just because you do that does not mean you are guaranteed success.

I believe you CAN balance the kind of success that Marc speaks about if you have family and friends and a great spouse and at times even a community (of whatever kind) that helps support you through out the process. You also have to actually like what you are doing and feel like you are making that impact or difference by doing what you do – you have to have that passion! Because there WILL be days or weeks when you work long crazy hours and it feels like you haven’t seen your family in forever. And there will also be down periods where you do spend more time with them and enjoy every second of that time! While you aren’t able to be there all the time, with a support system, you know everyone in your life is loved and cared for in the best possible way while still allowing you to be successful and HAPPY in your chosen career.

I think the really tricky part is remembering to show your appreciation to those who support you while you are trudging away! A little ‘thank-you, I couldn’t do this with out you’ goes a LONG way towards your own success – both at home and at work!

I don’t think you have to drop everything in your life to make a significant impact on your field or in the world OR to be a ‘high-potential” person. Just what high bar is he referring to? Is it to be a millionaire? A billionaire?

I set out to prove with my first company (which I started when my daughter was 6 months old) that you could build a profitable, successful company and still have a life. Although I didn’t rock the world with my company, we enjoyed multi-million dollar revenues and provided good jobs for people. To me, that was success. Granted it was not a Gates Foundation impact, but there’s got to be something in between a drain on society and a billionaire.

If you (that’s a rhetorical “you”) feel that having society dictated “high profile” job is the only way to succeed, then there very well could be a problem.

There may be jobs where the key functions simply don’t fit with your life, and, therefore you’ll never feel you are excelling, no matter how hard you try.

Like Sister said, I prefer to think of it as a work-life “fit” rather than “balance” or “juggle” (though there are days that feel that way)

You have to decide what “excelling’ and “making an impact” in your career means to you and how you measure it before you race toward what your industry perceives as excelling and making an impact.

For instance, I was in outside sales. Advertising sales to be specific. The economy in Northern MI made the last few years very, very stresful in my career. I was suffereing physically (heart racing, eye twitching) because I needed to hit my numbers. I needed to do what was best for my clients. I needed to satisfy my employer. But my family life did indeed suffer because I was just plain empty at the end of the day. That kind of work wasn’t for me, I guess.

I recently changed jobs. I now work in a less-stressful environment that doesn’t have a quota hanging over my head. I make an impact every, single day to the residents I serve, my employer and the public. And I have ALOT left over at the end of the day to devote to my family and friends.

So, yes it CAN be done. We just have to find the right fit.

Great topic, btw!