Raise your hand if you eat, sleep, and breathe work. Work-life-balance might seem a fictitious concept to you. Maybe it’s been years since your last vacation (and, no, working from home does not count as a vacation).

Like many of you, my life once revolved around work. I constantly thought in terms of organizational productivity and subscribed to America’s celebration of hustle mentality. That is, until I almost died. 

In 2014, I underwent a life-changing surgery that left me questioning for whom I had been living my life. In the midst of my recovery, I learned to heal more than my body. I was forced to confront my own mortality and shift my focus from work to life centered. That is not to say I was less productive. I ended up being even more effective than I had ever been before. After almost a decade of studying balance, productivity, and time management, I have learned to be present in my life while becoming even more productive in my days and I get to teach others to do the same.

Today, I can proudly tell you that work-life balance exists and ‘job love' is real! If I can go from an overwhelmed workaholic to a balanced business owner, then any person with enough desire can shape their time for balance. We can live a life in which we are peaceful and productive, and it comes through the power of planning.

I hope you will join me on this journey to contribute to a much needed cultural shift. With each person who moves from overwhelmed to organized, we turn the tide and forge the new path.

-Samantha