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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Monday 2 Feb '09 was an interesting day...

Stephen Covey says this about work/life balance; "There are no quick-fixes to achieving work/life balance. Your priorities may change as your circumstances change. Thus, I invite you to consider the things that you value most and allow those to serve as the foundation. Then commit to consistently re-evaluate your current priorities, given your current circumstances and based on what you have identified as your core values. It takes courage, but remember not to trade in what you want most, for what you want now."

I've always been able to wax lyrical responding to the most intricate questions in my professional life...but I find...for the first time ever...difficulty in verbosely responding to the most simple of questions posed at me today.

So many called, emailed, im'd, sms'd asking me how I could do it and why I did it... Well, sometimes when you make a choice...you do so...irrespective of the timing ...or material/career consequence(s)...or emotion...or logic...but rather...you make a choice because you finally wake up to the fact that it is not about you anymore!

Michelle, Bethany and Amber...it was all about me...now it's all about us! And...I choose us! I will never trade in what I want most, for what I want now!

Thank goodness I woke up to this before it was too late!

P.S. Click on Covey's quote above for the excellent post on keeping the balance and check out this previous post re Steve Job's speech...

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Stafford, Melt here from longtail. I heard about your decision yesterday, must admit it came as a bit of a surprise. Google SA has certainly scaled some steep cliffs with you at the head and achieved much in a very short time. Google SA will definately look much different going forward with you not there. Whatever the reasons being for your departure, I admire your courage to commit to family over career. I wish you all the best and certainly hope that we will cross paths sometime in the future. (by the way, you don't have to publish this comment, just wanted to say hi)

staffordmasie@gmail.com said...

Hey there Melt - thanks for the comments! I've received so many emails wishing me well - which I immensely appreciate - thank you everyone! I will miss Google tremendously and glad I had the privilege of establishing their presence in SA - definitely the best company in the world to work for! They're going to be great from hereon and will continue to grow from strength to strength.

Anonymous said...

Well done on choice and all of the best for the road ahead.

The Teacher said...

Hey Staff.
Not an easy choice you have made. We trust and pray that it will work out for the best. May God strengthen you in this time.

Unknown said...

Hi Stafford


Well done, your wife and children are far more important than the bottom line. I had a similar experience from 1997 to 2000. Personally I achieved a lot, a software company that I had started in 1996 was acquired by the Naspers group and so began the golden handcuffs and I was hardly at home. My son was born in 1998 and I hardly saw him or my wife except on weekends. My daughter was born in 2000 and at the same time I sold my remaining shares to Naspers. There was a 6 month handover and during this time my daughter nearly died from Meningitis. Where the doctors had said there was no hope we had faith in God that she will be healed and prayed ferverently. She was healed and has been an absolute joy to us. My personal prayer is that God will save her and that I will serve him now. 6 months later I started a project for AIDS orphans, widows and caregivers called Walk in The Light Ministries http://www.walkinthelight.org.za . I bought a farm next to the township and it has been an awesome journey and I have been humbled and learnt many lessons.



One of lessons I would like to share is that I started working 7/7 because I was doing God's work and farming. This started affecting my family again. A very wise old pastor came to see me and he said that I was not honouring God. I was shattered. He told me to take a sabbath as I was not. The following Saturday I took my first day off and spent it with the family, that was 4,5 years ago, I have done this now every Saturday and it has been awesome to see how this has helped my wife and children. We spend evry Saturday together, either watching the children play sport or visiting family and friends and it has become a special time for us and made such a difference to me as a husband and a father.

Take care and be blessed as you honour God, your wife and your children.

Bruce Taylor
bruce@walkinthelight.co.za

Warren Blackbeard said...

Hey Stafford,only heard about your resigning now.I think its the most important decision you will ever make and you made the right choice. Mark Driscoll (a pastor in Seattle) did a few sermons on marriage and practical ways around it (for example - making your wife your standard of beauty etc). Its changed my view on marriage dramatically and I think it could help you as well. I can drop it off or post it if you like.
Good luck Stafford