People sometimes lose sight of key aspects of their lives and it is not unusual to put too much effort into one or two aspects to the detriment of others. A common example is placing financial success as the ultimate personal performance measure. However, there are other facets of life that are equally as important and if they are not in balance you may be heading for trouble. For example, someone might make a lot of money, but have no family life, another person might have great social life but poor health etc.
In the diagram below, the rear wheel of the bike represents a number of areas you might consider when evaluating whether your personal life is in balance. Score yourself out of ten on each segment/spoke and shade each segment accordingly with nil at the hub and 10 on the rim. The size of the wheel is not as important as its roundness. Ask yourself if the wheel would go round. If not, which areas of your life do you need to adjust to achieve greater balance?
The front wheel represents similar aspects of a healthy business. You may have a great service/product, but if you can’t market well, you will have a poor income. If you don’t have a plan and strategy you won’t know where you are going. Use the front wheel to score your business. Would this wheel go round? If not, what needs to be fixed?
Healthy businesses are managed by healthy people. The final analogy in the bike of life is to ask what would happen if you dented one of the wheels or got a puncture. A problem with the back wheel (your personal life) could stop the whole bike moving forward and a poorly balanced business wheel could stop your personal life from going in the right direction.
If your wheels aren’t round you may need to consider making some changes: To get maximum benefits including speed and distance from the 'Bike of Life' you need to be in balance in your business and personal lives.
Has your bike got traction or is it just wobbling along?
