I was talking with a business owner the other day who articulated what I realise is quite a common philosophy.  He was talking about how he only had so much resource, and his order of priority was his business, his children and his relationship.  His own development needs came some way after that.

In other words, he was last in the queue.  Noble, but wrong. 

I can understand the sentiment: there is a lot of programming in our lives about putting others first, about serving others before serving yourself.

Where it goes wrong is when you don't realise that you can't serve others when you are running yourself into the ground.

This guy was all out of energy, had no time, was stretched too far and too thin.  He was letting hte business down because he was too tired to think clearly, too stretched and stressed to focus on the value things, and his decisions were poorly thought through.  He was letting down his family because he was just too tired to engage when he got home.  He was failing in his relationship, not only because he was too tired to engage, but he also felt that no one appreciated the fact that he was making all these sacrifices for his family.  All they could do was complain that when he finally was at home he was grumpy, preoccupied and didn't want to do anything.

The fact is, his wife and children wanted him, his time and attention.  Instead they had a physical presence with someone who was basically empty, and had nothing left to give.

I sometimes quote Woody Allen's comment that 80% of success in life is turning up.  That's not always true.  In this case, just being there is not enough.

If you want to truly serve others, invest first in yourself.  

Question: how are you managing our investment in yourself?  Are you making time to recharge? When did you last make time for your own interests and hobbies?