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Whether you choose a career path that works with people or not, finding something you are passionate about and making it a career is not easy for everyone. If you end up choosing to spend your life doing something you’re passionate about, it doesn’t mean that it will be easy to do because you love it at the beginning. Burnout in careers is a real issue, especially in today’s culture. Our society keeps pushing people to be on the go with minimal rest days, and many people are feeling the effects of long term burnout.
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Cody Jefferson, founder and face of ‘Embrace The Lion’ coaching was once stuck in a cycle of catch up. His ministry was his life, yet he didn’t want to sacrifice time with his family. Finding the perfect balance may never exist, but Cody has spent the later half of his career finding the keys to a more balanced lifestyle – with no burnout included. Despite feeling peace in his life today through the lessons he’s learned, Cody had to overcome many different obstacles in his life to make him the leader he is today.
More Money Doesn’t Mean Less Problems
“While money doesn’t solve ‘all’ problems, it does solve most. However, solving the money game will expose the underlying issues that money is unable to solve,” says Cody Jefferson. Contrary to what our society wants to make us believe, money doesn’t take away all the issues of life. It may help provide the necessities of life, like food, clothes, and a comfortable home, but there is more to life than what we buy and own.
When you work so hard to make a certain amount of money to give your family a comfortable life, you may be sacrificing time with your family for the pursuit of money. Now, it’s not wrong to want to work hard and make money, but Cody likes to point out to entrepreneurs that something is going to slip through the cracks, and sacrifices have to be made. However, there are ways for you to be able to do both. A large part of Cody’s coaching is teaching his students to make more money than they ever have, but without experiencing the burnout or sacrifice of relationships that is common with building a high level income.
Boundaries Are A Must
Opportunities for success aren’t so easy to find in our fast-paced society. For people climbing corporate ladders, or even those who are aspiring entrepreneurs, it may be hard to say “no.” Cody learned throughout his time that boundaries are necessary to achieve balance. “If there’s stress in your life, you created it. You have the stress, not the business.If you have stress in your relationship, you created it because you need boundaries,” explains Cody.
When looking for people to hire for his company, he doesn’t want the over-eager work-a-holic. Cody finds hard-working individuals who understand the importance of balance and boundaries in their lives. Life is more enjoyable to live when you can learn to say “no” to the things that don’t truly help you achieve your innermost goals.
Keep Relationships Real
When Cody first started his ministry, he wanted to be successful to help his family live a comfortable life. As he kept working hard, he had to sacrifice time with his family, and it ended up breaking some crucial relationships he had at the time. Since then, Cody changed his perspective on life and business, has placed boundaries in his life, and he is now dedicated to seeking out real relationships.
As a coach, Cody makes an exceptional amount more than he did as a minister, and for a time he felt guilty about how much he was making compared to the friend group he had at the time. He had to realize that despite his growth financially, he couldn’t feel bad about the blessings. Cody focused on finding new relationships that had similar mindsets and goals that would help him grow even more instead of making him feel guilty for his success. “Relationships are rocket fuel.” Leaning on one another to help us as we grow is crucial for maintaining a balanced lifestyle.
Cody Jefferson is a consultant, coach, and serial entrepreneur. He has taken his gifts and abilities to connect with people and turned his life around from being unbalanced and exhausting to using his goals to fuel him every day. Teaching and helping others grow to do the same has become his passion, and he wants to help as many people as he can.
