How Work-Life “Balance” Became A Trap And What To Do Instead

Want a life where your business grows and your home life gets better, not worse? We dig into why “work-life balance” is a broken idea and show a cleaner path: set priorities for the season you’re in, make explicit agreements at home, and build boundaries that protect your focus without sacrificing what matters most.

We start with a bold stance: you don’t need 50-50 every day. You need clarity. That means choosing quality time over time logged, designing small rituals that actually connect you with your partner and kids, and being transparent about heavy work sprints so there are no silent resentments. We share real stories—from pausing a date to send a mission-critical email to nightly bedtime rituals—and how honesty created calmer minds and better results on both sides.

Then we put tech to work for you. Turn off non-essential notifications, use Do Not Disturb windows, park your phone on a charger when you get home, and ditch devices that keep your nervous system buzzing. Layer in simple automations—email rules, site diaries, receipt routing—to buy back hours every month. With fewer pings and fewer admin loops, you’ll think clearer and execute faster.

Health is the force multiplier. Short, consistent workouts and walks sharpen your mood and decision-making. Build accountability you can’t wiggle out of: book a PT, schedule sessions with a friend, or block your calendar the way you would for a client. Finally, we talk energy management and growth: admit where you’re over-indexed, invest in skills and mentorship, and let that learning compound into better leadership at work and deeper connection at home.

If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a quick review. And if you want the hardcover book we’re gifting, be quick: subscribe on YouTube, then message Robbie the exact words “how to make money.” First in wins.

Chapters

• 0:00 Book Giveaway Setup And Tease
• 2:05 Saturday Work And The Myth Of Balance
• 6:20 Quality Time Vs Time Logged
• 10:45 Boundaries, Partners, And Expectations
• 16:45 Tradeoffs, Provision, And Happiness
• 24:20 How To Qualify For The Free Book
• 26:10 Tech’s Role In Work And Life
• 34:40 Notifications, Smartwatches, And Focus
• 43:25 Automations That Buy Back Time
• 49:30 Mental Health, Fitness, And Discipline
• 57:30 Accountability, Structure, And Flexibility
• 1:04:30 Regrets, Energy Management, And Growth
• 1:12:30 Seasons, Priorities, And Final CTA

Transcript

Robby: 0:00

So, George, I got a um I got a very big package in the mail yesterday. Is that what you call it? What do you think I'm alluding to here? Oh, I don't know. So merchandise. Some time ago merchandise. Some time ago I uh I made a big purchase. I purchased a whole bunch of Alex Homose's books. Like quite like five? Like the series of the three. Tell you bought? No, no. It was uh hundreds. Shit. Yeah. Literally. Literally. No exaggeration. There is no exaggeration around that. I've got one here. They've started to they've started to roll in. I still don't have all of them, but I've got most of them. So they've started to roll in now, come straight from the US. Um I've got one here. I've read it, it's a great book. I've handed you one. Thank you. But what I want to do is I want to hand one to one of our listeners. Now I already had someone, we we offered this at the start. I already had someone message me uh and take one up. And then I had a couple of people message after that. Uh so I thought, you know what, now that they're actually here, and I've sent that one off, and thank you. Uh shout out to Cam. Thank you, Cam. You should have the book by the time this episode airs. Uh and I've sent out a couple more to some people, and I thought, you know what? I'm gonna use this book to do two things. One, I'm going to offer it to someone who listens to this episode. And two, that's it. That's all I got. I don't know what the second one's gonna be, but I'm gonna offer this to someone who listens to the episode, and at some point in the episode, I'm going to tell you how you can obtain this. Okay, and I will send it to you for free. It cost me $11 to post this out to you.

George: 1:42

I'll go 50-50 with you.

Robby: 1:44

It cost me $11. I've worked that out. Well, I bought you coffee today.

George: 1:47

There you go.

Robby: 1:48

$11 coffee? Yeah. I said $50. You're trying to get a second book. Um, yeah. So at some point today, I'll tell you how you can obtain this book. Uh you gotta stay tuned. But you gotta stay tuned.

George: 2:01

So excellent. Well, first of all, happy Saturday. Even though you guys listen to this on Monday, happy Saturday, Robbie.

Robby: 2:09

Imagine being Monday morning and something's like happy Saturday.

George: 2:11

I think like that would that would throw them. But for us, it's Saturday right now.

Robby: 2:15

It is Saturday.

George: 2:16

What a weirdo, man. You're working on a weekend. What's wrong with you? Does this work? Is this work? Well, you were working before.

Robby: 2:24

Yeah, well how do you feel about that?

George: 2:27

About working on a Saturday? Working outside of regular working hours. I think it's uh comes with the job description of a business owner. You know, I not necessarily, because you can still work on a weekend as an employee as well. You can work out of hours as an employee as well, depends how much you care, depends how much you want to do it. You might love it. So yeah, you could work outside of hours if you're not a business owner.

Robby: 2:54

I I feel like the uh thing of being told that you need to be somewhere at a certain time is the propaganda? Like the or the not the propaganda, the you know when you're sold like a thing, like a belief, kind of like you need rice or or uh what's some of the stuff that we're told, you know, you shouldn't eat butter, like you shouldn't eat eggs, or like you know, you know that or something like that. To reduce the amount of meat you're eating, yeah. Or reduce the amount of salt you're eating, right? I then I went on a thing of eating eggs, butter, and salt and meat non-stop and lost weight. Best best condition of your life. Yeah, and um uh elements like that. I think it's one of those. Like I think I think it kind of falls into that bucket. Yeah, without a doubt. Oh, like the type of things that we've been kind of conditioned to believe. Yeah, don't work a weekend, yeah. Why would you work on it? Like interesting.

George: 3:45

Grand Cardone says that is like um God said on the seventh day you rest, like we rest or something. Or the yeah, seventh day. And that's what like people say, Oh, I know it's it's it's um we gotta rest on the seventh day. We don't work on a Sunday. It's like God created the whole fucking planet in the six days prior. What the fuck did you do? Yeah, I mean you haven't done anything to rest.

Robby: 4:05

And that's a really good point. Um but someone at some point made that up. Yeah. It's made up. The five-day work week's a made up thing. Absolutely it is, right? So how do you feel about working?

George: 4:21

You know, I I I don't like I don't mind working. I look the fact that I tend to enjoy what I do helps a lot. But in saying that, do I wake up in the morning and go, I can't wait to process numbers or look at numbers or do a tender or something like that. The way I see it is it's the progression. That's perspective, though. That's all perspective. I I as long as it doesn't affect things that are important to me, then I'm cool to work all the time. Like I don't want it to, I don't want to sacrifice things that I can never get back. So say time with my kids and my family and all that sort of stuff. So as long as I'm not sacrificing that, totally good to go at any other time.

Robby: 4:57

Yeah, but I also think it's uh it's the quality of the time. Yeah, absolutely. You know what I mean? Like would you rather be sitting at home with your kids worried about how you're gonna feed them, or would you rather be on the third holiday that year showing them the time of their lives, what's possible?

George: 5:14

Or you know, it or you could be at home, but you're just watching playing PlayStation all day. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Robby: 5:18

You're not really engaging with them, or they're on their iPads and you're on your phone, and you're on Netflix, yeah, you're just sitting there watching Netflix, just binging a show, and it's like, well, you're not really spending quality time with them.

George: 5:28

Yeah, exactly right.

Robby: 5:28

Um, and the the the focus of what I want to touch on today is you know, it being a Saturday, us being here on a Saturday morning. Uh, you know, I get I get calls on Saturdays and people like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm working, and they're like, it's a Saturday, and I'm like, who gives a fuck? Yeah. Like, right? Um, and I think it's a really fitting topic.

George: 5:49

Do you ever call people on a Saturday for work-related items?

Robby: 5:54

Not as much, no. I try to do deep work. Oh, okay. Yeah. I just feel like the the main reason I usually call people now, just based on where the business is at, is I'm I'm usually doing sales aspects.

Speaker 3: 6:05

Yeah.

Robby: 6:06

Uh, and I feel like most people, not all, and this is probably in my own head, but I feel like most people won't make a decision. They'll be like, cool, dude, like call me on Monday. You know what I mean? Because most people most people do switch off. And that that might be the wrong way to think about it too. Maybe I'm getting in my own way by thinking that way. But potentially in saying that, um yesterday evening I was out. Okay. Uh I was out and I I was on a date and I uh had a situation come up, right? And this is what made me think about it. Because I like this could have gone one of two ways. And I was just about to enter, have you ever been to Graceland? No. I was about to enter Graceland and I had something come up on my phone. I looked at the email and I was like, fuck like this, I was waiting for this email. And it came through, and it was like a something that was I I wanted to kind of get out of the way to know what the outcome was gonna be because it was gonna depend on what my next move looks like. And I I stopped her and I said, Hey, I need to send this email, and she was like, Okay, cool. And I sent the email, and it took me a minute, and I got to get it off my chest, and then for the rest of the night I was good. Yeah, and I was like, that's a really smart move by her. Like you let me stop and do it, but I also know situations or have been in situations in the past where you not you always want to work, you can't even put your phone away, blah blah blah. And it could have gone one of two ways, and I think she played the right cards, understanding who I am and what I'm about. Um, and same thing this morning, right? Like, you could be copying flack for being here this morning and doing that. And then when that happened, I remember thinking, like, that was a good move. Like, you play the right, you're gonna get the best version of me now because my head's clear. Do you do you feel like you've been in situations like that, or do you feel like you know people? Like, I know lots of people who like I can't come out on this night, yeah, yeah, yeah. Or I can't do that one thing, or it's like because they've got to go do this, or they've got to be there for their partner, or whatever it is, you know, family, kids, um, have to be home at a certain time, or can't do this on a certain night, or nah, I don't work weekends, or I don't pick up my phone on Saturdays, or whatever it is. What is what does work-life balance actually mean to you? Because to me, pulling your phone out right before you're about to go on date night is not work-life balance.

George: 8:46

Yeah. At all. Without a doubt. So, what does it mean to you? I don't think the whole concept of work-life balance is relevant. I think people, I think that again, it's like your five-day work week. Someone's put it in place. Oh, you must achieve work-life balance. So, work, what what's balance? What is balance? It's like struggling. It's but it's 50-50 in my mind, yeah? It's balance. You can't have one side heavier than the other, it has to be balanced. So that means you have to do 50% of work, 50% of life, nothing more, nothing less. But when is life ever like that? It's never like that. You can't have that balance where it's one, it's one perfect world of the other. It's actually the same thing. You are one person, it's one life, it's not a work life, and then you get a magically transformed into a separate personal life. It's the same thing. You are the same person throughout the whole day. What I strongly believe, and I've changed my full mindset around it, is prioritizing. There's going to be times where I have to prioritize work, and there's going to be times where I have to prioritize family. The say two months ago, two, yeah, two and a half months ago, I was here till 1 a.m. working on a tender. And that was a $12 million project that we've verbally been awarded. Now, if I took that approach of work-life balance, I could be like, oh, you know what? I'm just going to come and work. I'll just be two days late on my tender because I need to go home. I need to go, you know, have dinner because it's late, it's 5 30. I don't want to stay past this. It's not right. And arguably I wouldn't have won that project, which then allows me to go on the holidays with my family, to go and buy the new house or the new car or the whatever it might be. Go to great schools, all that sort of stuff. Best healthcare. So there is a level of as a business owner, I'll talk from a business owner perspective, there is a level of sacrifice, especially for a man, because let's stereotype. Most of the time, men are the providers within a family. That's sexist. It's that's most. That's how I start my Saturdays. Yeah. After my wife's made breakfast for me. We're the no, and then I hand her the vacuum through. Um sideways, but stereotypically talking at the moment. Now, if a man's home all the time, then how is he providing the best life for his family? There has to be a level of sacrifice there. As much as, you know, you would say what's the sacrifice though? The time with the with you with them. It's as simple as that. It is as simple as that, dude. I could work a nine to five job, eight hours. That's it. No more. Don't fucking work more than eight hours. But there's consequences for that. Yeah, maybe we don't live in the area that we're living in. Maybe the three holidays we go in or the holiday we go in isn't business class, it's economy. And I have to save points and I have to save the money to get there. Like there's a level of sacrifice both ways. Am I willing to sacrifice work? Because I want to have that time with the family, which is totally fine. If you're happy, if you do that, this is the thing, right? This is an individual thing. If you crack the code and you're happy, you won. You've won. If you're happy working eight hours, and then you know at 3 30 p.m. you get to go and pick up your kids from school, go home, do all that stuff, and you're happy with that, you've won the game.

Robby: 12:02

Do you think there is people who are?

George: 12:06

Yeah, I think there would be people like that, for sure. For sure. Why do they need to work more? If they're happy and content, they just want to do their nine to five, that's it. Have their house that they pay off for the next 30, 40 years, go on one holiday a year, find the cheapest Jet Star flight to Tasmania, wherever you're going. Do you know what I mean? Like that. Shout out to Tasmania. And shout out to Jet Star. To all our listeners. Um Tazi. Does it have a chance?

Robby: 12:34

We bagg Tazzy the other day.

George: 12:38

Well, they're getting a footy team now, so who knows?

Robby: 12:40

Maybe that'll bring some. So what are the um what are the myths you think people tend to get fed about work-life balance? So obviously, like there's no such thing as direct balance. And look, I'll I'll counter what you're saying by saying I don't think they mean 50-50 every day, but overall balance.

George: 13:00

Yeah, that's right. That's right. So you can work a week here and then next week you take it off or whatever it might be.

Robby: 13:05

That's what it means.

George: 13:05

Yeah, I believe that's what I'm saying. I agree. I agree. Or it's like work-life harmony where they say 888. So eight hours work, eight hours leisure, eight hours sleep. You know, having that harmony there. But again, that that very seldom happens. So I think it's a bad um. I think people buy into it because it's like it gives them the excuse not to work hard or not to achieve great things or not to have everything they want in their life. You know, the other day, me and my mate were out and we're with our wives, and then like they're joking around and they're saying, What was it? What was she saying? Like Mrs. was like, Oh, well, do you want us to look after your kids and and raise amazing kids, or do you want a great wife? And then both me and my mate looked at each other, why the fuck don't we want both? Yeah, what's the why is why do I have to pick? Why is it all? Yeah, exactly. Right. Why do I pick? I want I want both. Um, so it was funny, but anyway, it's like people buy into these ideas. You can't have everything. Well, you can. You've just got to see what's important to you. That that's probably the very first thing. It's what is important to you, right? And in order for you to have those things that are important, you have to make a sacrifice, whichever way it goes, whichever way it is. Period. Look, here's the thing with it if you've got a partner, like your your missus or a or kids or whatever it is, you have to have that conversation with them too, because there's no point you being on board with you working like an animal till 11 p.m. because you're gonna try to do this, because you're trying to achieve that, and she wants a homebody. That relationship will be doomed to fail from day one.

Robby: 14:41

Yeah, yeah.

George: 14:42

I think um so I think credit to setting boundaries to the to the girl that you're out with to actually go, yeah, cool. Do you do you? I've also made it super clear. I think that's super important because a lot of people won't.

Robby: 14:52

Hey, like you gotta like I work a lot, yeah.

George: 14:56

And that might change in the future, dude. Yeah, when you have kids, you know. No, no, it's still it's still May. I it'll enjoy I know, but you can clear it now, but your priorities 100% will change. Oh yeah, 100% just like they have from 10 years ago, yeah, yeah, without a doubt. And is the second you have kids, you'll be like, okay, cool. I want to like you said, what did you say the other day? You've never met anyone that that puts the kids to bed or something. I I've never met anyone that prioritises putting their kids to bed as much as you. Yeah, that's right. So I just wanted that was a decision I made from an early age. Like every single night I'll put them to bed. I'm not I I know that time's coming where it's I don't need to do that ever again. It's coming, it's closer for my son than it is my daughter. But then it's gonna get to that stage where I don't need to do that, and then that's gonna go forever. So for now, cool, I'm gonna do that. I get that limited amount of time doing that. But regardless, you don't like that was a little say that.

Robby: 15:49

Yeah, but like all things are limited, yeah.

George: 15:51

Of course they are, of course they are everything. Yeah, I know, I know, everything is. We're not gonna be here for there.

Robby: 15:58

Like that there's a limit on everything we do. You know what I mean? You can only do this for a certain amount of time and then it's gonna be gone forever. Yeah, yeah.

George: 16:07

One day we won't do this podcast.

Robby: 16:08

Yeah, and I yeah, yeah. There's gonna be there's gonna be a last episode. I shared this uh post the other day where I said most of the time, the last time we do something is we don't even realize it's the last episode. That's right. You told me Oh, I read the post and I fucking messaged you saying how good was that. Do you remember the last time you ordered your last happy meal? Uh no. You know what I mean? But like the at one point that was your last time and you didn't even But I you know what I'm doing after this. You know you get a happy meal? Yeah, fuck it out. I'll come with you. Um go to the go to the saint straight after. Do you get what I'm saying? Yeah, like in the sense of there is a there is a limitation on everything. Yeah. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? You're gonna have a last date, you're gonna have a last meal. You're gonna there's gonna be the last time you see your parents or your grandparents, and sometimes you don't even know. Do you know what I mean? Like you leave and you don't even know and you think, cool, I'll see you soon. Um and you don't.

George: 17:02

Well, this is where it really comes down to what's important to you as an individual. You've got to ask yourself that question because I think that will dictate which direction you go in with your work, with your life. Like what is important to you? What are you trying to achieve? And maybe some people can't answer that at the moment. I don't know. But what do you want? Did you did you do that with uh Nicole? Like did you set boundaries? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Uh not not initially. I wish I did. Because initially, I mean, I didn't start a business when we were together. Good job. I was working at uh at a job. I know had a good job. No, that's that was a long time ago. Long time, well before Nicole. How long have you been married? I don't know, come on, man. You asked me that shit on air.

Speaker: 17:44

Yeah.

George: 17:45

Jesus. Um 2013.

Speaker: 17:46

You should be like 1,000, 7 days.

George: 17:49

Yeah, 12 years, 13, 13 years next year. 13 years, okay. So you've been married for a while. Yeah, so and then we were dating for a couple before that. But the the point is, I didn't have that conversation early on. I can't 13 years, dude. That's ages. I know, I know like you would know that human, like yeah, a lot. Yeah, like everything about them. Everything, everything, and vice versa. Uh so what was I saying? Uh, did I know setting that boundary? I didn't, and I found that out the hard way. Because we had to have conversations because then things got strained. This is when I started the business too. And one of the hardest things I did as well was having the business and then having a young kid, like a newborn.

Speaker: 18:36

Yeah.

George: 18:36

Like I had a brand new business and a brand new kid at the same time. So managing that work life, managing that was difficult looking back. At the time, I was like, no, no, this is what at the time the way we sort of said it was I'll be the provider, I'll go make money, you look after the kids. That was it. So then Nicole would do that. So you laid that out at what point? Oh, we did we not me lay it out. I didn't say woman. No, no, as in like you two are together. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It would have been early on. Woman, woman, look after the kids. You're pumping up bumping out babies for the next couple years. So what a life.

Robby: 19:14

No, no, but at what point in the relationship was uh uh that was my question. At what point in the relationship did you make those decisions? I'm assuming you made them together.

George: 19:22

Yeah, yeah, without a doubt. Without a doubt. I think definitely whilst we'll when we're looking to have the second, because Nick Nicole hasn't worked a day since we had kids. In her life, yeah, in her life ever. I found her on the side of the street and I picked her up. She was outside Coles asking for some money. Hey, let me take care of you. Nicole won't listen to this. I can say whatever the fuck I want. So it's all good. So yeah, we had it, we had it early on when we had young children because I noticed the strain a little bit both ways. Because what this is what I say too. It's like if we had another kid and we had this conversation not long ago, if we had another kid, things would be completely different as far as how I would help and react. Like I did, I didn't get up for feeds, right? And the mindset was no, but this is where this is where we were talking, and this is where we sort of had that idea. It's like I didn't get up for feeds and stuff because Nicole was like, George has to get up early to work, it doesn't make sense for him to get up and feed the baby. I'll do that, and then vice versa, it's like, well, I'll go make the money. It doesn't make sense for Nicole to go put the kid in childcare. I can make enough money to support. So we had that partnership and we had that understanding. The only thing means the only thing I would have done a little bit different was just help still, because it doesn't mean I don't do anything, and not that I didn't do anything, it was here's a good question. What would you do that you didn't? I would just puck her up a little bit more and get up and help and do that stuff and give them a little bit of a breakup feeds, yeah. Fucking oath. Like, what's the big deal? Do you know what I mean? Well, tired tired two, three days a week. So how many times does that happen throughout the night? Um two? My kids were generally all right with that, but even she did one, I did one, like it's no big deal. I could help, I could help in doing that. Did you breastfeed? I try to, yeah, I'll try. I'll give it a go.

Robby: 21:07

I've got to have the balance. Um funny you say that. I know someone who recently had a baby. Uh very traditional family. You know, uh, stay-at-home mum. Uh oh, she she actually works part-time, I'm pretty sure. I could be wrong. Yeah. Maybe not at the moment, because she just had a kid. But stay-at-home mum, raise the kids, I'll go make all the money. And then um I spoke to him and I was like, How's the little one? It's like his fourth kid. I was like, How's the little one, etc. Yeah? And he's like, Yeah, good. And I was like, You sleeping well? He's like, Yeah, sleeping in my son's bed. And I was like, You're not sleeping in your own bed? He's like, Nah, my wife gets up to feed the kid, I'm not getting up. And I was like, So you're sleeping with the kids. And then I freaked because I thought his son had a single bed. Yeah. I was like, yeah, but turns out he's got a double bed. Um, but I was like, okay, cool. Like that's that's a real interesting concept. Like, okay, like you guys clearly have, and like his wife's cool with it, like you guys have clearly set your boundaries, and and you know, like, I'm not this is a fourth kid, I'm not waking up in the middle of the night because you're getting up, like I need to sleep. Yeah, and they're cool with it. And he sleeps in a separate room for maybe I don't know if he's still done it, but especially at the start, yeah. Um, so that he's not disrupted by her getting up to feed the baby, etc.

George: 22:31

Yeah. Understand, and if they're both cool with that, there's nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

Robby: 22:35

Well, yeah, it's their life. Yeah, yeah. You can't turn around and say, but but I was like, oh, like I've never heard of anyone doing that before. You know, and then the other extreme is like, you know, even though she gets up and feet, I just get up and sit with her. And it's like, well, now you're just wasting sleep. Yeah, that's being silly. But it's like there's two ends of the spectrum, right?

George: 22:55

Um yeah, so it's interesting. Yeah, it is. And here's the thing, right, with that decision to stay, to say, okay, she stays at home. I honestly hand on heart believe, without a doubt. I I I believe it because I've seen it, because I've experienced it and lived it. I think one of the greatest things we ever did was my wife stayed home and looked after the kids. By far. Why? Because my wife raised the kids, not the grandparents, not the childcare, not teachers, not anyone else. We influenced our values and our core beliefs on the children and they experienced that love, that connection with the parent, not I'm gonna go out and get a job straight away. And I understand completely that there's people out there that can't afford to do that. They need to have the two people working. But if you are in a position where your wife can stay home and raise the children, it is the biggest advantage over it's the biggest advantage for the child growing up and becoming a a decent human being. I'm assuming the adults are decent human beings. But I've seen kids who do not have that connection or haven't had that as well, and I see the difference in them. They might be small, but you just see the difference in children like that when they're not raised in that way. It's massive, massive. And I think it's one of the best. Like I look as a as a man, I think that's a bit of a flex for me as well. People like joke and say, Oh, fucking good life, and you know, she doesn't work a day and drives a nice car and lives in a nice area, just plays sports. Yeah, fucking hell, she does. Yeah, say something. That's it. How how lucky, how good's life? Um, and look, it's not that she doesn't want to either, mind you. It's just she would love to do something, um, especially now because she's her kids are are a bit older, so it's not like they're dependent on her anymore. So she could go out and work and do whatever she wants, but it's a matter of finding something that actually means something to her, not just doing it for the sake of getting a paycheck at the end of the week.

Robby: 24:52

Yeah, I I get that. So you you ended up setting boundaries at some point.

George: 24:57

Yeah, without a doubt. And then we had uh later on when I matured a bit as a business owner and a person, like as a as a man, I could have that conversation. So, hey, this is how we've got to focus and what we have to do. And even like to as far as now, I I told her the other day months ago, said, Hey, I just need you to know the next three months are fucked for me. Like, don't I've got to go to work at night, I've got to finish this job, I've got to do all of these things. Just know that I'll probably have to work on a Saturday here and there. It needs to happen. She's like, Yeah, cool. Do what you gotta do. Do what you gotta do. Because she understands, right, what it takes to live the life that we live and have the success that we've got, it takes a level of sacrifice and dedication to do so. Now, in saying that, my daughter, I picked up my daughter this week from school a couple times. I can do that. Could I have been working the whole time? Absolutely. But her school's five-minute walk from where I am, I can go there, pick her up, take her home, then come back here. It's not end of the world. Does it sack does it eat in half an hour of my day? Yes. But now I could even get my PA to do that, who is actually my sister, so I could say, hey, go pick up Emma, go see your niece. You know, I can do that, I can delegate that if I wanted to. Yeah, it's just priorities. It's work-life priority. It shouldn't be work-life balance. That's what they should call it. Because even when you're saying the balance with, oh, you know, you're working a harder week, but then you take a week, well, that's priority. That's I'm prioritizing my work for that week, working a 12-hour day. And then this week, I'm gonna take it off. I'm gonna take the Friday off. Do you do you ever get a feeling of like guilt when you when you do either side?

Robby: 26:34

Like you might feel like because I get this, if I'm just like lounging around. I I feel that more than the other thing. When I'm not doing, when I'm not productive, yeah, I just feel I feel like fuck, like I'm wasting time, man. Like, you know what I mean? I could have done this, I could have read a book, I could have it's like if I'm doing nothing, not if I'm if I'm like out or whatever, like or doing something where it's like this is adding some type, like it this is fulfilling me in some kind of way, yeah. That's cool.

George: 27:02

I feel like that's why I struggle playing video games now. Because I I feel that, even though I enjoy it, like I don't mind sitting there and playing video games for a little bit, but I feel that if I spend two hours doing it, I'm like, Buck, what am I doing? I've just sat here for two hours doing nothing, watching a TV screen. Yeah, but then I'd get up and try and do something.

Robby: 27:21

Like sort of the meaning is yeah, that's true. Because if you feel like you're wasting time, you are.

George: 27:24

Yeah, and that's what that's how I feel with the people. I enjoy it though. Yeah, I enjoy playing games every now and then.

Robby: 27:29

You mustn't enjoy it that much if you feel like you're wasting time. That's right. Well, I've got to really enjoy it. You did at one point in your life, you could play back in the day and be like, that was fun. Yeah, like that was fucking great. I had an eight hour, eight-hour session, a good life. You're probably never gonna have eight hour sessions again, but um, you've all re-ref it a go-energized or your head cleared.

George: 27:49

Like all of a sudden I did this fucking mind-numbing activity, yeah, and it allowed me to just kind of I feel that obviously back then when I was much younger, the obligation level was a lot of had less on. That's it. It was I could do that. I could get I could go out the night before, have a massive night out, be hung over the next day, and just sit at home playing video games. Oh, yeah. Or go to a mate's house and you're just you're just drinking cokes and play video games.

Robby: 28:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's like I saw there's two things I'll I'll touch on regarding that. I saw this thing that said, I saw a post from Dan Martell. Who's that? And it's Dan, you know, dude, you should you, out of all people, should read this book. Buy it right now. I'm gonna buy it for you.

George: 28:29

No, no, I'll get it right now.

Robby: 28:30

Buy it right now. It's called Buy Back Your Time.

George: 28:33

Okay. Uh Amazon, yeah.

Robby: 28:34

Yeah. Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell. Great book, great book. And he's he's he's cool, dude. Yeah. Like he puts out some good content, um, puts out uh a lot on YouTube as well. I don't watch his YouTube stuff as much, but uh, I read his book and it's a good book. It's a good book full of practical, actionable steps. That's the one there. Fuck, books have gone up, haven't they? $42. Yeah. The fuck you think you're talking about? Yeah, dude, even like Hall Moses' book, $60. That's that book. $58, yeah. If you're still listening, tell you how you can get this right now. Oh, good. If you message me, yeah. If you message me and you say, Robbie, stop fucking around. Nah, message me saying uh how to make money. If you message me the words how to make money, I will send you a copy of the book first person only. Yeah, I was gonna say if you're listening to this right now, uh, you can earn a book and have it delivered to you that will cost you $60 to buy the hardcover we've got. We're not doing paperback shit here. This is hardcovers, and I will send you the book wherever you are in Australia, I will send it to you. Australia. Tasmania. Nah, I'm joking. Uh all Australian followers. I will send you I will send you a book if you send me a message.

George: 29:55

But I kind of feel like as much as as much as they've listened to this episode to date to this time. Yeah. I feel like there's one more thing they really should do to qualify to get a book. Yes, what is it? And look, which as you all know, if you are listeners, or if you're first timers, welcome. We are trying to grow our YouTube channel to a thousand followers by the end of the year. So And we're off target. And we are off target at the moment. So we're going to need some help from you guys. Not only do you need to message Robbie and say, what does that have to say again?

Robby: 30:22

Message me saying how do I make money? How do I make money? How to make money.

George: 30:26

This is the fun of the book.

Robby: 30:27

How to make money. So if you forget, just look at the book.

George: 30:30

How to make money. You have to do that. And then you need to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Yeah. Okay, Million Dollar Days Pod. Just look it up and subscribe to the channel. Robbie will check that you are subscribed before he sends you a video.

Robby: 30:44

For everyone that's listening, I think this is a really good thing that we don't ask for enough. Leave us a review. Oh, how good? On one of the platforms. Because that helps the podcast get organic reach.

George: 30:52

Yeah, nice. Right.

Robby: 30:53

And we've never On the actual podcast. On the actual podcast. So whatever you listen to, you listen on Spotify, leave a leave a review on Spotify. You listen to on Apple Podcasts, listen to leave a review there. If you've got a Samsung, just stop listening.

George: 31:04

Yeah, don't talk to us ever again.

Robby: 31:08

Um yeah. So send the message, get the book. Uh and and if you're listening to this and and you've listened to this on the day it came out, I just want to let you know the last time I got a message on the day the episode dropped for the last book. Yeah. And that went straight away. And then I got messages later and I was like, yes, news, you lose, snooze you lose. Uh so if you want this book, act fast. Uh and if you haven't subscribed, then you message me first. I won't send you the book, so subscribe first. Now let's talk about uh technology and the impact it's had, George, on your work-life balance. Do you think technology has helped us with work-life balance or do you think it has uh and and I'll share a story that hits home for me when I when we talk about this? Like, do you think it's it's made it better or worse, right? And for me, when I first launched my business, I launched up from a bedroom. Literally. I had a spare bedroom where I was living, and I set it up as my home office, and I started working from there. And I would work non-stop. I had nothing other than work in my life at that point, and I'd just work and work and work and work and work, and then I'd like make food, and I'd like, well, I'm not gonna sit on the couch and watch Netflix, I'm not going anywhere. I live on my own. I'm just gonna eat my food and go back to work. That's what I'd do. And I'd find myself working at all hours of the evening, I'd be at like 2 a.m. working, and it was chaos, no structure at all. And then I got my first office about six months in, I got an office and that changed everything for me. All of a sudden I could close the laptop. Well, I had to close the laptop because I had to move it, and it was like that. Yeah, and it was like, okay, cool. Like now for me to go to work now, I have to set up the laptop. And it was like, okay, that might be too much for something. I'm like, I probably won't, I'll probably just watch YouTube or whatever. Do you think it has helped or made it worse? Because yesterday, in my situation that I was referring to, I couldn't reply to that email, see my email. I was halfway out. I was, you know what I mean? Um, just about to enter Graysland. It's like, but if I if I didn't have that, I wouldn't have had the email situation. I would have been like, cool, I can't deal with it. But would the thing have been on my mind the whole time? Or was the fact that I could deal with it there and then gave me the ability to go do what I want and spend more time with people I want to spend time with? What are your thoughts on that?

George: 33:32

Yeah, I think technology's helped without a doubt. I don't even think it's a question.

Robby: 33:36

Yeah, but do you think it there's an impact of like, oh, people take their work home now and they pull out the laptop at home and it's a choice.

George: 33:42

There's also a TV there that you can turn on. There's also a dog you can take for a walk. Like, there's it's a choice at the end of the day. Technology has to make like I have this conversation with one of my employees. He's an old soul, he's a young kid, or young, he's young by nature, as far as he grew up with technology and should be using it every day. But he's the old soul in the sense of, oh, I don't I don't like using one of your team members, yeah, yeah. Okay, so it's like I get it, or I understand that you don't like using the technology and all, but it it's actually there to make your life easier when you utilize it. And any system I mean can we name them? Yeah, 100%, Nick. You fucking dud. Nick, pick up your phone, Nick's an old soul. He's an old soul, 100%. Like he Nick would much rather prefer working on cars, being outdoors, like that's doing all that sort of stuff, as opposed to you know, grabbing the and doing the yeah, no, well, it is if it's a part of your role and it's gonna help with the systems of process.

Robby: 34:42

But having a preference doesn't mean what you like, you know what I mean? I'd much prefer to take a pill and not exercise everything.

George: 34:47

Yeah, but it's okay. For let me give you an example, a specific example. So we have this thing that we call a site diary, yeah, and it's pretty much you write what happens every single day whilst you're on site. And what that enables us as a company is it has our we've got a digital record of what happens on site every single day. So if ever we have to go back, and say if someone say tracking progress. Yeah, that's it. But say a subby message uh sends us an invoice and says we have to do this, this, this, and this. And then I can go back to the site diary and look at it and go, okay, this track this contractor had to whatever jack up this footing because it was in the wrong spot and it's a thousand bucks. I can look at that and go, okay, cool, he did it. I know he did it. I don't need to check, I don't know. Or if there's an incident or if something's happened, it's all documented. You can use it in the court of law, yeah, everything's there. Now, should because Nick's an old soul, he wants to write it in a book. Right. So, how is that helping the company? Because if he's got it in his book, he knows about it, and then one day his car gets caught on fire and the book burns to pieces. Like, doesn't help me in that regard. So, little things like that, I I feel that I want people to be utilizing because any system is only as good as its end user at the end of the day. So, yeah, technology's there. And I was like, imagine let's go really extreme because we love extremes. Let's pretend phones didn't exist anymore. How hard's building gonna be now? Everyone lives on their phone. Hey, I need you here on Saturday, I need you here on Friday, do this, do this, order that, so on and so forth. We we become used to the technology, yeah. That's right. So technology is definitely there to help you and to be an extension.

Robby: 36:19

I think overall life, it has definitely made the life better. Do you think it's made it more difficult? Like, for example, like to switch off or something? Yeah, like uh because you're always connected.

George: 36:28

Like, for example, I've that's my mail. That's my mail. Normally, I've if I click on that now, I've got new mail. But if I get out of the app. Wait, hold on, you use the mail app? Yeah. What's your problem? I don't know. I've got the I've got the Outlook one too. I've got it there. But anyway, regardless, there's no notifications on those apps. So I can't see any red dots with a one or five or thirty on it. So there's a level of anxiety that just gone straight away. But also, it doesn't bing every 30 seconds. Because if it did, this would just non-stop be vibrating and making noises all day. All day. So I turn off the only notifications I have phones, phone calls, and text messages. That's it. So WhatsApp, messages, and phone calls. That's it. And maybe some flights, the flight ones, so I get notified. But things that aren't necessarily gonna distract me from, say, if I want to be home and present and not that. And then that way it is a choice. If I'm at home and like, hey, I want to check my email, cool. I can do that. I can open up my phone and check the emails. I don't have to be fully connected to a 24-7.

Robby: 37:29

Do you do you put your phone away?

George: 37:33

When I go home?

Robby: 37:34

I know someone that puts their phone in their drawer as soon as they get up.

George: 37:36

I don't mind that idea if that's what you feel you need to disconnect. I would do that. I often my phone get goes into do not disturb at six o'clock. Every day.

Robby: 37:45

Mine that goes into at seven.

George: 37:46

Yeah, so automatically at six, and the only people that can contact me are people in my favourite. So if you actually call me, you get you'll get through, and there's probably another ten people on there. All my employees are on my in my favourites, so uh and my close family. That's it. Everyone else outside of that, I'll speak to you tomorrow. Like I don't I don't care. When I'm at home, it's more so during the week. It doesn't really happen on the I'll probably leave it off on the weekend, but more so during the week at six o'clock, you probably won't get me until I pick up my phone and see it. And I often go get home and just put my phone on the charger too. So it'll sit there and then I'll do what I'm gonna do, and then if I pick it up, I'll pick it up. Um, but that's a level of disconnect. So you put your phone, yeah. I've got a charger on a bench, yeah. Yeah, okay. Yeah. So yeah, there is a level of disconnect there too.

Speaker: 38:34

I shouldn't do that.

Robby: 38:34

Yeah, it's not bad. Like, I don't mind. Why do you have to sit on the couch with your phone?

George: 38:37

Yeah, you don't. I don't need it. Yeah, I do I do that. Yeah, otherwise you are. You have 24-7 connected to it. I'll give you a great example. We're talking about this whole topic.

Robby: 38:47

Yeah, yeah. It's cool.

George: 38:48

It's like one of those wireless chargers that's gonna be a good thing. Yeah, I've got one on my desk. Yeah, stuck a thing and say put it on. I've got this same thing, it's literally a kitchen bench, let's call it. Yeah, so it's there and sort of sit there, and that's where the phone sits. My phone's always dead by the end of the day, anyway. So I actually have to put it on there regardless. So even last night we went out. My Nicole called me up and she's like, Oh, do you want to go have a bite to it? I'm like, Yeah, cool. So we went and had a bite to eat. Oh, we went to that place where we had Terramisu. You love that place. No, uh we both left there saying we're never gonna be back.

Speaker: 39:15

Yeah, that's what I'm I don't want to give it. I don't want to give a shout out because I know the people, but yeah, but that's we just both left there and we're like, fuck. It's a very average restaurant. Yeah, but it it seems to be good, and we just got shit.

Robby: 39:26

I've learned about Albert Park. What's that? You can be average and charge premium prices. Yeah, you're probably not wrong. Yeah, like there's not a lot of stuff here that's amazing. Some of the stuff's nice. But there are some of the stuff's like kind of average, and you you're paying a mint, you know what I mean. I wouldn't bought jargon chicken for like 20 bucks. Like 20 bucks down here, yeah, down that way, yeah.

George: 39:49

Yeah, it's full on. I went to a chicken shop yesterday in Fairfield. Chicken bar, shout out. Chicken bar? Yeah, chicken bar bar, shout out. Fucking sick, yeah, so good. But they ate so much, and it was so just the chicken shop. And I was like, I was saying to Simon, I said, Man, imagine if this place was in Alba Park, it would kill it.

Robby: 40:06

So, yeah, to all the to all the restaurant owners and and foodies and lifting aims. There is a huge no wait, there's a huge opportunity in Elba Park. You know, a massive opportunity. You got a prime residency. But here's the thing with Alba Park, too, you're paying premiums for the shop. Yeah, that's fine. These people are paying premiums anyway. Yeah. And they're delivering uh an average product. If you have a good product, clean up, you will clean up. Yeah, and there is a restaurant.

George: 40:32

There is a restaurant on Vicar further down, which is does very well for itself. Have we been there before? Uh Village Wine Bar. Village Wine Bar? Yeah, but they're like one of the ones that tend to have that nicer level of food, and it's always packed. You walk past, it's always packed every single time. Good rhythm. Yeah, absolutely. Anyway, back to what we're saying. So I went out to this restaurant, we had something to eat last night, and I noticed there was a time when we're both on our phones, sitting opposite each other like this. Not talking. And I looked them off, I looked at, I go, put that down. I said, Hey, put your phone down. What the fuck are we on our phones for? Or I haven't talked to you, I haven't spoken to you all day. Like, I put the phone away. This is stupid that we just come out to eat and we're just on our phones. I'd go to the extent of if I was to go out, I'd happily leave my phone at home with my son or with the kids, for example, and then me and Nicole go, she can she'll have a phone just in case we need a call. But like, why have it? If you're gonna try and really engage and be separated with someone, like why it's it's what's a level of addiction, dude.

Robby: 41:29

Like, have you heard those people who do that? Uh it was like a concept I saw online a few years back, and it was like you go out to dinner with a bunch of friends, and everyone puts their phone to the side, and the first person to pick it up pays a bill. Ah, good. Yeah, and it's like cool, like everyone put your fucking phone away. We're here, be here. Yeah. I I know you know what I actually think I'm really good at being present.

George: 41:49

Yeah. I get distracted though sometimes. You do? Yeah, I feel that sometimes I can. Yeah, where you just be with someone and you're on the phone, and I pick myself up on it though, and then I fucking put it down or put it away or do something. I don't. Yeah, because it can be so so simple.

Robby: 42:03

If I constantly find myself opening the apps, I'll delete them.

George: 42:05

Yeah, yeah, you'll get gone from I actually never do that.

Robby: 42:08

Delete it. Go delete it, have an ice path. Go delete it and have a nice path. Yeah, delete it in the ice. At the same time, yeah. Um do you have any tech boundaries that you want to share with our listeners that maybe they can see? Oh, aside from the do not disturb one's pretty good.

George: 42:32

Yeah, that's my my boundary is also the notifications, turning them off. Turn notifications off on everything. No one no one is offline. I I noticed that more when I had the Apple Watch out of out of everything. I felt such because I had an Apple Watch, a digital, I think I've said this before as well, but I had a digital watch. I broke it, it just fell off my wrist and broke. And then I went back to wearing an analogue watch. And I remember the first day when I didn't have my Apple Watch and I had the analogue watch on, my phone rang and my wrist didn't ring. And I was like, Oh, it didn't vibrate or ring or anything like oh, and I felt I was like, wow, what the hell? That's weird. And then I was like, I felt this sense of relief, like I wasn't connected to my, I wasn't physically connected to that fucking phone. And I was like, man, I'm never buying another smart watch as long as I live. Dude, I've heard every single the only thing that I get on it is text messages on your phone. On your watch, on your watch, nothing. Yeah, but even then I didn't like that was annoying me too. Everything I was just like, look, well, why do I need to have that level of connection? I just me personally, I didn't need to have that level. So I got rid of it and I kind of have never been back on it, and I don't think I ever will, in all honesty. I might one day, but at the moment, not on the radar. I reckon you will. Yeah, well, I'll it'll be on the podcast the day we do, yeah, if it happens. Um, so I delete all the I get rid of all notifications, like no social media, because man, social media blows up all the time. Why do I need to know when I get a like or a comment or a message? Like, no, I don't need to know any of that. When I open the app, when I choose to do it, then I will see it. Uh, other than that, I've just even recently I've set up rules on my Outlook, which I never knew you could do, which you told me about a little while ago. Where if you get a in an email come from a certain person, it you can automatically filter it to go into a certain folder on your so it kind of like files your stuff.

Robby: 44:24

Yeah, and that's little things, but that's like saved me a whole bunch of just the email coming in, getting notified, but also having to manage and move it into the folder each and every time like setting up automations is like one of the most time-saving uh oh just did it for someone or sorry, in the process of doing it for someone, uh, a client who reached out uh and we were talking, and he spends a lot of time filing away receipts for his projects. And he's like, Yeah, I spend a lot of time if I go to Bunnings and this is for this project, I've got to take a photo, email it to myself, and then go through the emails and file everything into folders. So we set up an automation for him so that uh it happens automatically, and it costs him $39 a month to run, and he is saving hours, yeah, like hours and hours on end. He's like, like, it's ridiculous. It's like you need to be doing that, you can't be doing the repetitive shit over and over again. You need to set that up. Um side note, but yeah. What else were you saying, but regarding technology? What other things?

George: 45:28

They were the main ones that I do. So having your emails, notifications. So notifications is is probably my biggest one. Like it made a big difference. Not having and look, your phone's programmed, right? This is what people don't get. This is the the Macs. Is this the the biggest phone? Is that what they're called? iPhone Macs? Yeah. So they're designed because they're they're big. Which one is that? That's the one before you. Are they the same size? They are the same size, right? Yeah. So look, that's a big phone. Yeah? It can it can feel uncomfortable in your pocket. So why does Apple apple does that on purpose, right? So it's like you've got this big thing. That's not true, you don't reckon? Nah. I reckon there's a level. Why are the smaller one? You can.

Robby: 46:08

Yeah. You can. But you don't. You know how people I I have a it's like you know, when people sit there, they're trying to kill us. And it's like, why would they try and kill you? You're not that important.

George: 46:21

Yeah, but I also feel that there's a level of them wanting you to be addicted to this phone. Of course they want you to be addicted to this. And you said it too. But you you just said a thing of like it's there's an element of it. Nah, I reckon they go that smaller science. But the small one. I don't want to. That's all that's right. But now, okay, my phone sits here, so everyone sees I've got an apple and it's out here, and yours is orange.

Robby: 46:41

Is that orange? The amount of comments I've got on an orange phone wild. Yeah, there you go.

George: 46:46

Wild one.

Robby: 46:47

Every single oh hey, new iPhone, new iPhone. I'm like, dude, I've had the new iPhone every single time. Yeah, no one's ever commented, not once. As soon as you got an orange one. As soon as you get an orange one, comments go wild. Yeah. Lose it. Bought an orange car, people lost it. Bought an orange phone, people lost it. I'm trying to make my whole life my whole life's gonna become orange. Car's cold. Come on, it's not orange, it's kind of orange. It's actually called yellow, believe it or not. I'm gonna throw up. Yeah, I've asked for orange, and they're like, we don't do the orange anymore. We can give you this. And I was like, Oh, that's the colour I wanted. Um, anyway. Uh yeah, I I don't get any notifications on my phone at all, apart from calls, messages, I get messenger and WhatsApp. That's and Slack. Because a Slack is certain times. Um my phone's always on Dunno disturbed from 7 p.m. until 10 a.m. the next morning. I can't uh I can't have people uh interrupt my life. Um how does how does mental health fit into this conversation work for you? Like do you believe that you know you should have some level of I'm gonna use your favorite word, balance for yourself personally?

George: 48:03

Yeah, I think you've got to I think you have to work on mental health. What does that mean? I don't think that's just gonna happen.

Robby: 48:10

Yeah, but yeah, but so okay, how do you equate that into the whole balance conversation? Like what do you do that allows you to make sure that because I what's like that whole mind, body, soul, yeah?

George: 48:24

Like it's it's the three elements of it, like having your your being physically looking after yourself as well. I think that's important. I think that has that not has to, it does affect your mental health. If you have if you are in great physical shape, I think there's a direct correlation to you being mentally fit as well. I really believe that.

Robby: 48:46

Yeah. Um but so okay, so is is training like making sure you book out time to train one for you? Oh, without a doubt.

George: 48:54

Yeah. Without I feel better, like how it's cool. Is it a coincidence? Do you feel better after you've had a workout?

unknown: 49:00

Yeah.

George: 49:00

We're talking even before bouncing on your trampoline. Rebounder. Your rebounder, sorry, the one that doesn't you don't do flips on it. Oh yeah. Give it a give a time. So yeah, you always feel better after after working out. So I think there is a correlation with that. There's also I I think you've got to when I say you've got to practice and and work at it, I think there's a level of you either reading some books that will like self-help books or motive. No, no, no.

Robby: 49:27

But how do you how do you fit that into where do you squeeze that into because I'm assuming you've always gotten it?

George: 49:33

There's always yeah, but there's always time as well. Yeah, so where does there's always time to do anything you want in this life? You always have time. Okay, we said I'll put my kids to bed. Well, instead of watching Netflix, read a book or listen to what like okay, I drive to site sometime. Well, don't listen to the fucking radio or music, put a podcast on. Do you listen to the radio? No, man. I I put it on the other day. It's it is so fucking bad. Radio's trash, yeah. It is so bad, man. Like the what was it? Some morning shows listen to these fucking idiots talk. Oh my god, it's just ridiculous. What station? I don't know. But you know who always who I'm probably a lovely person, but she annoys the hell out of me on the radio? Fifi Box. I don't know. Just rubbish. Dribble comes out of their mouths on those shows, and I'm just like, waste of time. Do you know what I do listen to sometimes? And only during during the football season, it's like um S E N, like 1116.

Speaker: 50:27

Yeah, that's horrible.

George: 50:28

It's look, it's I don't mind it though, sometimes when they're just if I want to zone out and listen to something like that, that's probably the only extent of radio that I'll listen to. But other than that, when they're talking about stupid things like we've got a competition that if you hang upside down for the next 15 minutes and your nose bleeds, then we'll give you a car. I'm like, shut the fuck up. They do that shit. I wouldn't put it past them. Wouldn't put it past them. But anyway, do you do anything? I tend to either listen to music in the car, like it'll connect to YouTube music or something like that. And or I'll listen to a podcast most of the time.

Robby: 51:03

Is there anything you do to because I'm assuming this is an assumption I'm making, but I'm assuming like myself, you probably have a list of stuff that needs to get done. Yeah, all the time. Like there is probably like if if someone said to you, I'm gonna give you two days to just do shit, you probably like I've done up those two days. Yeah, like I there's just so much shit. There's stuff I want to do that I've never had time to do, there's stuff I've been talking about for 12 months that I haven't been able to uh plug in because I just haven't had time and it's just like life's just boom boom boom boom boom. Um how do you prioritize this? You know, do you have anything you do daily or weekly that you make it fit into your life? Like it might be I don't know, going for walks with your wife or going for a run with the kids. Yeah, um there's or do you do you do you add it onto anything you currently do? Like I read most mornings. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? I try and even if it's like 20 minutes, I'm like, just let me fucking read something. You know, sometimes I write. Is there anything you do regularly?

George: 52:00

I'd say the regular stuff that I would do would be working out, would be reading as well. And and then if I'm gonna do some like I'll take the dog for a walk too, because dog needs to be taken out, so I'll go take it for around a block for you know 20 minutes, whatever it might be.

Speaker: 52:14

Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea.

George: 52:15

So, yeah, that's a great thing about having a dog as well. It forces you to get up and and get out and move around. Um, and then yeah, I I suppose with all of those things, right? No matter how busy you are in your life, you can always find time. You just have to have a level of discipline and willingness to do it. Always find time, like no matter what it is. And the funny thing is, I remember earlier in the year when I was training, you know, three, four times a week at least, I had to take time out of my work day to go and train. So it wasn't necessarily I was training at 6 a.m. or 4 a.m. or anything like that. I'd go at 10 and train during the day. And I was as a result of doing that, I was probably more productive throughout my day. Just because I was mentally clearer, I felt good, like things were getting done. So with anything, you know, even hanging out with friends, right? Like we're always so busy, you don't see your friends any as much as you would back in the day. You can, if you want to, you just gotta make it a priority, you just gotta go, cool. This day I am doing this. I don't care how busy you are, you can always make time to do absolutely anything. You just have to prioritize it. And just realize that you taking an hour out of your day isn't gonna kill your week.

Robby: 53:31

How do you um because like prioritize is like what are those words? It's like just prioritize it. It's like how do you how do you if you're the person who's listening to this now and you're like like I can't, I'm fucking busy, man. Like, you know what I mean? I've got excuse million things happening. Yeah, okay, but they believe it.

George: 53:48

Yeah. Well, you're believing your excuse. You just gotta have well, you've got to have some discipline. Like, it does it, does it hurt you enough not to do it? Like, why do you want to do it? Why do you want to go work out?

Robby: 53:58

Because I'm fat.

George: 53:58

Yeah, well, if you're fat, stop being fat. Just stop it. Just stop it tomorrow. You'll be done. Just stop it. You gotta make the choice. You've got to make the decision that you've had enough of what you're doing. Because obviously, if you're feeling like that, then there's something that's either missing in your life or you want it, but you're not achieving it. So why? Like if you want that, then fucking make the choice. Stop making excuses and just living in the whole bullshit work-life balance and all that sort of stuff. No, you can do absolutely anything you want, you could be in the best physical shape of your life and run a multi-million dollar business. It's like the other day when I said I knew this guy went up on stage on in front of on national TV, because um he was on the news and he was talking about how his company and this sport team that he's sponsoring, they both share core values of excellence and high performance and this, and just talking about all and things, yeah. Absolutely. Your business does do those things, but you're 150 kilos bloke. Okay, you are going to lose. I don't give a fuck what you say. You might be winning now, your company might be making hundreds of millions of dollars, but you know what's better than a hundred million dollars? Living until you're fucking 80, 90, 100 years old. You've got five years left. Okay, so you're gonna lose no matter how much your company is winning. So don't talk to me about excellence and fucking high performance and shit like that when you're you're fucking losing at life. Yeah, you're not you're not elite. No, no, exactly right. Exactly right. So, yeah, I feel that people always say they want these things, but they're just never they never they don't make that decision to go, okay, I want it, now I'm going to do it. They don't do the do, right? They don't take the action. That's where fucking people lack.

Robby: 55:40

Do you think do you think flexibility is important with that?

George: 55:42

How so? Like flexibility.

Robby: 55:44

Um I think flexibility is a privilege. I think if you can be flexible and get things done, you should do it. But sometimes you need structure. Like sometimes it's like, hey, you're the worst at fucking training. Yeah. Either at 5 a.m. Yeah. No fucking, no excuses, not I'll go later.

George: 56:02

Come in at five. Partly of part of the reason I got a PT for three days a week. Like I was getting three days a week. That's like someone waiting for me. Yeah, if I don't rock up, I get charged.

Robby: 56:14

Yeah.

George: 56:14

He'll charge me. And rightly so. He's he's cut out an hour of his day to be with me. 100%. So yes, charge me if I don't rock up. Fucking oath. Now I did that because I said, all right, I know how busy I get, and then I won't make it a priority. I want to book it in with someone because he is going to be waiting for me to train. So that's what we did. Um, so yeah, if you do need that structure, or find a friend. Maybe you have a gym buddy, or you have someone that's gonna fucking read with you in a book club. I don't know. Like do something that's going to help you and make it easier for you to do these things.

Robby: 56:49

That's a fair, I agree. Yeah. 100% accountability. I think having someone to answer to. You know what I mean? Um, all right. Last but not least, uh is there anything that surprised you the most, or like an activity or something where you're like, this really helped me contribute to, you know, this favorite word of yours, balance. And you know, whatever it might be for you, it might be like it it could be the dog thing that you mentioned, it could be an activity you might do with your kids or your wife, or or it might be something you do in your office by yourself. Do you know what I mean? But is there anything that you feel like has really helped you kind of bring all this together to manage a business and a personal life and family and kids and yeah, I'll tell you what I think the biggest thing has been for me is the day I decided to start understanding I didn't know a lot of things and I had to go out and learn them.

George: 57:49

And what I mean by that is either reaching out to a mentor, either learning something new through a course, through a training, through something, just becoming better at being a human being, like personal development stuff, business stuff, that's what's elevated me. So I really think I've made a lot of changes over the last, or I've become different over the last, say, four years a lot with um with the training and the shit that I've been doing over the last, what didn't I say training, like um personal development training, business training, connecting with other people, learning new things, like even going to the states, yeah? Like five six man, pre-2019, I never would have even gone to the states to go and see a whole mosey or someone like that. Like, why? What for? You know, so I went out and made myself better. That's that's been the biggest change for me. I made myself better as a uh a husband, as a father, as a business owner, as a human being, a friend. Like I made myself better, and as a result of that now, I live and breathe it in my everyday life.

Robby: 58:53

What does that mean though? So like if you were to give your because it's you sound like it sounds like you've been on a jerk.

George: 58:58

I wasn't bad. No, no, yeah. So I wasn't a bad person. I wasn't fucking on drugs, I wasn't drinking. Hold on, you can be a horrible person and have great work life balance. That's a real thing. No, I'm saying in the sense of I wasn't anything negative in any way before, but I just wasn't the best at version of myself. So then it wasn't until I started reaching, like going out into those, into that ecosystem, uh, that I found that I became better at a whole range of things, like communication and and like even learning how to speak on stage and doing all that sort of stuff has made me a better person from in business and in life. I be I can communicate now with my family better just because I can communicate on stage really well. And I can have conversations, I can understand human psychology a little bit better than what I used to. I can implement strategic business things now because I understand business better than what I used to. And winning for me has become a little bit easier because I've The best version of myself. So I don't think it's a specific system or habit or anything that it's been contributed. I think it's just a whole range of things.

Robby: 1:00:10

You can do a lot of those things you just mentioned and not have any balance in your life. I think it would no, but if you're more if you're more self-aware of what's you could be completely aware and be like, yeah, and I just work 39 hours a day and I don't give a fuck.

George: 1:00:25

But then that's the priority aspect of it. Like I'm more aware of priorities and everything I want.

Robby: 1:00:29

So if I want to 24 hours, you don't think that person is going to at some point to lose?

George: 1:00:35

Lose it. If it's no, not in the sense of if that's what he wants. Like, okay, we saw it with Horn Mosey the other day, you made a hundred million dollars in three days, right? And you're sitting with his team there and he goes, Cool, what's next? Like, didn't fuck around. He goes, dude, you just made a hundred million, go buy a fucking Lamborghini yacht or something, like go do something. He's like, No, no, what's next? So for him, like he doesn't want to go home and have kids. Like, he does not, he's not like, Cool, we've made the hundred mil, let's go pump out a family. For him, whether he continues on that path for the next 10 years, hey, he might he might get to 50. He hasn't slowed down at all. I know, but let's just say he gets to 50 and then he turns around and he's on a podcast. Yeah, him and his missus, they're both 50 years old and they're both together, love each other, and they come on the Million Dollar Days podcast because where else would you fucking want to be? Yeah. And they sit there and go, So look, you've achieved so much in your life. Like, what do you regret? And he goes, Look, dude, I'll tell you what, I regret not having kids. So has he won?

Robby: 1:01:35

Well, that's that that's exactly to my point. Yeah, yeah. But so sell you can have self-awareness. Would you say he has self-awareness? Oh, without a doubt. Yeah. Without a doubt, that's not a good thing.

George: 1:01:44

So then you can have self-awareness and lose. All that matters, it's not about losing, it's what matters in the moment. Okay, because you can't tell what's going to happen in the future. Maybe he gets the 50 and he's like, nah, dude. Fuck kids. I've still got fucking another billion dollars to make. What am I gonna have kids for? You know, so it's like I I think what's important is the moment today. Make the decision. What's important to you today? Don't have biased remorse, don't be stuck on the choices that you make and think about all the consequences that could or couldn't happen, because then that's when you fucking sit there and you don't do anything. That's the person that doesn't make the decision to go out and have and go to the gym or eat healthy or learn about business or do anything.

Robby: 1:02:24

So if you're thinking about what's important what's most today, what's most important to you today?

George: 1:02:29

Today is to make a fuckload of money and to enjoy it with my family.

Robby: 1:02:34

So you're gonna make the money and enjoy it today? Yeah. So you're gonna make the money today and enjoy it today? What do you mean today? I'm saying today, right now. Right now. Today, Saturday. Saturday.

George: 1:02:44

Monday. Podcast. The most important thing for me right now is the podcast.

Robby: 1:02:46

But do you get what I'm saying? Because then if you think too narrow or too singular focused, you might not put your kids to bed today. But you're thinking the with the kids conversation, you're thinking long term, you're thinking this is gonna go away. But if you say today, you can be like, I'll do it tomorrow.

George: 1:03:05

Yes. Look, when I say do it tomorrow, there are days where I haven't put them to bed. I don't believe you. There's twice. Yeah, twice. No, well, when we travel, if I go out with friends tonight, for example, I'm not putting the kids to bed. So that's just gonna happen. That's fine. I don't need to do it every single night, but it's an important aspect of me wanting to do that. Um and what was the question again?

Robby: 1:03:30

About what was it? No, no, it was like, okay, the if if you had to say what was the my question was to get trying was gonna be what's the one thing you would tell yourself? And then you started talking about how you weren't a bad person and you know it was growing in every area, but like someone can grow in every area, like you can become really good at business and have zero balance or zero, you prioritize one thing and one thing only, and you do nothing else in life, and then you get to the end and you say, Fuck, I should have done this or I should have done that. And there are people listening to this who probably will do something like that at some point and be like, fuck man, I should have prioritized relationships more or family more or my kids more or whatever it is, or they won't. But what I'm saying is, is there anything that you would say to 25-year-old George and be like, hey, when it comes to this particular subject that we're talking about now, work-life balance, now with all the wisdom you've gained over the because you're quite old over the over this period of time.

Speaker: 1:04:31

Can you repeat that?

Robby: 1:04:31

I my hearing's yeah, we've you'll have to rewatch this episode. Do you know your headphones are louder? Um after all this time, what's the one thing you'd be like, hey man, like you know, like what would the message you'd share to yourself?

George: 1:04:47

I would actually going back, I would say it's a good question. Alright, because I know I I feel that I know what I would say to myself, a 25-year-old, is to I think I actually worked too much, I prioritized work too much at the beginning. So I would say in the sense of work less, no, no, no, work more, like work just as much. But when I say my focus wasn't at home as much, like I wasn't as supportive and I don't feel this is a personal thing, no one can ever not in my wife, no one else can make that judgment call, just me. I felt that there was a level of me focusing on the work too much because I look, I get I was a young father and also going from two wages to one wages and still not making the money I'm making now back then. Do you know what I mean? I wasn't making killer dollars when I first started the business.

Robby: 1:05:37

What did you say? Still not making the money you make.

George: 1:05:39

Sorry, I wasn't making as much money as I am today back then when I first started my business. Yeah, fucking hope so. Exactly. But that's what I'm saying. It was almost like and that's what I mean. A and a startup company, construction company, going from this point here and having the young family. Like, I would have just said, keep doing what you're doing, work that hard, but you need to work just as hard at home. Like on the relationship with your wife, on the connection with everything you're doing there, work just as hard as that. And I felt I could have given more, but I bought into the excuse. I felt that I bought into that whole, I'm the provider, you're the um nurturer. I just bought into that too much, I think, at the time. So I would have just blended those two a little bit more. I still would have worked hard. I just wouldn't feel sorry for myself. Oh, I'm tired. Fuck you're tired. Get up and help, or get up and do this, or don't do that, or whatever it might be.

Robby: 1:06:30

It's about energy management.

George: 1:06:32

It was energy. That's probably the best question. That's the best way to put it. Yes, that's the word I'm looking for. It was energy management. I was just putting way too much energy in the business side of things. And I forgive myself because I didn't know any better. You know, I don't, I don't sit back and go, you're a piece of shit, you're an asshole, you're a failure. I didn't know. I didn't know. If I went back now and I could change it, I would. That's why I said if I had a kids today, it would be very different. My energy management would be completely different. Again, that George wasn't a bad guy. He was doing the best thing for his family that he knew what to do. That's all he did. Yeah, at that time. At that time, it's all I knew. And this is why I'm saying don't get stuck up so much on the the decisions, the future that's gonna happen. Because A, you don't know what's gonna happen. So all that matters right now is the decisions that you make today. That's it. This moment right here, our decision. So, yeah, for today and moving forward. That's it. Our decision to come here today and do a podcast. All right, that's all that matters. That's all that matters. Then what happens after this episode goes? Do I go back into the office and do a few hours? Do I go back home? Do I go for a walk? Like that all that matters is the decision. Nothing else outside of that matters. Because you can't control anything else. You can control now. You can't control what's just passed. I can't go home now and go, fuck me. I never should have done that podcast. I shouldn't have done that podcast. No. You can't change it. The podcast is done. This episode's going to air. I can't change it. And you know what else you can't change? The future. Don't know what's going to happen. I could come here right now and an atomic bomb goes off in the city and I don't get to see this is the last time I see anyone. You're the last person I see. What a life. It's a good way to go. What a good way to go. Do you know what I mean? Like that's all that's going to matter. Just that, the decision right there. So, what does that mean? And this is what I'm saying. Make your choices that you can make available to you today. And if you feel that there is something lacking or you're not feeling 100% well, cool, go out there and try and find what that is. Understand what that is. Because as soon as you can get some clarity, and it's the self-awareness thing, dude. Like it's so hard to teach. I can't teach self-awareness. How do you teach it? How do you teach self-awareness? I I think um You know, I used to buy into the whole dad bod thing in the sense of, oh well, I I hear that 80% of women love dad bods now. You hear you believe the bullshit stories that are are fed to you. Oh, I'm a I've I'm set, you know, I'm married now, I've got kids, I don't need to look after myself like I used to. I don't have to be fit and strong and healthy, I can just be look all the other dads. It's funny you mentioned that. Like I was at had a school assembly yesterday with um my daughter and my wife. We were there, and I got when we were out for dinner last night, I said, Okay, do you notice how like like fat and shit everyone looks? Like all the parents, I go, We're uh I think we're probably one of the younger site parents at the school. I go, but I was just looking around, like everyone's overweight, everyone's dressed like bums, like that's they're not looking after themselves. Like, do you notice that or is it just me? I just thought it was quite interesting observation. Yeah, she goes, Yeah, it's like I I noticed it. Like, yes, you can see it's just people are buying into it, man. They don't okay, they're 40 and that's it. They're overweight, they don't look up like that, don't do their hair, they're dressed in fucking whatever. I just found it uh uh quite a fascinating thing to see. This is like uh people with kids, is what I'm saying. Uh not like I'm not going to a club or something.

Robby: 1:10:02

I think we can have a there's a whole conversation to be had around, you know, being elite in all areas of your life.

George: 1:10:07

Yeah, I think that's a that'd be a great topic, actually. And that mediocrity, I think people really buy into hey, the settling. That's it. We're done, we're married, we're settled, we don't need to look after ourselves as much anymore. We can just go along our way. You know, because it's funny, I met this couple the other day, and they would have been similar age to me, and they looked like they're in their 50s, you know, just overweight, just looked old, like they were weathered. And um, I think that just comes down to lifestyle choices.

Robby: 1:10:40

Yeah, I think um I caught up someone the other day that I hadn't seen for a bit, and I caught up, and you only see them, and then you're like, you're aging. Like you are life's life's kicking your dudes, like get it together. Um, but yeah, I I think the the the biggest takeaways I've I've taken from this conversation is you know, uh prioritize what matters to you in that season of your life, you know, and and I heard this concept of like, yeah, it's seasons, and it's like, you know, there's seasons where I'm gonna work more, yeah, and there's seasons where I'm gonna have more time. And you know, there's no fucking that whole like complete, you know, start at nine, finish at five. And I saw a great meme the other day, and it's like when you tell your missus that you finish at five, and then it's like five oh five, you're done. Um so true, yeah. That's so true. And um, yeah, I think there's no direct, rigid structure that's going to work all the time. And I think you know, structure's good and behavioural flexibility is really good as well, and that's gonna help you and making the right choices and decisions today for what you want now and what you want in the future is gonna be the biggest things that impact your life. My word. You know, and um in saying that, I think the biggest and most important decision you can make right now is is really heading over to YouTube and making sure that you're subscribed to this. And if you're just tuning in and you're like, I'll skip to the end because Robbie's gonna give away the book at the end, I've already uh mentioned what the code is. So you're gonna have to go back, find where we mentioned it, um, and subscribe to the channel and send me that message. B number one, be the first person and be the first, very, very first person. And if you're listening to this and you've listened to the whole episode and you haven't sent the message and you're like, I'm gonna send it soon, probably soon. Probably, yeah, probably lost. Um, any any final closing words, George?

George: 1:12:38

Do more. You are worth it, and you can do it. All right, I don't care where you're at in your life right now, you're alive. I'm gonna start working from nine to five. I don't think we can be friends anymore.

Robby: 1:12:50

Why? From nine, I'm gonna work from nine a.m. to five a.m. 16 hour days. Uh that's not 16 hours, that's 20 hours.

George: 1:13:00

You lost me at yeah, whenever you started calculating it. At five.

Robby: 1:13:03

Um, cool. Thanks, guys. Thanks.

George: 1:13:05

Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Look forward to seeing you next time. As always, hope you have a million dollar day and we will catch you on the next episode. Bye, everybody.