It was one of the few workdays I had that summer.
No summer camp, just part-time hours. My wife was off. This day was blocked for work.
But then the zoo plan fell apart.
It started to drizzle. Friends canceled.
And now my whole family was heading to the zoo...without me. And that didn’t sit right.
My son was born in 2020 — peak pandemic — and I’ve always felt like he got the short end of the stick when it came to milestones and celebrations.
So I asked myself: Was I going to hold onto one of my scarce workdays, or go to the zoo and feed giraffes with my family on my son’s birthday?
You can probably guess what I did.
We saw giraffes. We had a blast. And honestly? I didn’t stress.
Because I’ve put systems in place that let me step away:
1. My VA was publishing everything on schedule
2. My automations kept the machine running
I3/ don’t make client deadlines on Fridays — they’re for me anyway
That decision — to go to the zoo — didn’t sink my business.
In fact, that year ended up being the most successful one I've had since going solo again.
This will sound radical to some people, but I’ve built a business that prioritizes my family over client timelines.
And I’ll choose the zoo every time.
My challenge for you: What’s something you wish you could do right now instead of working — and how do you create systems that let you do it?
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