We hit a bump and the rental car flew through the air and landed with a stomach flipping bounce on the empty highway.  A lightning bolt of adrenaline shot through my haze of exhaustion.

What time was it!? 12:45 am.  Fifteen minutes were all we had left.  Would we make it in time?

The speedometer needle quivered between 95 and 100 mph as we hurtled down a desolute interstate in the heavy darkness of a north Texas night. Clutching the box in a death grip, I shuddered to imagine the consequences if we arrived too late.  

“God, don’t do that to us.” I quietly prayed.

The rental car screeched to a halt in the abandoned parking lot.  12:58 am.  2 minutes to spare.  I grabbed the box and ran inside desperately hoping we were not too late. 

“Is it too late?” 

“Nope.  You just barely made it.  The last flight of the night leaves in 2 minutes.  Miss this one and you’re out of luck until 7:00 am.”

Handing over the package like a sweaty baton in a marathon relay race, I took a deep breath.  The satisfaction of success morphed into exhausted exhiliration.  Yes!  We had done it!  Now, the rest was up to FedEx.  

Our bid for the big job would absolutely, positively be in Boston before the RFP deadline.  The corporate warrior within me celebrated the victory even as my weary body screamed for sleep. 

Yep, this is a true story.  I can still remember fighting back the urge to vomit as we recklessly raced to the airport in the wee hours of the morning.  

I would like to tell you this was a rare occurence.  It wasn’t.  It was my life.  A self-inflicted, viscious cycle of extreme expectations, exhilirating success and soul-shredding exhaustion. 

My story is being replayed all over the world by super successful professionals just like you.

Are you living the gritty reality of high expectations, unrelenting exhaustion and the intoxicating exhiliration of success because you don’t know there is a better way?

Take a look at a few statistics from recent study conducted by the Center for Work-Life Policy and reported in the article, Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek in the December 2006 issue of the Harvard Business Review.  The study targeted the top 6% of earners in the U.S.

• 66% say they love their job.

• 64% admit the pressure and pace are self-inflicted – a function of a Type A personality.

• They love the intellectual challenge and the thrill of achieving something big.

• 66% say they don’t get enough sleep.

• 69% believe they would be healthier if they worked less extremely.

• 65% say their work interferes with ability to to have strong relationships with their children.

• 46% think their work gets in the way of good relationships with their spouses.

• 50% say their jobs make it impossible to have a satisfying sex life.

Are you twisting in this perfect storm?  Are there some pretty big costs lurking in the shadows of your success?

Do you love your job?  Do you love your family?  Do you want better health? Does it seem impossible to ‘have it all’? 

Yeah, I know.  I thought it was, too.  The idea of work-life balance seemed to be some fluffy talk show mumbo jumbo.  Geez!  I was a corporate executive.  What could they possibly know about the demands of my life?!

Take it from me – a member of your tribe - it is possible to do what you love, enjoy a great relationship with your family and have time to take good care of yourself.  I know because I’ve done it.  And I want to help you do it, too.

You don’t have to sacrifice success to find personal fulfillment.  Life is too dang short to put up with anything less than your absolute TOTAL best.

Where are you cutting corners in your life?  What wakes you up in the middle of the night?  What nagging thought refuses to leave you alone? 

Ready to create the complete life you dream about?  I want to help you do it.

Call me at 859-266-2436 or email me at kay@leadershipwhisperer.com.