Sample Record for Search: Tax & Accounting
Abstract: One man discusses his burnout hoping to give people some insight as to why and how it happens, and how they can avoid making the same mistakes.
Text: THE TERM BURNOUT is often used for people who cannot function at a level they are used to, or who can no longer keep up with the demands made upon them. My story relates to this and I believe through my experience I can give people some insight as to why and how it happens, and how they can avoid making the same mistakes.
I didn't crash until I was 55 - my doctor still wonders why it never happened earlier. I think it was because I was brought up to be tough, persistent and unemotional, out of touch with my feelings.
At the age of 16 I left school, I got a job and began studying accountancy part time at RMIT. I'm not sure why I chose accountancy; it just seemed a good idea at the time. Five years later I qualified and six years further on I had my own practice. During this time I married, had four children and the big commitments started, along with 80-hour weeks.
In 1978 I became finance director and later CEO of an office furniture marketer and manufacturer. I was signing personal guarantees, my house was on the line (it had to be if we were to grow the business) and the industry was extremely competitive and volatile.
I was totally unaware of any warning signs - I had handled many stressful situations and I was fit and healthy but this wasn't enough. It was all starting to catch up with me. In August 1998 I noticed that I was losing concentration. I wasn't eating or sleeping well. I was losing my ability to cope. A month later I fell into a black hole and stayed there for six months. I didn't know if I would ever come out of it. In February 1999, in what still seems like a miracle to me, the fog started to lift and now I look back and refer to it as the "Worst and Best Experience of My Life".
Why did it happen? Because I was dumb and had lived my life based on what I thought was expected of me rather than discovering my talents and doing what I enjoyed. Could you make a list of things you would enjoy doing if there were no limitations including money, and then put an action plan into place? Doing just that was the catalyst for me to wake up and just be me. It took me three weeks to make a list of 20 things, and it is the most liberating thing I've ever done.
Recently I took a cab to the airport. The driver, a retired solicitor, drove his cab three days a week, mainly taking executives to catch their planes.
He said that typically these executives, earning $150k-$500k a year, were tired and irritable when they were home; their relationships with their wives and children were What is important to you in life? Are you enjoying it? If not, you're crazy, just as I was until I crashed and finally got the message.
JAMES MOORE, CPA, NOW RUNS WORKSHOPS ON BUSINESS AND PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT LEADERSHIP SKILLS, VISION DEVELOPMENT, TEAMWORK AND LIFE BALANCE
Copyright © CPA Australia Jul 2001
Accounting & Tax Database
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