I’m a Gen-Xer who has a millennial outlook on how to approach work and life.

For years I’ve bucked the idea that you have to make big sacrifices – usually on what is most important, your relationships – in order to have a prosperous life.  

I saw people have great incomes, but end up divorced, having affairs, or have kids with drug, sexual promiscuity, spiritual deficiencies or pregnancy problems out of parental neglect. They would let other people raise their kids, so they could have money, a career, and a comfortable life. Or they would be super parents living in relative poverty.

Neither of those options looked attractive to me.

So having a fulfilling and prosperous business or ministry while putting your relationships a top priority on a daily basis has always been something I am striving for.

Not only is it more fun, but it is in better alignment with being a Christian walking the walk.

So, why should you make your relationships a top priority on a daily basis?

1. God said so – In fact, he commanded it related to our relationship with him in the first commandment. “I am the Lord your God, you shall not have other Gods before me”.  God is a jealous god and he’s pretty clear that nothing – work, other people, things – come before our relationship with him.
2. Judgment – God doesn’t care how much money we made or how much we turned ourselves into pretzels trying to make life perfect for our kids and families. He values love. And we will be judged on how well we put our vocation – as parents, spouses, single people contributing to a bigger community – first.  We must be healthy and consistent in the way we approach the people God has entrusted in our lives before we achieve additional things. Sure, we need to make income, but not at the expense of living our vocation fully.
3. Business Savvy – Great relationships give energy and revitalize us. They make us interesting and fun and excellent conversationalists. These are the exact things that attract clients, revenue, and opportunities. There is nothing staler than trying to carry on a conversation with a workaholic. They have a limited vocabulary and are flat and boring, not the client and opportunity magnet you want to be as a successful entrepreneur.
4. Avoiding the risks of Entrepreneurism – If you are doing things right as a Christian Lifestyle Entrepreneur, you should love what you do on a daily basis. But just because you love it and could work all the time doesn’t mean you should. My massage therapist cautioned me I was sitting too much and causing my hips to get too tight. Likely, this was due to getting lost in front of my computer immersed in working on projects. Keeping relationships first, helps us live more balanced.

So, here two great strategies to help you earn more while keeping your relationships first on a daily basis.

1. Relationships in 3’s – Adopt and follow a system I discuss in my book, The Catholic Women’s Guide to Healthy Relationships  this great blueprint for managing friendships. Using Christ as a model I encourage clients to identify and nurture 9 relationships in their lives: three with people who mentor you, three with peer  relationships, and three with those you mentor. This keeps your relationships and energy balanced, healthy and flowing in virtue and service to others.
2. Social Hour – Take one hour per week and plan out social  activities to do with your loved ones. I have a goal of taking my three kids on a one-on-one date to do something fun that would be of interest to them once a month. I also try to sign up to do a fun activity with my Adventurous babes group as well as get together at least monthly with my three relationships in three’s peer friendships. If you are married, it’s important to keep the marriage fresh with dates, uninterrupted time together, and invest in marital growth activities. If you are not married and want to be, it’s time to be intentional about how to manifest that special someone in your life. Our culture can be very disordered in our overemphasis in work and productivity at the expense of finding that soul mate, marital love, which studies show is one of the key indicators of life happiness. All of these things take planning and thought, and they can be worked on during your weekly social hour so they don’t slip through the cracks and your relationship quality along with it.

Christian Entrepreneur Biz and Life Tip:  Having and nurturing great relationships isn’t a fluff.  Relationship-building is key to success in and out of business.