Sometimes it felt like my days were spent slaying dragons, putting out fires and squeezing in enough value-generation (painting) to be able to keep the wheels turning for another day. Rinse and repeat. 

Most of the clients I worked for were more financially successful than me.  Once in a while there was a customer that seemed to have things figured out pretty good - they seemed successful at life.  If I had a good rapport with them, I would ask them for one piece of advice that they thought was a key factor to their success over the years.  I thought of it as mining for nuggets.  Why insist on doing things the hard way if there was an easier option?

Some of the answers I received didn't resonate - they didn't jive with my personal values.  Some advice was straight forward, practical (i.e. work hard).  In ten years of asking, the most interesting, beneficial and actionable answer came from my best customer.  I don't think it was a coincidence. 

Jim, I thought, would be a good person to ask.  He owned and operated a high-end custom home design/build company.  At the time he simultaneously owned and operated a high end restaurant in the heart of wine country.  Those two business sectors alone were notoriously challenging for entrepreneurs to survive in, let alone thrive. Besides that, Jim is an accomplished musician.  He and his wife help their 4 children reach their potential through schooling and entrepreneurship.  Jim is very busy.  But he finds time for family, exercise, hobbies, holidays, and for everybody that he comes in contact with.  And he never seems stressed.  

What was one key to his success?...