Real Estate Genius Ben Kubassek's First Book Explores his Journeyfrom Burnout to Balance
CAMBRIDGE - At the age of 27, Ben Kubassek thought he had it all. Hehad a family, a number of successful business and a schedule which seemedto keep him on the go 24 hours a day. Then it happened. While at a businessmeeting, he was suddenly engulfed by fear, depression and thoughts of suicide.ìIt all happened in one day, ì Mr. Kubassek said in an interview. ìFeelingof fear, anxiety, depression. It was as if someone had turned on a tapand drained all my energy. In one instant, I started to get suicidal thoughts.
Mr. Kubassek decided to take another look at his life, his goals and his definition of success. He began to realize that he had become obsessedwith reaching new heights. But with all of his accolades and personal successes,he had become a ìfailureî. ìI was uncommitted,î he said. ìI was uncommittedto my family, to my friends, to my physical fitness, to my faith. I tellpeople I was a success at business but a failure at life. What an awfulfeeling that is to realize.î After six months of ìhellî, he began to writedown his experiences. What resulted was Succeed Without Burnout:Proven strategies to move your life from burnout to balance.
Itís the first book written by the Ayr real-estate developer and businessmanwho lives near the town with his wife and four children. The book is nota clinical study, he said. ìIím writing about what I went through. WhatI did in this book is simply share my own experiences. People are seeingthemselves in this story. Rather than take the preachy approach, Iím takingthe sharing approach.î
Born in Washington, Ontario, Mr. Kubassek grew up on a sheltered religiouscommunal farm near Kitchener. By the age of 14, he was already being preppedto become the next manager of the farming community. However, he decidedto pursue his own path ì From Day One, I was a Type A, I was a triple Apersonality. I had a tremendous need to grow.î At the age of 21, he leftthe farm and soon started an electrical and mechanical contracting businesswith his oldest brother. Later he combined that with real estate development.
ìEverything I touched turned to gold.î Mr. Kubassek said. ìI had a tremendouspassion. I found I wanted to be a success in business. But I found thiscould be disastrous in my life.î As well as tell Mr. Kubassekís story,the book comes to some conclusion about the nature of burnout and how toavoid it.
The best way to prevent it, Mr. Kubassek said, is not by decreasingactivity or commitment. Instead individuals need to find a delicate balancebetween various aspects in their life. Mr. Kubassek calls his strategythe five Fís: family, finances, friends, fitness and faith. Thekey to personal success is keeping all these things in balance.
ìAt one time I thought I was a failure was a person,î he said. ìWhatI discovered is that failure is simply an experience which helps you becomesomething. At one time, I thought success was a person. Success is nota person. Itís a process.î The book explores ways to determine whetheryouíre suffering from burnout - or on the road to burnout. It offers waysthat you can continue to work a 65 hour week and still have enough energyleft over for family and socializing.
For now, Mr. Kubassek is happy enough to continue pursuing his manyactivities. He plans to start speaking out about burnout at various functionsand will soon be releasing an audio-tape book about his theories. ìLifebalance is about doing more, not doing less,î he said.