We're Always Cheating Something

(Here's the inspirational blog post behind this email: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/questions-i-have-for-people-who-have-their-life-figured-out/)

I read a lot.  Blogs, books, poetry, magazines, eBooks (shhhh, don't tell my dad--he works in book printing), and even the backs of shampoo and conditioner bottles while in the shower.  Actually, I'm a pretty darn compulsive reader--I read every sign, every billboard, every bit of lettering that I can at any given moment.  I am the woman who reads all of the directions prior to assembling the Ikea furniture.

I think it hearkens back to first grade.  There was what would later be termed as a "curriculum hole" between kindergarten and first grade in my school district.  In kindergarten, we learned the sounds of letters, how to write letters, etc.  In first grade, we were supposed to be proficient readers, meaning that somehow, we were magically supposed to learn to read between kindergarten and first grade.  Therefore, I was just getting the hang of this reading thing when first grade commenced. I was placed in the lowest reading group (consequently, that group has the stupidest, most boring books, which I think was a huge problem).  Anyhow, I ended up really, really liking this reading thing and decided to show absolutely everyone that I wasn't going to sit peaceably in the lowest reading group, so I began reading everything.

I have figured out two important things:
1. No one has everything figured out
2. Everyone is cheating something

These two truths are essential to running a good business and a good marketing campaign.  Everyone is an expert at something and there are people who need to learn what you already know.  If you share that information, you are more likely to be asked into someone's life at that point of need.

The second truth is that everyone is cheating something.  I tend to cheat my poor husband.  I work like a maniac.  I take on additional projects.  I serve the community, my family, and people in need.  I start side businesses (like feather earring making, candle making, custom knitting) and I pour large portions of my free time into them.  I read and read and read.  I spend hours coaching, teaching, and mentoring.  I spend hours getting coached, taught, and mentored (sometimes, even by my husband).  --BUT--I rarely spend honest to goodness "husband and wife" time with my husband.  I choose to cheat my husband, to cheat my marriage in favor of things that I feel really well-equipped to deal with--successful businesses and people.

I have slowly been working at mastering being an expert at something, but I'm still struggling to find the right things to cheat.  I know in one part of brain that I should work a little less (carve those work days down from 10 or 11 hours to 9), take on less, and be okay with slower growth in my side ventures.  I have a hard time cheating those things because I feel so darn successful at them and it's really much harder to be an expert in marriage, or an expert in loving my husband.

The question that I'm struggling with and that I'd like to pass along (I just love keeping all the rest of you up at night) is:
What are you cheating and is it worth cheating that thing in the long run?

I know I have to start cheating something else because I plan on having my husband in my life far longer than I plan on making feather earrings or coaching people to engage via social media.