Juggling careers with personal fulfillment, professional men in the Ozarks are redefining what it means to have it all. They’re prioritizing their mental well-being, family time and passions outside the office—without sacrificing success. From flexible schedules to mindful living, the new work-life balance isn’t just a dream; it’s a movement.
Chris Larsen, general manager of Pointe Royale Golf Village, knows the challenge of finding that balance. During his tenure as the Dean of Students, Dean of Work Education and Dean of Sports, Recreation and Events at the College of the Ozarks for almost a quarter-century, Chris raised four daughters, who are now successful adults.
Although he admits maintaining a healthy work-life balance has “always been a bit of a struggle,” Chris says he keeps it in mind and does “a pretty good job.” For example, he has made a practice of going to work early. “I figured if I could get some of that work in while my children were sleeping, then I’m not at work during the time when I could be spending with them,” Chris says.
While some people find answering emails in off-hours a deterrent to maintaining balance, Chris judiciously uses email on his phone or laptop as a tool to allow him to take some pressure off himself.
He found it allowed him to be home with his family and still take care of business. The key: He only looked at emails when his children were busy doing something else. “I maximized the time I had with them during the waking available hours,” he explains. Today, with his grandchildren starting youth sports, he makes time to watch them. Chris models this philosophy to his managers. “I preach that work-life balance is important, that family is more important than work — and always will be,” he says. “If you’ve got something going on at work that will still be here tomorrow, we’ll make sure it gets done on time, but we’re not going to sacrifice
family for it.”
To decompress and recharge, Chris grabs his golf clubs and spends some time on the links and attends to his spirituality. Addressing young men starting their careers, Chris advises, “While work is important and fulfilling and should be God-honoring, there’s a place for all of it. You have to begin with the end in mind. You won’t regret the things that you didn’t get done work-wise, but you will regret the things you didn’t do family-wise. Your kids need you, and that’s your legacy.”
He cautions that it is easy for young men to fall into the mindset of working long hours to provide for their family. “That doesn’t mean anything to your wife and kids because you are not with them. If your family is suffering, your work will suffer as well.”
Working long hours was a challenge that Steve Hughlett, who spent over three decades as a Doctor of Pharmacy, regularly faced before he retired and shifted his vocation to preventing and reversing disease via nutrition. While at the hospital—where he worked demanding 60-hour weeks, sometimes on the graveyard shift—he carved out fifteen minutes here and there to work on a passion project, his book Your Plate is Your Fate. “I would put the book on a jump drive and take it back and forth between work and home,” he says.
Despite the grueling hours, Steve planned ways to keep in contact with his wife and two sons. “As they got into their teens, we made a rule that every Thursday night was family night. We could do whatever the family wanted to do. That was the time when we got to talk to them about their friends and what they were doing,” he says.
Steve’s sons are now 28 and 31 and he is proud to see them modeling his behaviors. “They know how important it is to live within their means in order to raise their own kids and to prioritize family time,” he says. Today, along with his wife, Theresa, Steve offers courses toward health and medication-free living
and hosts the podcast “Simple, Healthy Choices for Weight Loss.” As an entrepreneur, Steve certainly has not left the long hours behind, but he continues to keep balance in mind. He gets together with friends weekly and spend his free time recharging, whether it’s sitting on his back deck or playing cards with Theresa. “We live by our values, which we call our “FIRSTlys” — Financially, Intellectually, Relationally, Spiritually and Trained Physically — and make sure that we hit all five every week,” he says. “We check our finances. Further our knowledge of nutrition. Keep in contact with our boys, family and friends. Go to
church, read our devotional and spend time with our church community group. And we train physically, eat whole foods, real meat, real fruit and real vegetables.”
You won’t regret the things that you didn’t get done work-wise, but you will regret the things you didn’t do family-wise. Your kids need you, and that’s your legacy.