The Night I Realized My Business Was Stealing My Life

Michael Barbarita • July 21, 2025

3:47 AM.



I was responding to emails that could have waited until morning.


My wife asked why I was awake.


"Just catching up," I said.


"On what? It's almost 4 AM."


That's when it hit me: My business had become a parasite, slowly consuming everything that mattered.


Family time. Personal interests. Mental health. Physical wellbeing.


All sacrificed on the altar of revenue growth.


My company showed impressive financial performance. But by life metrics? Total failure.


I was making money hand over fist while my actual life withered away.


The breaking point came when my seven-year-old asked if I loved work more than him.


I didn't have a good answer.


That morning, I implemented what I call the Life Liberation Process:


Step 1: Truth Assessment I wrote down what my life would look like if I continued the current path for five more years.

The result was devastating: Wealth on paper, poverty in life.


Step 2: Boundary Creation I established non-negotiable personal time that no business emergency could touch.


Step 3: System Rebuilding
I redesigned every process to function without my constant involvement.