Aaron Ross is an author and entrepreneur. He was previously the Sales Director at salesforce.com. Aaron has 11 children— and is seemingly not insane— and is still running a successful business.

Having a big family was one key motivator on making more money to support them. He balances the two by learning how to deal with the certain amount of stress that is acceptable. Having kids, stress is unavoidable and unrealistic. He believes it’s important to trust that things will work out for the better, and to do the things that feel right.

At first, he set a goal to only work 25-30 hours a week. As he worked more, he felt that he lost his insights and creativity. Growing his family and making more money, he had to shift his focus by putting his side passion projects on hold. Limiting his amount of work forced him to focus on the things that were the most important to get done.

He understands that there's very little slack when it comes to money. He takes what he has to invest in his company and expects to make money back from it. Whatever he’s investing in, it’s ultimately to benefit and support his family.

By finding his balance and structure, he realizes that there are certain things that are going to pay off, but he cannot be sure of what will. This is why he feels like he shouldn’t work more than 30 hours a week and sacrifice his family time because it may not be worth the payoff.

Aaron encourages people to make sure they have clear boundaries of their time. When you work, you work and stay focused. When it’s family time, it’s family time— for the most part. Keep work and family time separate, but also know when to blend the two. Most importantly, you do not want to divide your attention by attempting to focus on both.

He wants to encourage parents to not just watch their kids play, but play with them. Engage more with your children-- whether it’s drawing or having them help cook with you. It’s great quality time that is beneficial to the both of you.

Being a parent is a pain, and no one has it figured out. Bigger the family equals more challenges, more anxiety in some ways, but more fun in others. Overall, it’s it worth.