I succeed like a workaholic. Over the many years since I entered the workforce - arguably at age 7 by subcontracting part of my brother's paper route - I have developed skills, maintained momentum, ramped up, then down and been forced out rather than opting out, and started from scratch. At no time did I not succeed at doing the very best that I could do.

Devoting myself wholly to my job has gradually enabled me to deliver an increase of contribution to the work I am doing. I have learned to do more in less time. Maturity and motherhood helped me with this lesson. I have always been the go-to person when things get crucial. If deadlines are looming large and a panic is setting in, I step up to help, spending whatever time necessary to get the job done. Then, I rest.

My work product is never sloppy, never the worst. Oftentimes it isn't the best or most perfect either. I have learned to settle for merely excellent.

I am not afraid to try and to experiment. This means that I fail and make mistakes sometimes. Whether you find these attributes of mine appealing, I think, will depend on your willingness to embrace flexibility and balance. Businesses want to build better employees. "There is still a lot of stigma to utilizing work-life benefits programs." according to Carol Evans, founder and CEO of Working Mother Media. "When progressive policies are a cultural shift, it becomes embedded into how a whole company thinks." I believe this cultural shift will happen rapidly over the next generation of workers.

For now, though, I recommend getting to balance by succeeding like a workaholic and making sure your exemplary work gets communicated to your management. If you apply yourself to doing the best work possible a little bit faster, jumping in to help and doing a little self-PR, your rewards are a better ability to balance your time at work and away from work. And you will have earned it.