Living Your Best Life Emotionally and Physically While Running a Business

CEOs want to focus on their business. But there are four silos to success: People, Sales, Profit and SELF. This is the full picture of a healthy business. A healthy business begins with a healthy person. If I hear from a leader that they don’t “have time” to work out or take care of themselves, then I call b.s. immediately. When I hear “I’m exhausted”, it’s a huge red flag. In general, entrepreneurs are highly motivated people who rarely complain about energy levels. So when I hear these things I wonder if I’m talking to a chronic complainer or if there is something else going on. Are you dating your other half? Are you getting out of the house except for work? Are you going to your kids’ soccer game? If the response is, “No I’m not, don’t have time, I’m missing those things” then it’s time to calendar those things as a priority. Everybody has their highest productivity zone, but 90 percent of who I work with get his or her exercise in before they even start work. You’ve got to have endorphins firing.

It’s easy to be so engrossed in work that you forget about your sanity and health. Looking after yourself as you grow your company is vital. There may truly be no magical work-life balance for an entrepreneur, but you will get in your sweet spot when you can blend the two together. Your work should be joyous, you should never feel like you don’t want to do it. If you do, something is off in your rhythm and your schedule. Exercise is vital to create energy. So is time off.

I insist my clients have days off for a retreat or vacation at least every three months. And even then I’d like to see more time off. It’s key to recharge your mind and give you things to look forward to. It’s easy to think “activity equals productivity” but as time goes by and you shift to strategically grow the business that’s when your brain starts really working. Your brain needs healthy space, which means staring at the ocean is sometimes the most productive thing you can do for yourself and your business.

Being on a hamster wheel all the time is dangerous. Strip stuff out of your schedule so you have time to do nothing - if that’s a walk, or a bigger vacation, it might free up your brain to think of the next huge business idea. Keep the calendar low sometimes, productive energy will start filling that space that was used for tactical survival.