The Wellness Habits That Drive My Entrepreneurial Success

As an entrepreneur, I don’t have to explain the value of staying focused and on top of my game. It seems new technology appears every day. Yet, maximizing the tools and resources we possess today, including key employees, consumes every minute of our day. For entrepreneurs, staying physically, emotionally, and mentally fit helps us achieve our goals.

While channel surfing between games and trying to avoid the barrage of TV commercials, I found one advertising an oral spray with a CEO explaining that one or two quick sprays made him feel like a “mental ninja.” I laughed to myself and hit the remote button. If only entrepreneurial success were that easy.

If you’re like me, you are constantly seeking to improve your business skills and learn to employ new strategies to grow or enhance your entrepreneurial skills. Below, I’ll share a few lifestyle choices that work for me.

Maintaining mental focus and clarity

None of us can achieve peak entrepreneurial success without a clear, focused mind. I haven’t reviewed an undergraduate or graduate business curriculum in many years. However, I doubt there is much emphasis on employing lifestyle strategies for this objective.

Rarely can we read articles, books, listen to podcasts or watch videos without some guru or “expert” outlining their success formula. Joining a few CEO and entrepreneurial groups has benefited me tremendously.

Some of my colleagues begin their day a few hours before sunrise by meditating, praying, reading or performing various fitness routines. Others don’t feel the need to rise with the roosters, but find their best working hours extend past midnight. And a handful of others swear that several high-caffeine beverages and salty vending machine snacks do the trick.

Given that I don’t have any expertise in achieving mental, emotional or physical fitness, I don’t feel it’s my place to advocate for any specific routine. Yet here is something I do know: Finding and adhering to a workable routine will help you feel more confident. When I feel confident, my mental state immediately improves.

Gaining and keeping mental focus for me involves morning, mid-day and evening routines.

There is much to be said about waking up around the same time each morning. I try my best to avoid reading emails or text messages for the first hour. A few weeks ago, I published an article about how walking my dog helps me think about the day’s priorities and objectives. As the saying goes, I can accomplish two tasks (exercising my pet and thinking through my day) within the same few minutes.

Next, I try to separate the tasks that I can control from those I can not. If you’re like me, you may worry more about the latter. Nonetheless, I’ve trained myself to focus on the three to five issues that I can directly control that day. For example:

• What tasks should I delegate to key employees? Most entrepreneurs struggle to delegate because they want to handle everything themselves. Yet we only have a finite number of hours to achieve our daily objectives, so which tasks are mine alone and which can be handled by others?

• How can I improve satisfaction among my existing customer base, and how much time should I devote to acquiring new business?

• Are there issues remaining from yesterday that need to be addressed immediately? The answer is always, “yes.” Again, it’s imperative to prioritize what I personally need to address and what I will delegate.

• Am I confident that I am prepared to handle my day? If so, I’m in a good mental state to start my day.

Finding a workable and practical fitness routine

Just what you need: Another lecture to make you feel guilty about not having a world-class physique. Don’t worry, as I mentioned previously, I don’t possess that qualification or have that physique.

I can attest that doing my best to stay fit and healthy supports my mental, emotional and physical well-being.

Playing tennis not only helps me stay in shape, but it is also a great way to socialize with others outside of my occupation. In fact, I can’t ever recall playing tennis with or against someone who owns or manages a transcription company. For me, the strategy and finesse of my favorite physical activity give me an edge when developing business strategies, too.

Most of my fellow entrepreneur friends find pleasure on the golf course. Not only are they working on improving various skills, but the golf course is probably the best sport/activity to develop business and social connections.

Pickleball is the latest sports craze to sweep the nation. Unlike golf or tennis, pickleball offers a low barrier to entry, meaning the skill level needed to play is low, and with only a few games, most players improve quickly.

Still other entrepreneurs prefer the solitude of individual activities such as walking, running, cycling or skating. Since I’m in my mid-forties and have never experienced the “runner’s high” others have, I need to find pleasure in other activities.

In years past, fitness experts downplayed the value of walking. Thankfully, and through years of valuable research, walking remains one of the best physical activities we can enjoy. Regardless of whether you are an early riser or a night owl, if you are not getting ample exercise through other sports or activities, walking 30 or more minutes three or more times per week will improve your fitness and well-being.

Find an eating plan to support your lifestyle

Fortunately, I like food. I’m not saying that all the food I like is healthy or “good for me.” I’m also not a registered dietitian and therefore not qualified to offer nutritional advice. And in full disclosure, I also suffer from digestive issues that, if not contained, can negatively impact my mental, physical and emotional levels.

Finding the foods best suited for my individual needs is vital to my entrepreneurial success.

Personally, I’m convinced that there is no single eating plan that fits everyone. Most of us may recall learning about the food pyramid during our early school years. From what I’ve read recently, experts have recommended a “new and improved” food pyramid. I suspect future generations will experience a newer food pyramid down the road.

There is a great deal that I don’t know about nutrition and its impact on our health. What I do know is that finding the right foods and amounts that work for you will definitely add value to your health and business performance.

Over the past few years, I’ve devoted many hours to researching what foods my body can handle. I’ve also spent many hours that would normally be spent at work either waiting in a healthcare provider’s office, being examined, having a test run or waiting for answers to my specific issues.

Yes, I would have preferred to spend time working, enjoying my favorite activities with friends or walking my dog in the evening, rather than dealing with stomach issues. Regardless, years of being an entrepreneur have taught me that understanding my body’s needs will ultimately benefit my entrepreneurial passions. I wish you the best in your journey, too.

Emotional health and sleep

All my life, I have heard experts recommend that eight hours is the optimal amount of sleep for most people. I’m also very curious how many hours of sleep most entrepreneurs or business owners average. My guess is it’s less than eight.

Quality rest and sleep are as important, if not more so, than the topics covered above. While I am preaching the importance of quality sleep to my fellow entrepreneurs, I am also working to improve my own sleep quality.

Most entrepreneurs I know find it difficult to wind down at the end of the day. I understand because the same applies to me. For me, unplugging from my tech tools at least an hour before bed helps. Find a good book or spend time enjoying an unrelated hobby to help you fall asleep. I wish you the best in your entrepreneurial journey and hope you discover healthy tools that benefit every aspect of your life.

As an entrepreneur, I don’t have to explain the value of staying focused and on top of my game. It seems new technology appears every day. Yet, maximizing the tools and resources we possess today, including key employees, consumes every minute of our day. For entrepreneurs, staying physically, emotionally, and mentally fit helps us achieve our goals.

While channel surfing between games and trying to avoid the barrage of TV commercials, I found one advertising an oral spray with a CEO explaining that one or two quick sprays made him feel like a “mental ninja.” I laughed to myself and hit the remote button. If only entrepreneurial success were that easy.

If you’re like me, you are constantly seeking to improve your business skills and learn to employ new strategies to grow or enhance your entrepreneurial skills. Below, I’ll share a few lifestyle choices that work for me.