Today we are answering the question on every entrepreneur’s mind: How Can I Be Successful, and Avoid Burnout?
Here’s the truth about success that NO ONE is talking about: There really is no true definition of success, okay? Seriously. Only you can define what success means to you. And yeah, the world will definitely have its own ideas. It always does. And culturally—we are being FLOODED with idealistic impressions of what success is supposed to look like, and we see it just about every time we look at a screen. For the most part, that’s all flashing lights, smoke and mirrors—and it’s typically designed to steal your attention away just long enough to make you want to buy something.
Let’s take a look at a recent shining example of someone who completely upended the expectations of the entire world to stay true to her own personal definition of success, and discuss the 3 Most Common Causes of Entrepreneurial Burnout, and how you can avoid them by staying true to your own definition of success.
Okay, so going into the 2021 Olympics, World-class gymnast Simone Biles had the whole country looking to her to basically dominate the entire world of competitive gymnastics for Team USA. Altogether she has 32 medals, AND she’s also the first American to win a World medal in every gymnastics event. She sounds pretty successful, right?
So what happened when she went to the 2021 Olympics at the age of 24, and began to experience serious signs of burnout? She chose to step down from several events to protect her own personal well-being. And what happened when she chose self-care over pushing and pushing and pushing? Many people, in their disappointment, chose to move that imaginary goalpost of success, and they called her a quitter. A QUITTER! One of the all-time greatest gymnasts on the planet EVER, getting called a quitter for choosing to take care of herself rather than risk her life to put on a good show. That’s insane.
And THAT right there, my friends, is the PERFECT example for why you can’t allow the outside world to have ANY say in whether or not you’re successful. That’s why you need your own personal definition of success.
To quote Biles, “We’re human too, so we have to protect our minds and our bodies, rather than just go out there and do whatever the world wants us to do.”
Maybe your talents don’t involve such an obvious threat to your health and safety, but make no mistake—Entrepreneurial burnout is REAL, and if ignored, over time it can lead to serious and in some cases permanent setbacks to your career, your finances, your relationships…and yeah, DEFINITELY your health. Big time. Did you know that over 70% of all health insurance claims reported by businesses across the US are due to stress-related illnesses? That’s proof-on-paper of extreme burnout being normalized in our society.
You can do better. Your mindset sets the course of your mission, so you can decide within yourself, right now, that you ARE a success, that you are your own greatest asset, and in doing so—set your course for greatness.
Here is one of the Three Most Common Causes of Entrepreneurial Burnout, and to hear the rest, just watch the full episode!
Number One: Sustaining High-Level Performance with Low-Levels of Self-Care
Just because you can get through the day without eating a nutritious meal— Just because you can get through the day on only a few hours of sleep—Just because you can get through the day without taking a break to get some fresh air, or checking in with a loved one— Just because you can get away with these habits now, doesn’t mean that they won’t wind up costing you dearly at some point in the future.
And not only that! What about—instead of just “getting through the day,” you were living each day to the fullest, feeling on-point, feeding your enthusiasm, harnessing your passion, stoking your curiosity like a flame that’s always on the verge of bursting into a sudden flash of brilliance…
That kind of energy and creativity doesn’t come from a cup of coffee. It comes from a mind and a body that is being fed nutritionally, but also emotionally, and spiritually.
Actually, I want to quote Simone here on one of the reasons she decided to step back from the 2021 Olympic Games. She said, “I feel like I’m not having as much fun, and I know that for these Olympic Games, I wanted it to be for myself.”
What about fun? As adults, we underestimate the importance of incorporating play into our daily lives, but extensive studies have proven that scheduling fun into your daily routine increases productivity, enhances creativity, promotes team morale…
You know Google doesn’t have climbing walls and ping pong tables and photo booths in their offices because they want people to think it’s fun to work there. It’s because they get better results from their team when they encourage and incorporate play into their team’s daily work lives.
Look at your schedule. The more demanding your schedule is work-wise, the more rigorous your self-care needs to be to support your energy and your creativity throughout the day. And anytime that you feel like you don’t have enough time for self-care, that is exactly when you need self-care the MOST.
Thank you for joining me and if you liked this article please check out the full episode, and be sure to subscribe because I release new masterclasses every Tuesday and Thursday.
As entrepreneurs, we must define success for ourselves. Because, in the end, chasing bi-products can leave you with burnout that will stand in the way of getting what you truly want as an Entrepreneur—which is to Love What You Do, and Love How Do It.