PARADISE 04
It takes about five years to build a successful business from scratch. The first year is the hardest, and also the most fun because the focus is mostly about building the fundamentals. You’re getting the word out there about the business. Forbes, if you give a damn about Forbes, says 75% of startups survive the first year and only half make it to that 5 year mark.
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking about starting your first year. Maybe you’re in your second year, maybe your third, maybe you’re well past five years and you’re reading this by chance. When you’re starting out you never know how stressful it's going to be until you’re however many months or years in and you realize how much stress you’re dealing with.
Nobody ever talks much about how to manage stress as an entrepreneur, which is VERY important during today’s world when it’s constant chaos outside and we’re all just trying to get through the day. Writing this, I’m stressed right now. What I’m stressed about doesn’t matter, how I’m managing it is what’s helping me keep going, which is what I try to motivate people to keep doing.
Here are some things I do, and hopefully if you aren’t already doing these things you’ll find a way to fit them into your busy schedule:
Exercise. I know, everyone says it. But trust me, it does help. One of my mentors told me you perform well when your body is well. I’m not going to tell you I work out everyday, quite frankly I still haven’t figured out a way to. But I never let the week go by without doing something. A few sets of jump ropes, barbell squats, bench press sets, I even have a dumbbell routine. Sometimes I’ll even take a quick break to do this while I’m editing a video. You definitely need to couple this with healthy eating (I won’t make a bullet point about that. I eat everything. I mean everything).
Meditation. I know, everyone says that too. But meditation isn’t just sitting still with some relaxing music in the background, unless that’s your thing. Almost anything can be meditative and you wouldn’t even realize it. The term unplug is what I’m really getting at here, because I believe it falls under the meditation umbrella. Whatever feels therapeutic is meditation to me. A nice walk, which is also exercise, is a form of meditation to me. Do you like cooking? Get in the kitchen and get your favorite playlist going. Are scenic drives your thing? Get in the car and go. Whatever pulls you away from work and gives you some peace of mind where you can just be instead of being what you’re working on becoming, make that a priority how you can. You need to find that peace of mind to help de-stress.
RECONNECT WITH YOUR WHY. This is mostly for the creatives. Turning your passion into your income sucks the fun and beauty out of it, this is a FACT. While we all enjoy getting the notification that our invoices were paid, we’d all love to just be able to have all the free time in the world to make what we want when we want and how we want. Make sure you take time for yourself to do that. Make sure you take that stress and channel it into your process. I made the Fever Dream T-Shirt because imposter syndrome was eating me alive from the inside out.
Lean On Your Circle. Plain and simple, get out of the house. Call your friends/peers/partners/cousins/siblings and go spend some time with them. Unless they’re also entrepreneurs it’s possible they don’t understand a single thing you’re stressed about and that’s perfectly fine. As much as I’d love to talk about business strategy tips and such with my civilian friends (sorry guys), I love being able to grab a drink and just catch up with them. I love being able to be around people who love and appreciate me and want to see me win. This tip is a callback to that unplug/meditation bullet point.
So again: get some exercise in, meditate, do something that helps you remember why you wanted to be an entrepreneur, and make sure to spend time with your loved ones. These are all very simple but simple things are all we really need at the end of the day. More than likely, you’re already doing these things. But if you’re not, here’s your signal to call your friends and set up some time together. Even if you decide to link with them to hit the gym. After a long week of hard work you can use the stress release.
Remember, you came in this life for adventure. Paradise is nothing if you don’t take some time to relish in it.