How to Overcome Burnout and Build a Successful Business

How to Overcome Burnout and Build a Successful Business

• Don't believe in journaling? This article will show you how journaling can help you improve your sleep, focus, and creativity.

• Ready to make a change in your life? Read this article to learn the lessons I've learned from my own experiences and how you can avoid burnout and build a successful business.

• Think you have to do it all alone to be successful? This article will show you why self-made is a myth and how building a team is essential for success.

2015 was a rough time for me.  I have been a business owner for about 13 years. It was more of owning a job than a business owner.  I was at the point of burnout.  I believe so many people have reached the point of burnout.  Especially in today’s seemingly always-on culture.

How did I know I was in burnout?  I had no drive to grind each day.  I was just going through the motions of my daily routine. There is one particular thing I noticed.

My ideas stopped.

I mean, I could not force myself to come up with an idea.  I would have ideas on how to get new business, and how to improve a process or project we were working on.  Or a completely different business idea. Some of them would have been life changing.

Here is one I didn’t pursue. 

My wife was a teacher, and she spent an insane amount of time keeping track of grades and creating report cards. Everything had to be done in triplicate, and I thought to myself, Software can really make this process more efficient.

I didn't do anything with this idea at first, but eventually, I talked to the owners of the charter school where my wife worked. They weren’t keen on the idea, though. Apparently, the school had had bad experiences with software projects in the past, and he didn't want to risk it.

I decided not to push the issue. I felt like it might be a distraction from the work I was doing, which, in hindsight, was a business that was destined to set me up for burnout. How do I know it was a good idea?  About 3 years later, requests for proposals for a software system to help teachers manage grades were popping up all over the place. The kicker, they wanted the software to exist already. It was too late.

I recently watched a video of Jim Rohn.  He said the average person comes up with a million dollar idea at least twice a year.  You just have to act on it.

What is the lesson?  Good ideas are not rare.  Taking action on an idea is rare.

What did I learn from this time?

There are a few things:

Restoration is just as important as the grind

I didn’t really give myself time off.  Time off was money lost in my view. There are moments when action is required.  A lot of action, with some sleepless nights, and long days of grinding to get things done.  Because action is essential to growth. Reading the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It is misleading.  It is a book of Action.  Maybe it is about thoughtful action. Not doing things to be doing things but doing things with a plan.

Self-Made is Myth

I was the owner, project manager, head salesperson, and bookkeeper of my business. It was more challenging back then, but now we know that building a business or doing anything significant is a team sport. Being self-made doesn't mean doing it alone.

Most self-made people have a few things in common: a mentor who believes in them, an investor who believes in them, a partner who is good at something they're not, and a support network outside of work, such as a supportive spouse or parents. Some people make it without these things, but most have some combination of them helping them along the way.

Access to low-cost help is more available than ever before. It's worth considering taking a temporary pay cut to get help because when done correctly, your business will grow.

Reflection is the best teacher

Having a process to capture the ideas and reflect on them is essential. It is important to have a process, to capture ideas, thoughts, nagging problems, emotions, and feelings. I personally use journaling.  I did not believe in journaling. However, when I noticed my entrepreneurial spirit was waking up again.  I decided to truly study successful people and what they do. I found many of them in my journal.  I found someone that explains how to journal, with a morning and night routine. I started doing it.  Just as important as journaling, is the process of reviewing journals over time. 

Here are some of the things I noticed when I started journaling regularly.

• Better Sleep –   There is something about writing down your thoughts that allows your brain to relax and do what it is meant to do at night. Prepare your body to be better tomorrow.

• Better Focus – I’m able to focus more during tasks.  I’m sure there is something scientific that explains it.  I just know, I’m more focused.

• Better Ideas – sometimes I get pieces of ideas over time.  Reflecting on the various pieces creates better ideas. 

This article is a result of various thoughts I’ve journaled over the past 12 months.

I hope this article helps you if you are feeling overwhelmed or on the verge of burnout.  Just remember, you don’t have to do this alone.

If you are looking for a way to reignite your passion, take our free Success Path Assessment.

This assessment will help you identify your strengths and create a plan to move toward building your dream life.

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Until Next Time…