Preserving our good health should be our number one priority to becoming a successful entrepreneur or business owner.  Many of my past engagements with my students and clients have shown that our zeal for achieving our vision leaves little to chance for our balanced-life.  What may not start as an intention may sneak up on a busy day-to-day business owner who skipped a breakfast or lunch; or decided to work 70-80 hours a week to complete an assignment or project. After a season of this routine, it becomes acceptable to keep your work or business in front of everything else. Understand the importance of your business as the revenue generator and understand the importance of your good health and availability to steward that vision to success after success.

Here are five recommendations to promote and to safe-guard your good health as an entrepreneur:

1. Make certain a nutritious breakfast or lunch are included as part of your daily routine or regimen. take time to plan and choose the healthiest selections of food that you like that also promote energy and vitality. Drink water throughout the day. At the end of the day, share dinner with family, friends or associates and wind down from the days rigor of activity.
2. When at home, resist the temptation to work. If you have a new idea, just journal your notes and review them first thing the next day of business. Of course there are exceptions, however working-after-working hours should be the exception and not the rule. Make certain you get adequate sleep and are rested for the next days challenges.
3. Plan time to work-out or exercise regularly. Bicycling, jogging, walking, swimming or a membership at a fitness center gives relief, relaxation and a chance for rejuvenation. Physical activity is good for the body and mind. An occasional visit to the spa will do wonders for relieving stress from business vigor.
4. Schedule activities with family and friends to give opportunity to engage with others without discussing business. Downtime could be any of a variety of activities, including: live sports events, theatre productions, music concerts, amusement parks. Simple visits to the park or beach or zoo or outdoor activities also create great balance. Don't forget to schedule special weekend getaways or vacations when appropriate.
5. Read at least a book a month. Now you have the to opportunity to choose to read for pure enjoyment or to read about how you may improve your business or gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. Whatever you read, make sure it;s fun and not laborious.

These are just a few recommendations to help promote health and wellness for business owners. Would love to hear from you to share what works for you. Protecting your health is a reasonable investment for anyone who plans for success. Stay healthy and fit!

Entrepreneurship is a courageous journey with high risks and opportunities for great rewards. What I have learned through many years of observation and experience of working with numerous talented and ingenious entrepreneurs is that you must take inventory of your assets. Sometimes an oversight but you must always begin with yourself. You are your greatest and most important asset! You are especially important when you are at the beginning of the formation and building of a new vision and business operation. You serve as the foundational asset. Nothing can be accomplished if you are without good health and a sound mind. It's very important to strike a productive balance between your worklife as a business owner and your private family life or personal down-time.

Entrepreneurship can become all-consuming; that's the nature of being the visionary. However, to prevent crash-and-burn or cause burnout without the desired success achieved, I always recommend to those entrepreneurs that I serve to be mindful of the following:

Your Personal Assets

1. Good Health

2. Sound Mind (Ability to Focus)

3. Brain Power (Knowledge)

4. Talents (Natural & Trained)

5. Energy (Life Force)

6. Skill-Set (Transferrable + Experience) 

Once we understand and realize that we are our first and foremost asset, then we better understand how we may invest in ourselves in a way that demonstrates to others that they will become attracted enough to make an investment in an emerging vision.

1. I believe Good Health is number one because it's very difficult to accomplish anything when your health is challenged regularly. Though many people overcome health challenges and achieve, there's always more opportunity to achieve even more with good health. So, protect your health by treating yourself well, by eating well; by getting sufficient rest and by scheduling downtime to rejuvenate and generate new energy to be productive.

2. Having a Sound Mind is also essential to success. Your ability to focus on the task(s) at hand to see things through to completion allows you to progress and to see yourself progressing. A sound mind means having a mind uncluttered with distractions or disruptive things which causes you to get sidetracked from the prize. Being organized helps to keep a sound mind and a peaceful mind; enough to accommodate the unexpected things when they show up. Also, participating in those things that you love away from worklife contribute to a sound mind.

3. Brain Power (or Idea / Knowledge Power) is the currency of the 21st Century. Your capacity to captivate your ideas and to translate those ideas into something tangible or intangible which consumers identify as a means of making life easier or more convenient is the basis for a business. Your ability to repeat that process increases your potential for multiple revenue streams and business continuity.

4. Your Talents are those things that you have a special ability to do something well. They are easy for you to do or natural for you to learn. It's always easier to do something when you already have an ability have knowledge or are passionate about. Once you have harnessed this talent you are on a pathway to success. When you are paid to use your talents; that's success because you're being paid to do something you love. That's not work; it's joy!

5. Energy is the combination of Time and Life Force Mental-Physical Effort required to produce something from nothing. That's the process of actually getting your idea or vision out of your head and creating that tangible / intangible thing that someone can see, taste, touch, hear or experience. Your ability to to be active and to command that energy and harness it is the main reason you can recruit and build a team to help you to create. Your enthusiasm and effort becomes contagious and your team are the first ones to buy into your dream or vision to deliver that product or service to market.

6. Your Skill-Set is your ability to use technical know-how, experience and social interpersonal communication which are transferrable into your business. This is a learned power and should become a lifelong commitment to command a competitive advantage in the marketplace and to continue to demonstrate expertise and leadership.

It's essential to invest in yourself and your assets to increase your value and the value of your company. Next time, we'll continue the conversation regarding a discussion of the benefits to investing in yourself and your business.

Frank Stokes

Founder

Business Entrepreneurial Stewardship Training