Healthy Leaders Are Great Leaders

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A healthy business starts with a healthy entrepreneur.  To survive the demands of running a business or even part of a larger organization requires a physically strong person to stay in the game for the long run.  Here are some tips.

Just get started.  Make exercise a priority by setting realistic goals that a specific.  Start slowing to avoid injury and remember “slow and steady wins the race” says the turtle.

Do it right.  Know your limits and what exercises are the right fit for you.  Consult your physician to get onto a program.  Engage in the aerobic activity that will raise the heart rate.  Even 20 minutes can have a long-term effect.

Stick with it.  After setting your goals, tell it to as many people as possible.  They will help be your accountability team.   Visualize success- it might look like climbing to the top of a mountain to see a view stretching for miles.  Most of all make it fun!

Here’s to your health!

Mike

Leadership and Sleep

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In this age of instant access via phone, text message, LinkedIn, twitter, and other social media platforms, we find ourselves in a 24/7 inundation of information and time constraints.  It leaves less time for ourselves.  How we sometimes get around it is by sleeping less.  A Harvard Business Review study showed that 43% of business leaders indicated that they don’t get enough sleep.  A lack of sleep has shown decreases on executive function capabilities.  This is the area where we process problem solving, reasoning and organizing.

Sleep deprivation has been proven to impair our ability to focus attentively on issues or problems that we want to solve.  A study showed that a person who only slept 4 to 5 hours a night had the same performance as someone with a blood alcohol level of 0.1% which is the definition of drunk in the U.S.

Some of our brightest and best minds of the past century (Churchill, Da Vinci, Franklin…) maintained how it important it was for them to get adequate sleep.  In fact, some had a routine of taking a nap in the afternoon from anywhere between 20 minutes to 45 minutes.

Getting adequate sleep each night, some say between 7 to 8 hours, can be the difference between effective leadership and your cognitive ability to make the right decisions for your organization.

To your health!

Mike

How Is Your 2nd Half Shaping Up?

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I read a book a while back titled Halftime by Bob Buford.  It spoke to me because at the time I was turning 50, and the book outlined the difference between the first half of our life versus the second half. 

Now that I am further along in my second half, I find myself reading articles about how to stay vibrant physically and mentally.  It’s been said that “health equals wealth” and my intention is to be on the journey with continued health as a focus. 

Below are six habits that resonated with me from a recent article on this topic.

Mindset of Abundance

Worrying about money at any age is not fun.  I sure don’t want to worry about it in my older years.  The abundant mindset was a game changer for me, and it not only included financial, but also spiritual, work, and relationships.  The way I practice this comes with making sure any business opportunity is sourced with the right resource.  If a referral comes to me, but it’s not quite the right fit or maybe my bandwidth is such that I couldn’t meet the client needs properly, then I actively help them find the right resource.  Even if that means referring them to a competitor.  It’s the “pay it forward mentality” and the idea that there is an abundance of work out there for everyone, and what comes around goes around.

Take Care of Your Spirit

Do you ever feel not present, or your mind is racing all over the place?  Or someone asks you a question, but you really didn’t hear it, and you must ask them to repeat it again?  I have been working on a practice where I focus on my “active listening” skills and intentional mindful exercises to be present.  It is not easy, but in today’s fast paced world, it is necessary.  As I age, I am realizing that spiritual fitness is just as important as physical fitness.

Goals

I have generally had goals most of my life.  Not always written down, but goals that helped me go to where I wanted to take my career.  Eventually as I got older, I began to write down my goals and reviewing intermittently during the year.  I have kept copies for the past 15 years and it’s amazing what I accomplished towards the life that I wanted to lead.  The goals kept me focused, engaged, and motivated.  Where I needed to pivot, I did.  Some goals changed or were dropped, but I had a goal because I wanted to be “intentional” with my life and business.

Take Care Physically

When I was young, I took a lot for granted and didn’t feel that I would ever wear out.  I pushed myself physically as an athlete.  Well, I did better than some…my weight is still good, nutrition is on solid ground (except for the chocolate that I enjoy), and my strength is rebounding.  Get a good night sleep.  It is the most underrated aspect of recovery that is necessary for us to continue running the marathon of life.

Do Work You Enjoy

Enjoying what you do as a profession nourishes the body and your spirit.  Long-term health and happiness are a function of a healthy and satisfied mind, and work that fulfills these attributes will give you inner satisfaction.

Choose Your Relationships Wisely

The emotions of others are contagious.  Be mindful of who you hang out with because as Jim Rohn once said, “You are the 5 people you hang around the most with.”  If you are not hanging around with people who you want to emulate, then time for a reset.

Cheers to your 2nd half!

Mike

Are You Living in the Blue Zone?

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I recently completed reading a book titled The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner. The book is about the research Buettner did around longevity and how certain areas around the globe have a much higher density of people over the age of 100. He teamed with researchers from different countries and the National Geographic to study their lifestyles and habits. He was looking for unique traits or commonalities for why some areas exhibited a higher life expectancy compared to other regions of the world.

Habits for a long life

Here are some highlights that I gathered from the book and other articles around it for living a life in the “Blue Zone”:

  • Move Throughout the Day Naturally. The Blue Zone centenarians move every day. It’s the moderate exercise of working in the garden, walking through the pastures, and walking around town to see friends and family. They are not running marathons or pumping iron to bulk up. They are doing moderate work by lifting things or weights and walking a lot.
  • Eat in Moderation. They don’t eat in excess and a lot of veggies and fruits are in their diet. The Okinawans have a saying. “Hara hachi bu,” which means to eat until you are 80% full. This helps them eat intentionally in a moderate manner. I have adopted the mostly veggie and fruit intake with meat and fish interspersed during a week. I have come to really enjoy a nice salad at the end of a day.
  • Socialize and Belong. These Blue Zone centenarians have an emphasis on family, friends, and faith that underpins their daily life. They stay in touch with friends and socialize on a regular basis in person. They find purpose with their family and stay active in their kids’ family life.
  • Manage Stress. Saying “No” to things that don’t serve them is an attribute that helps centenarians have a lower level of stress. They relax with naps, prayer, or a happy hour. Getting a good night’s rest is one characteristic that seemed to be common among these centenarians. Even if some get up at the crack of dawn, they still managed to get 7-8 hours of sleep per day.
  • Choose the Right Tribe. They surround themselves with people of similar values and practices in their everyday lives. Having a group of people you can regularly socialize with creates the connection that is needed as part of our biological make-up.

These are just a few take-away concepts from the book. I recommend reading or listening to the book yourself so you can use those habits that resonate with you to live a Blue Zone life.