I know it’s popular to think you need a holiday, time off work to relax and unplug. In reality, though, most entrepreneurs aren’t in a position to take a vacation long enough to really unwind anyway. And while a vacation can feel like a relief, the point of getting away is to rejuvenate not just the body but also the purpose.
I believe that when you are full throttle obsessed with achieving your full potential and making a significant contribution to the world, you will naturally
regenerate and create energy.
I know for a fact I’ve been on holidays that took more energy than work itself. How much golf can you really play? How much time can you spend in the sun? How much time can you spend clubbing?
People are holiday starved because they believe “time off” is going to renew them. The only thing that is going to ultimately renew you is getting re-energized with your purpose. This is why so many successful people do not see work as work, instead they see it as an interesting, challenging and productive way of life.
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I also think free time is one of the bigger threats to your success. I have a saying: “If you want to dwell in failure, have long empty breaks in your calendar.” Taking time off early in my entrepreneurial career almost derailed my life. When I had steeled my determination to go out on my own, I made the mistake of, once again, listening to friends who said I’d been working too hard. They said that a break would be good for me. So instead of running head first into the new venture and new challenges, I slowed down. I got a new place to live. I spent $2,090 on a new computer.
I would go to my little modest office and spend all day planning, organizing, writing, and learning how to use my new computer and online business solutions. I took my time. When I say “took my time,” I mean that one year went by and I hadn’t even started doing any real work. One day I called my friend at work to see how he was doing. “Trevor,” he said, “quit calling me at work during the week. I have a business to run. When are you going to start calling on clients and building your business?” That cut me deep, because it was the truth.
I had traded in the obsession I thought I was chasing for hanging out with “friends” for movies, soccer, the club, and weekend barbecues, and too much introspection. Hell, I had spent all this time learning how to use the customer-information filing system on my computer — and didn’t have any customers to put into the data file! When my friend was unexpectedly frank with me, it broke through and gave me the inspiration I needed to put my head down and go into complete immersion and total obsession with my new company.
The following Monday I disconnected my satellite T.V. service and other distractions, ready to recommit to my business plan.
I am not happy unless I am working. That doesn’t make me defective. It makes me productive. I am simply happiest when I am most productive. You might be too, regardless of what others say. They don’t know what you want. Don’t let someone else tell you how you should feel about your determination to be successful. And quit apologizing to or making sense of those who say, “I just want a simple life”.