Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash
In a sense, entrepreneurship requires you to have a split personality. On one hand, entrepreneurship is very gratifying. On the other, it’s the most-difficult of all undertakings.
The key is to manage the highs and lows synonymous with a dynamic roller-coaster ride. You must stay on an even keel, despite all the negative surprises.
How to do it? Develop habits that make certain your attitude is contagious – an attitude worth catching — to prepare for daily success.
Winning entrepreneurs have five daily habits:
1. Start your day with an empty canvas
You might not have the talents of Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh from the 1800s. As an entrepreneur, you’re more like Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance-era painter, scientist, and inventor.
He’s best known for painting the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, which brings us to an important daily spiritual habit of clearing your mind to avoid stress.
Not to sound like a mystic nut, spirituality is important. That means starting your day with reading to prepare you for practicing mindfulness and your entrepreneurial pursuits.
Yoga works for a lot of people.
Many people read their personal affirmations, the Bible, and/or self-help literature.
Then, they’re ready to meditate or pray with a focus on gratitude for what is working well. In this way, their canvas calms them with focus and prepares them for significant achievements.
2. Exercise
It’s important to start your day early with an accomplishment by exercising. It’s great for a healthy mind and body.
Your options are many:
Go for a walk or hike. If you have a dog, both of you will have fun. There’s nothing like having fun with your best, loyal friend early each morning.
Or, if you’re a runner, go for a run every other day and pump iron in between. (I have a media associate in his 60s, an avid golfer, who uses exercise equipment and does 10 wind sprints. He’s the one of the happiest and highest-performing persons I know.)
Take advantage of your exercise equipment or go to the gym.
The most successful periods in my life coincide with daily meditation and exercise. By doing it early, you’ve experienced a personal achievement that gets your day off on the right footing.
The key is to manage the highs and lows synonymous with a dynamic roller-coaster ride. You must stay on an even keel, despite all the negative surprises.
3. Care for your partner and family
This is vital for a work-life balance. Family time is important, and it requires discipline. Allow time for discussions about your family-member requests for rides or other matters.
Make sure each person feels your attention and any necessary emotional validation. Especially if you’re home-based, though, be sure to set boundaries.
4. Review your day
By late Thursday, you should know your plans for the following week. But each morning, review your plans for that day.
Priorities change. The best defense is often the best offense. So go on offense. Plan to tackle the most challenging task first. The rest of the day will seem like a walk in the park.
5. Read what’s important
Scan your favorite informative news sites, especially the ones that pertain to your industry and clients. Check your e-mails and prioritize them A, B or C because they can be a leading cause of stress and time-wasting. Deal with the e-mails that require immediate action. Set aside the ones that can wait.
Look for new contacts and opportunities.
Prioritize your gratitude – send a positive hand-written note or e-mail to a customer, employee or someone in your network.
From the Coach’s Corner, here is related information:
24 Tips to Reduce Stress, Work Happier for Top Performance — You have a 35 percent better chance of living longer if you feel happy. That’s the upshot from a 2011 British study that links feelings of happiness to longevity. So the emphasis is on feelings. Makes sense, right? The study acknowledges some people inherently feel happy.
7 Morale-Boosters for Hope to Keep Your Business Alive — As you no doubt know, keeping a business going saps a lot of energy. Perseverance is key but it’s not possible unless you have hope. Here’s how to generate hope for success.
Communication – You Can Train Yourself to Stop Stressing — It’s OK to be nervous before giving a speech or when you’re entering an important round of negotiations. Feeling pressure is one thing but allowing it to morph into stress and tension is another. When you allow this to happen, in a sense, you’re giving away your personal power, which inhibits your performance.
Checklist to Build Self Confidence for Career Success — Everybody occasionally struggles with self confidence. But some people have continuing low self esteem. Their lack of confidence serves as a big obstacle.
The 3 A’s to Survive an Emotional Business Loss — Business executive: If you’re distraught over business conditions, my condolences as you’re not alone. Lots of businesses have financial issues. The good news is you can survive an emotional business loss with the three A’s.
“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.”
-Sydney J. Harris
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