How to Work Less & Get More DONE

Creativity is like a battery. Have you ever felt really charged and inspired and you couldn't wait to smash it? And then there were other days where it felt like no matter how much brain power you put into something, you just couldn't figure out the solution to that problem or the hook for that marketing angle or the book you wanted to write or the blog post that you wanted to write.

I'm midway through an ATV trip here in Costa Rica and I am here because I have been dealing with almost medical burnout. I received some blood tests that suggested that I had been working so hard and my stress hormones were so high that it was actually causing some problems and I needed to get away from it in order to recharge batteries. Not only recharge batteries, but recharge creativity. Something interesting happens when you are an entrepreneur or you are a high achiever, especially when you are paid to be creative or you are paid to produce is that we're rewarded for certain activities, but if we don't stop doing those activities, we can't do them anymore. It's like the battery completely runs out. I think thoughts come from two things. Our thoughts and the way that we think about things comes from the inputs that we put into our brain and the people that we hang around with. But inspiration and creativity almost comes from the ether. It comes from being so charged and so primed and ready for that moment of inspir inspiration that it just naturally happens. And we so often try to burn the candle at both ends and then wonder why we can't come up with good pieces of work or art to create. It's kind of the curse of being a high achiever or a creative person is that we earn our living and we keep. We are able to do what we're doing by being rewarded for it. But if we don't stop every once in a while, we can't do it anymore. I have a mentor. His name is Dan Sullivan. And Dan says if you are feeling overwhelmed, like there is too much to do, the very first thing you need to do is go on vacation.

Because once you come back to that, things don't see. First of all you see what is important and then you don't feel this heaviness around each piece anymore. But when you're in that state of being completely depleted, every little ounce feels like it requires so much energy for us to. While I was on this ATV trek, I was thinking about my business and all of a sudden the answers to the questions that I had been trying to figure out in my head were just popping. And that's because creativity usually doesn't come from the front of the mind. Creativity comes from higher levels of the mind. It comes from the midbrain. So when we're in that constant fight or flight mode and we're trying to figure things out, that's really, really good for narrowing our focus and being able to attack to do list. But it comes from the midbrain when that front prefrontal cortex silences and shuts down and says, I'm safe, I'm having fun. That's when the creativity can flow. That's when you feel inspired and creative. So if you're like me and you are a high achiever who is constantly at it, I'd recommend two things. One, step away from the computer and go do something that gets you out of work mode. For me, that is softball, travel, and cooking. Those are like the three things that get me out of work mode. And number two, strategically put yourself in situations around other high achievers who will change your thoughts, who will change the way that you view things if you combine those two things. That one, two punch is a magic formula for thinking big and staying creative. And one of my mentors, Peter Shallard, says that is when your job as an entrepreneur is complete. Because your own job as an entrepreneur is to put yourself in a situation where work is easy. And we only do that by staying charged and staying inspired. And that comes from what you feed your mind and silencing that fight or flight so that you can be creative. That's how you maximize your output as an entrepreneur, not just through hustle.