You’re probably very passionate about your business. You may be so passionate that you spend 9 to 12 hours a day working on it. But what about your health? Would you say you’re as passionate about your health as you are about your business? If you fall into the category of business owners who “don’t have enough time to exercise” it’s time to shift your mindset and start looking at how a healthy lifestyle directly impacts the success of your business. If you’re thinking, “There’s no connection,” we beg to differ.

One reason entrepreneurs like Tony Robbins, Grant Cardone, Richard Branson, and countless others work out so hard is because they know that staying in tip-top shape has a positive effect on their energy levels, their mental and physical stamina, and their business. When you’re in excellent health, it directly affects your mood, your stress levels, and even your morale. Because, when we look and feel good, it improves our self-confidence and even our business drive.

What would happen to your business if you had a heart attack? What if you developed Type 2 diabetes and went blind? These sound like extreme examples but they’re anything but. Just think, if your health declined your business would suffer due to brain fog, exhaustion, a lack of energy and focus. When you sometimes have to work 12-hour days, you need the energy and stamina to get things done. Being physically fit helps you do this.

Some of the most successful entrepreneurs work 10- or 12-hour days, but still they manage to eat right and squeeze in a one to two-hour workout five or six days a week. Many of them will credit their healthy lifestyle as the reason they have the energy to work at such an intense pace at the office. By eating clean (a diet rich in fresh produce, nuts and lean meats), and working out regularly, they are able to operate at peak performance. Because of the healthy lifestyle they live, they’ve conditioned their bodies to withstand the physical and mental demands of entrepreneurship.

Are you making some of these excuses? 

  • “I don’t have time for exercise.”
  • “I don’t have time to cook healthy meals.”
  • “When I get home, I’m too tired to work out.”
  • “My business is more important right now.”
  • “I’m a night owl and can’t get up early to work out.” 

If you’re making any of the above excuses, you want to shift your mindset. Your business is very important, but your health should come before your business. What use are you to your business if you’re in terrible health? If you’re not eating right and you’re too tired to exercise, realize your body needs some TLC. Sure, you can probably name some very successful business owners who are financially well-off, but if they have a poor diet and they don’t exercise, they’re miserable when it comes to their health and their overall well-being. Being 20-years-old and eating whatever you want is one thing. But being 40 or 50-years-old and eating like you did in college but without all the physical activity wreaks havoc on your body.

Eventually, poor lifestyle habits take a toll on all of us – physically and emotionally. Once these bad habits catch up to us (and they always do) in the form of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, achy joints, back and neck problems, diabetes and chronic disease, eventually these bad habits pour over into our businesses. If your health takes a sharp decline, your business could fail, which means you and your family’s ability to survive could be impacted.

Fortunately, there are small lifestyle changes you can start making today that can dramatically improve your health over the long-term while possibly adding years to your life. Here are a few changes to make today:

  1. Eliminate sugary drinks.

If you drink soda, sweet tea, juices and energy drinks, these are filled with empty calories. Eliminate sweet drinks from your diet and instead drink water (lots of it), coffee, and unsweetened tea. Be making this simple change, you could be cutting between 200 to 1,000 calories a day from your diet depending on how many sugary drinks you normally drink.

  1. Eat whole foods as much as possible.

When you switch from processed foods to whole, one-ingredient foods, it makes a huge difference in your energy levels, your overall health and your waistline. Eating “clean” doesn’t have to be complicated. Just try to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables, unprocessed meats, nuts and legumes. If it comes in a box, bag or a package, practice saying “No thanks” and reach for a piece of cheese or an apple instead – something healthy.

  1. Get in daily exercise.

If you can start hitting the gym for daily workouts, great, but if that seems like too much right now, start with baby steps. Take a jog at dawn, take an evening walk with your significant other or your dog, or invest in a treadmill and walk on it every morning as you catchup on your emails or watch the morning news. If your favorite way to unwind is to watch television at night, do it while walking on the treadmill or while using an elliptical machine. The whole idea is to get yourself moving.

  1. Ask for help from the pros.

If you’re serious about getting into the best shape of your life, consider getting help from the pros. We’re talking about hiring a personal trainer and a nutritionist. These experts can educate you, cheer you on and measure your progress. In other words, they can shorten the learning curve, catapulting you to success.

With Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season around the corner, there’s going to be a lot of temptation, but that doesn’t mean you have to gain the traditional 10 pounds and embark on a healthy lifestyle after January 1st. Quite the contrary – there’s lots that you can do starting today to improve your health, such as eliminating soda or “pop” and increasing your intake of fresh vegetables. Remember, health is wealth. Start taking proper care of yourself so you can take care of your business. In turn, your business will take great care of you and your family.

Two other important ways to avoid business owner burnout are to 1) get sufficient rest (7 to 8 hours each night) and 2) hire a business coach! Hiring a business coach does for your business what hiring a personal trainer does for your health. It shortens the learning curve so you can enjoy success much sooner than if you tried to do everything by yourself.

At AdviCoach, we know small business owners, their pain points and what makes them tick. If you want your business to thrive, contact us to see what our coaches can do for you.