People ask me all the time, what is my morning routine?
Well, it starts every day in the gym and here’s why…
I believe fitness is just a prerequisite for a business owner not only to be successful because, of course, you can be successful in business without being in the gym or without being fit.
I just think it makes it so much harder.
One of the biggest challenges in business is the stamina, the energy that is required just to deal with the crap, deal with the hassle.
Dealing with the day-to-day things. It just made sense to me that if somebody is a bit fitter than me, they’re going to be able to get through the day easier.
They’re going to make better decisions.
I’ve had it now in my routine for probably five or six years.
I was definitely not a morning person and somehow turned that around.
I used to do my fitness on the night. I used to tell myself that that was the best time of the day.
But since I really got into business, the clarity that I get from running, from being on a treadmill or on a cross trainer, or just generally working out on a morning, even if it’s just for 20 minutes.
The phrase that I use is 20 minutes for the rest of the day. It just set me up for the day.
And I do, I think it’s really important from a physical point of view but there’s also a second type of fitness that I think a business owner needs, and that’s the emotional fitness.
I don’t think too many people talk about that. It’s very easy to think about physical fitness.
The gym, you come in here, you see guys and gals get, they get fit, they get pumped, they get ripped, whatever you call it, which is all fantastic.
And definitely a much-needed thing for a business owner to be able to keep up with all of the challenges and just the general pace.
You know, from my point of view, I’m traveling around the world.
I’m in different beds, I’m in different time zones.
I’m in some hotels with good air con, from hotels with not so good air con.
I need to be able to to be fit, to be able to get up today and do a full day of work really.
The second type is this emotional phase, and that’s the ability to deal with things.
How quickly can you deal with setbacks?
How quickly can you deal with how you feel about things?
And again, I don’t think enough people factor this in, as a business owner.
If I’ve got emotional stamina and fitness and I can deal with the lows and I can deal with the challenges and how I feel about the challenges, then ultimately it’s going to make a big difference to my life at the other end that, if something happens today and I don’t really like it, obviously it’s going to change how I feel and I find that that’s what keeps people stuck.
They’re busy thinking about how they feel, about how they feel about something.
And if you can get over that loop as fast as possible, and that’s that emotional fitness that I talk about, if you can be not only physically fit, but you can be emotionally fit as well and you can deal with how you feel about things and you know your mind and very, very quickly change your biology, chemistry, whatever it is, change your thoughts as quickly as possible.
Stop the loops that keep you stuck in thinking about the problem and get over as fast as possible.
I think that’s the ultimate differentiator.
I think being in the gym and being physically fit is an absolute prerequisite for a business owner.
It’s not a knockout by any means.
There’s a lot of unfit, very rich business owners, but it doesn’t mean that they’re enjoying the journey.
And secondly, it’s the emotional side of it.
If you’re emotionally fit and you can deal with the marathon that is business and the challenges and the setbacks in that people are going to lie to you, they’re going to cheat, they’re going to let you down, they’re going to deceive you, they’re going to do all sorts of things.
And that’s probably just yourself, by the way.
You’re going to be much better off as a business owner.
So for me, being in the gym, being physically fit, being mentally fit, always sharpening in my skills mentally, reading books, just being at the top of my game and as energetic as I possibly can is my goal as I start the day, because I think that’s my ultimate secret weapon, is to move through the day with energy, with emotional fitness.
I have no idea what’s going to happen in the next 24 hours, but if I’m physically able to deal with it and I’m emotionally able to deal with it, it gives me a very, very good chance of a really, really good day.
Watch as I travel to Cleveland to meet Dan Kennedy in this FULL vlog on my YouTube Channel.
Or listen to it on my podcast, here.