Rethinking money, reducing unnecessary “noise” and nourishing yourself with water and exercise are all critical ingredients of a healthy founder’s life, according to serial entrepreneur and angel investor James Philip.
Writing for Thrive Global, Philip says it doesn’t matter whether a founder is at the start of a venture’s journey or in the midst of its success, life will always present opportunities for stress.
“It was once a startup where every minute was a white-knuckled grind as you burned through cash and wondered how you’d keep the place alive,” Philip says.
“The next thing you know, you have hundreds of customers and dozens of employees running around in a rhythmic dance of organised chaos … that is great, until you wake up at 2:00am every night knowing that everyone is counting on you to pay their mortgage, to feed their kids, and to save for retirement.”
In order to enjoy a successful entrepreneurial life, taking care of a business is just as important as taking care of personal health and relationships, says Philip.
In line with this, he says, founders should “learn to let things roll off your back” by tuning “out the noise and only [paying] attention to the things that really matter”.
This also means picking your fights.
“Remove yourself from conversations with people that are known to not gel with you,” he says.
Then, there’s the money problem.
“Money is always going to be an issue even when you have money,” he says.
“Staying up all night stressing about growth is a road to nowhere. If you must slow growth to have a peaceful mind, then do it.”
And finally, he says eating well and making time to exercise are critical to relieve stress. Plus a fun, high-impact workout like boxing is a great way to “release endorphins” naturally, says Philip.
“Keep chipping away at maintaining a positive state of mind and breaking the habits that can lead you down a dangerous road for your health, family, and business,” he says.
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Dinushi Dias is a freelance journalist and a former StartupSmart reporter and multimedia content producer. She is the co-founder of Melbourne-based production house Dinushi & Power.
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