Michael Hyatt

It's weird and it's counterintuitive, but as it turns out, if you're less stressed, if you're more healthy, you make better decisions. And a lot of times people think that they just got to grind and grind and grind. And there's been a lot of research around this. And I write a lot about this in my book, Free to Focus.

It's weird and it's counterintuitive, but as it turns out, if you're less stressed, if you're more healthy, you make better decisions. And a lot of times people think that they just got to grind and grind and grind. And there's been a lot of research around this. And I write a lot about this in my book, Free to Focus.

But there's been a lot of study about working beyond 55 hours and how the productivity goes south fast once you get past about 55 hours. And yet people always think they're the exception. You know, they think, well, I can work for 100 hours. I can work for 120 hours a week. And the truth is you can't. for a short amount of time.

But there's been a lot of study about working beyond 55 hours and how the productivity goes south fast once you get past about 55 hours. And yet people always think they're the exception. You know, they think, well, I can work for 100 hours. I can work for 120 hours a week. And the truth is you can't. for a short amount of time.

But what the research shows is you start really losing momentum and your health begins to deteriorate and your relationships deteriorate. And so those people don't perform well at work. Now, I didn't put all that together initially. I just knew that I was making better decisions. I was less stressed. I was calmer. I led better. You know how it is when you're tired and everybody becomes more stupid?

But what the research shows is you start really losing momentum and your health begins to deteriorate and your relationships deteriorate. And so those people don't perform well at work. Now, I didn't put all that together initially. I just knew that I was making better decisions. I was less stressed. I was calmer. I led better. You know how it is when you're tired and everybody becomes more stupid?

That's what it was. So yeah, you know, rest is a huge thing. Getting adequate rest. And play is everything.

That's what it was. So yeah, you know, rest is a huge thing. Getting adequate rest. And play is everything.

That's right.

That's right.

You know, one book I read back in those days early on in the early 2000s was a book called The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Lohr. He was a sports performance coach and he took those lessons and applied them to the corporate world. And he basically, the metaphor was you're a corporate athlete. Well, what do athletes know about high performance? Well, they know that rest is the foundation.

You know, one book I read back in those days early on in the early 2000s was a book called The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Lohr. He was a sports performance coach and he took those lessons and applied them to the corporate world. And he basically, the metaphor was you're a corporate athlete. Well, what do athletes know about high performance? Well, they know that rest is the foundation.

You know, the world's greatest players in any sport rest like nine hours a night because they realize how important that is for performance. They have a pregame ritual that sets them up for success. And you know, you always think of athletes that are partying on game night. No, not the good ones.

You know, the world's greatest players in any sport rest like nine hours a night because they realize how important that is for performance. They have a pregame ritual that sets them up for success. And you know, you always think of athletes that are partying on game night. No, not the good ones.

The good ones are to bed early, they're taking care of their nutrition, they're taking care of their stress levels through meditation or whatever, but they take care of the instrument of their self so that they can perform at the highest levels. And for whatever reason, we don't understand this in the corporate world. And so we grind people.

The good ones are to bed early, they're taking care of their nutrition, they're taking care of their stress levels through meditation or whatever, but they take care of the instrument of their self so that they can perform at the highest levels. And for whatever reason, we don't understand this in the corporate world. And so we grind people.

And Dr. Stephen Covey talked about the need to sharpen the saw. We just have people out there who continue to change the metaphor a little bit to an ax that are basically trying to cut wood with a dull ax. Everything takes longer. Everything is rougher. Everything's a mess. And so, you know, a well-rested person can accomplish in half the time what an exhausted person can do.

And Dr. Stephen Covey talked about the need to sharpen the saw. We just have people out there who continue to change the metaphor a little bit to an ax that are basically trying to cut wood with a dull ax. Everything takes longer. Everything is rougher. Everything's a mess. And so, you know, a well-rested person can accomplish in half the time what an exhausted person can do.

Yeah, and being a CEO is really challenging, as you know, particularly when I was running the company in 2005, became the CEO. We were still publicly held. We took the company private two years later. That was its own education. But, you know, I'm trying to do all of this like a baby CEO, just learning the ropes. And I've got all these challenges.

Yeah, and being a CEO is really challenging, as you know, particularly when I was running the company in 2005, became the CEO. We were still publicly held. We took the company private two years later. That was its own education. But, you know, I'm trying to do all of this like a baby CEO, just learning the ropes. And I've got all these challenges.