Burned Out Business Owners: Here’s Why You Hit Your Max

Hustle culture.

It’s ingrained in us. You have to work yourself to death to get anywhere.

Right? Push yourself to the brink of exhaustion day in and day out. That’s the sage advice we’ve known for our entire lives.

But, is that course of action sustainable? Further, is it that mentality — and the way of life it encourages — even healthy?

Let's connect over on LinkedIn where I discuss how to Beat Business Burnout.

Overwork glory

I never wanted to be the guy that didn’t have free time. Not a chance.

No, I was the one that debated leaving a job because they made me miss my favorite team’s game. Ok, sure, that might be a bit immature. Admittedly, it is.

However, it was also a mantra I never forgot. It stuck with me.

I was NOT a company man. I was a family man – before I even had one.

There is no glory in overworking yourself to the brink of illness. If you suddenly can’t work for a time because you’ve made yourself ill working too much – where is the sanity there?

What’s more – if you have a partner, spouse, and children – you should not be neglecting your relationship duties for work. I’m sorry. That’s a hard pass for me.

Under intense pressure

I tend to put a ton of pressure on myself to meet lofty financial goals and lifestyle goals. This focus isn’t even healthy – let alone the work ethic I must have to achieve them.

Rather than embrace only material wealth, I’m learning to embrace relationships and the wealth of family life. It’s not easy. It’s instilled in me to “go after the money” – but I always have my conscience calling me back to family.

It’s my true purpose.

Delegate much?

I’ve avoided delegation for the longest time.

My mentality was always that ‘I could do it better’ or ‘I rather not have to add managing others to my work load.’

Ceasing to delegate is very much to our detriment as entrepreneurs and professionals. It hinders any kind of substantial, compounding progress. Even more, it puts us in a work process that’s not sustainable.

To achieve greatness and lead others, we must learn to delegate. That goes for us solopreneurs. You can delegate things to a virtual assistant or productivity app. With AI, this will only get easier.

If you have a co-founder or co-founders, delegate the tasks you each do the best. This enhances efficiency and allows you to focus on true long-term growth.

What’s next?

You need to find the work-life balance that works for you. There’s no one-size-fits all approach to this.

My “why” is being there for my family. Yours might be something completely different. That’s OK.

The point is not burning yourself out in pursuit of the wrong ideals. Monetary wealth is nice – we all want it – but a more fulfilling pursuit will likely give more meaning to all your effort.

I wish you all the best of luck in your goals. Connect with me on LinkedIn and FounderReports.com.