What is Moderation?
Moderation is the quality of being moderate; restraint; avoidance of extremes or excesses; temperance; to have self-control.
Why is this quality so important for young entrepreneurs?
Why is moderation important for all Entrepreneurs?
Becoming an entrepreneur is a choice that requires a great deal of stamina and persistence. You will be pursuing a dream, a business, and a field of endeavor that you love.
This effort is always passionate because of your love for it, and your burning desire to succeed. It can also be your only real means of providing for your family, loved ones, and yourself. An entrepreneur is definitely “all-in” and this becomes a very serious game, … very quickly!
Regular 9 to 5ers are always able to fall back on that weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly paycheck.
When you lay down the gauntlet, and decide to fend for yourself, the game changes dramatically. This is now your only means of “bread-winning”.
If you are learning to become an entrepreneur you are working in your business and pursuing this goal with every bit of body and soul that you can muster.
You find out very quickly that the days fly by and pretty soon you collapse from exhaustion and lack of energy. You realize that you haven’t eaten all day, you haven’t answered your family’s phone calls and that everyone in the office, or on the job site, has gone home.
This is one of the main reasons for the high failure rate.
Paradoxically, it is also the reason why the rewards can be so huge!
What must you do to resolve this dilemma?
Your day should begin with a set of goals that you hope to achieve. As a matter of fact, the successful entrepreneur began today, … yesterday evening.
Let me explain this more clearly.
At the end of this day, perhaps in the evening, sit down in a quiet place and plan the activities, meetings, and other such stuff that you hope to accomplish tomorrow. This should begin with a general list of things that need to be done to advance your business objectives.
In the beginning, on your first few attempts, list the first 10 items that come to mind and … Stop!
Do not write a list of all the things that pop up in your mind, that you feel need to be addressed with regards to your business. All these items could take a lifetime to accomplish, and tomorrow has only 24 hours.
From this list of 10, … select the 3 most important tasks that you feel must be completed tomorrow.
That’s it!
That is enough to begin planning for tomorrow.
Once you have selected these 3 tasks, explore the ways and means necessary to complete them and let your subconscious mind take over from there!
Perhaps you’re thinking, … only 3, … yes, 3 are enough. Complete these first! You can start with the hardest, the easiest, or the one in the middle. Focus on these and do not waste your time running around like the proverbial headless chicken.
Now close your daily programmer, your agenda, book, scribbler or whatever you have chosen to call it.
Use this closing as a symbolic “shut down” for today’s business activities.
Forget all business activities! … the world will not end and all of this will be there tomorrow, waiting anxiously for your arrival.
How to reset yourself on this new path!
After you have “shut down” your business activities for the day, turn your attention to your family.
If you have a wife and children this is your next stop.
Do not overwhelm your family with your boundless energy and business problems. Try to slow down your RPM’s, pump your brakes, and adjust your breathing to a more quiet and relaxed rhythm.
Appreciate that they are a very important part of your life and that they will be there to support you and love you if this “business model/perhaps crazy idea” is not successful.
If you do not have a family, spend this time with friends in an easy relaxed atmosphere.
Remember that only a very small percentage of new businesses succeed and that the failure rate is very high. Of course, this only stimulates an entrepreneur, and I can hear you say, “oh yeah! … bring it”.
Well, bring it, they will. First thing in the morning, you will out in the great big world, doing it all over again.
This is why you must master moderation and formulate a plan for the long term.
A Physical Exercise Program
This is a must have to carry in your arsenal. Best time for this will vary from person to person, but it should never be neglected.
It should include stretching exercises for warmup, strength training, and a cardio component. Do not overtrain. You are not here to climb Mount Everest or run the Boston Marathon.
This physical exercise program can be done at any time during the day. Early risers and morning-people, like myself, do it early, top it off with a good shower and are freshly set to meet the new day.
It can be used to break up your day. Doing your physical exercise program at midday can help break up your day but its main disadvantage is the fact that it removes this important time-window from your appointment schedule.
Business lunches have become an important means of meeting people to discuss contracts and form associations.
Your workout can also be done in the evening and can be an excellent way to close your day.
The time slot you use for this may be determined by the business you are in or by your personal preference.
A Reading or Educational Program
This is self-explanatory and is another fine technique to slow you down and avoid burnout, not to mention all the knowledge that you can acquire.
NO! … It should not be business related, … that can be done tomorrow, at the office.
Remember, you closed the book on that minutes ago!
What Results can you Expect?
If you work hard all day, rest, exercise, and spend quality time with your family and friends, it will be very difficult to deny you success.
Needless to say that success carries a different meaning for everyone but rest assured that you will be able to provide for your family and gain much greater control over your life.
Comments, Questions, and Suggestions
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions on why moderation is very important for young entrepreneurs, and everyone in general, please do not hesitate to leave them in the space below.
Moderate these comments so that they are not too long or too short!
I am certain that after you have reviewed these concepts, you will become more effective and more efficient in your daily activities.
You will be well on your way to becoming a better Entrepreneur!
Thanks Paul. Good information here in achieving and maintaining the entrepreneurs mindset. Shutting down business activities can be hard because the entrepreneur’s mind is always ticking over. Writing things down is good advise, that way you don’t forget anything and it helps you to do other things. Great website with lots of good info for budding business people.
Thanks, Dave.
Life moves at such a rapid pace that we are often overwhelmed. We feel compelled to keep up for fear of falling behind. This crazy pace that we set for ourselves soon wears us down and can make us sick physically or emotionally.
This is why it is so important to pace ourselves. Life is a long journey and it’s always good to stop and “smell the roses”, once in a while. Just being at work doesn’t mean that we are productive. A organized approach with frequent rest periods does make us more efficient and more human, … something that the world can use more of!
What do you do to distract yourself?
Do you exercise on a regular basis?
What other ways do you feel are useful for reducing stress and maintaining a healthy lifestyle?
Paul
Loved your post on Moderation and the Entrepreneur. I always have issues with overdoing things when working on the computer. Funnily enough, I can wind down after I finish and spend some time with my Family and plan for whats on tomorrows gender.
The problem I have is that I find it hard to grab a bite to eat when working away on the keyboard.
have you any suggestions for me to urge myself to take a break or two.
Much appreciated, Jeff.
Thanks, Jeff, for the kind comments.
When we work for ourselves, as opposed to working for an employer, it becomes even more important to take control of our time. Now, there is no one to tell us when to start and when to stop. We must do this on our own.
I suggest you begin developing a routine to follow throughout your day. Set “time windows” as work periods and develop the discipline to follow this routine for the entire day. Live one day at a time. That is enough. We are all familiar with, “yesterday’s gone! and tomorrow is not here yet”.
In your agenda, at the end of the day, set time periods, for doing your online work and any other activities that you must do away from the keyboard. Follow these to a “tee”. This will build your discipline and a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. The world won’t fall apart and everything will all be there, again for you to work on tomorrow.
At end of this “new day”, reassess how this daily program has worked for you. Modify the things that work and the ones that don’t. Even though this sounds like a long process, it is not. A 10 minute period in the evening can easily set the program and tone for tomorrow. Soon you will be more efficient and productive.
As for meals, I recommend the 3 regular meals and snacks in between for a total of 6 short small meals to fuel your day. Eat well and eat healthy! Eat only to live and not live to eat!
Modern day advertising is convincing us that we have to eat “greens” and drink “gallons” of water all day. This is not the case. Regular and smaller healthy eating is the way to go. You won’t feel bloated and sluggish.
Hope this helps a bit.
Paul
Hallo there,
You are so right on this moderation thing.
I have suffered a huge mental breakdown when I tried to work on my passionately loved work for weeks without taking breaks and spending time with my family.
I had spent many nights working and one morning I broke down and was admitted in the hospital for days. I learnt my lesson on moderation the hard way.
This should be a good example for other workaholics out there.
Good Day, Dave.
Thanks for stopping by to read my post.
Your “real life” story is the proof that we all need more moderation in our lives. Life has become so hectic and fast-paced that we are often unable to cope and keep up. We create “machines” to help us, and in the end, we work for the machine!
The only solution for our survival is to develop a strategy that enables us to navigate these treacherous waters.
A reader recently brought similar comments to one of my posts. He was spending so much time at his keyboard that it was affecting his eating habits.
The best solution I have been able to find, and one that works well for me, to this very day, is following a manageable “routine”.
Every evening, I set aside 10 to 15 minutes to plan for my next day. Nothing too complicated, but it is very effective and easy to manage.
I use “old-school” technology. I purchased a hard covered scribbler that contains over 300 pages, enough to last me the year. Not a standard “daily planner”, where I have to write in tiny spaces, what I do every 15 minutes.
I then write down as many tasks or assignments that I feel are important and that need to get done, on the following day. It’s easy to make a long list of everything that we need to do. I keep it around 10. A nice easy number. From this list, I then choose 3, my most important tasks, for the following day. After, I review my previous day’s performance. Sometimes I’m able to complete all of these tasks and pick more from the extras, and on others days, I cannot complete any tasks. Then, I close my book!
It becomes a symbolic closing for my day.
I also eat smaller meals at regular periods, 3 meals and 3 snacks. This is better for weight management and I feel less bloated and sluggish. I rarely lack energy and this enables me to maintain an exercise program.
Although it sounds complicated, it is not. It gives you tremendous emotional satisfaction to exercise control over your life.
I hope that these suggestions can help you some.
Try managing your tasks more closely. Do not get frustrated when you do not complete them all.
It will all be there tomorrow!
Remember that YOU, … are the master of your fate, YOU are the captain of your soul. (Invictus)
Live long and prosper!
Paul
p.s. What changes has this brought about for you?
I love the website, the article, and the details you put into it; you really put effort into this. I love how you said being an entrepreneur requires stamina, because it reminded me that this is not a sprint, this is a marathon or lifestyle. One of the best things you mentioned was to turn to family and relationships. I have the tendency to keep looking out my phone for notifications about my business when I am at the dinner table. I need to create a life where I can focus on both, and having awareness about my flaw is the first step. Thank you for this information!
Thanks, Marques, for stopping by to read my post.
The effort required to write these posts wanes in scope when I receive comments that are positive and helpful.
I began thinking it was a sprint as well. Early in the race I quickly began to tire and I realized that I would have to treat this “entrepreneurial life” as a marathon.
All work and no-play also makes Jack, a dull boy. Our lives have become so fast-paced that we never want to get off the wheel, for fear of falling behind. I have found that shorter more focused time windows, produce more effective results.
One study that I read said that the average successful Entrepreneur works 59 hours per week.
Long hours, falling asleep at the office, do no produce worthwhile results. No machine can run forever and neither can human beings.
We all have flaws and weaknesses of character, but it’s important to recognize them so a path to improvement can be found.
Paul