How To Became A Resilient Leader

Schawbel: What are your top three career tips?

Greitens: Leading a business demands great reserves of energy and there is an art to creating, harnessing, deploying, and renewing your energy.  You asked for three tips, but I’ll throw in a bonus set, and share with you seven tips to create great energy in your work.

1. Exercise.  Exercise Hard.  Exercise intensely.  You are a physical being.  Find a way to push yourself physically.  Doing so will not only energize your body, but it will awaken your mind and will often cleanse your spirit.  There is no one regimen that is right for everyone, but everyone can create something that is right for them.  (And a hint here.  Quality exercise is exercise that pushes you.  At some point in most every workout you should be pushing yourself hard enough that it’s difficult to talk.)
2. Eat well.  People don’t often think of their diet as being related to their career, but what you eat fuels your life.  Eat well so that you have the energy you need to live a beautiful, engaged energized life.
3. Sleep well.  When you push yourself hard, your body and mind need time to absorb.  Take that time, and try to get as full a night’s sleep as possible so you can awake with energy.
4. Surround yourself with good people.  We all become like the people we are with every day.  If you want to be energized, surround yourself with energetic people.  (And a hint here: people often associate “being energetic” with being an extrovert.  That’s a mistake.  There are lots of quiet people who are powerfully driven.  Listen to them.  Learn from them.  Have them on your team.  When things are hard, you’ll need a team of driven people to persevere.)
5. A good sense of humor is a great well of energy.  If you do anything worthwhile in your life it is going to be tough at times.  If you can smile and laugh even in the face of hardship, you’ll keep your perspective.
6. And speaking of perspective, find a way to be grateful for what you have.  Many people do this in prayer—others practice in a different way—but I’ve found that the sense of perspective and peace that comes from the practice of gratitude often results in energy and power over the long haul.
7. Finally, serve something larger than yourself.  Everyone has their own hard “hows”; how do I raise capital? How do I reorganize the team?  How do I execute the strategy?  The “hows” in your life will often change, and will often be hard, no matter how much homework you’ve done.  To make it through the hard hows, you need to have a strong “why”; serve a purpose larger than yourself.

- More here from Eric Greitens author of Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life