Business Growth

Stressed vs Stretched:
Super Productivity For
High Growth Entrepreneurs

Are you spending your days stressed and overwhelmed, or stretched and creative? Stress has less to do with how full your calendar is and more to do with how you stimulate your brain. In this episode, Chris explains why you have to create space in your day for a variety of stimulations and stop trying to escape through mindless activities. You'll also hear why finding clarity is the most important thing you can do to set yourself up for success. Don't miss this episode if you want to supercharge your productivity by making a few simple changes in your routine.

When we're stressed, we make poor decisions. But when we're stretched, we get creative.

In this Episode:

  • What's the difference between being stressed and being stretched?
  • You're trying to escape from stress with the wrong things. Try this instead
  • Things you can do throughout your day to stimulate your brain, including one odd thing Chris's friend swears helped in building a highly successful company
  • Why a personal vacation can be your key to clarity
  • What Chris's team spends more time on than any other task to ensure success
  • The number one rule for clarity

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Transcript

It's true - when we're STRESSED we make poor decisions, but when we are STRETCHED we get creative and find new better ways to keep growing.

Now my day is stretched to the limit every day and that's by design. Because I know that 'down-time' can literally cause stress and slow down our performance. And I've got too much to accomplish to perform less than at my best at all times.

But most people get this point wrong and when they feel stressed they think they need "an escape" like watching TV or some other MIND-NUMBING experience like that.

That kind of an escape literally slows down progress and makes you perform in a less effective way.

There is a simple strategy that recharges us and makes us better and stronger and more creative for the future

What High Growth Entrepreneurs Do

Successful people know that to CONSISTENTLY perform at their BEST - their schedule needs to be stretched - and it needs to include a lot of "different stimulations" because having a variety of stimulations in our lives gives our brains the ability to process information better and faster.

So if your work requires you sit at a desk in front of a computer most of the day then stimulations that could drastically improve your cognitive performance or your brain's ability to be effective and creative might be:

  • Spending a night laughing with your family
  • Exercising
  • Walking on the beach
  • Hiking in the mountains
  • Listening to someone play the piano
  • Reading thought-provoking books
  • Or having thought-provoking conversations with other leaders

All these things are different stimulations than your brain is used to when you're sitting at your desk all day.

What You Need to Perform Better

So to perform better than you are today, you don't need 'an escape' at the end of your day, you need to add a variety of stimulations to your life, because your brain functions better when it's given a task or challenge, then allowed to gestate on solutions while it's being stimulated in a different way...

Which is why so many great business decisions are made NOT in the office or in the boardroom -> they're made on the golf course or in the gym or hiking or sailing.

To perform at our best in business and in life we need to work our ass off AND we need to schedule time to break away and give our brain the stimulation it needs to process information and become clear

For years I took a personal vacation once a year that fully recharged me and helped me to be super clear on exactly what opportunities I should be taking advantage of in life.

So many times, we get bombarded with opportunities, I have literally dozens (maybe even hundreds) if I'm being honest with myself of opportunities that come to me each week, and I'm sure you do too.

And it becomes very difficult at times to be clear on the best path to MEET OR EXCEED YOUR TARGETS.

Click here to see the video on exactly how I manage those personal vacations (Here's the perfect vacation for business growth and entrepreneurship), because they're super powerful, so very well worth it, and the leaders that I've taught the system to have all become super achievers in their life too.

Why and Where You Need Clarity

And using tools like this are vital to your success because if we fail to do this we set ourselves up for being stressed, and when we're stressed our thought process gets foggy, but the moment we break free of that we get CLEAR on what the best use of our time is and what actions we can take to exceed our expectations in life.

Getting clear is so important to success that in my companies that we spend more time on getting clear than we do on ANY other individual task.

  • Clarity as to where you are and where you're going.
  • Clarity as to what team you need to get there.
  • Clarity as to the relationships you need to get there.
  • Clarity as to the tasks needed to get there.
  • Clarity on the daily actions that need to take place to get there.
  • Clarity as to who's going to help you short cut your success curve.

Rule #1 about clarity is that you cannot be clear if you're stressed.

Rule #2 is that clarity is far easier when you're stretched, and you can do that by changing the stimulation you give your brain throughout the day.

What Do You Do to Stimulate Your Brain?

Take a minute and list 2-3 tips you think are helpful to change what you focus, even for just a few minutes during the day, that could help refresh your brain.

Like do you have a favorite song you listen to that changes your mental state. Or do you stop your day for 5 minutes and do pushups and jumping jacks. Or do you look away from your computer every 20 minutes and look outside at the green trees.

I have a super successful friend who built one of the largest companies in his industry who keeps a joke book on his desk and flips through it until he finds one that makes him laugh twice a day.

What do you do, or what can you do to stimulate your mind in a different way that helps refresh your brain each day?

Related Reading How To Gain Momentum in Business (and Life) → Related Reading How to React When Things Don't Go Your Way →
Chris Guerriero Entrepreneur, investor, and business advisor. Founder of Club 28, a private advisory program for growth-stage CEOs and founders.
Common Questions

Frequently Asked
Questions

How do you remove yourself from your business mentally when you feel overwhelmed?

Stop trying to escape and start varying your stimulation instead. Passive escape like television slows your brain down and reduces performance. What actually works is switching the type of mental input you're receiving. Exercise, a walk, a conversation with another leader, reading something that challenges you. These different stimulations allow your brain to process what it's been working on and return to the problem with clarity it couldn't reach by grinding harder.

What is the difference between being stressed and being stretched as an entrepreneur?

When stressed, you make poor decisions. When stretched, you get creative and find better ways forward. Stress is not caused by a full calendar. It's caused by the wrong kind of mental stimulation. A packed schedule of varied activities, work, exercise, meaningful conversations, and creative challenges, keeps your brain performing at its highest level. A slow, unfocused day actually creates more stress than a full, purposeful one.

How do you build clarity as a CEO when you have too many opportunities and decisions in front of you?

Clarity requires being stretched, not stressed. When you're stressed, your thinking gets foggy. When you build varied stimulation into your schedule and take deliberate breaks from the same mental loop, clarity follows. In my companies, we spend more time building clarity than any other individual task because it governs every decision that follows. Clarity on direction, team needs, daily actions, and relationships is the foundation of execution.

Why do major business breakthroughs happen away from the office?

Because the brain processes problems during different stimulations. When you give your brain a task, then shift to a completely different activity, it continues working on the original problem in the background. That is why great decisions often surface on the golf course, during a hike, or at the gym rather than in a boardroom. You are not escaping the work. You are giving the brain the conditions it needs to reach the insights desk work alone cannot produce.

How do you remove yourself from your business to gain perspective without losing momentum?

Build a personal vacation into your year specifically designed for clarity, not just rest. Use that time to process the opportunities and decisions piling up without the noise of daily operations. Come back with specific clarity on which opportunities to pursue, which to set aside, and what the most important focus is for the next period. The leaders who do this consistently make sharper decisions than those who keep grinding without ever stepping back to get clear.

Here’s How To Make This Your Best Year…

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