042 - 5 Ways to Spot Burnout Before it Bites You In The Ass

Burn out. It's the unsung hero of many an entrepreneur's downfall....and that ain't a good thing!
Burn out is the secret enemy, that emerges when our need and desire to 'do it all' or 'be perfect' is taking center stage.
Burn out is something that entrepreneurs in particular need to start paying more attention to, otherwise it will literally come up and bite you in the ass.


What makes entrepreneurs burn out?In a Harvard Business Review What Makes Entrepreneurs Burn Out article that had researched over 300 entrepreneurs they found the following:
The obsessively passionate entrepreneurs reported feeling that work was more emotionally draining and that working all day required a great deal of effort. They indicated feeling frustrated by their work and even that it was breaking them down. For some entrepreneurs, their burnout caused a constant state of anxiety and stress. We also found that among entrepreneurs with obsessive passion, those with a fixed mindset were even more prone to burnout.
If you found yourself nodding your head at any of those symptoms, or if that resonated with you, please read on and listen into this podcast episode!


My experience of burn outI first experienced what burnout felt like on my 2013 Suitcase Entrepreneur Book Tour through the US and Canada.
I had been obsessing about this book and its launch for months. I had been doing endless marketing, PR, interviews and community building around it.
I was riding high on all the goodwill and attention because, deep down, I really wanted this book to impact a LOT of people.
It all worked - it became a No #1 Bestseller on Amazon in three categories and to date has sold over 30,000 copies and thousands of audio books.
But, it worked at the detriment of my health in the form of experiencing burnout and having two friends catching it, before it took me down.
Elise and Karley, my dear friends in Vancouver (in the photo below), who helped me on my grand finale book event, realized I was running on empty and simply not slowing down.

They forced me to leave my devices behind, disconnect, and come and join them in the park to eat fish and chips and simply sit and watch the sunset.
That was my saving grace and sparked my road to recovery, I kid you not!
So was my dear friend Cathy Goddard who let me stay in her apartment so I could hide away, do my work but also, finally, rest up.
Strike forward 6 years and I found myself unexpectedly (although had I read the signs it would have been no surprise) feeling burned out.
What does that feel like, you may ask?
Not fun, not fun at all.
You are so lethargic you can't do anything. Everything takes effort. It hurts to think. You overreact to the smallest things. You're emotional. You really are good for nothing.
What it requires?
Rest, sleep, more rest and zero responsibility. In fact there are many things you can do to avoid and overcome burn out and ensure that you look after YOU - the most important thing in your world.


In this episode you'll learn:5 ways to spot that you're heading for burnoutHow the body and mind responds to stress6 key ways to recover from burnout and heal yourselfPodcast ResourcesThe Insights Timer Course I refer to: Protect Your Body From Daily Stress - Linda Hall
Kathryn Curzon - my wonderful friend who kindly shared her tips for dealing with burnout
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