Eat, poop and be happy. The new metrics of success.

Typical day in the life of mindful business leader: Get a full 8 hours of sleep a night. Harvest ripe fruit from the trees and pick greens from the earth. Eat three wholesome meals a day (none of which are in front of a screen or in a to go container). Meditate and/ journal and practice yoga once a day. Spend more time outside in nature than inside. Live your soul’s purpose.

Does that sound like any of the successful business owners you know? Well it’s MY life.

What if I told you I’m making 1/10th of what I made in my high flying corporate job five years ago? 

I’m grateful for my past life as a corporate exec. It enabled me to save and invest so I could live my soul’s purpose and run a lodge and retreat center in the Azores islands. Many of us spend our entire lives saving up for retirement, or maybe we have plans to do something big. 

But somehow we forget what we’re striving for. We simply strive for more, bigger, better. But how much is enough? 

Do you feel successful? What is your definition of success?

I now understand there are many definitions of success and mine is not just about profit margin and growth. ​

​My definition of success 

1. Get 7-8 hours of sleep per night. There is a plethora of research on this and if you’re not getting enough sleep (and no you’re not one of those people that only needs 5-6 hours) then WAKE UP! 
2. Eat three wholesome meals a day, none of which are in front of a screen. We need to be relaxed in order to digest and absorb nutrients to fuel our body and mind. If you’re stimulating yourself while eating (looking at your phone, watching TV or driving), you’re unable to properly absorb the food you’re eating. 
3. Have a good poop at least once a day. Your digestion is the first to go when you’re under chronic stress and stimulation. You need to be relaxed for your body to digest and absorb nutrients, and also function properly to eliminate waste. If you’re not pooping once a day look at where you’re overstressed and overstimulated. It’s not just about what you eat.
4. Connect daily to my soul. I start each day with some form of “daily connection”. This can be meditation or yoga, singing, bollywood dancing (yep!) or just breathing. How do you know who you are and where you’re called to be if you don’t connect with yourself, and on a regular basis? 
5. Spend more time doing what I love and want to do vs. what I have to do. Are you in charge of your life or are you constantly reacting to demands placed on you? I choose where I exert my energy and time. You can’t be all things to all people so choose wisely. This has in turn given me more time to focus on my soul’s purpose.
6. Directly impact the wellbeing of my community. When I’m successful it means our team and partners succeed, which leads to another exponential set of good things happening. Success breeds success, who does your success directly impact? 
7. Run a profitable business that enables me to do all of the above. And yes we run a profitable business. So, stay tuned for Part II…