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Kreatures Of Habit Podcast
Burnout Isn’t a Badge of Honor — It’s a Warning Sign | Monday Moments
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Being an entrepreneur is all about the grind. If you're not grinding, you're not hustling, you're not gonna make it. I don't care what other people think. What the is make it an entrepreneur. Straight out of New York City, Michael Chernow was cracking Monday moment. Here we are, it's Monday, and I want to talk with you all about life. What is it about life that changes, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but ultimately, as we evolve, also known as as we get older or age, certain things change, or at least they have for me. Especially with this little recent health scare I had. For the first time ever, I think I really started to think about the end. Yes, I said it. The end. Death. I never really thought about death. I've always had a fear around getting ill, getting sick. That's something that I'm trying to work through with my coach, and it's just been something that's haunted me from childhood traumas. We can get into on another Monday moment. If you haven't read the Brain Dump, I wrote about it, but I, I can't, I, I, I would be lying to you if I, if I didn't say that I thought and have been thinking about what the end could look like with this recent health scare. I go to a dark place. I don't enjoy that. But I have a silver lining here, which is when the day comes and it, in my case, and, and I'm praying for all of your cases, that's not for a long, long, long time, but when that day comes and those that we love most. And I'm hoping that I go before my wife and my kids so that they live longer than I do. Not because I, you know, want them to have to experience my death in any way, shape or form, but ultimately, you know, I just would love them to, to outlive me. What do I want them to say? What would be the best outcome in life for them to say as I'm passing? I want my children to say I was the best father they could have ever dreamed of. I want my wife to say I was the best husband she could have ever dreamed of. I want my friends to say I was the best friend they ever had. That would be the best outcome for life as far as I'm concerned. If that's what the people around me say, as I transition to the next phase, I will be unbelievably happy, grateful and fulfilled. And the community that I'm trying to build here or that I've, that, that creatures of habit is built, I am Trying to build is one that understands what that takes. We are groomed as a product of the United States of America from a very young age to believe that money, hustle and hard work grind things equal success and happiness. Now, I'm not saying that they don't, I'm not saying that they don't. But I am saying that if the pursuit of things, money, hustle, grind, big business does not allow you to be the best father, best husband, and best friend, why are you doing it? I asked myself this question, Michael. Are you being the best father, the best husband, and the best friend you can be? Because ultimately that would be what you just said. The, the, the best outcome of your life. What would, what would leave you fulfilled when it's time to transition? I think about that because the alternative is a. Either, you know, dying alone because you spent your whole entire life working, and everybody that you had in your life left because you didn't care about anything but yourself and work. I know this is an extreme one, but I, I, I just have to, I felt the need to share it. I want to be the best father, the best husband and the best friend because those are the things, things that make me most happy in life. And are we supposed to be happy or are we supposed to feel pressure and stress and anxiety all the time because we fill our lives with things or the p. Pursuit of things? I just wanted to put this out there so it would make you think a little bit. I believe that I have found a pretty good balance in my life between working and spending time with my wife and my kids and my friends and my, you know, the family, the things that truly do. When I close my eyes and think about what I want to do most every single day, it's just be with the people I love. And I know that both is possible. Having a great business where you're making great money and it's financially successful, the people that work there are happy and feel supported, and you live this life of father, husband and friend. So I don't care what other people think. Being an entrepreneur is all about the grind. If you're not grinding, you're not hustling, you're not going to make it what the is make it. Do I want the big exit? Do I want the exit that people talk about? Yeah, I do. Maybe it takes me longer, maybe I never get it, but I'm really happy and comfortable where I am. And I know it's only going to get better and better if I continue the path. That's what I wanted to share with you all today the importance of being loved and loving others. And if your life doesn't allow you to do that because you're working for the big, the big, big one, just think about how you can find a better balance. I'm telling you, I live it and I'm doing all right. I live it and I'm doing all right. Really, all I care about is that my kids look at me and they think I'm the best dad. And my wife looks at me and she thinks I'm the best husband. And my friends look at me and say, man, he's a good friend, a great friend. I hope you guys have a great week. Think about that one. It's important. Think about it. You know, I'll add one last piece to this because I think it's important. You might be asking, how, how, how are you living this balanced life? Like, no, there's no such thing. I'm here to tell you there is. You know, think what you want, believe who you want, but I'm here to tell you there is. And, and, and, and it requires boundaries that you stick to. That's what it requires. It requires the boundaries that I've created. And with boundaries comes trust and confidence in the team that you surround yourself with at work. Because this is the, I'm, I'm talking about the boundaries between work and life, personal life and business life, the boundaries and being an entrepreneur, it's tough because you answer to yourself. No one's there to tell you what you should and should not be doing. And it's taken me years to figure this out. But I will say that I have a start time and I have an end time. The most important is the end time for me, what time I finish work every day. Because honestly I, I will say that I'm up very early and there are times that I will start working early in the morning while I'm doing some other things. Like if I'm getting a, if I'm getting a workout session in super early, there are emails that I will be answering as I'm training. It's just the way I am. But the end time is very important. And no matter what, at 7:15 in the morning, I'm sitting with my wife and kids until I take them to school or my wife takes them to school every morning. Seven days a week. We all sit together in the morning, have coffee, hang out, talk every night. Now it's gotten pushed a little bit because my kids have gotten a little bit older, so we used to have dinner Every. Every night at 6 o'. Clock. We now have it at either 6:15 or 6:30. And my wife shoots me a text to let me know which time it's going to be. I am at the dinner table. If I am in New York, if I am not traveling, I am at the dinner table with my family. It is just what I'm doing. I am at the dinner table with my family every single night. Non negotiable. It is what I look forward to. I can't wait to be there. I am not late. And then I'm with my family from dinner time till after we put the kids down. And most days, most days I do not open the computer back up after they go down. Most days I'm with my wife for about an hour, hour and a half. We either read together or we watch a show together, in bed together. But there are some nights where I do have to open up the computer again, but they're rare, honestly. And I do not work on the weekends. I won't do it. I don't do it unless it is absolutely necessary. Unless it is so necessary. There's a fire drill. There's something that we're, that we have to get done. But 95% of the time, I do not work on the weekends. And those are the boundaries that I've drawn. And I used to think that I was gonna, like, people would judge me for that. People on my team would judge me for that. Oh, my God. I don't work on the weekends. I can't. I have to. I can't. You know, how can I not work on the weekends? How can I not email on the weekends? How can I do not do it? And I do not care what you think, period. You want to judge me? Great. My life is my life. It's not yours. Do what you want. I'm gonna do what I want. And this, this works for me. So there you have it. This was a little bit of a longer Monday moment, but I did think, I do think that it was important to share those things. And I hope you guys have a great week. For the second time I've said it on this podcast. Give us a five star rating and a review. That would mean a lot. I say it every single time, but it really, it would mean a lot if you can do that. Thank you. Appreciate you. Till the next one, y'. All. Peace.