MBA2376 How To Keep Depression Away When Running a Business + Free Ride Friday

Summary

Podcast Summary: The $100 MBA Show - MBA2376 How To Keep Depression Away When Running a Business + Free Ride Friday

Episode Information:

• Title: MBA2376 How To Keep Depression Away When Running a Business + Free Ride Friday
• Host: Omar Zenhom
• Release Date: October 13, 2023

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Introduction

In episode MBA2376 of The $100 MBA Show, host Omar Zenhom delves into a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of entrepreneurship: maintaining mental health and preventing depression while managing a business. Drawing from over two decades of entrepreneurial experience, Omar offers actionable strategies to help business owners navigate the emotional challenges that come with running a business.

Acknowledgment of Mental Health Challenges

Omar begins by acknowledging the harsh realities of entrepreneurship, stating, “Business is not all sunshine and rainbows” (02:15). He emphasizes that while there are many rewarding moments, the lows can be particularly daunting, potentially leading to severe mental health issues if not addressed properly.

Key Strategies to Combat Depression

1. Take It Day by Day

Omar advises adopting a day-by-day mentality during tough times, highlighting the unpredictability of the future. He remarks, “Tomorrow's not guaranteed” (04:30), encouraging listeners to focus on making each day the best it can be. This approach helps in managing stress by breaking down overwhelming challenges into manageable daily tasks.

2. Establish a Positive Morning Routine

The morning sets the tone for the entire day. Omar outlines a comprehensive morning routine:

• Immediate Action Upon Waking: “As soon as you wake up, don't stay in bed, get out of bed” (06:10). This simple act helps in starting the day with purpose.
• Hydration and Fresh Air: “Grab yourself a cup of water and you step outside” (07:00). Fresh air and hydration are essential for waking up the body and mind.
• Exposure to Light: Influenced by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, Omar emphasizes the importance of sunlight exposure: “Get some rays, some photons, between two and ten minutes a day” (08:45). This boosts the circadian rhythm, enhancing alertness and mood.
• Avoiding Phone Use: “Don't touch your phone, don't look at your phone” (09:30). Omar warns against the negative impacts of early morning screen time, which can flood the mind with unfiltered inputs and stressors.

3. Incorporate Exercise into Your Morning

Exercise is portrayed as a pivotal element in maintaining mental health:

• Sense of Control: “It allows you to start off your day with a win” (11:00). Physical activity provides a sense of accomplishment and control over one aspect of life.
• Energy and Focus: Regular morning exercise boosts energy levels and cognitive function, making it easier to tackle business challenges.

4. Utilize To-Do Lists

Omar advocates for organized task management:

• Daily Prioritization: “Write down all the things you need to do for just today” (13:32). This helps in focusing on immediate tasks without being overwhelmed by long-term goals.
• Prioritizing Important Tasks: Ordering tasks by priority ensures that high-impact activities are addressed first, reducing mental clutter.

5. Work Outside the Home Environment

Changing the workspace environment can significantly impact mental well-being:

• Coworking Spaces: Omar shares his positive experiences with coworking spaces, mentioning, “By going out, you enter the world, the real world” (15:45). These environments offer fresh perspectives and reduce the isolation often felt by home-based entrepreneurs.
• Social Interaction and Community: Engaging with others in a coworking space or similar settings fosters a sense of community and support, alleviating feelings of loneliness.

6. Surround Yourself with Positive People

The company you keep plays a vital role in your mental health:

• Selective Socializing: “Prioritize being around people that will make you feel good” (18:20). Omar suggests distancing oneself from negative influences and actively seeking out supportive, cheerful individuals.
• Active Engagement: Making intentional plans with positive friends can provide emotional support and a much-needed break from business stresses.

Personal Reflections and Insights

Omar shares personal anecdotes to illustrate the effectiveness of these strategies. He reflects on how establishing routines and seeking supportive environments have been instrumental in his ability to weather business downturns without succumbing to depression.

Notable Quotes

• “Business is not all sunshine and rainbows.” – Omar Zenhom (02:15)
• “Tomorrow's not guaranteed.” – Omar Zenhom (04:30)
• “Get some rays, some photons, between two and ten minutes a day.” – Omar Zenhom (08:45)
• “Prioritize being around people that will make you feel good.” – Omar Zenhom (18:20)

Conclusion

Omar concludes the episode by reinforcing that struggling with mental health while running a business is common and nothing to be ashamed of. He encourages listeners to implement the discussed strategies actively and reminds them that persistence through tough times leads to growth and resilience.

Free Ride Friday

In the Free Ride Friday segment, Omar announces the winner of the week’s giveaway:

• Winner: The Handle (@i_value_the_unique_Angel on Apple Podcasts)
• Instructions: The winner is encouraged to email Omar at [e-mail] to claim their lifetime membership to the $100 MBA program.

Final Thoughts

Omar wraps up by sharing a heartfelt reflection: “Surviving tough times in your business are some of the sweetest memories you're going to have” (19:30). He underscores the importance of embracing challenges as opportunities for personal and professional development.

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Key Takeaways:

• Adopt a day-by-day approach to manage stress and prevent overwhelm.
• Establish a positive and structured morning routine to set the tone for the day.
• Incorporate physical exercise to boost mental and physical well-being.
• Use to-do lists to prioritize tasks and reduce mental clutter.
• Change your workspace environment to avoid isolation and foster community.
• Surround yourself with positive and supportive individuals to maintain a healthy mindset.

By implementing these strategies, entrepreneurs can better manage the emotional strains of running a business, ensuring both personal well-being and business success.

Transcript

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[Omar Zenhom]

Welcome to the $100 MBA show, the business podcast that's always got your back with our practical business lessons. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher, Omar Zenholm. I'm also the co founder of Webinar Ninja, an inhibited software company I started back in 2014. And today's episode is Free Ride Friday. On Free Ride Fridays, we give away a lifetime membership to the $100 NBA program. If you want to win a free ride, just leave us an Apple Podcast rating and review and you enter our weekly random draw we call Free Ride Friday. Listen in on Friday just like today, to see if you won. We announce this week's winner a little bit later in the episode. In today's episode, you will learn how to keep depression away when running a business. I spent quite a bit of time preparing for this episode, actually a few months, because I wanted to make sure that I address this topic properly. I want to say off the top, I'm not a mental health expert. I'm not a doctor. So if you are struggling with mental health and depression, please see an expert. A doctor. I'm just going to share with you what has helped me along the journey. I'm the first to say that business is not all sunshine and rainbows. There's going to be moments, low moments in your business where you just want to be swallowed up by the earth, right? You want to just disappear. It's so hard. This is a moment where it's so easy to fall into some serious mental health challenges, some serious depression. And I want to share with you some strategies that have helped me over the years in those tough times in business. Because here's the reality your business needs you, you're the leader of the business. If you are not at your best, your business has no chance at survival, at thriving, at growing. There are people that rely on you. Your team members, your customers, your family. They need you. And in these low moments, sometimes we forget this. But let's be honest, it's hard. So how do we combat this? How do we make sure we stay away from that dark place that is so easy to slip into when things are tough? Let's get into it. Let's get down to business. I'm not too proud to say that I've had some really tough time in business over the last 20 years. It's not all wonderful times and celebration and accolades, right? Yes, I've had some really good ups. But those wonderful times, those sweet times, don't really have much meaning without the sour times, right? Without the tough times. Because you know how hard it is to make anything happen and to achieve anything in your business. But you got to survive those tough times. You got to make sure that you are at your best and your mental health is not suffering. And this is really a lot harder done than said, right? Much easier said than done, as they say. But despite that, I'm going to share with you some things that have really helped me when I'm in those tough times. Number one, when you're in a tough spot in your business, when you're in a tough stretch where you're just trying to make things happen, maybe there's a financial crunch that's happening in your business. Maybe you're going through a stressful time. It could be a plethora of things. The first thing I would recommend is just have the mentality of taking it day by day, one day at a time. Here's the reality. Tomorrow's not guaranteed. Tomorrow's not guaranteed. Yeah, we can plan for the future. We can plan for the next five, 10, 20 years, but that's not guaranteed. What's guaranteed is the present. Let's just make sure that we make today the best day possible, do our best work today, try our best, and at the end of the day, you got to be okay with that. And just say, I tried my best. I'm going to try again tomorrow, day by day. Because when you're in this tough time, you have to think about, how do I just survive the next day? Because one day leads to the next, to the next, to the next. That creates momentum and allows you to push through and get past this point or past this period. So take it day by day. Number two, the Start of your day is incredibly important. Okay? When you're feeling down, when you're feeling depressed, you feel like just staying in bed. You don't feel like doing anything. You don't want to face the world, you don't want to face your business and the problems that await you. You don't want face that inbox filled with problems. Right? So it's really important for you to start your day not feeling intimidated by those things, to give yourself space and room to start the day positively. And this will require you to get up a little bit earlier than you normally would. So if you get up at 6 instead of 7, this gives you a full hour to do a bunch of things that are going to help you start your day properly, which I'll talk about in a moment. Even if you spend six to eight, two hours, that's even better. You can have a dynamite day just in those two hours. You have won the day in just those two hours. And let me explain. So the first thing is get out of bed immediately. As soon as you wake up. As soon as you wake up, don't stay in bed, get out of bed, put your feet on the floor is what I say. As soon as you put your feet on the floor, it kind of prompts you to just kind of get up, head to the bathroom so that you can start the day in the first five minutes of waking up. I highly recommend you go and grab yourself a cup of water and you step outside, Go outside in the world. It doesn't matter if it's raining, it doesn't matter if it's cloudy, it doesn't matter if it's sunny, it doesn't matter if it's hot. It doesn't matter if. If you have a porch, if you have a balcony, if you have any sort of way to step outside, go for a walk outside, get outside, get outdoors. This does a couple things. Number one, it gives you some incredible fresh air. You're getting some fresh air in your lungs and you're energizing yourself and starting the day slowly with a nice cup of water. Maybe you want a warm water with honey and lemon, something like that, that soothes you. But it's important to do it as soon as you get up the first five minutes or within the first five to ten minutes of your day. Now, I picked up this strategy and this practice from Andrew Huberman, who has an incredible podcast called Huberman Lab. He's a neuroscientist that recommends that you get some rays, some sun rays, or photons, is what he calls it, the scientific term, between two and ten minutes a day, every day, as you're getting up. Why? Because this will allow your body to get a boost in the circadian rhythm as you're waking up, seeing that light and getting light in your eyes is what he says. And it doesn't matter if it's sunny or not sunny, the photons, that energy is still going to affect you and help you. And I like this because you start off quiet, slow, and you're working on yourself first. You're kind of just like recharging your own battery before you can use it throughout the day. So the start of your morning, incredibly important. Do that. Word of warning. This is kind of number three, which is don't touch your phone, don't look at your phone. One good practice is to have your phone outside your bedroom, maybe in your office or in the living room, charging overnight. Don't look at your phone because your phone is a gateway to inputs. And this leads me to why number three is important about don't look at your phone. And that is you have to be vigilant about the inputs that you take in. When you're in a tough time in your business, when you're trying to stay away from being depressed, you can't just allow anybody and anything to go into your brain. You gotta stand guard at the gates of your mind. As Jim Rohn says, when you open up social media, Instagram, Facebook, whatever it might be, you're just allowing the algorithm to put whatever it wants into your brain. No, you cannot allow that to happen. You get to control what goes in your brain, what you're exposed to, and you don't know how certain things will affect you. You might be thinking, oh, I follow funny stuff, I follow cat stuff. It'll be great. It'll be fine. No, you can't afford to take those risks. Okay, so control the inputs, keep the phone away, take 10 minutes, get some photons into your eyes in the morning. Okay, so we're talking about the first 15, 20 minutes. Now you're having a slow morning. You're off technology. You're not allowing inputs that affect you. You can even just set your phone to be on do not disturb until your morning routine is up, the first two hours of your morning, so that way you don't get any messages or notifications. Next, I like to have a little small breakfast just to get my engines going. Cup of coffee, maybe a piece of toast, a piece of fruit, and then go exercise. This is the hardest thing to implement, is Exercising in the morning is, you know, it's easy to kind of get up, get yourself a nice cup of water or a nice hot drink and go outside and enjoy, you know, the sound of the birds chirping. This is easy, right? This is not hard. It's great. It's relaxing, it's addictive because you're going to want to start your day every day like this. Once you try it, it's even easy. Kind of just like don't look at the phone. You kind of keep it away from you. Having a small little pick me up breakfast with a coffee and a little piece of fruit. Awesome. All enjoyable stuff, right? Exercise in the morning. Starting your day with exercise is really hard, something I really struggled with in the beginning. But doing so allows you to start off your day with a win. It gives your body energy, it allows you to focus on something else other than your problems in your business. It allows you to control something. I love exercise because it allows you to feel like you're in control of something. I'm in control of my body. I'm in control of my physical fitness. I can go and lift some weights and get better every day as I go to the gym. I can go and go for a run and feel better about my run or improve my stride or improve my time. Whatever it is, it doesn't have to be some kind of strenuous exercise. It could be a walk. You can incorporate getting that sunlight in the morning with a long walk, a 30 minute walk, coming back home, awesome stuff. Whatever exercise you like, whether it's tennis or basketball or the gym or swimming, find something that you enjoy, that you're willing to do in the morning. Get it done so that when you come back home, when you come back after that morning routine, after that exercise, you're about an hour and a half into your day, maybe two hours, and you just won the day. The day is a win already. Okay, you've woken up, you've had a nice quiet, calm morning. You've had a nice little light breakfast, you've exercised, you're on a roll and you're feeling okay about the day. Now you're going to have to now get to work. How do we stay out of that dark place when. When it's time to roll up our sleeves and do our thing? This episode is brought to you by the Jordan Harbinger Show. Are you looking for a new podcast? That's smart, that's interesting, that has great conversations with some amazing guests. Well, I highly recommend the Jordan Harbinger Show. I'm an avid listener because in my opinion it's the best interview podcast out there. The host, Jordan Harbinger, a good buddy of mine, he does a lot of great research about the guests. I know this personally because he's a good friend and I've seen him do this when he was visiting me on Hollywood Holiday. The result is you get an interview and a discussion with these amazing people. That's original, that's new, that's interesting. He asks the questions that nobody asks and he pulls out some of the best stories from his guests. One of my favorite episodes is with Neal Brennan, a comedy mastermind with highly successful Netflix specials and one of the co creators of Chappelle Show. What I love about this episode as well as all his episodes with his guests is that he brings out the person behind the talent. By the end of the episode you get to feel like you know this person intimately and you learn a ton of lessons through stories and experiences along the way. I also like his skeptical Sunday's episodes. Recently I listened to the one on Fireworks I don't want to ruin for you. Go ahead and listen to it. You'll absolutely love it. You can't go wrong. 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[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Mint Mobile Representative]

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[Ramp Representative]

On a Monday expensing breakfast because it's in policy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Ramp Representative]

Wasting all afternoon submitting an expense report for that breakfast. If your company used Ramp, you could submit expenses with just a text.

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Mint Mobile Representative]

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[Omar Zenhom]

I love to do lists to do. Lists are a savior, especially when you're overwhelmed. Write down all the things you need to do for just today. Okay? And then you can have a separate list for the week and move things from that list to this list, okay? Then order them by just putting some numbers next to them. 1, 2, 3, 4. In order of priority, like importance to your business. Some things you don't really need to do, you can probably put off until next month even. It's not even that important. But do the stuff that's most important first so that you get those boulders out of the way. You stop thinking about it. You don't know how much mental energy you spend by thinking about, oh, I got to do this thing. It's so important. It's really weighing me down. Get it done as soon as possible at the top of your day so that you don't have to carry that burden for the rest of the day, throughout the day, and even the next day, the next day if you don't get it done. So just get rid of it. Now. If you work from home and you're going through a tough time in your business and you're trying to stay out of that dark place, I highly recommend you work outside of home. Get out. Okay? This has helped me tremendously. I go to a coworking space. We have an office and a coworking space. It has incredible benefits, and I'll tell you in a moment what they are. But even if you don't go to a co working space, go to a cafe, go to the library, work outside of the four walls that you're in all day long at home, you got to get out. And this is why I recommend it. By going out, you enter the world, the real world, right? You enter a different space where you see other people, you get other inputs. You see there are plenty of people that have problems just like you. You get opportunities to be grateful. You get to see a homeless person and say, okay, I don't have it that bad. I can get myself out of this situation. You see people with physical disadvantages. You see people that just are not as senior as you, they're not as experienced as you younger people. And you're like, man, it's tough to be that young and not know anything. You get different perspectives and you start to see the world differently, and you see your problems differently because you have perspective. And I'm just talking about your commute, just getting to the office or getting to the cafe or wherever you're going. Then once you're there, you're surrounded with other people that are working, other people that are working on other things, people with energy, people with positivity, people that are going through problems as well. So you're not alone. You don't Feel like this is all happening to you and this is just par for the course and you just have to sustain yourself and survive it. If you work in a community or a co working space like I do, there's going to be plenty of opportunities to just liven things up a little bit. They have events, they have pizza parties, they have meetups, they have pitch nights, they have all these things that you can attend and just get some respite, just get some break from thinking about your business and seeing things differently and having a broader understanding of what you're doing and how you're doing it. This is a good routine. Then you take the commute home, whether it's by car or by transport, and you just leave work at the office. You just say, okay, you're home now, you can cook dinner, do your thing with your family, and you compartmentalize this whole stressful situation to work to the office. And doing this routine really helps you understand that it's going to be okay. Okay. I can't tell you how helpful it was for me to do this during a tough time in my business because I'm not in my head. By getting different inputs, you have other thoughts in your head than just your problems. And that's incredibly helpful when you're trying to stay as positive as possible in a tough situation. My last tip is make sure you prioritize being around people that will make you feel good. We all have friends that are complainers, we have friends that are critical nitpickers, just depressive sometimes and you just can't be around them now. You can't afford it. You're on the razor's edge here, right? You need to make sure that you're around positive people, caring people, loving people, cheerful people. Some people in your circle of friends, they're just fun. They're fun people. Go and spend some time with them on the weekend or on an evening. People that make you laugh, people that make you be happy to be alive and to be part of their life. And it's just not going to happen by accident. You have to take the initiative. Make a list on a piece of paper, who are these people in your life? And contact them, say, hey, what are you doing this weekend? Let's go and bike ride, let's go have a lunch. You got to take the initiative so that it can actually happen. You got to be mindful about who you're around sometimes in this process. It's a great opportunity for you to start evaluating who your real friends are. And maybe you need to start cutting people out of your life that are maybe not helpful to you, growing and becoming a happy person. And that's okay because if you change and they don't change, that means you've outgrown them. And that happens. You don't have to like curse them out. You could just stop seeing them as often. You could still check up on them, make sure they're okay, like their posts on Social. Whatever. The point is, is that be mindful about who you surround yourself with, especially during a time like guys and gals. Thank you so much for listening to the $100 NBA show. If this episode was helpful, let me know. Leave us a rating and review on Spotify or Apple Podcast. I put a bit of effort in creating this episode, in preparing, planning and making sure that you know I'm as transparent as possible about what has helped me. And listen, it's supposed to be hard. This is something that I wish somebody told me early on in my business career. Business is hard. It's supposed to be hard. There's nothing wrong with you, okay? It's challenging. This is why most people are not entrepreneurs. So if you're going through a tough time, this is just par for the course. That wraps up today's lesson. But today's episode's not over. It's Free Ride Friday. Let's see who won this week's Free Ride. And the winner is The Handle says I value the unique Angel. That's the handle on Apple podcasts, they say. Another gem from the $100 NBA show. 5 stars NBA 2343 the Ashley Gordon episode provided a comprehensive look into coaching programs and which ones that truly make a difference. Ashley's emphasis on community building and avoiding common pitfalls made it especially insightful. Hats off to the $100 MBA show for consistently delivering such valuable content. Thanks. I value the unique Angel. Your mission is to email me over at omar00mba net so I can make sure I hook you up with a lifetime value. Your mission is to email me [e-mail] so we can hook you up with the hundred dollar MBA program. Our program showing you how to become a better entrepreneur. 100% guaranteed over at 100 MBA net before I go, I want to leave you with this. Surviving tough times in your business or one of the sweetest memories you're going to have? I've been through many of them and when I look back at them, those are the moments I'm most proud of. Not those super high moments in the accolades I'm most proud of surviving the tough moments, making through it, and becoming better because of it. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll check you in Monday's episode. I'll see you then. Take care.

[Jim from Sales]

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[Mint Mobile Representative]

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[Omar Zenhom]

Com.