How Alex Hormozi Addresses Burnout…and Why It Is Pure Gold

Today, I want to share what I found from visiting another mind mine…Alex Hormozi’s to be exact.

I’m a big fan of his because:

1. He has a brilliant way of communicating things directly

2. He’s real and very funny in the way he delivers his material

3. I resonate with his work because I’m curious about building a business

So 5 months ago (as of this writing), Alex posted a video on YouTube in which he helped a business owner out of selling his business due to burnout…

Here’s the link if you’re interested in watching it yourself:

Since this is a topic near and dear to my heart, I was very curious to see what his take on it was after writing out my own here a few weeks ago…

Here are three highlights from the video as well as my personal experiences with burnout in the past:

1. Successful people have one universal trait

2. It’s not possible to have a different result without changing yourself

3. Stress isn’t always bad…the idea is to identify when it starts and create space from it

So let’s dive in!

A Common Thing Among Successful People

We’re hard on ourselves…

all the time…

a lot…

my wife can attest to that…

as can everyone else that’s been close to me throughout my entire life!

And yes, it is safe to say that both you and I are successful…you’re here, right? 😃 

I’ve met so many people over the past six months since starting this writing journey, and they ALL are hard on themselves to some degree.

The problem is that this unrelenting, demanding quality tends to push us rapidly towards stress and burnout.

It’s mental quicksand.

The only way to keep from sinking is to stop thrashing about and beating ourselves up because things aren’t going the way we hoped.

That’s not to say that we lower our standards to match the situation!

Specifically:

And he’s right.

If your goals that you created for yourself are far, far, greater, than those of a “normal” person (i.e., good grades → career → family → retire → die), then you need to find mentors who:

• are in the process

• have achieved the goals

• are pursuing greater goals

Preferably a few in each of these arenas.

Every field has their greats. Don’t hesitate to gather their work and follow it.

In this day and age, there is no excuse…knowledge is a public utility with internet and AI.

On to the next point…what is needed to address the stress…

Different Outcome Needs a Different You

Obvious, but doesn’t really sink in until you’ve been struggling and are on the verge of burning out…

Extraordinary levels of performance and achievement require the same level of commitment…and this is not normal.

Which then points back to the whole “being hard on yourself” thing.

If you want next-level outcomes, you need next-level systems, knowledge, and support.

At each new stage in life:

• starting school

• starting a career or business

• starting a family

there are new challenges and new pitfalls that we must overcome.

I know this very well, and I know you sure as shit do as well.

I am not the same person I was 5 years ago when I started my family…

He was not the same person he was 5 years ago when he started his career…

That guy was definitely not the same person he was 12 years ago when he started college!

Don’t think that you are never going to change because you are CONSTANTLY doing it!

Every.

Single.

Day.

If you want to achieve something big, climb to that level and give yourself time to adjust.

You need the time to grow so cut yourself some slack.

I’ve had to learn this the hard way at each stage.

The difference is that now, I’m fully aware of it.

Let’s get to the final point from the video…how he suggests to address it.

Space….The Final Frontier

Stress management is a skill.

We’re not born with the innate, magical ability to do so!

If we were, I wouldn’t be sitting here hammering this thing out trying to help you and sharing his insights on the matter!

Alex outlined a 2-step process:

1. Identify when and where the stress originates on the body

2. Identify the source of the stress and create space to address it

We all collect and carry stress differently in our bodies.

For me, it’s in my shoulders and my traps.

In fact, they’re pretty tight right now as I’m writing this to send out to you fine people! I want to deliver this little gem to you!

Relax…ahh much better!

My shoulders just dropped down almost 2 inches.

And yes, the act of writing this for you is how I’m addressing it.

I am definitely creating space away from the issue now by just releasing the tension.

Also, here’s a response to a great tweet from a fellow creator (unsolicited plug: definitely check him and his newsletter out as well)!

There’s bad stress, the type that destroys your motivation and persistence and causes you to quit.

And there’s good stress, the kind you expect that propels you forward towards your goal because you know there’s a deadline…hence the equation above.

Good stress is a natural thing that is to be expected at the beginning of every new endeavor…

I’ve experienced TONS of it this year:

• posting on Twitter

• networking with new people

• starting this crazy newsletter to churn out ideas

There’s a much longer list with details, but these are the main ones that stick out.

You need to have good stress in your life.

Just know that it’s going to change you.

It’ll be ok.

The Takeaway

Two things:

1. The next newsletters will not be as long as my usual ones because I’m doing an insane two-week challenge to write a thread every day!

2. If you’re interested in trying to do the same someday, I’ll be writing here to share in that experience when I complete it…

In fact, I am planning to write about all the challenges that I’ve tackled myself up to this point in future newsletter entries.

But enough about that.

To summarize: here’s Alex Hormozi’s take on addressing burnout:

1. It’s a result from being hard on yourself

2. We grow and adapt to the new stresses to handle them

3. Expect to experience stress and learn to manage it for yourself

Here’s this week’s actionable exercise:

Think about what you’re stressed out about on a regular basis right now

• are you being hard on yourself over this situation?

• is this a new phase or challenge that you are facing?

• how good are you really at managing your stress and creating space?

If you’re on this writing journey as well, you can answer these and break them down at each stage of your own process…

This is the second exercise in writing analysis.

Thought of the week:

An Inspirator shares the experiences and strives to connect by relating in the challenges…

I’ve been enjoying this mine…next week I’ll pick another point to talk about from him.

…And here, I thought I was going to have very little to add this week!

Back into this one! I think I saw something shiny down that tunnel…

Vince

P.S. Let me know what you think of sharing from others!

P.P.S. If you have a suggestion for future challenges you want to try or see me try, drop me a line!