July 2, 2025 • 23 mins
Caroline Biesalski introduces Michael Levitt, diving into a discussion about burnout and its prevention. The episode delves into understanding burnout, with Caroline sharing her personal experience and highlighting the significance of mentorship. Emphasis is placed on the power of goal setting and the importance of writing goals down. The conversation explores embracing the unknown as a catalyst for personal growth. Michael shares his own goals and discusses his online presence, offering strategies for daily burnout prevention. The episode wraps up with a special offer for listeners, encouraging them to take proactive steps towards managing burnout.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Oh, I said it, you know, a moment ago.
A lot of the reasons why people burn out istheir mindset and their ego, and they're trying
to prove something to others instead of tryingto prove something to themselves.
Welcome to Inspired Choice Today.
I'm your host, Caroline Biesalski, here tobring you authentic stories, surprising
lessons, and powerful takeaways to fuel yourjourney in business and life.
(00:24):
In each episode, I'll take you from oneinspiring guest to the next, blending their
experiences with my experiences to uncoverpractical strategies you can use right away.
Whether you're starting out or stepping up,stay tuned for insights and actionable tips
that make a difference.
And stick around until the end for a specialfreebie just for our listeners.
(00:49):
Hello and welcome, inspired podcast community.
This is your new episode.
My name is Caroline, and my today's guest isMichael Levitt, and I'm so happy that he said
yes to our interview.
How are you doing today?
I am great, Caroline.
Great to be with you today.
So great to see you, and I would like tointroduce you to the audience, of course.
(01:13):
You are a global thought leader in HR andwellness, executive coach and host of the
Breakfast Leadership Show podcast, burnoutsurvivor turned therapist, speaker, and author.
You are passionate about helping leadersprevent burnout and create lasting balance in
their lives.
Welcome to the Inspired podcast, MichaelLevitt.
(01:37):
Thank you.
My first question to you is, what's the biggestmisconception leaders have about burnout, and
how can they proactively prevent it?
The biggest challenge I see with executives,and actually all walks of life when it comes to
burnout, is they think that if they just work alittle bit harder, they'll get through it.
(02:01):
And unfortunately, working harder tends to meanworking more, which is the absolute opposite of
what they should be doing.
As difficult as it is for many busy people tojust stop for a moment and regroup, they feel
that they have to keep going and going.
And what happens, like, in my particularsituation with my burnout, I was doing that,
(02:25):
and then I had a health scare that pretty muchjust knocked me out for almost four months.
And so imagine you're running a business oryou're working, you know, doing whatever, and
you're going, going, going, you're tired,you're fatigued, you know, you're making
mistakes, all these kinds of things, and thenyou have a health event, and then you're not
(02:46):
able to work or do anything for four months.
That thought alone scares a lot of people.
I can't afford to do that.
Well, you're setting yourself up for that ifyou don't pause and go, okay.
This is not working.
I need to approach this differently.
I have to go about what I'm doing to ease thisprolonged stress is what turns into burnout is
(03:10):
prolonged stress, so I have to do somethingabout this.
And, unfortunately, too many people don't takethe time to do that.
And so they think, well, I'll just work throughit.
I'll get through it.
I'll just work harder, and I'll get through it.
And time and time again, they don't, and itjust gets worse.
Wow.
That's good advice you gave us already.
(03:30):
So I witnessed this myself.
I had an accounting company for 16 years.
No.
For, yeah, for 16 years, and then I was, like,burnout, but I did not notice.
I would not have used the term at all.
What I did was I booked a cruise for fiveweeks, and then I was not there in my office or
(03:50):
in my company.
But it turned out I didn't want to do thisanymore, so I closed the company.
But it is very important to talk about itbecause it's so true, because we think it's
because of us.
We have to do more.
Right?
You mentioned it instead of doing less andstepping back a little bit or asking for help,
(04:13):
just asking for help and support.
Yes.
Yeah.
It's important to ask for help, but a lot ofpeople, especially type A personalities that
are, I don't wanna say bullheaded, but maybe weare a bit, to ask for help.
No one came into this world knowing everything.
And so everyone needs help.
(04:35):
They need guidance.
They need education.
They need training.
Everything that we've ever learned, we weretaught.
We didn't inherently learn it.
So it's a situation where, you know, the moreof an educational slat you have about your
life, about, you know, learning more andlearning how to be more efficient, learning how
to do things better, and seeking guidance andhaving mentors, is a game changer for a lot of
(05:01):
people when they do that.
And sometimes they look at it, and it's an egothing where they think, well, if I ask for
help, that shows me weakness.
And I know in many, many cultures, showingweakness is a no-no.
You just can't do that.
But, unfortunately, when you're trying to bestrong and you're really not, that's going to
(05:22):
catch up with you.
And I see it time and time again.
So when you need help, ask for it.
When you've hit a plateau in your business, askfor help.
If you're struggling to get it all done, askfor help because what happens is people that
are outside of your purview may see things thatyou won't and give you some guidance or some
(05:44):
advice that can help you break through thatparticular barrier or hurdle, and you'll be
able to accomplish more in less time.
I, you know, I do it all the time even formyself.
I'm like, okay.
The work that I'm doing, the processes that I'mfollowing, how can I do this more effectively?
How can I do this more efficiently?
And, you know, talk with trusted advisers andsay, here's what's going on.
(06:07):
This is what I'm doing.
And they'll say, well, you know, maybe try thisor maybe stop doing that and just focus on that
right now.
And, again, it's we have this mentality that wehave to get things done, and we have too much
work, which is actually a good thing, and I'llget to that in a moment.
And we can't get everything done, which is alsoa good thing.
(06:28):
A lot of people, it's all about mindset too,where I have too much work to do.
Well, that's good.
And they're like, why would you say that'sgood?
Because the flip side of it is you don't haveany work to do, which means you won't need that
job anymore because there's nothing to do,which, of course, impacts your revenue and all
kinds of other things.
And you won't get things you can't geteverything done.
(06:50):
Well, again, also, more or less, that's a goodthing because that means there's always
something for you to do to create, to makebetter, to improve, because that's what we like
to do.
We're doers.
We like to do things, and it's great to havethe opportunity to be able to do it.
So I've said it, you know, a moment ago.
A lot of the reasons why people burn out istheir mindset and their ego, and they're trying
(07:12):
to prove something to others instead of tryingto prove something to themselves.
Yes.
I understand, and I love what you said aboutasking for help because I heard, a couple of
days ago, I heard someone saying you cannot seethe label of the jar when you are inside the
jar.
(07:33):
So people from outside can see what's missingthere.
And, yeah, thank you so much for sharing.
And, of course, I have another question foryou.
It is how do you balance offering actionableadvice with fostering long-term mindset shift
in your coaching?
Yeah.
For me, it's all about, you know, what theperson wants.
(07:56):
And it's funny when you ask that question tosome people.
It's okay.
What do you want?
And they can't give you an answer right away,which, at first, you think, how do you not know
what you want?
But because of all the things that are going onin their mind, in their world, in their life,
both internal challenges and situations andexternal situations.
(08:22):
No matter what's going on, there's alwayssomething in the world going on that can take
our attention away from, you know, what we'resupposed to be doing.
But it boils down to getting to that core okay.
What, you know, what do you want?
You know, what are your goals?
What do you wanna accomplish over the nextcouple of months or couple of weeks or maybe
even a couple of days or even go longer term,you for the rest of this year or next year or
(08:46):
the next couple of years.
What do you want to do?
What were some things you'd like to do?
And get them to write those things down becausethey're bouncing around in your head.
Okay.
They're in your mind, but so is everythingelse.
So it's bouncing around.
So having a sheet of paper, and there's scienceto prove that handwriting out your goals gives
(09:09):
you a better chance, quite frankly, toaccomplish some of those goals.
Because if they're written down, you can seethem.
You've already had the exercise of from mind topaper.
You can look at them and go, okay.
There's my goal.
Once they get a better understanding of, youknow, what they wanna accomplish, then, you
know, we take a look at, okay, where are we nowon this?
(09:33):
And where are you on this path?
And, again, people do a great job of beatingthemselves up because they wanna be where
they're at.
Is this my goal to lose 20 pounds this year?
Okay.
Great.
And they look, and right now, they haven't lostthe 20
And they get frustrated.
Say, they're not happy with, you know, how theylook or how they feel.
(09:56):
Okay.
That's fine, but beating yourself up is notgonna help you win this game.
You have to come back at it and go, I know Ican do this because in the past, I've been able
to accomplish this, this, this, and this, andthis.
And it gives them that self-motivation andself-encouragement.
(10:16):
And, of course, if you can marry that withdiscipline, because without discipline, your
goals are not gonna be met.
You can be as motivated as you want, but thentomorrow, you're not motivated to do anything.
We've all had that.
There are many days where I'm not motivated todo the activities that I want to do, but I have
the discipline that I need to do them.
(10:38):
I want to do them because I want the outcome ofwhatever my goal is to be successful.
I want to reach there.
So a lot of it is just kinda getting them tochange their inner dialogue a bit, you know, to
believe in themselves a little bit more,celebrate the victories in life, because too
(11:01):
often, we don't spend any time doing that, andbasically connect the dots.
You know?
It's like, okay.
Where are we right now?
Where do you want to get to?
Okay.
Now let's map that out.
Understanding that there's gonna be twists andturns along the way because it's never a
straight line.
There's always gonna be things that come up.
That's fine.
(11:22):
And you deal with those things, and then youget back on the path to your goal.
And you don't let it beat you up.
And, you know, I've seen this time and timeagain.
It's like, if you can improve yourself 1% aday, in a year, that's 365% improvement.
So you just 3x yourself.
(11:42):
If you 3x your skill set or your health oranything you wanna improve in life, if you 3x
it in a year, you're a completely differentperson, and you're well on your way to doing
what you wanna do in life.
If not, blown pretty past it.
Now you're ready to do the next thing.
So it's, you know, giving yourself the positivereinforcement, understanding that there are
(12:05):
going to be setbacks.
Recognize them as such.
Don't let them defeat you, but just realize,okay.
That wasn't comfortable.
I didn't like that.
But, again, it all comes back to mindset andchanging your mindset to believe in you.
Because if you don't believe you're gonna beable to accomplish your goals, guess what?
You will not accomplish your goals.
(12:25):
You have to believe in yourself.
Yes.
It's great to have support from other people,but if you don't believe in you, it doesn't
matter if anybody else does.
I understand, and I love your answer.
Thank you so much.
So my takeaway is people beat themselves upbecause they want to stay where they are.
So that means when we step into the unknown,which is our new self or our yeah.
(12:51):
Where the person that achieved the goal, so tosay, then we have to deal with unknown and
uncomfortable feelings as well.
And that means the and I turn it around now,it's the positive talking to yourself.
This is uncomfortable because we are not usedto, but we can form the habit.
(13:12):
And you talked about self-discipline, which is,I think crucial is the word.
You know, I have a good excuse.
It's not my my mother language.
And and this is this is the unknown for me,this podcast, by the way.
And I would like to know with my next questionabout your goals.
Do you set goals for yourself or intentions,and what is one of your next projects?
(13:38):
Yeah.
I definitely set goals.
And, the author and leadership expert, BrianTracy, who's been, you know, in the biz for a
long, long time, you know, he he that's one ofhis main areas.
He talks about his goals and the importance ofit.
There's plenty of videos out there and booksand content on on what Brian has talked about.
(13:59):
If you're struggling with implementing goals,that would be a recommendation.
Just go look him up and just type in BrianTracy goals.
You'll you'll you'll enjoy that rabbit hole ofall kinds of good information.
But, yeah, I definitely have goals, and Ireview them all the time.
They're written down, and from time to time, Iwill rewrite them down.
It's like, okay.
(14:19):
I'm gonna write these down again.
And, you know, it might be on you know, andtyping them's good.
You can have them on your phone.
That's great.
But, also writing it down is, again, like Imentioned before, there's something scientific
about it.
So I'll look at that.
And writing down your goals is one thing, butyou also have to go a little bit deeper and
say, okay, why do I want this goal?
(14:41):
Why do I want to learn more about the CRM thatI'm using now?
Or why do I wanna learn more and helpAmericans, for example, who are struggling with
personal debt.
We're, you know, collectively, we're in thetrillions in personal debt.
So how do I help people and guide people toaddress that?
(15:05):
Because, you know, during my burnout journeyback in 2009 and '10, you know, financial debt
was a big component of my burnout as well.
And it's of all the stressors that are outthere, I think financial stress—and this is my
personal opinion, but it's shared by others—Ithink financial stress is the biggest stressor.
So for me, if there's a way to help peoplekinda ease their debt burden a little bit and
(15:29):
connect them with, you know, organizations thatcan kinda help them clean up their debt a
little bit so they can breathe a little bit,I'm all for it.
Because if they don't have that stress in theirlife, that means they can be happier in life.
And if they're happier in life, theneverybody's gonna benefit from that.
But getting back to your original question,yes, I have goals.
(15:49):
The biggest, you know, probably the biggestgoal for me now that, you know, at the time of
this recording, we're, you know, in the first,you know, couple weeks of the new year.
For me, you know, some big goals.
Number one is kind of just honing everythingthat I do in my organization and really getting
it, you know, more of an outreach becausethere's a lot of people that are really
(16:09):
struggling with a lot of different things,whether it's workplace culture and
organizations, retention of people, burnout, ofcourse, which, you know, is a space that I've
been working in for quite some time.
You know, those things, they ebb and flowtogether.
Because I see, and this is one of the things,you know, in the therapy work that I do, I see
a lot of this cross-pollination of you've gotburned out employees, the workplace culture is
(16:35):
bad, you're having a retention issue, and it'sall kind of connected by the same causes.
So it's like, okay.
Let's get to the root causes, clean those up,and then we can start improving the other
areas.
So for me, you know, the big goal this year isto really hone in and help more organizations
with this challenge because we need to.
(16:57):
The world needs it.
There's so many external things going on in theworld that, of course, are impacting companies
and organizations and families and homes andall of that.
And I have an ability to be able to helppeople, so that's what I want to do, is I want
to help people.
Why?
Because it's the right thing to do.
You know, what wakes me up in the morning iswhat motivates me when I'm like, finally, it's
(17:22):
Monday.
I don't suffer from Monday blues.
I love Mondays.
I know I'm a weirdo, but I love Mondays.
Why?
Because it's the beginning of a new workweek,and I can start really crushing it and rolling
out the things that I kind of planned outduring the weekend and just, you know, really
crush it.
Because what happens is when I do that, itmakes such a big, big difference for everybody
(17:45):
involved.
Yes.
I see what you mean, and I love what you do.
Thank you so much for sharing.
I love your success as well.
And, of course, I would like to know where wecan find you when people want to reach out to
you after listening to this episode.
Yep.
The best place to go isbreakfastleadership.com.
(18:05):
That's the main site, and there's all kinds ofdifferent resources on there.
If you click the ellipsis button or thethree-line button, if it's on the phone, it's
probably towards the bottom.
If you're on a web page on a computer, it's inthe upper left-hand corner.
There are all kinds of different things.
You can get access to the articles that ourteam writes.
We write a ton of business and individualarticles on improving businesses and personal
(18:30):
life.
There's a link, of course, to the BreakfastLeadership Show.
There's a link to all kinds of differentthings.
I keynote speak.
I write songs for a band.
That's down at the bottom.
You'll see music.
If you want to listen to some music, the band'scalled Unmedicated Decisions.
Have fun with that.
It's a fun little creative project for me.
(18:51):
Just was, like, something completely differentfrom dealing with people that are burnout in
workplace culture.
It's like, hey.
Let's make music.
I tried art, but I can't paint or anything likethat.
I don't have that skill set yet, but I likegoing to art museums personally on a side note.
But breakfastleadership.com, and then you canfind me on all the socials and subscribe to the
(19:12):
show, read the articles, and reach out.
You know, there's ways to reach out to me and avariety of those channels, and I love engaging
with people and just, you know, bouncing ideasoff each other just to do whatever I can to
help them live the best life that they can livebecause we all benefit that way when everyone
is living their best life.
Society benefits.
(19:33):
Yes.
That's so true.
Thank you so much.
Please reach out to Michael.
He's amazing, and I have one last question foryou.
And I'm, yeah, very happy about this interviewalready.
What are some small daily habits that can makea significant impact on preventing burnout for
busy executives?
(19:54):
For me, and this was an acronym that I came upwith during a podcast interview, ironically.
I was part of a leadership conference, avirtual one, and was talking with the host.
And we were just kinda chatting about thingsthat we needed in life, and it came to me.
It's an acronym.
(20:15):
And it's SSFF, and it stands for sleep, sun,food, fun.
Make sure you get plenty of sleep.
If you want a magic pill per se on how to beatburnout and feel better in life, get the right
amount of sleep.
Really focus on that.
Do whatever you can to get the best sleep youpossibly can.
(20:37):
Sun, make sure you get vitamin D.
Many of us around the world are definitelydeficient in vitamin D.
We don't get enough sunshine.
Obviously, you have to protect yourself withskin cancers and all of that because I've had
family members that have had that, so you haveto take it in, you know, carefully, of course.
But getting, you know, vitamin D and sunlightis crucial.
(21:00):
Food, eat the right foods for you, and thatcould be different for everybody.
I'm not gonna tell you to eat kale salad andthis and that.
Find out what foods are right for you, and eatthem.
You'll feel better.
You'll get natural energy.
You won't need all the stimulants, and it won'timpact your gut, and it won't impact your sleep
(21:21):
patterns, which everything is kinda connected.
And finally, fun.
Make sure you have things in life that youenjoy doing besides work.
You know, new hobbies, try new hobbies, or oldhobbies that you had years ago, you know, maybe
revisit them.
But make sure you have some fun in your lifebecause we get one kick at this, so you might
as well have fun while we're doing it.
(21:43):
So sleep, sun, food, fun.
Wow.
I'm glad I asked this question.
I will make this my new motto.
Thank you so much.
And it's so easy and simple and thereforeoverlooked by so many people, I would assume.
Yes.
It's easy.
Okay.
Our new motto.
Thank you so much for our interview, and nowit's time for your final thoughts to the
(22:06):
audience, please.
My final thoughts is make sure you take care ofyou.
In life, we, many times, spend so much timetaking care of others, whether it's our family,
loved ones, friends, our coworkers, ourcompany.
But make sure you take care of you.
(22:27):
You have to take care of you first, because ifyou are the best version of you, then when you
give or when you serve others, they're gettingthe best version ever from you.
And boy, oh, boy, does that create a hugeimpact for your community and the world.
So take care of you, sir.
Take make sure you take care of yourself first.
(22:50):
What a great message to end this episode.
Thank you so much.
I'm inspired now and blessed.
And I see you, of course, in the next episode.
Thank you for listening to Inspired ChoiceToday.
I'm thrilled to have you on this journey ofgrowth and transformation.
(23:11):
Don't forget to hit follow or subscribe to stayconnected and never miss an episode.
And here's something special.
Grab your free 20-minute breakthrough sessionwith me.
It's designed to help you kick-start or levelup your business.
Just check out the show notes for more.
Until next time, keep making those inspiredchoices.
(23:33):
See you in the next episode.
Oh, I said it, you know, a moment ago.
A lot of the reasons why people burn out istheir mindset and their ego, and they're trying
to prove something to others instead of tryingto prove something to themselves.
Welcome to Inspired Choice Today.
I'm your host, Caroline Biesalski, here tobring you authentic stories, surprising
lessons, and powerful takeaways to fuel yourjourney in business and life.
(00:24):
In each episode, I'll take you from oneinspiring guest to the next, blending their
experiences with my experiences to uncoverpractical strategies you can use right away.
Whether you're starting out or stepping up,stay tuned for insights and actionable tips
that make a difference.
And stick around until the end for a specialfreebie just for our listeners.
(00:49):
Hello and welcome, inspired podcast community.
This is your new episode.
My name is Caroline, and my today's guest isMichael Levitt, and I'm so happy that he said
yes to our interview.
How are you doing today?
I am great, Caroline.
Great to be with you today.
So great to see you, and I would like tointroduce you to the audience, of course.
(01:13):
You are a global thought leader in HR andwellness, executive coach and host of the
Breakfast Leadership Show podcast, burnoutsurvivor turned therapist, speaker, and author.
You are passionate about helping leadersprevent burnout and create lasting balance in
their lives.
Welcome to the Inspired podcast, MichaelLevitt.
(01:37):
Thank you.
My first question to you is, what's the biggestmisconception leaders have about burnout, and
how can they proactively prevent it?
The biggest challenge I see with executives,and actually all walks of life when it comes to
burnout, is they think that if they just work alittle bit harder, they'll get through it.
(02:01):
And unfortunately, working harder tends to meanworking more, which is the absolute opposite of
what they should be doing.
As difficult as it is for many busy people tojust stop for a moment and regroup, they feel
that they have to keep going and going.
And what happens, like, in my particularsituation with my burnout, I was doing that,
(02:25):
and then I had a health scare that pretty muchjust knocked me out for almost four months.
And so imagine you're running a business oryou're working, you know, doing whatever, and
you're going, going, going, you're tired,you're fatigued, you know, you're making
mistakes, all these kinds of things, and thenyou have a health event, and then you're not
(02:46):
able to work or do anything for four months.
That thought alone scares a lot of people.
I can't afford to do that.
Well, you're setting yourself up for that ifyou don't pause and go, okay.
This is not working.
I need to approach this differently.
I have to go about what I'm doing to ease thisprolonged stress is what turns into burnout is
(03:10):
prolonged stress, so I have to do somethingabout this.
And, unfortunately, too many people don't takethe time to do that.
And so they think, well, I'll just work throughit.
I'll get through it.
I'll just work harder, and I'll get through it.
And time and time again, they don't, and itjust gets worse.
Wow.
That's good advice you gave us already.
(03:30):
So I witnessed this myself.
I had an accounting company for 16 years.
No.
For, yeah, for 16 years, and then I was, like,burnout, but I did not notice.
I would not have used the term at all.
What I did was I booked a cruise for fiveweeks, and then I was not there in my office or
(03:50):
in my company.
But it turned out I didn't want to do thisanymore, so I closed the company.
But it is very important to talk about itbecause it's so true, because we think it's
because of us.
We have to do more.
Right?
You mentioned it instead of doing less andstepping back a little bit or asking for help,
(04:13):
just asking for help and support.
Yes.
Yeah.
It's important to ask for help, but a lot ofpeople, especially type A personalities that
are, I don't wanna say bullheaded, but maybe weare a bit, to ask for help.
No one came into this world knowing everything.
And so everyone needs help.
(04:35):
They need guidance.
They need education.
They need training.
Everything that we've ever learned, we weretaught.
We didn't inherently learn it.
So it's a situation where, you know, the moreof an educational slat you have about your
life, about, you know, learning more andlearning how to be more efficient, learning how
to do things better, and seeking guidance andhaving mentors, is a game changer for a lot of
(05:01):
people when they do that.
And sometimes they look at it, and it's an egothing where they think, well, if I ask for
help, that shows me weakness.
And I know in many, many cultures, showingweakness is a no-no.
You just can't do that.
But, unfortunately, when you're trying to bestrong and you're really not, that's going to
(05:22):
catch up with you.
And I see it time and time again.
So when you need help, ask for it.
When you've hit a plateau in your business, askfor help.
If you're struggling to get it all done, askfor help because what happens is people that
are outside of your purview may see things thatyou won't and give you some guidance or some
(05:44):
advice that can help you break through thatparticular barrier or hurdle, and you'll be
able to accomplish more in less time.
I, you know, I do it all the time even formyself.
I'm like, okay.
The work that I'm doing, the processes that I'mfollowing, how can I do this more effectively?
How can I do this more efficiently?
And, you know, talk with trusted advisers andsay, here's what's going on.
(06:07):
This is what I'm doing.
And they'll say, well, you know, maybe try thisor maybe stop doing that and just focus on that
right now.
And, again, it's we have this mentality that wehave to get things done, and we have too much
work, which is actually a good thing, and I'llget to that in a moment.
And we can't get everything done, which is alsoa good thing.
(06:28):
A lot of people, it's all about mindset too,where I have too much work to do.
Well, that's good.
And they're like, why would you say that'sgood?
Because the flip side of it is you don't haveany work to do, which means you won't need that
job anymore because there's nothing to do,which, of course, impacts your revenue and all
kinds of other things.
And you won't get things you can't geteverything done.
(06:50):
Well, again, also, more or less, that's a goodthing because that means there's always
something for you to do to create, to makebetter, to improve, because that's what we like
to do.
We're doers.
We like to do things, and it's great to havethe opportunity to be able to do it.
So I've said it, you know, a moment ago.
A lot of the reasons why people burn out istheir mindset and their ego, and they're trying
(07:12):
to prove something to others instead of tryingto prove something to themselves.
Yes.
I understand, and I love what you said aboutasking for help because I heard, a couple of
days ago, I heard someone saying you cannot seethe label of the jar when you are inside the
jar.
(07:33):
So people from outside can see what's missingthere.
And, yeah, thank you so much for sharing.
And, of course, I have another question foryou.
It is how do you balance offering actionableadvice with fostering long-term mindset shift
in your coaching?
Yeah.
For me, it's all about, you know, what theperson wants.
(07:56):
And it's funny when you ask that question tosome people.
It's okay.
What do you want?
And they can't give you an answer right away,which, at first, you think, how do you not know
what you want?
But because of all the things that are going onin their mind, in their world, in their life,
both internal challenges and situations andexternal situations.
(08:22):
No matter what's going on, there's alwayssomething in the world going on that can take
our attention away from, you know, what we'resupposed to be doing.
But it boils down to getting to that core okay.
What, you know, what do you want?
You know, what are your goals?
What do you wanna accomplish over the nextcouple of months or couple of weeks or maybe
even a couple of days or even go longer term,you for the rest of this year or next year or
(08:46):
the next couple of years.
What do you want to do?
What were some things you'd like to do?
And get them to write those things down becausethey're bouncing around in your head.
Okay.
They're in your mind, but so is everythingelse.
So it's bouncing around.
So having a sheet of paper, and there's scienceto prove that handwriting out your goals gives
(09:09):
you a better chance, quite frankly, toaccomplish some of those goals.
Because if they're written down, you can seethem.
You've already had the exercise of from mind topaper.
You can look at them and go, okay.
There's my goal.
Once they get a better understanding of, youknow, what they wanna accomplish, then, you
know, we take a look at, okay, where are we nowon this?
(09:33):
And where are you on this path?
And, again, people do a great job of beatingthemselves up because they wanna be where
they're at.
Is this my goal to lose 20 pounds this year?
Okay.
Great.
And they look, and right now, they haven't lostthe 20
And they get frustrated.
Say, they're not happy with, you know, how theylook or how they feel.
(09:56):
Okay.
That's fine, but beating yourself up is notgonna help you win this game.
You have to come back at it and go, I know Ican do this because in the past, I've been able
to accomplish this, this, this, and this, andthis.
And it gives them that self-motivation andself-encouragement.
(10:16):
And, of course, if you can marry that withdiscipline, because without discipline, your
goals are not gonna be met.
You can be as motivated as you want, but thentomorrow, you're not motivated to do anything.
We've all had that.
There are many days where I'm not motivated todo the activities that I want to do, but I have
the discipline that I need to do them.
(10:38):
I want to do them because I want the outcome ofwhatever my goal is to be successful.
I want to reach there.
So a lot of it is just kinda getting them tochange their inner dialogue a bit, you know, to
believe in themselves a little bit more,celebrate the victories in life, because too
(11:01):
often, we don't spend any time doing that, andbasically connect the dots.
You know?
It's like, okay.
Where are we right now?
Where do you want to get to?
Okay.
Now let's map that out.
Understanding that there's gonna be twists andturns along the way because it's never a
straight line.
There's always gonna be things that come up.
That's fine.
(11:22):
And you deal with those things, and then youget back on the path to your goal.
And you don't let it beat you up.
And, you know, I've seen this time and timeagain.
It's like, if you can improve yourself 1% aday, in a year, that's 365% improvement.
So you just 3x yourself.
(11:42):
If you 3x your skill set or your health oranything you wanna improve in life, if you 3x
it in a year, you're a completely differentperson, and you're well on your way to doing
what you wanna do in life.
If not, blown pretty past it.
Now you're ready to do the next thing.
So it's, you know, giving yourself the positivereinforcement, understanding that there are
(12:05):
going to be setbacks.
Recognize them as such.
Don't let them defeat you, but just realize,okay.
That wasn't comfortable.
I didn't like that.
But, again, it all comes back to mindset andchanging your mindset to believe in you.
Because if you don't believe you're gonna beable to accomplish your goals, guess what?
You will not accomplish your goals.
(12:25):
You have to believe in yourself.
Yes.
It's great to have support from other people,but if you don't believe in you, it doesn't
matter if anybody else does.
I understand, and I love your answer.
Thank you so much.
So my takeaway is people beat themselves upbecause they want to stay where they are.
So that means when we step into the unknown,which is our new self or our yeah.
(12:51):
Where the person that achieved the goal, so tosay, then we have to deal with unknown and
uncomfortable feelings as well.
And that means the and I turn it around now,it's the positive talking to yourself.
This is uncomfortable because we are not usedto, but we can form the habit.
(13:12):
And you talked about self-discipline, which is,I think crucial is the word.
You know, I have a good excuse.
It's not my my mother language.
And and this is this is the unknown for me,this podcast, by the way.
And I would like to know with my next questionabout your goals.
Do you set goals for yourself or intentions,and what is one of your next projects?
(13:38):
Yeah.
I definitely set goals.
And, the author and leadership expert, BrianTracy, who's been, you know, in the biz for a
long, long time, you know, he he that's one ofhis main areas.
He talks about his goals and the importance ofit.
There's plenty of videos out there and booksand content on on what Brian has talked about.
(13:59):
If you're struggling with implementing goals,that would be a recommendation.
Just go look him up and just type in BrianTracy goals.
You'll you'll you'll enjoy that rabbit hole ofall kinds of good information.
But, yeah, I definitely have goals, and Ireview them all the time.
They're written down, and from time to time, Iwill rewrite them down.
It's like, okay.
(14:19):
I'm gonna write these down again.
And, you know, it might be on you know, andtyping them's good.
You can have them on your phone.
That's great.
But, also writing it down is, again, like Imentioned before, there's something scientific
about it.
So I'll look at that.
And writing down your goals is one thing, butyou also have to go a little bit deeper and
say, okay, why do I want this goal?
(14:41):
Why do I want to learn more about the CRM thatI'm using now?
Or why do I wanna learn more and helpAmericans, for example, who are struggling with
personal debt.
We're, you know, collectively, we're in thetrillions in personal debt.
So how do I help people and guide people toaddress that?
(15:05):
Because, you know, during my burnout journeyback in 2009 and '10, you know, financial debt
was a big component of my burnout as well.
And it's of all the stressors that are outthere, I think financial stress—and this is my
personal opinion, but it's shared by others—Ithink financial stress is the biggest stressor.
So for me, if there's a way to help peoplekinda ease their debt burden a little bit and
(15:29):
connect them with, you know, organizations thatcan kinda help them clean up their debt a
little bit so they can breathe a little bit,I'm all for it.
Because if they don't have that stress in theirlife, that means they can be happier in life.
And if they're happier in life, theneverybody's gonna benefit from that.
But getting back to your original question,yes, I have goals.
(15:49):
The biggest, you know, probably the biggestgoal for me now that, you know, at the time of
this recording, we're, you know, in the first,you know, couple weeks of the new year.
For me, you know, some big goals.
Number one is kind of just honing everythingthat I do in my organization and really getting
it, you know, more of an outreach becausethere's a lot of people that are really
(16:09):
struggling with a lot of different things,whether it's workplace culture and
organizations, retention of people, burnout, ofcourse, which, you know, is a space that I've
been working in for quite some time.
You know, those things, they ebb and flowtogether.
Because I see, and this is one of the things,you know, in the therapy work that I do, I see
a lot of this cross-pollination of you've gotburned out employees, the workplace culture is
(16:35):
bad, you're having a retention issue, and it'sall kind of connected by the same causes.
So it's like, okay.
Let's get to the root causes, clean those up,and then we can start improving the other
areas.
So for me, you know, the big goal this year isto really hone in and help more organizations
with this challenge because we need to.
(16:57):
The world needs it.
There's so many external things going on in theworld that, of course, are impacting companies
and organizations and families and homes andall of that.
And I have an ability to be able to helppeople, so that's what I want to do, is I want
to help people.
Why?
Because it's the right thing to do.
You know, what wakes me up in the morning iswhat motivates me when I'm like, finally, it's
(17:22):
Monday.
I don't suffer from Monday blues.
I love Mondays.
I know I'm a weirdo, but I love Mondays.
Why?
Because it's the beginning of a new workweek,and I can start really crushing it and rolling
out the things that I kind of planned outduring the weekend and just, you know, really
crush it.
Because what happens is when I do that, itmakes such a big, big difference for everybody
(17:45):
involved.
Yes.
I see what you mean, and I love what you do.
Thank you so much for sharing.
I love your success as well.
And, of course, I would like to know where wecan find you when people want to reach out to
you after listening to this episode.
Yep.
The best place to go isbreakfastleadership.com.
(18:05):
That's the main site, and there's all kinds ofdifferent resources on there.
If you click the ellipsis button or thethree-line button, if it's on the phone, it's
probably towards the bottom.
If you're on a web page on a computer, it's inthe upper left-hand corner.
There are all kinds of different things.
You can get access to the articles that ourteam writes.
We write a ton of business and individualarticles on improving businesses and personal
(18:30):
life.
There's a link, of course, to the BreakfastLeadership Show.
There's a link to all kinds of differentthings.
I keynote speak.
I write songs for a band.
That's down at the bottom.
You'll see music.
If you want to listen to some music, the band'scalled Unmedicated Decisions.
Have fun with that.
It's a fun little creative project for me.
(18:51):
Just was, like, something completely differentfrom dealing with people that are burnout in
workplace culture.
It's like, hey.
Let's make music.
I tried art, but I can't paint or anything likethat.
I don't have that skill set yet, but I likegoing to art museums personally on a side note.
But breakfastleadership.com, and then you canfind me on all the socials and subscribe to the
(19:12):
show, read the articles, and reach out.
You know, there's ways to reach out to me and avariety of those channels, and I love engaging
with people and just, you know, bouncing ideasoff each other just to do whatever I can to
help them live the best life that they can livebecause we all benefit that way when everyone
is living their best life.
Society benefits.
(19:33):
Yes.
That's so true.
Thank you so much.
Please reach out to Michael.
He's amazing, and I have one last question foryou.
And I'm, yeah, very happy about this interviewalready.
What are some small daily habits that can makea significant impact on preventing burnout for
busy executives?
(19:54):
For me, and this was an acronym that I came upwith during a podcast interview, ironically.
I was part of a leadership conference, avirtual one, and was talking with the host.
And we were just kinda chatting about thingsthat we needed in life, and it came to me.
It's an acronym.
(20:15):
And it's SSFF, and it stands for sleep, sun,food, fun.
Make sure you get plenty of sleep.
If you want a magic pill per se on how to beatburnout and feel better in life, get the right
amount of sleep.
Really focus on that.
Do whatever you can to get the best sleep youpossibly can.
(20:37):
Sun, make sure you get vitamin D.
Many of us around the world are definitelydeficient in vitamin D.
We don't get enough sunshine.
Obviously, you have to protect yourself withskin cancers and all of that because I've had
family members that have had that, so you haveto take it in, you know, carefully, of course.
But getting, you know, vitamin D and sunlightis crucial.
(21:00):
Food, eat the right foods for you, and thatcould be different for everybody.
I'm not gonna tell you to eat kale salad andthis and that.
Find out what foods are right for you, and eatthem.
You'll feel better.
You'll get natural energy.
You won't need all the stimulants, and it won'timpact your gut, and it won't impact your sleep
(21:21):
patterns, which everything is kinda connected.
And finally, fun.
Make sure you have things in life that youenjoy doing besides work.
You know, new hobbies, try new hobbies, or oldhobbies that you had years ago, you know, maybe
revisit them.
But make sure you have some fun in your lifebecause we get one kick at this, so you might
as well have fun while we're doing it.
(21:43):
So sleep, sun, food, fun.
Wow.
I'm glad I asked this question.
I will make this my new motto.
Thank you so much.
And it's so easy and simple and thereforeoverlooked by so many people, I would assume.
Yes.
It's easy.
Okay.
Our new motto.
Thank you so much for our interview, and nowit's time for your final thoughts to the
(22:06):
audience, please.
My final thoughts is make sure you take care ofyou.
In life, we, many times, spend so much timetaking care of others, whether it's our family,
loved ones, friends, our coworkers, ourcompany.
But make sure you take care of you.
(22:27):
You have to take care of you first, because ifyou are the best version of you, then when you
give or when you serve others, they're gettingthe best version ever from you.
And boy, oh, boy, does that create a hugeimpact for your community and the world.
So take care of you, sir.
Take make sure you take care of yourself first.
(22:50):
What a great message to end this episode.
Thank you so much.
I'm inspired now and blessed.
And I see you, of course, in the next episode.
Thank you for listening to Inspired ChoiceToday.
I'm thrilled to have you on this journey ofgrowth and transformation.
(23:11):
Don't forget to hit follow or subscribe to stayconnected and never miss an episode.
And here's something special.
Grab your free 20-minute breakthrough sessionwith me.
It's designed to help you kick-start or levelup your business.
Just check out the show notes for more.
Until next time, keep making those inspiredchoices.
(23:33):
See you in the next episode.
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