Turn Up The Heat To Overcome Burnout

“You’re going to burn out if you keep up this pace.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that. People think that by telling me to “slow down” and “take it easy,” they’re doing me a favor.

But from personal experience, I can tell you that burnout does not come from working too hard.

When I was in my late thirties, I ran a sales seminar business that offered 16 full-day seminars per month all across the United States. On U.S. holidays like Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, or Thanksgiving, I’d fly to Canada and do seminars there.

When I wasn’t in front of an audience, I was busy with the backend of the business, or I was consulting. It was full-speed every day.?

After going at this pace for several years, I started to show signs of burnout: irritability, loss of energy, and generally feeling “off.” I began to dread getting on a plane to head to yet another hotel room in yet another city.

I started to think, “Maybe everyone was right. I’ve been going too hard for too long.” I got a medical checkup to rule out any health problems. I saw a nutritionist to see if some supplements would help. And I even took up meditation.

None of it really helped. It just didn’t make sense that I was feeling so tired and worn out. The same activities that a few years earlier had filled me with excitement and energy now drained me.

There had to be something deeper going on.

I sat down with a piece of paper and started writing. When did I lose my energy? What has changed? If it wasn’t my health, what was it?

And then, in one big “Aha!” moment, it became crystal clear.

I had lost my edge because I’d lost my purpose. My original goals weren’t big enough to keep me inspired and motivated any longer. As a result, I was no longer obsessed. I had nothing pulling me forward.

Much of my life had become routine and ordinary. Yes, I was making good money, but I wasn’t stretching or creating something new. Instead, it was the same old thing, day in and day out.

With that realization, the solution was simple. I needed a greater purpose. I didn’t need to slow down. I needed to turn up the heat! I needed new 10X goals that would force me to think creatively and take massive action again. I needed something larger than what I could comfortably achieve.?

Overcome Burnout by Turning Up The Heat

I started to dream big and then pushed myself to dream even bigger.?

I had a new obsession to fuel me. I made some key changes to my business and immediately felt the energy return. My passion started to burn.?

It’s no coincidence that so many seemingly healthy people die soon after retirement. They no longer have a purpose to motivate and inspire them. Dropping a few strokes off your golf game or finding new restaurants that serve early bird specials won’t do it. We humans are born to strive, to create, and to achieve.?

Once that is removed from our lives, we will be left depressed and uninspired.

This is why I urge people to go all in. Whatever you’re pursuing, go after it with full intention and full energy. In other words, you must be obsessed.?

The same is true of your purpose. When you find your purpose, it will bring out the best of you. Rather than sapping your energy and drive, it will push you to new levels of thinking and new levels of activity.

If you don’t have a true purpose, you are going to have a difficult time maintaining momentum. When you reach your initial goals and begin to achieve success, that is the time to step on the gas, not the time to ease up.

Continue to push yourself further and further to achieve more and more. And continue to add fuel to the fire. Ignore those who tell you that you have “enough.”?

If you find yourself stuck or otherwise lacking motivation, refocus on your obsession. Set bigger goals. Recommit to your ultimate purpose. That’s the 10X Way.?

10X Mindset: Burn The Place Down?

Tanya, a heavy equipment sales rep in Philadelphia, was struggling. She’d been with the same company for about five years and had consistently made her sales goals. But she wanted more.?

After going through some of the training sessions through Cardone University, Things started to turn around. She set some ambitious 10X personal and sales goals and she resolved to take massive action.

At first, all went well. In fact, things went REALLY well. She was on fire! In one month, she doubled her previous month’s sales and was on track to do the same for the following month.

Then she stopped feeding the fire, and everything started to die out. The leads disappeared. Her energy and motivation took a dive, and so did her results.

“I’m back where I started,” Tanya said. “I don’t understand what happened!”

When something like this occurs in sales, typically, it’s a result of a shift in mindset. What kind of conversations was she having with herself at this point? What was she thinking about? Who was she listening to?

After a minute, she answered. “I guess I started wondering if I could keep up the pace,” she said. “My husband told me he was worried about me because I was working so much. And some of my coworkers on the sales team were making snide comments about me. I thought, ‘Okay, I’m doing more and getting results. Maybe I can ease up a little bit.’”

Tanya’s situation is far from unusual in the sales world. As you start to get some results and traction from working towards your 10X goals, an interesting phenomenon will occur. You’ll be tempted to return to your “normal” level of performance and activity. You’ll stop stoking the fire. But when you do, the momentum will soon die out like an untended campfire.

The problem is that you’re pushing against your personal habits and behaviors. Years of conditioning and outward pressures to conform lead to average results. In order to continue on your 10X trajectory, you must keep stacking on the wood and add some lighter fluid for good measure.

Success follows success. It’s easier to create momentum when you are already moving. An object in motion will remain in motion. It’s easier to make 20 prospecting calls in a row than one a day for 20 days.?

Keep taking action until the fire you’ve built is so big that nothing can stop it. Don’t fall into the trap of believing a little success is enough. Secure your 10X dreams by burning the place down.

10X Action: Stop Holding Back?

As long as you keep working to your potential, you will never get “there.”?

The finish line will keep moving as your skills, desires, and actions expand. You can look at that as a negative or you can embrace it as one of the blessings of being alive. In nature, nothing stagnates.?

Humans are the same. We’re still in a constant state of renewal and change. It is when we try to stifle this natural process that we will feel frustrated, depressed, and burned out.?

That is why you must continue to push your boundaries. You must unleash massive action upon your sales goals. You must sustain that action in order to fuel your progress. You must add so much fuel to your fire that it becomes a beacon for others. Do not hold back. Do not worry that you’ll run out of creativity, ideas, or hours in the day.

You can never take “too much” action. There is no such thing in sales. Others may try to dissuade you simply because your success and activity make them feel uncomfortable. That is their problem, not yours. As in Tanya’s story, others will ask you to slow down and belittle your efforts because it makes them look bad. Ignore them.

After speaking with me, Tanya recommitted to her goals. She ramped up her activity big time. She launched a series of educational seminars — something no one else in her office was doing. And when the conference room she booked wasn’t big enough, she moved the seminars online. She now goes to her clients’ job sites so she can see what they’re working on and what else she may be able to sell them.

Not everyone likes all this activity, but Tanya takes that as a sign she is on the right track.?

If you’d like to get on the right track like Tanya did, take every opportunity to learn the art of selling. Use commute time to and from work each day to listen to proven-to-work sales training material. Focus your attention on growing your business. Learn negotiating strategies that will double your revenue.?

And get your team to do it as well.

Listen, if you are a business owner and would like to give your team the same training and coaching Tanya got, then check out Cardone University.?

Cardone U is a one-stop solution covering every aspect of sales - from basics to advanced strategies.

Today, you and your team can join the thousands of entrepreneurs who have used Cardone U to transform their businesses.?

Schedule a call with one of my Cardone University Advisors to learn how it works

Be Great,

Grant Cardone