“Top athletes understand that to play at their best, they must alternate periods of intense performance with periods of strategic renewal.” ~Robin S. Sharma

Studies show that corporate executives are the most over-worked athletes in the world.

Top athletes train 90% of the time in order to perform at peak levels 10% of the time.

But if you run a company, or are building one, or managing one, the stats reverse: You are expected to perform 90% of the time—at an intense level of focus and energy expenditure—and allowed only 10% recovery time.

That’s unsustainable.

It’s a little like running a tab at a bar: eventually, the bill comes due.

Recovery time is necessary. It is a critical aspect to building anything, whether it be your muscles, your money, or your mind.

Everything needs rest and recovery time, even trees in the winter, or fields for a season, or an infant in the afternoon.

Heavens, my son is a grill meister and demands that the meat always ‘rest’ after removal from the coals!

If you pride yourself in the number of hours you devote to your job and disregard your need for rest, your body will soon tell you to stop, and it will tell you in unpleasant ways: a chronic cold, or a serious illness, or an unfortunate accident.

And it’s not just your muscles and mind, your heart and soul need time to rest, reflect, and recharge.

If you don’t learn how to carve out recovery time, no amount of “putting in the hours” will make you more successful, not long-term, anyway.

Because even you are not super-human. You are not smart enough, strong enough, or fast enough to outrun your need for rest.

Take time for recovery—make time for it—before your body and heart hand you a past-due bill and demand immediate payment.

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And on that note, I will be taking some recovery time the next two weeks. Your Monday Morning Message will return Monday, September 5th. Enjoy the remainder of your summer!