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A comprehensive health checklist covering all aspects of a healthy and balanced life, including hygiene, exercise, diet, sleep, and more! Discover essential wellness activities to incorporate daily, weekly, monthly, and annually.
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Steven Handel
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Nearly 75% of Americans are overweight or obese, despite a $225 billion dollar weight loss and management industry focused on tools, programs, and products for shedding pounds and keeping them off. But if there are so many solutions available, why aren’t more people successful at their weight loss efforts?
“What we’re largely taught—in society, in the weight loss field, in diet books—is if you just find the right diet, the right guru, the right pill, then it’ll solve all your problems,” says Dr. Scott Kahan, MPH, director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness in Washington, D.C. “You lose the weight, and you’ll live happily ever after. And that’s pretty much never, ever the case.”
Dr. Lydia Alexander, obesity medicine specialist and president-elect of the Obesity Medicine Association says that when experts approach weight loss and weight management, they don’t use a single-strategy method, but instead approach it with a comprehensive care model based on four pillars: nutritional therapy, physical activity, behavioral modification, and medical interventions.
“It gets us away from the fixed mindset that there’s one way to do this,” says Alexander. “It requires understanding it as not a cosmetic issue, but as a medical condition that’s treatable.”
Here are a few tried-and-true tenets that Kahan and Alexander say can help move you toward a healthier weight.
Self-monitoring is a proven strategy for both weight loss and weight maintenance. You might think keeping records means “counting calories,” but any kind of check-in can work to help you build a new habit.
You can keep a record of your weight over time to get an idea of how things are trending, your steps to see how sedentary you are in a day, or the types of foods you’re eating to get an overall picture of your nutrition, such as how many vegetables you eat in a day, says Kahan.
“Generally tracking behaviors is very helpful for people, because it helps keep focus on a change you’re intending to make and be mindful toward working at it,” he says.
Reducing your weight and keeping it off is primarily a process that involves small, consistent changes over time. Even if your goal is to lose 100 pounds, you have to start with just a few.
“This is something that doesn’t have to be—and realistically can’t be—automatically solved,” says Kahan. ‘It’s something that happens, sometimes slowly and sometimes a little quicker, but modest steps and modest goals can both lead to meaningful weight loss and weight loss that is reasonably sustainable.”
What’s more, even a small amount of weight loss can lead to significant health improvements, such as improving or preventing diabetes, better mobility and physical functioning, and healthier cholesterol levels. Remembering the big picture instead of focusing solely on the number on the scale and how quickly it’s falling can bolster your spirits as you stay the course.
Most of weight management messaging is about losing weight, but maintaining weight takes the same amount of intentionality—or even more, says Alexander.
“A popular misconception is that once you’ve lost the weight, you’re done, and so you can move on,” she says. “A better strategy is to change the mental mindset of your timeline by thinking, ‘OK, I’ve lost the weight, and that was the first piece. The second piece now is keeping my weight at that spot.’ That requires the same type of active involvement as the first piece did. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Kahan says one of the most consistent predictors of long-term progress with weight management is having support and interaction. “That could be meeting with a specialist like myself, it could be meeting with a dietitian, it could be meeting with a trainer, or it could be meeting in an ongoing group session,” he says.
Even just choosing a close friend to check in with can increase your chances of success. Studies show people who keep themselves accountable with a partner as they work toward a weight loss goal may lose 50%–60% more weight than those who don’t.
Nutritional therapy isn’t a simplistic “eat less” paradigm, it’s a shift toward understanding the quality of what you’re eating. For example, whole, fresh food decreases inflammation in your body and can reverse some of the internal malfunction that causes weight gain, says Alexander. That’s why your body feels very differently when you eat empty, processed calories than when you fill up with same amount of calories from whole foods rich in vitamins and nutrients.
“Your body will fight against you more when it’s not getting the nutrition it needs,” says Alexander. “So, you keep on wanting to eat more food as opposed to feeling satiated.”
Physical activity isn’t just for burning calories, it has much deeper benefits specifically tied to weight loss. Walking, one of the simplest forms of exercise, decreases your resistance to insulin, and makes you less hungry. Strength training increases your muscle mass, which aids metabolism, sustaining your calorie balance.
When you move your body during the day, you sleep better. Lack of sleep makes you more likely to reach for fatty and carb-heavy snacks. Your stress levels improve with regular exercise, too. Chronic stress increases cortisol, which increases hunger, which increases blood sugar, in a vicious cycle.
You don’t have to do your exercise all at once, says Alexander. And what you do doesn’t matter. The “right” kind of movement to do is any movement you enjoy.
“Choose the activity you like,” she says. “If you love pickleball, great. If you love walking, wonderful. Pace while you talk on the phone or put away your laundry one sock at a time. If it gets you to move, then that’s your solution.”
Just like you’d go see an orthopedist for a knee problem or an OB/GYN for reproductive system issues, seek out a physician who specializes in weight management for help with your weight loss issues. They can assess whether you may benefit from medications or procedures—or whether you may have a medical reason underlying your weight gain such as a medication side effect or sleep apnea.
“Some people have more significant physiologic challenges that make weight management tougher, some people have more behavioral challenges that will make weight management tougher,” says Kahan. This doesn’t mean weight loss strategies won’t work for you, it just means you have unique barriers that need to be addressed, and a specialist can help with that.”
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Rachel Reiff Ellis
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What does the daily life of a legendary philosopher look like? Learn about Arthur Schopenhauer’s unique routine that he consistently followed for over 27 years.
Arthur Schopenhauer was a major figure in German philosophy throughout the 19th century along with Friedrich Nietzsche and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
While he’s known for his pessimism and negative outlook on life, there’s no denying that Schopenhauer was an intellectual powerhouse of his time who influenced many great thinkers, philosophers, and artists long after his death.
His book Essays and Aphorisms is a great introduction and overview of his philosophical ideas. It explains his core metaphysical belief of “world as appearance,” continuing the legacy of other idealist philosophers like Plato, Kant, and Indian philosophy, which warn about viewing the world strictly through a materialist lens.
The beginning of the book provides a nice biography of Schopenhauer’s family background, education, and life history. There’s one interesting section on his daily routine that caught my attention and wanted to share; it’s always fascinating to gain insights into the habits and lifestyles of influential figures, especially potential role models we can emulate and borrow from.
This specific routine characterizes the last third of Schopenhauer’s life:
Keep in mind, I’m only sharing this for educational purposes. I don’t necessarily recommend this way of living, but there are interesting lessons to takeaway from it, including how some of these habits relate to Schopenhauer’s overall philosophy.
Here’s a breakdown of Schopenhauer’s daily routine for the last 27 years of his life:
While Schopenhauer mostly kept to this strict routine unwaveringly, he was willing to make exceptions under specials circumstances such as if he had friends or visitors in town.
This daily routine seems fitting for a solitary and introspective philosopher, but there are key lessons that fit with conventional self-improvement wisdom:
While Schopenhauer’s routine may not be suitable for everyone, there are elements of discipline, balance, and engagement with various aspects of life that individuals may find inspiring or applicable to their own lifestyles.
Schopenhauer was known for his persistence and stubbornness – his consistent daily routine is just one manifestation of this.
He wrote his magnum opus The World as Will and Representation in 1818 when he was only 28 years old, and he never fundamentally changed his views despite continuing to write and publish until his death at 72.
Schopenhauer has been described as an “immovable mind,” never letting himself deviate from the course he was set out on.
His two hour walk routine in any weather is one of the most popular examples of this. From the biography in the book:
While this immovability has its disadvantages, you have to admire the monk-like discipline.
Schopenhauer was a proponent of ascetism, a life without pleasure-seeking and mindless indulgence. A lot of his philosophy centers around a type of “denouncement of the material world,” so it’s not surprising that a little rain and wind wouldn’t stop his daily walk.
This way of living is reminiscent of the documentary Into Great Silence, which follows the daily lives of Carthusian monks living in the French mountains while they eat, clean, pray, and fulfill their chores and duties in quiet solitude.
One of the hallmarks of a great routine is that it’s a sustainable system. The fact that Schopenhauer was able to follow this regimen for the rest of his life is a testament to its strength and efficacy, and something worth admiring even if it’s not a lifestyle we’d want to replicate for ourselves.
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Steven Handel
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Just about everybody knows that smoking weed can result in a serious bout of the munchies now and then. Researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia are taking a deeper look at the phenomenon, however, with a new study that explores the possible connection between using cannabis and binge eating.
The research, which was published recently in the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, investigated how often people subject to binge eating are also using cannabis recreationally. The study also explored whether people who use cannabis experience more severe symptoms of eating disorders or mental illness.
Previous research has explored how using cannabis can affect a person’s eating habits. However, little is known about the impact that using weed can have on binge eating, which is defined as the experience of feeling out of control when eating or unable to stop eating. Prior studies have also found that cannabis use may increase the pleasure people receive from eating foods high in sugar or fat, suggesting that cannabis may play a role in binge eating.
“Distinguishing the relationship between cannabis use, eating disorder severity and other psychiatric symptoms in binge eating patients is necessary for informing screening and clinical recommendations,” lead author Megan Wilkinson, a doctoral student in Drexel Univesity’s College of Arts and Sciences, told Drexel News.
The new study involved a cohort of participants who were seeking treatment for binge eating. As part of the research, participants reported their use of alcohol and cannabis. The researchers found that more than 23% of the 165 participants reported using cannabis either “once or twice” or “monthly” during the previous three months, suggesting that cannabis use may be associated with binge eating.
The researchers learned that participants who used weed reported “a strong desire or urge to use cannabis.” They also drank alcohol more frequently and reported more problems related to their use of alcohol. However, the team of researchers noted that participants with eating disorders who were also cannabis users did not have more severe eating disorders or symptoms of depression.
“Both alcohol and cannabis can impact an individual’s appetite and mood. Our finding that patients with binge eating who use cannabis also drink more alcohol may suggest that these individuals are at a higher risk for binge eating, given the compounded effects on appetite and mood from these substances,” Wilkinson said. “Treatments for binge eating should explore how substance use affects hunger, mood and eating for patients.”
The study participants also completed interviews and surveys about their experience with binge eating, depression and symptoms of other eating disorders. The researchers then compared the results of participants who used cannabis with others who did not to determine if there were statistically significant differences in eating disorder symptoms, alcohol use or depression symptoms.
The study’s findings indicate that a significant portion of those with binge eating disorders use cannabis and have a strong desire or urge to do so. The researchers also determined that for patients with binge eating disorders, cannabis use appears to be related to alcohol drinking patterns and problems with drinking such as requiring more and more alcohol to feel intoxicated and the inability to control drinking.
“We hope this research is helpful for clinicians treating patients with binge eating, as it can provide them with updated information about the prevalence of cannabis use in their patients,” said Wilkinson. “We recommend that clinicians screen for cannabis and alcohol use in all their patients and assess any potential problems the patient may be experiencing related to their substance use.”
The researchers noted that continued study of the relationship between cannabis and binge eating will be needed because of the evolving legal landscape and changing social norms surrounding cannabis. Wilkinson and her team are planning a new study to investigate how cannabis use may impact hunger and mood for people with binge eating, factors which could make binge eating symptoms worse.
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A.J. Herrington
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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Across a wide array of industries and geographies, the world’s greatest business leaders know all goals must be rooted in consistent habits that support them. Top leaders regularly evaluate and reassess whether their daily practices are enabling them to lead effectively and efficiently, and ultimately, whether they are paving the path for their long-term plans.
Understanding that success often comes through incremental progress over time, they are confident that even when goals don’t materialize as quickly as planned, the systems and processes they have put in place will keep their team motivated, energized and on track. The best leaders delight in their habits, knowing the hard work will ultimately lead to results.
After three decades of working with CEOs, I’ve come to find the following five fundamental habits are shared by the most successful leaders:
Related: 5 Habits of Leaders at the Top of the Ladder
Great leaders prioritize keeping consistent lines of communication by maintaining a regular cadence of one-to-ones and department meetings. They keep meetings productive and results-oriented by leveraging some combination of the following best practices:
Share a brief with all participants ahead of every meeting: This allows everyone to come ready to share relevant updates, answer questions, and offer fresh thinking and well-thought-out solutions, rather than spending the first part of the meeting getting everyone up to speed.
Open meetings by outlining the purpose and intended outcome: This helps to set the tone, align expectations, ensure the conversation doesn’t get sidetracked, and eliminate surprises.
Come to meetings prepared and ready to lead: A great way to accomplish this is to create a 15-minute buffer between meetings. Avoiding back-to-back meetings gives leaders a quick opportunity to debrief from their previous meeting and prepare for their next.
Rather than spending all day reacting to emergencies, effective CEOs take proactive control of their planning process. They routinely build planning checkpoints into their day: In the morning to set themselves up for the day, mid-day for reflection on critical projects, and in the evening to plan for the following day. This strategic and forward-thinking approach to planning gives leaders an opportunity to be thoughtful in their responses rather than constantly responding on the fly.
Great leaders don’t leave their priorities up to chance — they bake them directly into their calendars. Instead of simply creating a to-do list and hoping they’ll get through it by the end of the day, they set aside specific blocks of time for each item they want to accomplish, even if it’s as simple as walking around the office to connect with the team.
This principle applies to both personal goals, like exercise, and business priorities, like strategic planning. An effective CEO’s schedule often appears to be booked solid, but instead is carefully tailored to ensure important projects don’t fall to the wayside. Some CEOs find success from digital planners or apps to super-schedule their day. Regardless of what tool is used, the practice of scheduling time for priorities is key to staying on track and making progress against goals.
Related: 10 Secrets to Creating a Master Calendar That Drives Your Productivity
Great CEOs know the pitfalls of trying to do everything on their own. They actively seek diverse perspectives from trusted peers to ensure their decision-making process is well-balanced. Remaining open-minded to new approaches, they welcome the expertise and counsel of others. Many have discovered that when they say their goals out loud to peers, they’re more likely to follow through with action to support those goals. Whether it’s in the form of a peer networking group, mentoring/coaching program or regular conversations with longtime friends, effective leaders lean into the value of community.
Among the many pressing decisions CEOs need to make each day, it can be difficult to find time for learning. However, the world’s best leaders regularly seek out new industry and leadership ideas from podcasts, articles, speakers and books. Lifelong learning starts by setting goals and implementing habits to support them. By creating the discipline to support a life of learning, CEOs can ensure they are always improving.
In 2024, economists forecast continued economic uncertainty and softness. This makes now as important a time as ever for leaders to make sure they are setting themselves, and their companies, up for success. The Super Bowl is not won in one game alone. It is the result of year-round training, grueling practices, wins, losses and perseverance. Business is the same. Breaking bad habits and implementing and maintaining new ones is hard work. However, great CEOs find joy in the process and are patient as they work toward growth goals.
Related: 5 Winning Habits That Will Transform Your Leadership Skills
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Sam Reese
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What are the six aspects of a balanced person? Physical, mental, emotional, social, work/financial, and meaning/spiritual. Learn more about each one and how to improve it!
In life, there isn’t one single area that we need to focus on that is going to magically fix all of our problems.
Instead there are multiple dimensions behind every “good life.” Each dimension requires our attention and each contributes to our overall happiness and well-being.
Here are six aspects of life that come together to create a “balanced person.” By being more aware of these different dimensions in life, we can determine which areas we need to focus on more and work to improve.
The different aspects of a balanced person include: 1) Physical, 2) Mental, 3) Emotional, 4) Social, 5) Work/Financial and 6) Meaning/Spiritual.
If we focus too much on any one area, then we risk neglecting another one. For example, if you become solely focused on just work and money, you may end up spending less time taking care of your physical and mental health, or less quality time with family and friends.
This is a common trap people fall into. They focus all of their energy and effort into one area in life while completely ignoring another. Often they need to reconfigure their core values and priorities before making a meaningful change.
This is why practicing balance in all things is so important.
Each of these areas is one piece of a much larger puzzle, and only when you have all of these areas working together harmoniously can you finally build a complete life that serves all of your needs.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of each aspect of a “balanced person,” along with tips, tools, and practical advice on how you can start improving each one.
While reading ask yourself, “Which aspect do I need to focus on the most right now? What’s one small change I can make to improve that area?”
Now let’s dive in…
The “physical” aspect of life is all about taking care of our health, especially exercise, diet, and sleep.
This includes what types of foods and drinks we consume on a daily basis, how often we exercise and keep our bodies moving, personal hygiene and cleanliness, as well as minimizing alcohol, smoking, and other harmful habits to our physical health.
Our body is one of the most precious gifts we have – and without it we can’t exist. If we don’t stay healthy, we often can’t fully enjoy all the other aspects of life such as family, work, traveling, or leisure.
Our health can often have a spillover effect into all the other aspects of our lives – for that reason, taking care of our physical health is often an essential first step on any road to self-improvement.
No matter what the current state of our health is, it’s never too late to start changing our habits, even if it’s something small like stretching in the morning, taking daily walks outside, or starting an active hobby like Yoga, marathon running, or playing sports.
A healthy body is a healthy mind. When we take better care of our bodies, we also feel more confident, motivated, and energized overall. That’s the beginning of bringing out your best self.
Please don’t underestimate the importance of keeping your body in the best shape possible. As Socrates famously said, “No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”
Physical health is about much more than just looking and feeling good about yourself – it’s about living a life of vitality and longevity. You can have everything else in your life figured out, but if you don’t maintain your health you won’t be around very long to use or enjoy it.
If you don’t take care of your body then it will slowly deteriorate – and the same is true for your mind.
Just because you don’t have to go to school anymore doesn’t mean you can’t keep learning new things, keeping your brain sharp, and challenging your intellect.
Reading books. Learning about new topics. Having deep conversations. Attending lectures and workshops. Following the news. These are all commonsense ways to keep our minds active and continue to update our knowledge and belief system as we move through life.
Learning is a lifelong endeavor. Balanced people are always seeking new things to dig into and learn more about like a new hobby, new game, or new skill such as painting, chess, learning a new language, or playing a musical instrument.
In addition, research shows that continuing to challenge our brain is an important way to prevent cognitive decline as we get older, including lower the risk of dementia and memory loss.
Take your education seriously. Maintain a healthy and active brain. Even if you were never a good student in school, that doesn’t mean you can’t improve your knowledge and intelligence, especially once you find subjects you are deeply passionate about. Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
In the “Mental” section we covered how to keep our brains active and be more intelligent thinkers, but there’s also a whole other side of our psychology that we need to pay attention to as well: our “Emotional” side.
Emotions can often seem like something that we have limited power over, but being a more emotionally intelligent person means becoming more self-aware and learning how to better respond to our emotions in the moment.
We can’t ignore our emotions or push them aside forever, they are a necessary facet of life and we must learn to navigate our emotional world effectively if we want to live the best life possible.
Remember that emotions are a resource, not a crutch. Every emotion serves a function or purpose, and if we channel our emotions in a constructive direction we can make great things happen.
One important lesson is that even negative emotions like sadness, anger, guilt, or fear are helpful to a better life if we approach them from the right perspective.
Emotions can “make us” or “break us” depending on how emotionally intelligent we are. They are a fundamental part of life, but we often have more power over them than we realize. Learn how to channel your emotions in a healthy and constructive way – become a master of them, not a slave to them.
Healthy and positive relationships are an essential ingredient to happiness and well-being.
No matter who you are, you crave some type of social connection; even the most introverted person on the planet will have a tough time finding happiness all by themselves.
There used to be a time when I believed “I don’t need people to be happy, all I need is myself.” But over the years I’ve learned more and more that having social support and a sense of belonging is a basic human need that can’t be avoided.
How strong is your current social circle? Here’s advice to get you started.
Always remember that quality of relationships > quantity of relationships.
You don’t need to be super popular or the life of the party to have a healthy social life. All you need is a couple really close friends who support you, trust you, and enjoy your presence. That’s everything you need to be socially satisfied.
Healthy relationships are a fundamental aspect of happiness and well-being for everyone. Our need to belong to a “tribe” or group is hardwired into our brain, biology, and evolution. Like every other aspect of a balanced person, it can’t be ignored.
Are your daily social needs being fulfilled?
Another fundamental aspect of a balanced person is work, money, and material concerns.
At the most basic level, we depend on food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, and other necessities so we can live a healthy and dignified life.
People that struggle to make a living can often hurt in many other areas: physical health (can’t afford good foods, healthcare, or medicine), relationships (can’t support family, no money for dating), as well as our mental and emotional well-being (stress, anxiety, and low self-esteem).
Unless you win the lottery or have someone else to provide for you, finding a steady job or career is often one of the most focused on areas in life. From childhood up until we finish high school or college, we are constantly asked, “What do you want to do for a living?”
A few people find jobs they love, many find jobs they like, and most find jobs they can at least tolerate. Balancing psychological needs with financial needs can be a difficult task depending on your current situation.
While we don’t always get a choice in what we do for a living, there are important ways to give ourselves more power over our work life and financial life. Here are important guidelines to keep in mind.
Remember, money is important but it isn’t everything.
Financial well-being will often look radically different depending on the person. Certain people may be content with modest and minimal living, while others crave more luxury, adventure, and pleasure. Whichever lifestyle you choose, it’s necessary that money finds the proper role in your life without being completely consumed by it.
One succinct way to define true financial well-being is “not needing to think about money all the time.”
The meaningful or spiritual aspects of life can often be overlooked.
We may occasionally ask ourselves big questions like, “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” or “What’s my purpose?” but we rarely translate these questions into our daily lives through action.
For many people, religion is their main source of spirituality and meaning. Attending church, being part of a local community, prayer, and volunteering or giving to charities are common ways people boost meaning in their daily lives. Religion has been shown to improve happiness and well-being by creating a strong sense of purpose and community.
However, we don’t need religion to have a meaningful life. There are many other sources of meaning, including art, culture, philosophy, literature, music, relationships, activism, introspection, and creativity.
Where do you get your meaning in life?
A “meaningful life” can be one of the most difficult areas of life to improve, especially while living in a world that is filled with nihilism, hedonism, and materialism.
However, once you build a strong spiritual core you can withstand almost any difficulty or hardship. It can empower you to a whole new level that non-spiritual people don’t usually have access to.
To sum things up we must invest time and energy in all six of these aspects if we want to live a happy and balanced life.
Once again, these six aspects of a balanced life include: 1) Physical, 2) Mental, 3) Emotional, 4) Social, 5) Work/Financial, and 6) Meaningful/Spiritual.
Which area are you the strongest in? Which area are you the weakest in?
Keep this framework in mind as you embark on a lifetime of self-improvement. Try the Daily Routine (PDF) exercise and use this resource as a guideline.
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Steven Handel
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We are what we repeatedly do. Complete the “Daily Routine” worksheet to get a clear idea of what an average day looks like for you. Is there room for small changes?
Daily Routine Worksheet (PDF)
Check out more self-improvement worksheets here!
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Steven Handel
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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
“I love jet lag!” said no one ever. Well, that’s not entirely true. Recently, a Washington Post contributor made a case for embracing jet lag, rather than fighting it. She explained the benefits of catching sunrises and exploring sleepy streets when most residents are still snoozing.
I used to lean into jet lag as well. When I’d visit my family in Turkey or Jotform‘s office in Ankara, the flight back home to San Francisco would set me 10 hours behind. Instead of trying to overcome the effects of jet lag, I’d wake up in the middle of the night and get to work. I figured I’d put in a day’s work and get to bed early. But I’d find myself dozing off by lunchtime, wired at night and very grumpy. What’s more, my mind felt so fuzzy that I couldn’t make headway on meaningful projects.
Related: Use This Hack to Schedule Important Tasks for When You’re Most Productive
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According to “common factors theory,” the essence of successful therapy lies in shared core elements, and the differences between therapeutic approaches are often less important than fulfilling these fundamental criteria.
One frequent question people ask themselves when they first decide to seek therapy is, “What type of therapy should I get?”
There are many different types of talk therapy to choose from. Often specific types of therapy are geared toward specific mental disorders. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is common for depression and anxiety disorders, Dialectic Behavioral Therapy is common for bipolar and mood disorders, and EMDR is common among those with PTSD.
How much do these therapies differ? How much does it matter?
One interesting idea in psychology is “common factors theory.” The basic premise is that effective therapy isn’t necessarily based on any specific type of therapeutic tool or technique, but rather there are underlying factors behind all therapies that make them successful.
Many therapeutic systems have been invented over the past century. Today, every popular therapist or coach has their own trademarked brand that’s sold as the absolute best approach to mental health.
The less glamorous truth is that most successful therapies aren’t special. There’s significant overlap between different approaches, with a couple extra bells and whistles. However, at the end of the day the biggest reason they are successful is because they all meet fundamental criteria.
Below you’ll learn more about these “common factors” behind successful therapy, including: collaboration, empathy, alliance, positive regard, genuineness, and individual differences.
One interesting study identified 6 common factors behind all “evidence-based” therapy. They also calculated estimates on how much each factor contributed to the overall variability of therapeutic outcomes.
Here are the 6 common factors behind all successful therapy:
These are the 6 most common factors behind successful therapy. They account for ~50% of the total variability in therapeutic outcomes, so there are still many other factors at play.
In truth, different types of therapies have their advantages and disadvantages, and certain approaches may work better for some and not at all for others.
Regardless of the system, successful therapy often needs to meet the basic requirements listed above. Without these common factors being met, no technique or approach is going to work.
A therapist needs to be flexible in their approach and try not to force fit everyone into their preferred model.
The more a person is trained and/or educated on a specific field in psychology, the more they seem to be “locked in” to only one way of observing the human condition. They don’t talk to people as human beings at face value, but instead think, “How does this person fit into my cognitive/behavioral/psychodynamic/evolutionary model?”
Expertise (and overspecialization) can narrow vision. A certain element of beginner’s mind is the best approach to therapy. Start with the basic questions, “Who is this person? What do they care about? What makes them tick? What do they want to change?”
Assume nothing and ask questions. Learn about the person from scratch. Connect to them human-to-human and see where it goes.
More concerning, certain therapies have become popularized and over-hyped in recent years. They’ve turned into commercial brands. “Cognitive-behavioral therapy” has become a buzzword in many circles because the average person associates it with the only “evidence-based” therapy.
Of course I’m not against specific therapies. I’ve learned a lot of helpful tools and techniques from various systems (including CBT) that I still practice today.
At the end of the day, I’m a pragmatist, so there’s almost no therapy, treatment, medication, or technique I’m 100% for or against. If it helps just one person, then it’s that much effective.
However, in general, a good therapist needs to have a comprehensive understanding of how humans work. Tools and techniques can be in your back-pocket, but first and foremost you need to approach people as individual human beings seeking growth.
Successful therapy can’t be reduced to a checklist.
This topic reminds me of an old series of videos known as the Gloria Tapes.
It was an educational film made in the 1960s to teach psychology students the differences between therapeutic approaches.
The series follows a single patient, Gloria, who receives therapy from three distinguished psychologists of the time: Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls, and Albert Ellis.
The therapy is limited since it’s only one session each, but you can get a good understanding of the radically different approaches by each therapist.
You can watch each of the sessions here:
Each of these videos reveals a different approach to therapy.
Albert Ellis is most aligned with modern cognitive and rational-based approaches. Carl Rogers has a more gentle and humanistic approach. Fritz Perls has a direct and provocative approach (almost to the point of bullying).
If I remember correctly, the patient Gloria felt the most comfortable with Rogers, but she actually went for a second session with Perls. I don’t know how to interpret that – it’s possible she felt “unfinished business” with Perls or she simply enjoyed arguing with him.
None of this says anything about “successful therapy.” Just one session isn’t adequate to measure “success” vs. “failure” when it comes to a long-term process like self-growth. However, these examples will give you a taste for the different types of therapies out there.
Ultimately, successful therapy depends on both therapist and patient. The most important factor is to have a healthy, working relationship and a “build together” attitude. Once you have that foundation, anything is possible.
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Steven Handel
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An honest review of 2023, featuring stand-out articles, practical worksheets, and a preview of the near future at The Emotion Machine.
Another year is coming to an end. It’s time for my annual recap and roundup of best articles.
To start, I’ll say this year was a good year for me overall. Not excellent, not bad – but “good.” It was more turbulent than past years and I certainly had low moments, but I adapted quickly and made a couple major habit changes that are going to payoff big in the future.
Despite the chaos, I was remarkably consistent in my output this year. After a decade working on this site, creating new content is almost automatic for me. There’s no reason to assume I’ll be slowing down anytime soon, as new ideas and new projects are constantly coming to mind.
The most successful endeavor this year has been my addition of self-improvement worksheets.
Last year I pledged to make one new worksheet per month, so we already have a nice collection of 12 available going into the new year. These have received a lot of positive feedback so far and I’ll keep making new ones in 2024 (already have a long list of ideas).
I’ll share more on my goals for 2024 soon, but let’s first take a look at the best self-improvement content that was published at The Emotion Machine in 2023…
Here’s a list of my best articles and worksheets from 2023 by category.
No Matter How Bad Things Get: If I Can Overcome This, I Can Overcome Anything
Framing Depression as an Adaptive Signal, Not a Lifelong Disease
The Drawing Effect: How Doodling Can Improve Your Thinking, Memory, and Emotions
Renaissance Man: Why You Should Cultivate Multiple Interests
Going Cold Turkey: Breaking Free from the Chains of Unhealthy Behaviors
The Hidden Exhaustion of Mental Work: Why It Can Be Just as Tiring as Physical Labor
Abandon Your TV: The Mental Benefits of Canceling Your Cable Subscription
The Big 5 Personality Traits: A Framework for Understanding Our Differences
Conflict Resolution: 4 Principles Behind Constructive and Peaceful Negotiation
Words Have Consequences: The Power of Language in Effective Communication
Explain Yourself: The Healthy Challenge of Describing Your Beliefs
Mental Gymnastics: 7 Self-Sabotaging Effects of Over-Rationalization
The Gish Gallop Effect: How Rapid Argumentation Distorts Perceptions and Beliefs
I haven’t yet worked on my goals timeline, an annual tradition I do at the beginning of every year, but I’ll give you a quick peak at my main work goals in the near future:
All in all I’m excited about 2024, and the ideas above feel like a perfect balance between “sticking with what works” vs. “trying new things.”
If you find this work valuable to your life and want more, join me and support me going into the new year.
My entire archive currently has over 850 articles covering a wide-range of subjects in psychology and self-improvement; and there’s plenty more to come in the future. I’m just getting started.
To be honest with you, some of my earlier articles may not have aged as well as others. When you consistently produce content over 14 years, you inevitably release some less-than-stellar pieces. It’s a part of the process – having both “winning streaks” and “losing streaks” is a universal theme in life.
Over the years, my beliefs, values, and interests have also shifted since I first started this site. There are things I wrote in the past that I don’t wholly agree with today. However, I choose to keep these old posts accessible because people often need different advice at various stages of their lives.
I bet that’s not the hottest sales pitch you’ve ever heard. At heart, I consider myself a teacher more than a salesman, and that means being sincere, honest, and truthful before everything else. If you’re looking for “one trick” to magically fix your life, you’re in the wrong place. I don’t have those – never found them.
All I can do is offer an array of tools, advice, and guidelines. You ultimately have to figure out what applies (or doesn’t) to your life. In truth, 80% of the content on this site may not interest you at all, but there’s that 20% that could be just what you need at this exact moment in your life.
What I can promise you is that I’m one of the most dedicated writers on self-improvement currently going. I’ve seen thousands of other “self help” sites rise and fall over the years, but I keep chugging away no matter what.
If you want to align with my commitment to happiness and well-being, then your first step is to join me.
Better yet, get a Yearly subscription, for two simple reasons: 1) You’re committing yourself to a year of self-improvement, and 2) It’s cheaper. I’m honestly saying this from a self-improvement perspective and not a sales one.
You can cancel your membership at anytime. Please use the Contact form if you have any questions or comments.
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Steven Handel
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Embark on a journey to well-being with these four profound Japanese concepts: Ikigai for purpose, Moai for community, Hara Hachi Bu for mindful eating, and Kintsugi for resilience. Discover insights to a healthier and happier life in the modern world by embracing the ancient wisdom of Japanese culture.
Culture is a powerful force that influences the type of person we become. In the pursuit of well-being, different cultures can often teach us different lessons on what it means to live a good life.
First, what is culture? The American anthropologist Edward T. Hall created the “Cultural Iceberg” framework to help us analyze the many factors that determine what a culture is. The theory illustrates that only 10% of culture is what we see (language, diet, music, fashion), while 90% of culture is hidden from us (beliefs, values, norms, and expectations).
Here’s what the “Cultural Iceberg” looks like:
Generally we see the culture we grew up in as the default mode of being. This includes how people dress, what people eat, and what music they listen to, but also deeper aspects of life such as beliefs, values, morality, and how people approach life from a broader perspective.
Culture, tradition, and social norms shape our map of reality, the choices we make, and how we navigate our world. If you’re raised in a society that only values materialistic goals like money, fame, or popularity, you’re naturally going to live a life in accordance with those values, especially if they go unquestioned.
When we explore new cultures through traveling, reading, or meeting new people, we learn that there are many different ways we can approach life and the way we were raised isn’t necessarily the only way to live.
One simplified but general way we can categorize different types of culture is Western vs. Eastern ways of thinking. Western cultures tend to be more individualistic, rational, and materialistic, while Eastern cultures tend to be more collectivist, holistic, and spiritual.
Keep in mind, these are broad categorizations. Every country and culture is different. This also isn’t a judgment of “right” or “wrong” ways of thinking, but rather observing different personality types on a cultural scale.
My experience from a Western perspective is that learning about various aspects of Eastern culture and philosophy (such as Buddhism, Taoism, or Confucianism) gave me a taste for different ways to look at the world and different perspectives on life that I otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed to.
One popular country to look at is Japan which has a rich history, deep cultural roots, and long-held traditions that have been passed down over multiple generations. In this article, we’re going to cover four powerful Japanese concepts that provide universal lessons on how to live a healthier and happier life. Each concept reveals core values and beliefs that shape the way many Japanese people live.
These powerful ideas include: Ikigai (“a reason for being”), Moai (“meeting for a common purpose”), Hara Hachi Bu (“belly 80% full”), and Kintsugi (“golden repair”). Now let’s dive deeper into each one!
a reason for being
The Japanese concept of “Ikigai” is about finding a purpose in life. It directly translates to “a reason for being,” and it’s often described as the intersection between what you love, what you are good at, and what the world needs.
Ikigai is a combination between intrinsic motivation (an activity you enjoy doing) and extrinsic rewards (an activity that creates value in the world and improves people’s lives). Psychology research has shown that ikigai is associated with elevated feelings of dedication, accomplishment, meaning, and fulfillment.
This is in contrast to a lot of other cultures that just see work as a means to a paycheck or higher income, rather than reframing work as something that serves a higher purpose, both to yourself and society as a whole.
Ikigai has been shown to benefit both physical and mental health. It can reduce stress and anxiety, which contributes to longer lives and less risk of cardiovascular disease and other ailments. In addition, ikigai is associated with greater resilience in the face of negative events. One interesting study found that ikigai helped people better cope with stress after an earthquake or natural disaster.
Here’s a visual of what constitutes ikigai:
If you can find activities that meet all of these requirements, then you’ve found your ikigai.
Discovering your ikigai can take time and patience though. It involves careful introspection, understanding your strengths, passions, and talents, and finding ways to use those powers to fulfill the needs of the world.
Once you find your ikigai, it’s important to align your daily activities with it if you want to build a more purposeful and meaningful life.
meeting for a common purpose
Human connection is vital for our well-being, and the Japanese practice of “Moai” emphasizes the strength of communal bonds.
Moai refers to a group of people who come together for a shared purpose, providing emotional, social, and even financial support. Often a moai includes family, friends, and neighbors within a local community. They will see each other frequently, talk and catch up on each other’s lives, and organize group activities such as game nights, fitness groups, music performances, or dance parties.
This tight sense of community provides an important sense of belonging. It also comes with physical benefits like healthier lifestyles, exercise, social connection, and financial support if someone finds themselves in a tough situation.
In today’s world, many people are suffering from loneliness and depression. One major cause of this is hyper individualism and atomistic lifestyles that no longer promote community values. Many Americans report having zero close friends and only 38% say they have “5 friends or more.” This is in stark contrast to the moai way of life which can often include 10-12+ lifelong friends.
While there’s plenty of research showing the physical and mental benefits of social support, one of the most common examples of moai can be found in Okinawa, Japan, which has been identified as a “blue zone.”
Blue zones are places around the world that are associated with better health and longevity. Often there are high numbers of centenarians in them (or people who have lived over 100). The recent Netflix documentary Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones by public health researcher Dan Buettner has a great episode dedicated to Okinawa that shows how the moais work there.
Many health professionals and experts are now claiming we are in a “loneliness epidemic,” with over 1 in 4 adults saying they feel socially isolated. This can have serious health consequences such as increased risk of anxiety, depression, heart disease, stroke, dementia, and overall shorter lifespans. The negative effects of loneliness have been compared to the effects of daily cigarette smoking.
As communities continue to decline and feelings of social alienation increase, the moai mentality is needed now more than ever.
belly 80% full
In a culture often associated with healthy living and longevity, the Japanese concept of “Hara Hachi Bu” teaches us the art of mindful eating. Translated as “belly 80% full,” this practice encourages moderation in our meals.
Obesity is a growing problem around the entire world. Recent reports show that 39% of the global population in 2023 is obese or overweight, and this is a sharp increase from 23.9% in 2008. If this trend continues, researchers predict that over half of the global population will have obesity by 2035.
One factor in this rise in obesity is having abundant access to ultraprocessed foods, including the convenience of fast food and junk food. The modern diet is filled with supernormal foods that hijack our natural instincts for sugar, salts, and rich flavor, which is why many people end up over-eating during meals or late night binging.
The lesson of Hara Hachi Bu is more relevant now than ever. By reminding ourselves to only eat until we are 80% full, we encourage slower and more mindful eating. This lets you enjoy your meal more by paying attention to each bite and savoring it, rather than quickly moving from one bite to the next without fully appreciating it.
Many people eat unconsciously. Often it’s eating while watching TV/movies, checking their phones, scrolling social media, or socializing with friends. Their main focus is on one thing, while eating is just something happening in the background. These distractions can lead you to eat more than you otherwise would.
Slowing down your eating will lead to less consumption, better digestion, and improved body awareness of how you respond to certain foods, the best times of the day to eat (or not), and what it feels like to be “50% full” → “80% full” → “100% full” → “110% full.”
Adopting Hara Hachi Bu not only contributes to physical well-being by maintaining a healthy weight but also cultivates a mindful approach to eating that can lead to a stronger connection with the food we consume.
golden repair
Derived from the Japanese words “kin” (golden) and “tsugi” (repair), Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.
Here’s what it looks like:
Instead of hiding the cracks and flaws, the practice of kintsugi embraces the broken parts by highlighting them in gold. It celebrates its imperfections, while at the same time making them stronger and more beautiful.
Many find inspiration when applying this concept to their personal lives. It helps them to accept the challenges and obstacles they’ve had to face over the years – the physical, mental, and emotional battle scars – and see them as jumping points for growth and improvement.
No one’s life is perfect. We all suffer from weaknesses, flaws, insecurities, and vulnerabilities. Our instinct is to hide them, ignore them, or deny them, but the paradox is that when we accept them is when we actually become stronger.
Kintsugi promotes resilience, growth, and grit. It shows that no matter how many times you get broken, you can always repair yourself in gold.
Each of these Japanese concepts – Ikigai, Moai, Hara Hachi Bu, and Kintsugi – offers a kernel of wisdom that we can all apply to our daily lives.
While these ideas are ancient, they are more relevant to modern living than ever before. Ikigai teaches us meaning and purpose, Moai teaches us social connection, Hara Hachi Bu teaches us mindful eating, and Kintsugi teaches us growth and resilience.
Which concept do you need to embrace the most right now?
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Steven Handel
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Ready for a major lifestyle change? Uncover successful strategies when embracing the “cold turkey” approach to break bad habits, making the process of change both easy and manageable.
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Steven Handel
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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
A recent study says the average worker receives 304 business emails a week. The average employee checks their email 36 times an hour, and 80% of workers simply resort to working with their inbox open all the time. Thereafter, it takes them around 16 minutes to refocus.
We live in a world full of different ideas, people and businesses all vying for our attention. Nearly every app, website and company wants the same thing: your email address. This has turned our inboxes into a battleground between time-sensitive emails, valuable information and occasionally fun but useless messages.
For entrepreneurs, effective communication is vital to the success and livelihood of your business. Receiving a torrent of emails is the new normal. Trying to read each one might feel like trying to drink water out of a fire hose.
Productivity expert Merlin Mann saw this coming in 2006 when he coined the term “inbox zero.” Some have erroneously thought this to be advocacy for constantly checking and going through your emails every time you hear that distinctive ping. But according to Mann, the zero isn’t about reducing the number of emails in your inbox, but the amount of time your brain is in your inbox.
Let’s look at how to reduce the stress brought on by the near-constant onslaught of emails in our modern world.
The goal of “inbox zero” is to increase productivity. There are few more deadly productivity killers than the practice of constantly checking and replying to emails all throughout the day.
An estimated 62% of all emails are unimportant. Therefore, increasing productivity is a matter of reducing the amount of time you spend sifting through the unimportant. Creating a system for how and when you view your emails is crucial.
Set specific times that you view emails. Perhaps once at 8 a.m., once again at noon and one more time at 4 p.m. You could even designate certain contacts as VIPs to ensure that you receive their critical email ping at whatever time of day it comes in.
As Stephen Covey wrote, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
Related: 3 Reasons Entrepreneurs Struggle When Building Business Systems
No one knows better what your priorities are than you do. The average worker spends 28% of the workweek reading and responding to emails. As you peruse your emails at those designated times, take note of important emails that require your instant approval or sign-off, and those heftier emails that require thoughtful input and analysis. More on those later.
But then there are the emails scheduling meetings, sending promotional content or simply cc’ing you in. Either move them to another folder, delegate them to your secretary or just delete them. Make the firm decision. Differentiate between what deserves your attention and what is stealing it away. In that same vein, unsubscribing from useless newsletters can make a world of difference.
“It’s not enough to be busy; so are the ants,” says Henry David Thoreau. “The question is: What are we busy about?”
Effective communication boosts productivity. When emails have to consume your time, ensure that it’s worth it.
As we’ve already established, the majority of emails aren’t worth your time. Some are important but don’t need to take up much of your time. But there are a few that demand and deserve your attention. You can usually tell when you receive it. Instead of allowing that sinking feeling to settle and dominate your thinking all day, move them into a designated folder for your most important emails. Reply to them when you can dedicate the mental bandwidth they desire and deserve.
And remember what Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.”
Related: Don’t Let the ‘Urgent’ Overtake the ‘Important’
I’ve alluded to this already, but here it is plainly: Many newsletters and subscriptions are a waste of time. It’ll take a while initially to achieve it, but going through your inbox and unsubscribing from useless newsletters will go a long way in decluttering your inbox.
One useful way of ensuring that your important mailbox remains unsullied would be to create a spam email address to ensure that all your spur-of-the-moment sign-up emails are redirected to an unimportant email address. An estimated 245 billion emails are sent every day. Make sure you only have to deal with the important ones.
“Inbox Zero” is about reducing mental clutter and stress to increase productivity. But only you know what optimum productivity looks like in relation to your business. If the quest to declutter becomes a drain on productivity, then it’s just as bad as a packed mailbox.
Don’t obsess over the minutiae. Instead, create good habits that allow you to be flexible. Create your own schedule, set of labels, criteria for delegation and deletion, and inbox management system that allows you to focus on productivity, eliminate pressure and a false sense of urgency. Set goals for yourself and for your business.
Follow these five tips, and you’ll be well on your way to focusing on the most high-priority tasks, staying organized and managing your mail efficiently. And most importantly, you’ll reduce the amount of time your brain is in your inbox so it can be on other, more important things.
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Lucas Miller
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You might be surprised at the high percentage of high-achieving entrepreneurs, whose unique combination of traits or habits that accelerate their success early on, later find these same traits eventually become what hold them back.
They’re often the source of chronic stress, overwhelm, burnout and plateaued revenues.
So, while this combination of seemingly beneficial traits generally means you’re intelligent, driven, ambitious, hard-working, have a high work ethic and a high tolerance for stress, it may also mean you’re:
Often feeling overworked and undervalued
Constantly under pressure to deliver in tight deadlines
Regularly on the edge of burnout
Constantly stressed and overwhelmed
Surrounded by people who disappoint you and don’t meet your expectations
Apprehensive about more responsibility because you’re barely coping as is
So, while go-go-go may get you ahead in the beginning, there are dangerous consequences if you don’t get your habits in check early on. Stay there too long, and it will bleed into your relationships, health and personal life.
Here are five common harmful habit addictions we’ve observed in high-achieving entrepreneurs:
Related: 18 Destructive Habits Holding You Back From Success
This behavior presents when you only feel “worthy” or like “enough” when you’re being productive, useful or valuable. If you’re not busy (over)achieving, you feel lazy, worthless or like you’re wasting time. You’re addicted to being busy and incapable of switching off — ever. This can impair recovery, creativity, problem-solving and long-term resilience.
You never give yourself permission to be fully present, in the moment, at peace or in harmony with life — until ALL to-do lists are complete, all unfinished business is finished, all problems are solved and all unanswered questions are answered. You can’t stop thinking about a topic or project until you have closure, it’s signed off, over and done!
You’re desperate for the feeling of completion, which never comes, so you rush through your day, never taking time to stop, recover or be present. This is particularly problematic for long-term projects.
Perfectionism is the antithesis of high performance. It’s an impossible standard and often stems from being afraid to make a mistake or look like a fool.
You always look for what’s wrong or not good enough, and you always find something. Nothing you do ever feels good enough, tasks take 10x longer than they need to, or you often don’t even get started because you feel overwhelmed.
Related: Perfection Is a Trap, and It’s Keeping You From Being Successful
This habit is also driven by the fear of being judged or criticized, as well as the fear of failure. Now you have an endless list of “What ifs.” You “need” certainty and predictability, which simply doesn’t exist. You need to know what’s going to happen, when and how — before it even happens!
This trait is often combined with control issues, where you need to control everything and everyone in order to feel safe and secure. Even if you’re not doing it overtly — because you’re afraid people might think you’re controlling — you’re trying to predict and control covertly. Either way, it’s exhausting.
The final high-achieving trait we see often is when you’re constantly saying “yes,” but you wish you could say “no.” You don’t have clarity on your boundaries. Even if you did, you’re constantly violating them and your standards to avoid upsetting people, as well as your fear of being judged or criticized again. You struggle to say “no” without massive guilt and without ruminating over previous experiences.
These bad habits lead high-achievers to obsess over the minutia. You constantly feel the need to prove yourself or justify your position. You regularly get stuck in your head, ruminating and worrying, trying to make everything perfect.
When you have a high tolerance for pain and stress — which you do because that’s part of every business owner’s DNA — you can achieve a lot in your career … BECAUSE of these traits. But they can only get you so far.
After a certain threshold, the workload, stress and overwhelm become too much, and you max out. What got you here won’t get you there. It’s time to be as successful personally as you are professionally.
You’ll never break through your glass ceiling if you stay addicted to these habits and the old identity that drives them.
Related: 10 Bad Habits Entrepreneurs Must Give Up To Be Successful
We all have blind spots that prevent us from seeing the forest for the trees. And two big influences on how you view your world are:
Stop making self-worth conditional. You wouldn’t accept your child based on passing an exam or tidying up their room, so why do we make our own self-worth conditional on looking a certain way, earning $X amount or achieving something big?
Most high-achievers react when they hear this and think, “If I do that, I’ll lower my standards, become complacent or drop the ball,” which is a false assumption.
The foundation of self-acceptance means you can chase the right things for the right reasons. You can still be ambitious, but this time, it’s about results — not about feeling good enough or proving yourself.
Life is uncertain! We never know what’s going to happen next. But we humans have a built-in need for certainty — and there lies the problem.
We want to know what, when and how “it’s” going to happen, which is futile and exhausting. Forward planning is important, but not overplanning. When people have poor relationships with uncertainty, they tend to have control issues, completion addiction and chronic worry.
So, stop trying to control the uncontrollable. Understand (and accept) that the answer to every question about the future is still, “I don’t know.”
By putting these two influential foundations in place, the five bad habits of high-achieving entrepreneurs naturally dissolve — by themselves!
You’ll no longer be in a fight against yourself, and your natural strengths become enhanced. Your previously harmful habits have now created space for healthy, high-achieving habits to take their place.
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Rachel Godfrey
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Who do you look up to in life? We are a product of our influences. Complete this “Role Models” worksheet to create an endless resource of people you can be motivated and inspired by.
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Steven Handel
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Innovation has become synonymous with success for modern business leaders. Industry landscapes shift faster than ever due to technological leaps, and leaders must quickly adapt to better meet the challenges of today and tomorrow alike.
While real-world experience is invaluable to gaining knowledge specific to your field, I have found that reading the right books can rapidly transform my perception — and ultimately enhance my ability to lead teams through even the most challenging circumstances.
As an estimated four million new books are released annually, it can quickly become a slog of a job in itself to find the gems among the rubble. The following books challenged my perception of innovation and left me a more effective leader. The information within them can improve anyone’s ability to innovate and steer their brand toward true and lasting success.
Related: How to Tap Into Innovation, the Most Essential Part of Your Entrepreneurial Journey
For a team to fully flourish and innovate, they must first find the ability to focus deeply. This is easier said than done in the age of distractions, though. Since 2000, the average adult attention span has plummeted by 25%, leaving it at a paltry 8.25-second average.
“Deep Work” steps in to challenge conventional norms about productivity and reevaluate habits, communication and accessibility. Newport leads the reader through how to best approach complex problems that require long periods of focus to overcome.
All modern teams face significant obstacles between themselves and performing their best work. This book provides a framework to clear the mind and truly focus on what matters in the moment, creating the best setting possible for innovation to occur.
Related: 3 Proven Ways to Achieve Superhuman Focus In 14 Days
Sometimes, the best way to learn to lead isn’t from straightforward advice but by following the story of someone who experienced unprecedented success. “Shoe Dog” chronicles the rise of Nike from the early sixties into the digital age. From humble origins to an annual revenue of almost $19 billion, Knight led Nike with a series of daring, innovative moves that bucked the trends of his time.
His choices and ability to lead led to the creation of an iconic brand recognizable around the world, and the lessons from this rise are readily applicable beyond the footwear world. If you’re looking for a book about how to succeed and lead with grace, then “Shoe Dog” is a near-perfect fit.
Far too often, after a business achieves initial success after early innovation, it rests on its laurels. This gives competitors time to catch up while their lead diminishes, squandering an opportunity to cement themselves at the top of their industry.
In “Going on Offense: A Leader’s Playbook for Perpetual Innovation,” Tabrizi outlines exactly how to not just innovate once but to ingrain creativity throughout your business. For businesses looking to regain their innovative stride and reclaim their spot at the top of their industry, Tabrizi’s work is essential reading.
Based on a comprehensive seven-year study that covers trends of industry leaders like Apple, Facebook and Amazon, Tabrizi’s work gives the precise knowledge base and actionable insights modern leaders need to continually innovate and improve past initial success. There are few works as fitting or relevant for those looking to set themselves and their team up for long-term, sustainable innovation and success.
Related: How to Use Entrepreneurial Creativity for Innovation
This book provides a methodology for entrepreneurs to create and manage startups effectively. It emphasizes the importance of experimentation, customer feedback and rapid iteration and advocates for the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), which is then tested with customers to gain real-world data and insights. The concept of “validated learning” is central, encouraging entrepreneurs to gather data as quickly as possible and make data-driven decisions.
The business model canvas helps entrepreneurs refine their business models, while customer development focuses on understanding the target market through continuous interaction. Agile development advocates for a flexible and iterative approach to product development.
Through real-life examples like Dropbox and IMVU, the book demonstrates how startups have successfully applied their principles to achieve innovation, growth, and market success. Overall, The Lean Startup is a valuable guide for entrepreneurs navigating the uncertain landscape of innovation and seeking to build sustainable and successful businesses.
Both positive and negative habits shape every decision and day throughout our lives. In this classic read, Covey systematically notes how to view your personal habits with objectivity so you can then improve them and become an easier individual to work with.
While some of the concepts within, like “Win-Win,” might seem old hat at this time, there’s a reason this book has maintained relevance and steady sales since the 80s. It’s a timeless approach to accepting responsibility not for yourself but for how you interact daily with others. Covey provides a proven system that doesn’t just lead to efficient productivity but more effective leadership skills that work under virtually any conditions.
Related: 11 Proven Habits of Highly Innovative People
A quality book can be a transformative experience that imparts the lessons of a lifetime within the few hours it takes to read. The advice from these industry pioneers leaves a reader with a more nuanced understanding of both business relationships and their personal ability to lead.
Give them a read, and I’m confident you will find relatable insights that can help further fuel your ability to innovate and thrive.
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Lucas Miller
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Most of us have experienced the anguish of forgetting someone’s name while they’re standing right in front of us. It’s like a mental game of hide-and-seek that you’re destined to lose. But there’s hope — this seven-step plan to turn your name-guessing game into a name-recalling masterpiece. Prepare to impress at social gatherings and business events, all while keeping your pride intact.
Related: I’m a Human Lie Detector — You Can Be Too If You Learn to Read These 5 Facial Expressions
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Ivan Misner
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A favorite subject for entrepreneurial articles and podcasts is that of habits. Hundreds (if not thousands) of books are touting the importance of creating good habits. Your own habits depend on your end goal, but a lot of them seem to place particular importance on mastering your morning routine. Maybe that looks like meditating or hitting the gym by 6 a.m., gulping grass-fed butter-infused coffee or a superfood smoothie, and jotting down something in your daily gratitude journal before heading to work.
Good habits are a method of keeping ourselves on course. In James Clear’s book Atomic Habits, he shares an analogy about a flight from LA to NYC. If the pilot points the nose just a few degrees south, eventually, the plane will end up in DC rather than its intended destination. It’s a great example of how tiny changes can make a big difference.
We know good habits are important, and, particularly as entrepreneurs, we must stay on our A-game. People are watching, right? We’re setting an example, and the pressure is on. So, why, o’ why, do good habits sometimes feel like they’re so hard to maintain?
Related: 18 Destructive Habits Holding You Back From Success
Reading Clear’s book, I thought, “Oh, that’s why staying on the path matters. Cool!” But as I sat with that concept for a few minutes, I started to feel some anxiety creeping in. As a leader, I can’t take a single step in the wrong direction because if I do, I miss my target. And people are counting on me.
What if I make a bad decision? What if I’m not always the last one to leave the office? What if I totally spaced that meeting… twice? What if I hired someone who turned out to make everyone’s life more stressful? What if I didn’t pick the right snacks for the break room?
Aaaahhhhhhhhhh. I’m gonna need that oxygen mask.
We sure do put a lot of pressure on ourselves. Stay on the path. Don’t mess up. And when that performance pressure becomes too much, our brains or bodies (or both) just crash. That’s a message, not a failure.
When it happens, it’s important to take a moment to ask if the path you’re pursuing is actually leading you to the destination you think it is. After all, you’re a person, not a plane. If your body feels tired or your mind feels overwhelmed, it’s totally okay to touch down. Recalibrate periodically. Reevaluate the path.
Related: 3 Simple Methods To Achieve Work-Life Balance And Combat Decision Fatigue
Habits can be anything you want them to be, but to qualify as habits, they need to stay consistent. We have to show up when we say we will to reap the rewards. Yes, I know it sounds a lot like “discipline.” Trust me, the rebel in me thought, “Hell, no. I’m not a military operation!” But I’ve started to realize that good habits aren’t asking for perfection. They’re just asking you to show up when and how you can.
The truth is, some days, we don’t feel 100%. Maybe there’s only 25% in our tank. Say you had a late night binging some Netflix series that you couldn’t bring yourself to stop. Or you went to a friend’s birthday dinner, and the late-night conversation was too good to miss. Or you have a loved one in the hospital, and you’re mind is elsewhere. That’s life. Those are normal, sometimes even healthy, interruptions. Showing up to maintain your good habits means you do what you can consistently. That doesn’t mean always. It means regularly.
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When it comes to habits, we tend to overestimate the importance of a single action while we underestimate the importance of small, repetitive movements. If you had a piggy bank as a kid, then you know what I’m talking about. Every day, you drop a penny into the slot. One day, you put a dime in there. That’s awesome!
But that doesn’t mean you need to put a dime in every day now for it to keep adding up. (It also doesn’t mean you should change your route to avoid seeing the piggy bank and, thus, feeling guilty.) Okay, guilty as charged…this is a gym metaphor. The point is that you just need to consistently be putting something in that piggy bank or calorie tracker. That’s what showing up is all about.
In an episode of her podcast How To Take Action, Sarah Arnold Hall says, “Doing something every day is actually easier than doing it once in a while.” Speaking from experience, I can confirm. Going to the gym five days a week feels way easier than going only two days a week. Gratitude journaling daily is easier and better for my mental health than doing it only when I feel like it.
But just like flying a plane, there are times when I’ve experienced unexpected turbulence along the way. Flying conditions may not always be perfect. In those moments, I have to give myself grace. Touch down for a break. Refuel. Prioritize my vessel.
When we establish a habit, taking a break doesn’t make it go away. Habits occupy a permanent place in our brains. Interruptions will happen, but our habits will still be there when we’re ready to pick them back up again.
When we feel like it’s time to get back on the runway, all we need to do is look out the window, and voilà! When you show up, blue skies will return. Meaningful accomplishment takes time because it’s accumulative. It’s a process of learning from our mistakes, adjusting the path when something isn’t working, and figuring out what really matters. Over time, you’ll start to recognize the fruits of your habitual labors, and only then will you see just how far you’ve come.
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Ginni Saraswati
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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The day I turned 14 — the very first day I was eligible for employment in New York, where I grew up — I bounded out of bed to get my working papers. I was a go-getter even then, and I couldn’t wait to start my first job as a dishwasher at a pizza joint that afternoon after school.
Young as I was, I thought wiping down tables and serving up slices constituted a “dream job” because I got to work with my best friend, Devon, and we ended up pretty much running the place with whichever cook was on duty. To this day, I credit Mr. Mike’s Pizza in Lake Placid and owner David Nicola for planting my entrepreneurial roots, and I remain inspired by the story of Noma’s head chef and co-founder Rene Redzepi for naming dishwasher Ali Sonko a partner of Copenhagen’s internationally acclaimed Michelin-star restaurant in 2017. Perhaps if I had stayed on the track of dishwasher meets hostess and waitress at Mr. Mikes, this story may have had a different turn, as it did for Ali.
The story does twist and turn a bit, and Mr. Mikes is still a big part of our family, but now for me, I’m the CEO of my own PR firm — you’d think my days as a dishwasher were long over. But you’d think wrong. Day after day, I realize that I’m using the skills I learned there, applying the lessons I gleaned there, and performing many of the same functions I undertook there.
Just how are the roles similar? Here’s how:
People share their stories, histories, struggles, wins and random thoughts in a dish pit or the innards of a kitchen. And when you’re in public relations, shared stories are the name of the game. So listen to them. Listen closely. Your staff and clients will tell you exactly who they are and what they need if you give them the platform to do so. Never get so big for your britches that you think people from all strata of society and walks of life don’t have invaluable information to impart.
Related: The Power of Empathic Storytelling: How to Make Your Customer the Hero of Your Story
While it’s true that C-suiters are not routinely called upon to get their hands dirty, they should nevertheless know how to and be willing to do the grunt work as the need arises. It shows your staff that you understand even the most menial parts of their jobs and that you don’t think you’re above them.
At 14, I scraped caked-on gunk off other people’s plates. Close to 30 years later, I volunteer to take on some of the lowliest tasks in my company’s workload when it frees my people to wholly focus on their assignments and empowers them to lead in their own areas of expertise.
My brother also came up in the restaurant industry, and he and I often talk about how “there’s no locking up” until the counters are gleaming and the floors are spotless. You can’t wave good night to your team while they’re still hunkering in their cubicles without building resentment. You can’t expect to win the race with a late start and an early finish. And you can’t put in the part-time effort and expect full-time payouts.
I learned long ago not to overstep my team’s 9-to-5 boundaries to avoid burnout, but I myself pick up calls round the clock and put no time clock on solving my client’s problems. I’m at my desk at the crack of dawn and return there long after dusk, after tucking in the kids, so my business can remain my priority even while I’m raising a family, managing a household and cutting oranges for the soccer games. Have the most skin in the game of anyone around you, and you’ll end up making that game your bitch!
Related: 4 Principles to Develop Next-Level Leadership at Your Company
Most dishwashers and burger flippers aren’t doing it for pocket money or career fulfillment — they’re working those jobs to pay the rent. To put gas in the car. To feed their families. When your employees are working for you to live, to cover the mortgage, to pay the bills — not necessarily to get ahead or get promoted or get rich — you’ve got to do everything in your power to make them feel valued in your organization, an integral part of your mission and a prized presence on your team. Make the time they devote to your dreams and your goals worth it to them. Nurture them to thrive, not just survive.
Related: Everyone Wants Meaningful Work. But What Does That Look Like, Really?
Whether you’re laundering tablecloths or formulating a $3 million marketing plan, demand excellence of yourself. Care deeply about what you create. Take immense pride in what you serve up. Labor with precision and dignity. Why? Because it’s your joint, it’s your name over the door, stamped on each plate. If your place of business doesn’t meet the highest standards, you can’t expect anyone to frequent it.
If you have ever worked in an eatery — from a greasy spoon to a fine-dining establishment — you know you can’t walk by a used plate on a table and not bring it back to the kitchen with you. If your boss saw your negligence and indifference, you’d be fired. Or at least you should be.
It’s the same with business leadership. If you notice something needs to be done, do it. Go for that extra step; add another dose of exertion. Be proactive. Start the project even when you’re still questioning how to complete it. Show up even when you’re feeling unmotivated or insecure. Slow down when rushing jeopardizes the quality of your work. If you’re going to wash the dishes, be the best dishwasher there is. Don’t just get the job done; get it done superbly.
When you model these behaviors, you will gain self-respect. Your staff will admire you. Your clientele will appreciate you. And life will give you big tips!
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Emily Reynolds Bergh
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Technology entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian has a lot going on.
In addition to building venture capital firm Seven Seven Six with a focus on software and empathy, the co-founder and former executive chairman of Reddit is raising daughter Olympia with tennis legend Serena Williams — and recently partnered with permanent-ink icon Sharpie.
Life’s about to get even busier for Ohanian soon, as he’s expecting his second child with Williams at the end of this year.
So how does he manage it all and strike a healthy work-life balance?
Ohanian tells Entrepreneur he’d like to reframe the question.
“I don’t think it’s about work-life balance,” he explains. “I don’t think anyone can really accomplish that. It’s not about balancing. If you’re chasing balance, you’re implying, like Thanos, [that] you’d be able to create something perfectly balanced. And the reality is work-life [is] never 50/50. You’ll never achieve anywhere close to that — nor should you.”
But that doesn’t mean one area should be constantly prioritized over the other either.
“There are times in your life where you will need to focus on the career, the work,” Ohanian says. “There are times in your life when you need to focus on life. It’s on a spectrum that’s ever-flowing back and forth.”
Ohanian likens that ebb and flow to a relationship, noting that a partnership is never exactly 50/50. Sometimes you’ll come home from work with just 20% to give while your partner has 80%, he explains, but the key is keeping communication open amid the constant flux.
Related: Work-Life Balance Is Simple. To Succeed at Work, Get a Life.
Before getting married, Ohanian says he was perpetually in “CEO Mode” and “terrible” at finding any semblance of equilibrium between his work and personal life. He recalls pushing himself in his 20s, not thinking about what he ate or how often he exercised.
That changed when he entered his 30s and became a father. “I was like, I need to change everything so that I can be around for as long as possible for this little one,” Ohanian recalls. “And that’s been one of the superpowers, frankly, of becoming a dad.”
Today, Ohanian relies on the “discipline of routines” to keep himself grounded, even when it’s more difficult on the road. Right now, that looks like starting his morning off with a cold plunge; he spends 10 minutes in an ice tank before working out, taking a shower and having his first cup of coffee.
He also takes some time to write down his daily goals in those early hours. Those might be personal or professional, Ohanian says.
When he is at home, Ohanian sits down for dinner with his family at 6 p.m. every night — “without exception.” He also harnesses the power of “surprise and delight,” a tactic that can be just as effective during family time as it is in business.
“It’s much more memorable when you break a pattern of someone’s expectations,” Ohanian explains. “These things we advise our founders to do, I also do for my daughter and my wife — that’s the other side of the routine of the discipline. If your default state has this kind of routine and expectations to it, then you also create the opportunity to do stuff that feels out of the ordinary and different.”
Related: 3 Ways to Surprise and Delight Your Ecommerce Customers
Ohanian also relies on a few helpful strategies when it comes to managing stress levels. He likes taking walks during the work day, sometimes making a phone call or two while he strolls his South Florida property, “a decent amount of space” complete with chickens and “a little farm action going on.”
He’s also returned to drawing, a hobby he picked up as a child. Over the years, Ohanian’s used the skill to create several company logos, including Reddit’s. But today, the activity helps him “de-stress” (his preferred implement is the Sharpie S-Gel pen). And he’s been “thrilled” to see Olympia take to drawing as well.
“Even before the Sharpie partnership, we were doing these drawing classes where I’d fire up YouTube — this was during Covid — [and go to the channel] Art for Kids,” Ohanian says. “It’s this whole family where they do drawing tutorials — the dad, kids, wife, and they draw together. I would do these with Olympia. Olympia gets so fired up [by this] drawing class, and I bring [Serena] into it, or if we have grandparents over at the house, they’ll do it too.”
Related: 8 Ways to De-stress Yourself at Work in a Minute | Entrepreneur
Ohanian acknowledges how many resources he has and how difficult reaching a healthy flow state can be for other entrepreneurs and professionals juggling their responsibilities at work and home. That’s why he’s a big advocate for paid family leave; Ohanian wants all American families to have access to it.
With the right support, some people might even find that having a family unlocks new levels of professional ambition and success. Ohanian certainly found that to be the case for himself.
“There’s this little human who you care more about than anything else in the world,” Ohanian says. “You actually don’t care about anything else in the world other than this kid’s perception of you. Another gear unlocks once you have that dose of humility, and it’s great. Like I said, ironically, I think it’s made me so much better. I think this chapter of my career as a dad is going to make the previous one look like amateur hour.”
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Amanda Breen
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