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We don’t build businesses, so we can work more hours.
We build them for freedom, for our family and for a life well lived.
However, somewhere between all the meetings, milestones, people issues, tracking budget’s and late night business dinners, it’s easy to forget that.
Too many leaders run themselves into the ground chasing success, only to wake up one day wondering why they feel so drained. The business might be growing, but their energy, relationships, and freedom? Yeah, not so much.
The Wake-Up Call
Just last week, I was delivering my risk management workshop to a group of CEO’s when we did a quick check-in: “Rate your current stress and health levels from low 1 to high 5.”
Stress? 4’s and 5’s across the board, with Health scoring 2’s and 3’s.
They said it half jokingly, like it was a badge of honour to be totally stressed out.
I had to call them out, since I’d been there myself and I know where that ugly road goes and it’s nothing to make fun of.
Earlier in my career, I was burning the candle at both ends while leading multiple major infrastructure projects and businesses. I pushed my teams hard, and pushed myself even harder.
For years, it was full throttle: 120%, nonstop.
Until the wheels came off.
I burned out big time, and I was forced to take four months off to recover.
That crash wasn’t just a physical, mental, and emotional reset; it was a total reframing of how I lead today.
The Case for Taking a Break
You see: Elite athletes don’t train like that.
They’re experts in both performance and recovery.
Michael Jordan was known not just for his game-day intensity, but for how seriously he took his rest, ice baths, 12 hour deep sleeps, and full recovery protocols after every match.
NHL players, they take the summers off. Not just as a vacation, but as a strategic pause. You’ll find them golfing while staying at lakeside cabins, unplugged, rebuilding the energy and mental clarity they’ll need for the grind next season.
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They don’t see rest as a reward for hard work.
They see it as part of the work.
Why? Because sustainable performance doesn’t come from pushing harder.
It comes from training in cycles, with performance, rest, and recalibration.
That’s where most CEOs go wrong. We don’t stop at water stations, we don’t take serious time off. We run an ultra-marathon like it’s a sprint, assuming we can just keep going forever.
The result?
- Burnout and sickness.
- Stunted creativity.
- Strained relationships.
- And ironically, a shorter run toward the very goals we started chasing.
My Personal Reset
That moment of forced rest a few years ago changed everything.
For the last eight years, I’ve intentionally structured my year to include three months off:
- Four weeks skiing every winter (North America, Europe or JaPOW!)
- Six weeks on international summer trips (Africa, UK, Iceland, Italy, and the US)
- Several one-week adventures each year, often in the mountains, on the water, or deep in nature (Multi-day Backpacking, Bikepacking, Stand-up paddle boarding, Rafting, Canoeing, Canyoning, Climbing, or Backcountry skiing)
This is my training rhythm.
It’s how I recover, how I reconnect, and how I stay sharp, not just as a coach or business leader, but as a husband, father, friend, and human being.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
When I lead like an athlete, recovering as seriously as I perform, I get better results in business and in every area of my life.
7 Keys to Sustainable Endurance in Leadership
If you want to lead for the long game, not just grind it out through the next quarter, here’s 7 keys to integrate recovery and resilience into your leadership rhythm:
1. Unplug With Intention
Set an out-of-office message on both your phone and laptop, then step away.
Trust your team and trust your systems to run without you for a few days. Stepping away from your business doesn’t mean it’s going to fall apart. In fact, if it does, you’ve got a bigger problem.
Whether it’s a weekend on the water or a few weeks in Europe, the act of unplugging gives your nervous system a break and your brain a chance to breathe and reflect.
The real ROI comes when you create space to think clearly again.
2. Reconnect With Your ‘Why’
Use this downtime to remember why you started your business in the first place. Was it for freedom? Time with family? Global Impact?
If your business isn’t giving you energy, it’s time to ask:
Is this still aligned with my purpose?
If you’ve drifted away from your original purpose, now’s the time to identify this and make the necessary course-correction.
3. Build Recovery Into Your Leadership Strategy
Elite athletes don’t train at full tilt 365 days a year, and neither should you.
They peak for performance, recover for growth, and plan their year in cycles. Business leaders need to do the same thing.
Take a cue from nature and typical North American business cycles. July and August are the months when many leaders should be at their cottages on the lake with family and friends, unplugged with your loved ones.
Serious business picks up again in September. The most successful entrepreneurs shape their engagement and outreach to match these natural rhythms, capitalizing on peak productivity periods while embracing off-seasons for restoration and recovery.
Use summer to slow down, enjoy the weather, and reset. Build new habits that support the pace you want to lead from, daily, weekly, quarterly.
4. Strengthen the Core (Your Inner Circle)
Maybe your team can hire a new CEO. However, your family can’t hire a new you.
Important relationships require your time and close attention. Whether it’s a walk with your partner, a hike with your kids, or a deep conversation with a friend, this is where true wealth lives. The type of wealth you can’t really put a price tag on.
Don’t lose the people that matter most, trying to impress people who don’t.
Your marriage, your kids, your friendships, the quality and depth of these relationships are the real measures of success. They’ll still be there when your business isn’t.
If you're building a legacy, make sure it's one that includes the people you love. Take the trip. Enjoy the family dinner and slow down. Be present. They notice, and so will you. After all, it’s why you embarked on the entrepreneurial journey, right?
5. Avoid the Burnout Trap, say ‘No’
Grinding nonstop might win short-term battles; however, it guarantees long-term losses. Rest is not a luxury. It’s a strategy.
High-performing leaders learn how to say no to:
- Projects that drain Energy
- Meetings without Purpose
- Work that isn’t aligned with your Vision
Every time you say no to something that doesn’t serve you, you’re saying yes to the life you're really wanting to build.
6. Build Business Models That Don’t Break You
If your business crumbles the moment you take a step back, then it’s time to re-evaluate the structure and the people on your team.
Build systems that run without you. Empower your teams to lead and make decisions. Automate the predictable so you can focus on the meaningful.
The goal is freedom with structure, not chaos with success.
7. Play the Long Game
Burnout isn’t just exhaustion. It’s a total collapse and being completely disconnected from your Purpose.
Leadership isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon, with lots of hills, valleys, and unexpected detours along the way.
The leaders who last aren’t the ones who go the hardest. They’re the ones who know when to push, when to pull back, and pause while looking at the bigger picture.
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Rest Is a Leadership Skill
Here’s what elite athletes understand, and most CEOs ignore:
Rest isn’t a luxury. It’s a strategy.
It’s part of the discipline.
It’s how they sustain performance.
It’s how they come back stronger, season after season.
They don’t wait until they’re exhausted to take a break. They plan for it. They build recovery into the rhythm. And because of that, they outperform almost everyone around them.
So what are you going to do differently?
If you want to lead for decades, not just quarters, you’ve got to start thinking like an elite athlete, then:
- Train hard
- Recover harder
- Design your business, and your life, for endurance, not just this month's sales target
- Take the damn holiday, pull out your phone and book the flights and villa, now
- Get off-grid, yes go climb a mountain
- Be with the people who matter.
Not because you’re slacking, but because you’re serious, showing up at your best for the things that truly matter.
Your future self and your business will thank you.
If you're struggling to let go and actually rest, contact me and we can make it happen.
Meet Chris Hardwick
Executive Business Coach
For over 20 years I've been helping entrepreneurs and business leaders to realize their dreams and achieve success.
As an entrepreneur, world traveler, adventurer, and motivator, I lead by example. My goal is to inspire you with my passion for life, success, and happiness.
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