This past weekend was my 26th Birthday. In the past I always plan huge parties; restaurants, hotels, VIP at the top clubs, etc…

However, this year…things changed.

Not sure if I was just lazy, emotionally exhausted, tired of planning all the time at work…but I REFUSED to plan anything. My friends asked over and over what I was planning and I had no idea until 4PM on Friday.

My plan?

I decided on the CITY to go to and told everyone to just meet there after 10 PM. “We’ll figure out where to go once we get there…let’s WING IT!”

What Happened?

Actually, Friday night was not that great. Don’t get me wrong, I love hanging out with my friends, but nothing “eventful” happened. Most of the time when I “wing it” - I’ve had an amazing time.

Either way, I didn’t give up on the idea…

Saturday night - I wung it again. This time, instead of having my usual 40+ people for my birthday, I had 4.

The Result?

I think I had the best time of my life!  It was awesome. We had no idea where we were going till 9PM that night. We never even ended up at the original bar we intended to.

The night ended with me up-rooting many bushes from the ground, placing them on a friend’s car (honest mistake) and much more!

Why Am I Telling You This?

Because you need to do it. It’s refreshing.

You spend all your life “planning” things. Do this. One night, one day, one weekend - any time…just leave the house with absolutely NO PLAN.

See where you end up.

It will revive you like nothing else. Do it, I dare you.

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“I’ve had it…I’m going crazy…” - first words uttered when I picked up the phone 4 hours ago. It was a good friend and clearly he was in a jam.

Before I could ask “what happened,” he was already half way through the story. Here’s the basics…

1. He had lost his job a few months back.
2. He just screwed up big time at his new job.
3. He’s been very ill the the last 3 weeks…
4. The girl he was chasing cut the leash
5. His parents are sitting on his neck…
6. He got a really horrible score on his recent GMAT

All that and you know what finally made him snap?

“I think you should eat some rice…”

Yes, his mother told him to eat rice and the dude snapped. He went bazerk. Obviously, the question: Why?

It’s like the old saying: “The straw that broke the camel’s back…”

His mom telling him to eat rice was the straw. If you look at it from the 40,000 foot overview, it’s pretty damn funny.

But, I can see his perspective.

Basically his mom insists on giving him unsolicited and unwanted advice. He’s mentioned it almost every day for the last 10 years. He’s tried every trick in the book to get her to stop…

No go…

She insists on treating him like a stupid child and give him senseless advice (…that does nothing but make his blood boil).

He hates rice. He didn’t want rice. He was stressed and just wanted to be tired. But she kept persisting.

Bottom line - the dude snapped. He lost it because it was the last draw.

I also feel equally bad for his mom, the poor lady got the full wrath of his failed job, illness and crappy girl crush.

So, what did he want from me?

Advice. He wanted to know what to do.

My advice? Get away from EVERYONE - take some time to yourself. Get inside your head and work through all the problems.

This is a model example of when someone needs “alone time.” There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be alone for a few days. It’s healthy - I personally do it all the time.

Going the other way, here’s some advice. If someone around you is feeling overwhelmed - ask to help them ONCE. If they say no or more importantly “I want to be left alone,” LEAVE THEM ALONE.

That’s not there way of saying “I’ll only tell me if you ask 63 more times.” Unless you want to become the target of all their frustrations - slowly step away and make no sudden movements on your way out!

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I’ve always known what “burnout” means and even what it feels like.

It’s when you do too much and get psychologically tired. You lose motivation. You lose interest and things get boring.

Everything I knew about burn-out was emotional or psychological. I’ve had it before. The kind of burnout where you can’t stand the thought of getting out of bed.

It’s been a long time since I felt that way. Lately things have been nothing but amazing.

=> Business has been booming
=> Our team is growing with amazing people
=> I’ve been traveling the world…
=> I bought a home
=> etc…

Well, just last week, for the first time, I experienced a new kind of burn-out - physical burn-out.

All My Travel Screwed Me…

I’ve been traveling a lot for over a year now. However, I’ve always stuck to a very tight routine when I travel. It’s a routine that many think is ridiculous or lavish but I discovered to be necessary. I’ve actually had a friend say “you just do all that to show off…”

I’m talking about things like…

- Traveling business when I can (I almost never have to pay for it though)
- Staying in the best hotels
- Eating in the hotel
- Having a car ready to pick me up at airports…

I can certainly understand how these things can be looked upon as lavish - even I started to convince myself that they were excessive. I made changes and boy did it hurt.

Combined with my medical conditions, these new changes I made to cut costs really impacted me negatively.

All the strain, stress and lack of nutrition led to my entire blood balance to getting messed up. The more and more I traveled outside my routine, my body started to just get physically exhausted.

Remember, Your Body Can Only Take So Much…

I’ve finally learned what Physical burnout is. My body gave in the last couple of weeks. I’m just now recovering. The lesson I learned?

Stick to what works for you. Don’t let others influence what’s working. Take care of your body first. Maybe you can take it psychologically, but don’t forget your physical restraints!

I’m now starting to see a direct connection between physical health and great success. Success requires HARD work and tons of dedication - all of which puts a lot of physical strain on your body.

I guess it’s back to the gym for me!

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Sometimes it’s important to do things just for the sake of doing them, even if they make no sense to others - who cares?

Just 3 days back I randomly decided that I wanted some quiet R&R time and I wanted to “get away.” So, I combined two things…

1. I have always wanted to see Goa, India…
2. I wanted to get away…

But last minute? Shouldn’t I make plans? Shouldn’t I search for the best deal?

Screw that! I made the decision and that was it - I needed some rest and time off and I could fly over to Goa in less than an hour from Mumbai…

Booking my trip was just a few clicks away on the internet. Flight, check…Hotel, check…

What else is there?

Did I get weird looks from people when I said I was doing this? Sure, I did…

Did it “entirely” make sense even to me? Not really. I mean, I’m going for 2 days, I’m DEAD tired and not in the mood to “tour” - I’ll probably just spend the entire time resting and doing some light work in my hotel room.

But, so what? Obviously I *thought* of the idea because I wanted to do it, so I just decided to do it.

Right now, I’m sitting in Goa and loving it. I haven’t seen anything other than the drive from the airport to the hotel. However…

=> My headache is gone
=> I got some great sleep already…
=> I had some excellent food…
=> I’m just relaxing watching TV, writing this blog post…

That kind of relaxation is priceless - it clears your mind, lifts your spirits and makes you more effective.

So, are you getting enough rest? Enough alone time to “re-charge”?  Are you doing enough *crazy* things without caring what others think? (not that going to Goa is crazy, but still, it makes no sense to most to do it the way I did).

I bet there is some place close to you that you can “escape” to for a day or two on a budget too…do it.

Life is good

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What You’re About To Learn: The “Sunday Remedy” to kill any job burnout before it even starts!

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> Lying on your couch
> Pathetic TV series in the DVD player
> Unshaven, Unshowered (maybe even smelly)
> Beer cans lying around
> Half empty box of cold pizza (maybe even some wings)

What I just painted is a picture of what Hollywood has taught us to recognize as “pathetic” or a “loser.” Our minds are trained to think of a person doing those things as being depressed or unhappy.

Well, I have shocking news for you…I don’t agree!

Have you ever actually TRIED to just lounge for one day and do the very things you’re taught to discipline yourself not to?

A carton of haagen-dazs? A large pizza? Or anything that requires no thinking, lounging on a couch and laughing.

“Burnout” can be horrible and should be taken very seriously - VERY seriously. It not only makes you feel like crap, it leads to loss of motivation, loss of ambition and many times into quitting.

Of course, some times burn-outs are very serious and extend past the reach of cheap, short home remedies - but if you can catch it in time, the “Sunday Remedy” may be all you need!

The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed and at the edge of a burn-out, try the following steps (I know this will be funny and make no sense, but it works - trust me)!

The “Job Burnout” Sunday Remedy…

1. Take a Sunday off - Cancel EVERYTHING, no family time, no friend time, no lunch date/dinner date - nothing at all. Plan to not even SEE anyone.

2. Buy 1 Season of a TV series you like (I enjoy HBO’s Entourage) - This should end up being about 15-20 hours, more than enough. Make sure this is a show you really like or have been excited to watch. If it’s a show that frustrates you or bores you, the “Sunday Remedy” won’t work.

3. Grab a bottle or wine or some beer - If you don’t drink, just get some soda. I think it works better if you get something “unhealthy” that actually tastes good - this is not the day to think about diet or healthy eating.

4. Pizza/Wings/Hoagie or something like it - Speaking of diets, make sure to line yourself up with some great food. My personal favorite is pizza or wings. I also surround myself with chips.

5. Comfortable couch - Very important that you be comfortable, fix up the right temperature in the room, comfy couch, blanket, whatever it takes.

6. Unplug the phone - CRITICAL. You are not to answer the door, entertain friends, answer phone calls. The minute you do this, the entire remedy is at risk.

7. Sit on your big BEhind Yes, that’s right, just sit there, eat, drink and watch your TV show (knowing that you’ve got hours and hours of it on DVD).

This is probably the most confusing post I’ve made to date right? It feels weird that I would actually advise something like this. All I can say is that “don’t knock it before trying it.”

The very thing that Hollywood depicts as depression and “loserish” - I am going to be bold enough to say that it can be the best feeling in the world while being incredibly refreshing - try it!

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