Why You Need Rest to Achieve Success

Here’s what I wish someone told me earlier: You don’t have to earn rest. I used to grind through 60+ hour weeks thinking it would all be “worth it.” But no hustling is worth your mental, physical, & emotional health. Here’s what slowing down has taught me: ↳ If you don’t step off the hedonic treadmill, no one will do it for you ↳ Your best ideas rarely come when you’re exhausted ↳ Rest actually drives productivity The hustle culture is overrated. And if you actually want to thrive, you can’t be running on empty so try this: ↳ Close the laptop after 5 ↳ Go for the walk during lunch ↳ So take the break every 2-3 hours ↳ Set your phone to DND after 8 pm - 10 am Your future self will thank you. Everything needs to pause at some point (yes, including you) 🙏🏼

I used to think hustle was the key to high performance. Then I learned the real secret: REST is the most powerful RGA. Most sellers grind themselves into dust chasing performance. But I’ve coached 100s of top performers—and the highest earners don’t work more hours. They master their energy. Here’s how I worked 40 hours a week (never work nights or weekends) and still outperformed 99% of reps: Let’s flip the script on what it takes to be a top performer in sales. Everyone talks about RGAs—Revenue Generating Activities. But no one talks about the energy required to do RGAs well. If you want to prospect with intensity, sell with presence, and close big deals— You need rest. At a mastermind recently, someone called it the “Ultimate RGA”: Rest Generating Activities. Because without rest, RGAs fall apart. You’ll be foggy. Reactive. Distracted. You’ll confuse activity with impact. Here’s how I train reps to recharge intentionally—so they can win without burnout: 1. Plan 4 Vacations a Year I pre-block 4 weeks off annually. They’re non-negotiable. It doesn’t matter if it’s Hawaii or your local mountain trail— The key is knowing you are unavailable. Not half-working. Not checking Slack. Fully present. Fully off. 2. Track and Protect Your Sleep I use a WHOOP. You can use anything. But if you're not sleeping 7+ hours, consistently, you’re underperforming. You can’t bring intensity to your calls when you’re running on fumes. Sleep is a performance multiplier. 3. Calendar Block Your Breaks My calendar is blocked 12–1 PM every day. Lunch with my wife. A walk. Or just quiet. Three hours of deep work → 1 hour of recovery → back for the final sprint. Burnout doesn’t happen from work. It happens from nonstop work. 4. Ruthless Time Boundaries I stop work at 5 PM most days. No nights. No weekends. Ever. You don’t need 70 hours a week to crush quota. You need to stop saying yes to distractions and start owning your schedule. Parkinson’s Law is real: The less time you give yourself, the more efficient you become. 5. Say No to Busy Work I use the 12 Week Year system. Everything I do ties back to a goal. Internal meetings? Minimized. Slack and email? Batched and time-boxed. If it doesn’t move pipeline or drive impact, I don’t touch it. If you’re working 60+ hours and still missing quota... It’s not your work ethic that’s broken. It’s your calendar. Stop measuring your week by hours worked. Start measuring it by energy invested in what matters. You don’t need to grind harder. You need to recharge better. Work less. Sell more. Live fully.

I spoke to an Olympic gold medalist who shared something profound. Not about training harder, but about resting smarter. In a world obsessed with hustle culture, this was a revelation: Reaching peak performance comes from balance. Understanding when to push harder and when to take a pause and rest. This got me thinking. How often do we, as leaders, equate success with relentless work? We wear exhaustion as a badge of honor. I am as guilty of this as anyone. But what if the real secret to high performance is knowing when to stop? Here's what I've learned: Rest is an integral part of the process ➡️ Just like athletes need recovery days, executives need downtime. ➡️ It’s not about doing less; it’s about doing better. Quality over quantity ➡️ More hours don't mean more productivity. ➡️ Focus on impactful work and leave the rest for tomorrow. Listen to your body and mind ➡️ Your body sends signals when it's time to recharge. ➡️ Ignoring them can lead to burnout and inefficiency. Scheduled breaks enhance creativity ➡️ Stepping away can spark innovative solutions. ➡️ Some of the best ideas come when you're not overthinking. As leaders, we set the tone for our teams. If we prioritize balance, it encourages others to do the same. This isn't about slowing down progress. It's about sustaining it. So, the next time you feel like pushing through exhaustion, remember the Olympic gold medalist's wisdom. Sometimes, the path to victory lies not in the next mile, but in a well-deserved pause. How do you incorporate rest into your leadership routine? Share your thoughts.