Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa February/March 2019 | Page 66

INSPIRATION
Entrepreneurs, look after yourself
to better look after your venture!
E
xtreme stress, lack of sleep, constant uncertainty, social
isolation; these are things that entrepreneurs know all too
well. This can quickly lead to a destructive cycle of toxic
behaviour, which is the reason why entrepreneurs should be es-
pecially careful when it comes to their mental wellness.
Lesley is CEO at Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct,
owner of Lesley Donna Williams Consulting and founder of
Impact Hub Johannesburg in 2010 - the first in Africa and now
one of over 100 Impact Hubs in major cities around the world.
Together with her many successes, Lesley shared her personal
story of dealing with mental and emotional issues as a result of
work. She has experienced failure, gone through difficult times,
and struggled with balance and wellness in the work place.
Lesley Donna Williams’s eight tips for working
towards entrepreneurial wellness, managing
the stresses of entrepreneurship, and avoiding
toxic habits:
Have an identity beyond your venture
We take our businesses so personally; they consume all of who
we are so we forget that there are far more facets to us. Make
time to express and nurture those other sides to you.
Make time for yourself
Give yourself space to breathe. Big holidays can be a big pressure,
and it can be difficult to be away from your business for longer
periods. Rather, aim to take small holidays such as a long
weekend about every six weeks, if possible. Take that one day,
whether you go away, have a ‘pyjama day’ or spend time in nature.
Mind your ego
It’s easy to get caught up, for example, in media attention or
winning awards. It may not feel like ego because it’s nice to
get affirmation and recognition when you work really hard, but
be mindful of overexposure. Society wants a piece of what you
are doing, especially when you are pioneering. Society wants
superheroes. You don’t need to buy into that.
Listlessness is a red flag
When the things you are super passionate about no longer
64
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
energise you, it’s a warning sign. For Lesley, this was especially
telling, in retrospect. “I usually feed off the energy of people
and love being in company, but I found myself withdrawing
and saying no to invitations too many times,” she says. There’s a
difference between taking time out for self-reflection and being
listless for a long period of time.
Make space to mourn or deal with trauma
While we are running our ventures, life is happening. Family
members may pass away, you may have a vehicle accident or be a
victim of crime. “Beware of continuous suppression and parking
issues,” cautions Lesley. “We often think that we can put off
facing life’s trials because there is a business deal that needs to
happen or we still need to show up for a meeting. But things
pile up and become toxic in us if we don’t recognise them and
deal with them.”
You don’t arrive at well-being
Well-being is not a one-off action. It’s a continuous thing. It is
important to remember this because it is so easy to spin back into
practices of burnout.
Beware of making critical decisions when you’re in a bad space
When you’re in a bad space, it’s easy to end up dating someone
simply because they’ve shown interest; business partnerships are
the same. When in a poor state of mind, we treat so many critical
things in our business without taking sufficient time to reflect if
it is a wise action, especially if we don’t have wise counsel around
us. If you are not in a good space, you need to have people to
call you out.
Practice self-forgiveness
“This is a tough one. As overachievers and highly motivated
individuals, entrepreneurs are often perfectionists and when
things don’t go to plan we have a tendency to continuously focus
on the shortcomings instead of celebrating what can go well
and what has gone well,” says Lesley. So, how do you celebrate?
Do something symbolic to high-five yourself, whether treating
yourself to a sushi dinner or blasting your favourite song and
dancing along. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, but do it.