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Reset Your Equilibrium: 3 Ways To Master Balance As An Entrepreneur

Reset Your Equilibrium: 3 Ways To Master Balance As An Entrepreneur
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Michael Olsen

Michael Olsen is the founder of Ocean Land Sky where he starts lean, disruptive, and innovative passion-based businesses; and facilitates others to do the same. His passions lie in creating creators through the development of ideal ecosystems, and platforms for every entrepreneur to become the best possible version of themselves, thus supercharging their life and business.

“I’m an explorer of human potential, not necessarily how far we can push ourselves alone, but how we can become who we’re destined to be.”

Dilemma

Having an entrepreneurial state of being can be a blessing, but can also curse. For some of you that may not know what this means; the mind does not quit running, and the ideas don’t stop coming. Michael may be an extreme case, but he feels most entrepreneurs feel the way he does. “From the moment I open my eyes until I close them at the end of the day, I am living and breathing embodying my business, ideas, and dreams, says Michael.

Usually, this revolves around pushing his mind to it limits of creation, innovating, problem solving, and changing the world, but as great as all those sound it can become exhausting and overwhelming, which can cause even the best to burn out.

Michael currently lives in Hawaii and has enjoyed free diving for many years. He compares his diving experience closely to the process he uses to get in the zone and balance his state of being; allowing him to achieve optimal work/life harmony.

Diving deep

Michael relates, “As you start a free dive your ears are fine until about 8 feet or so down. At this point you must equalize the pressure that begins to build in your ears. The technique is to plug your nose and blow out, continuing this as you go further and further down. You must stay calm as you get to your desired depth or you won’t be able to spend very long down there. During the ascent you need to breathe out consistently until you reach the surface. Likewise, he has 3 go-to activities that he does to equalize his state of being as a crazy serial entrepreneur.”

We can withstand incredible pressure if we learn how to properly create a system of equilibrium.

“Balance of the mind is imperative. Without relief from a rigorous schedule, it’s stamina wanes, and eventually will not work as hard as your goals and dreams need it to,” says Michael. “Your decisions will start leaning more and more to the obscene and distracted, rather than strategic and focused.”

Before we jump right in, Michael says you must bring your thoughts to a point where they are completely unrelated to your entrepreneurial endeavors. The mind tends to to resort back to a habit of thinking about the same things, you must learn to break this tendency. According to the National Science Foundation, 95% of our thoughts are repetitive from day to day. What a sad truth.

These are the 3 go-to-activities for Michael. If he doesn’t make it to other activities he might have wanted, at least he has already done the most important.

The Equilibrium Platform

Build an Equilibrium platform you can leap from with clarity, maximum energy, and new thought creation… here’s how Michael does it!

1. Read. (Balance of Mind)

Literature, Poetry, and Scripture. No self-help books. No business books. This time it’s for pleasure and enlightenment. To get lost in the beauty of words and stories. To let your emotions go and fully immerse yourself.

Even a mere 30 minutes a day will bring more wonder into your life, refreshing your mind

2. Be Active. (Balance of Body)

• Go be physical! If you want the energy and stamina of mind and body to actively run and strategically plan for your business you must keep your body conditioned.

• You can’t be out worked if you have more stamina. At least 30 mins a day.

• This category is usually most sacrificed, so if you want to find a leg up, do this!

• Pick immersive sports or workouts, preferably in nature, it will help clear the clutter.

• Michael finds surfing, paddling, and beach workouts to be among his favorites.

3. Mediate and Write. (Balance of Soul)

• Think deep. Stop skimming and start thinking deeply; the extensive knowledge that is at your fingertips will amaze you. At least 30 minutes a day.

• Make sure your extremely relaxed and focused on the task at hand or again your mind will wander back to what it always thinks about. That is the opposite of what you want; new thoughts, new growth.

Example: Think about light in its abstract from, the way it moves, the way it lights the the world, the way it bends through the bamboo. (Advantage of living in Hawaii) I sometimes sit with my eyes closed and let inception happen as I listen to the bamboo sway in the wind and feel the scattered sunlight on my skin. Zoom in to your senses, let go of the moment, and think deeper than you ever have. You will have more epiphanies, you will be closer to nature, yourself, and find that solutions to problems come clearer and more potent. Make sure to keep a journal handy!

• Write freely. In a journal or a sketch book.

• Write unfiltered, about your weaknesses and frustrations, about your dreams and aspirations. There is something magical about putting pen to paper and piecing together thoughts and ideas that inspire, it will surprise you.

* Remember all of these activities should be done daily if not weekly and they are co-dependent on one another.

Clarity

When Michael does these activities, he says he is ready to attack any problem; refreshed, inspired, and energized, full of clarity and purpose. He encourages everyone to find what activities work for them, and start building balanced habits now.

The mind is in need of stillness, the body, mobility, and the soul, reflection.

Along with these 3 steps, Michael has one last tip for any aspiring entrepreneurs trying to find the balance in the life they so crave: “Take one day off a week for you, your family, and/ or your faith, and you will be firing at light-speed in no time. This will align the yin and yang of your life and make you more and more unstoppable each week.” A day to reflect, reset, realign, and recommit to your grand vision. “This will not compromise the amount you get done, actually you will find the opposite will happen”, challenges Michael.

The proper allocation of time + the right equalizing habits = Equilibrium (Balance)

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