Americans take great pride in their work. If it’s one thing we’re known for, it’s that drive to innovate, strive, and succeed. While this is aspirational – even noble! – there are dark sides to putting so much weight into work, jobs, and career.

Sometimes, our best plans for physical fitness go awry. Health problems can put your workout routine on hold, life gets busy, and we just don’t always get to stay as active as we’d like. Unfortunately, a lot of folks resign themselves to this sedentary fate rather than getting back in the saddle.

Self-confidence is a mighty but surprisingly fragile thing. As a leader, an entrepreneur, and professional navigating the world, self-confidence is essential to success. It’s not about having a big ego – it’s developing confidence in your skills, abilities, and judgment. When you have this confidence, you can get big things done!

Every year it seems like a radical “new” superfood becomes the hot new thing in nutrition. These fruits, vegetables, and fibers are rarely all that people claim them to be. That doesn’t mean, though, that there are nutritionally dense, highly advantageous foods out there.

As much as I’m concerned with physical fitness, I recognize the immense value in mental fitness. Our brains are the most complex and crucial of our organs. Taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body. And, like the body, we must “use it or lose it.”

We’ve all been in that job before. The one that causes us to dread Mondays, feel exhausted and stressed, and live for the weekend. As leaders – bosses, CEOs, entrepreneurs – the last thing we want is a miserable workforce. You’re not going to get great performance from your team if they hate what they do.

No matter how great of a leader you may be, there will be those who don’t listen to what you have to say. You may have a wealth of knowledge and experience to inform your advisements but all your qualifications in the world can’t make some people take good advice.

These days there’s no shortage of career advice and opinions. And, unfortunately, not all opinions are created equal and not all advice is valuable. Throughout my career, I’ve received advice – good and bad – and I think it’s important to talk about both sides of the coin.

I write a great deal about leadership here, but I realize that not everyone is in a position of leadership. You might want to be, but you’re just not there yet due to current circumstances. But I want to encourage you: just because you’re not a CEO, a business owner, or a manager doesn’t mean you can’t lead.

For the most part, you’d be hard-pressed to find a thriving professional who feels like they’ve got time on their hands. We all have fitness goals and ambitions, but time can get away from us. It seems chronically inconvenient to carve out time to hit the gym or go for a run. This is particularly true when you have a demanding career, kids’ sports and activities to get to, and a home to take care of.

If the pen is indeed mightier than the sword, it means that words really matter. Communication, whether one-on-one or in front of a crowd, is a huge component of the leadership experience. And that means that what you say can make or break your ability to lead well.

As an entrepreneur, taking an annual vacation is a lot easier said than done. I’ve recommended it many times, but I know how hard it can be to get away! When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re on the hook for it all. Unless you’ve fully established your business with capable employees that can get it all done in your absence, a vacation can look like a net loss.

If we’re honest, few of us are totally on top of our daily water intake. The recommendations for daily water intake vary – the Mayo Clinic reports from the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that men should drink about 3.7 liters (15.5 cups) while women should consume 2.7 liters (11.5 cups).

American work culture champions productivity. We’re all about getting more done, making more progress, and embracing the daily grind. And while all these things can be good, going about them the wrong way can be detrimental physically, mentally, and relationally.

As parents, we’re always worried about our kids. We want them to be safe, happy, well-cared for, and successful. I know that as a father, one of my greatest joys has been watching my kids grow up and into people of character.

If we want to grow as leaders and respected professionals, we must be champions of introspection. Great leaders, from CEOs and founders to managers and entrepreneurs, recognize that real, meaningful growth only comes with honest reflection: reflection on successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses, and ambitions and fears.

Right now, much of the country is under a heat advisory. It’s likely we’ll see some high temperatures this week – and if you’re at all familiar with summer weather in the South, that heat is almost guaranteed to come with soul-destroying levels of humidity.

The Great Resignation, also known as the Great Transition, refers to the phenomenon of some 33 million Americans quitting their jobs beginning in summer of 2021. As a leader, entrepreneur, or business owner, you’ve no doubt been aware of the perceived labor shortage. On the other hand, work still seems hard to come by!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a runner, a football star, a weightlifter, a golfer, or anything in between. Athletes of all kinds find common ground in their most basic, necessary goals: operate at peak performance and recover as quickly and efficiently as possible.

What’s the real antidote for imposter syndrome? No one likes that feeling of being out of place and out of their depth. Unfortunately for entrepreneurs, this is a path paved with experimentation and all the things you’ve never done before. It’s scary. It’s risky. And you’re probably not going to feel totally confident going in.