For the first time before leaving for a work trip, I was anxious, and reluctant to go. I’m typically pumped when traveling for work. It often presents the opportunity to help in the building process of a project, close a deal, meet other entrepreneurs, get inspired, or learn something new (sometimes all of the above). But this trip is different. My family has been through a lot of emotional stress the past month, and I felt guilty leaving the people who matter most to me. Deep down, though, I knew it was best. The stress in my personal life has taken a toll on my work life. I need to get away and be distracted by challenges and opportunities - not all distractions are bad. My intuition tells me I’ll be a refreshed entrepreneur, husband, and father when I return in a week.
Changing Your Work Environment is Incredibly Valuable
Sitting in the airport lounge waiting for my flight to Tel Aviv, my mind is starting to squarely focus and get excited again. That’s something I haven’t had in about a month.
I’ll be meeting with several innovators this trip, which in all likelihood will reinvigorate my creativity while allowing me to focus on something new - in a place far from home/the office. My entrepreneurial senses are about to awaken from their stress-induced slumber. For the last month, I have been going through the motions - an unpleasant, and concerning, experience for any entrepreneur. We can’t afford to lose our mojo for such a prolonged period.
When I’m in a funk, the best thing to do is change the scenery; be it working from a different location, traveling somewhere outside of my day to day, working with new people, whatever. Changing the landscape forces a new work cadence, reignites my senses, and brings back the builder, dreamer, and inspirer within. The unrecognizable and new powerfully triggers my mind.
I’ll continue this blog tomorrow after I land. My plane is boarding…
Ending Entrepreneurial Ruts
Although it took me a week to get back to this blog entry, as I’ve been consumed in Israel spending time with inspiring entrepreneurs and innovators, here I am… back in an airport lounge, waiting for my flight; this time, to go home.
What a difference a week can make in a different environment. I am focused on big ideas and growth again. I have seven key learnings from this trip I want to implement the moment I get back to the office, and I’ve made new friends and potential business partners. In short, I’m hungry to get after it, with a sense that I’ve got an edge from many of the learnings while here that could pay dividends back home.
And although it was a work trip, I’m refreshed. This is the value of changing the scenery.
Shock Your System
Of course, you don’t have to travel overseas to benefit from a change of scenery. But as an entrepreneur, recognize that from time to time you should change your work environment. It helps continually elevate your game and avoid the threat of complacency. Even if it is just for a day or two, changing your surroundings will reignite your industrious senses. And being around new entrepreneurs will change your outlook, almost always for the better.
Stay hungry,
Aaron
PS - Entrepreneurship is challenging at times. To overcome the hurdles while continually growing, you need the right mindset. Let me help with that and some other important things. Subscribe to my free newsletter below. Only my best content will land in your inbox.
