Once we realize that we are addicted to our business, only then can we start to remove the shackles that stop us from living. This episode is designed to bring your awareness back to connecting with yourself, so your business can grow, just in the right way. If you find yourself doing a lot, but not succeeding a lot, this may also prove useful. Are you staying up late at night unable to peel yourself away from the computer because you’re addicted to your business? I would be lying to you if I’m not slightly addicted to my business. I’m just not as addicted I was, and I now have the awareness to notice when I’m sabotaging myself. It’s important to get away from your laptop so you return to your business stronger. Time away from your work so you’re not completely fixated on business allows creativity to flow, new ideas to happen, and allows you to reenergize. An addiction is something you can’t stop. It’s something that takes control of you rather than you being in control of it, just like social media or something else, but your business can be an addiction. When I ask people what they do outside of their business they can find it hard to tell me about their hobbies and the people they’re connecting with. Are You Subconsciously Disconnecting? A reason why you get addicted to our business is that sometimes you don’t want to connect with other people. When I was at school, the main reason why I started my video games magazine, was because I was bullied. I found safety in being with a group of my friends and spending time creating the fanzine. We sold Megabyte in small newsagent shops – that was where my entrepreneurial journey began. I was very young and I was spending a lot of time creating a magazine to avoid being bullied. The more time I spent in front of my computer the more numb I became and blocked out my feelings. I was isolating myself in my fanzine because I was shut out by other people or I was choosing to shut myself out because of what I thought other people thought of me. If you don’t connect well, or you consider yourself as an introvert, you’re going to do things to make yourself feel safe. The more you do that, the more you get hooked in. It’s just like smoking or taking drugs for the first time. You like the feeling, and then you want more of it. It’s easy to distract yourself in front of the computer screen, starting new things, writing and being creative but if the things you’re doing aren’t productive then you’re wasting time. Entrepreneurs often fall into the loop of creating but not completing, and you can spend a lot of time doing things, but not getting results. An OCD loop happens; you open the computer, you check your email, you look at documents. You can just work and work, but you’re just chipping away at yourself. Are You Paying The Psychological Price Of Entrepreneurship? You wear down your own confidence when you don’t allow yourself to enjoy the gifts around you. You can’t enjoying deep connection with other people or allow creativity to flow. You become more and more isolated, more lonely, and you begin to feel disconnected from yourself. You feel confused because your computer and work create a reality that’s not real. You think you’re leading your life, but you’re not living your life. I believe you should be building your business, you should be creating impact and you should be working. Have an honest conversation with yourself you ask if it’s worth you losing your health and mind? Stop Procrastinating You may feel like you’re progressing with your business, but when you’re addicted to your business, you’re not progressing; you’re filling time. You need to have a brutal, honest checklist with all the things that you’re doing and ask yourself if they are bringing you a return? Let go of the idle time you’re wasting on your computer. It’s not benefiting you or your business. Is it really benefiting your business to continue doing it or a way for ...