My #1 Work From Home Success Secret

If I’d written this article a few years ago I’d be sharing facts about the importance of a business website or the best way to automate your business processes by using online services. That’s because up until November of 2020, I was still clueless about the real #1 work from home success secret.

What happened in November of 2020? 

I spent Thanksgiving in our local hospital’s emergency department. Not with COVID; although the reason I was admitted but never got a room was due to a surge of COVID patients; but with an irregular heartbeat, or Afib.  During my stay and during the four or five weeks following, I discovered that I wasn’t nearly as healthy as I’d believed myself to be.  In fact, I learned that all of those hours I spent in front of my computer screen had actually had a very adverse effect on my health.  My blood pressure was high and on top of the heart issues I also was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and a chronic, very painful case of sciatica.

I went from someone who hadn’t seen a doctor in over 10 years to someone who had multiple appointments a week with doctors, physical therapists and specialists. In case you’ve never given it much thought, doctors do not, for the most part, have appointment slots after 5pm. This meant I had to do a huge mind shift. I had to shift from believing my business took top priority to actively making my health my first priority.

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t scary.  When you’ve been proud of being available to your clients Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5pm, leaving the office behind for an hour or so to see a doctor caused me to panic more than once as I got used to my new normal. Slowly, as I began to make lifestyle changes, I also began to see that I’d come close to losing the business I’d spent 14 years building by ignoring my physical and mental health.

The Secret

The truth is, you can’t build a successful business if you’re ignoring your own well-being. Taking care of your own mental and physical health is part of building a successful business. Why do you think so many big businesses have on campus gyms? They know making it easier for their employees to stay healthy has a great return on investment.

It’s time those of us running our own home-based businesses recognize the same thing. We need to consider taking the time out of our business day to work out or have a therapy session is just as important as providing services or products.  When we make our own health a priority, it not only means we are better equipped to help our clients and customers, it also means we ourselves start to value ourselves.  That leads to things like charging what you’re worth without hesitation.  It’s a gateway to growth.  And that’s why it’s become my #1 work from home success secret.