Navy SEALs are the highest performing military unit on the planet.

A few months ago, I connected with a prominent business leader who had recently invested 30 days training with Navy SEALs. I asked what his #1 insight had been. His answer shocked me.

The SEALs build their performance around recovery, not exertion.

That’s because they understand…

Elite performance is built on recovering smarter,

not grinding harder.

Their focus is 70% around rest and recovery,

20% on diet and nutrition,

and 10% on training and exercise.

If the most elite combat unit in the world uses this formula for high-level performance when the stakes are the highest, what lessons as entrepreneurs might we learn from the SEALs about high-performance?

More than likely, you are someone who lives in a constant state of DOING.

You feel guilty and restless when you’re not being “productive” with your time. You live with

constant motion, constant producing, and constant straining to squeeze every ounce out of every day or to get one more task done before your next meeting.

You measure your effectiveness by how much you can get done in a day and you end your days feeling exhausted, thinking it’s a badge of honor.

Me too. I get it. However…

Your exhaustion is not a sign of your commitment,

it’s a symptom of your poor design.

You’ve designed your life and work around the wrong objective. The goal of your life is not to get as much done as possible. And running at the pace you are, not only steals from your effectiveness as a leader, it undermines the purpose for which you were created.

The Navy SEALs understand this critical truth…

Your capacity for recovery sets your leadership ceiling.

 

If your life has no margin,

your leadership has no leverage.

What does this look like for an entrepreneur?

70% RECOVERY: Margin & Space

• Brief blocks of whitespace in your day (not “catch-up time”)
• Intentional pauses between meetings (even if they’re really short)
• Ruthlessly saying “no” to good opportunities that aren’t fully aligned for this time
• Scheduling one day a month for yourself to be with God and do things that refresh you (no, it’s not selfish to do this and you can’t afford NOT to do this)

You may get less done, but it’ll be the RIGHT things and they’ll be done with a higher level of excellence, because you’ll have better judgment and be less reactive.

You don’t lead best when you’re running hardest.

You lead best when you’ve created enough margin

to see clearly and hear God’s voice.

20% NUTRITION: What You Consume Mentally & Emotionally

• Filtering your information diet (less noise, fewer inputs).
• Intentionally feeding your mind (Scripture, truth affirmations, worship/adoration, thanksgiving)
• Emotionally releasing “ownership” to God over your circumstances

We have SO much noise in our life today. Be intentional about where you direct your focus and what you’re filling your mind with.

Whatever fills your minds

will consume your thoughts

and whatever consumes your thoughts

will dominate your life.

10% TRAINING: Intentional Stress & Skill Development

• Strategic thinking time
• Having difficult conversations you’ve been avoiding
• Taking action with an idea before it’s perfect and being willing to fail
• Scheduling one week of “development” annually for yourself to improve and work on specific personal or leadership skills.

“Training” for an entrepreneur ultimately boils down to taking courageous action and leaning into an uncomfortable edge, because THAT is where all the growth is!

It’s not a question whether you can sustain your current pace. You can’t.

The real question is: what kind of leader will you become when you finally admit that?

And how long will you wait to give your team the leader they are dying for you to become?

This week, pick ONE small action: recovery, nutrition, or training. And make one small change to advance you toward this next level of elite performance.