Late last year, I was smack-dab in the middle of an over-packed travel schedule, more JV’s than I could count, new projects popping up left and right, and amazing new partners presenting themselves by the boatload – all this while trying to be a good mother to my two kids.

In 2013 all together, I was on almost 100 stages and was away from home for more than 200 days. Yup, almost 2/3 of the year.

Day after day I would grind and grind and grind until it finally hit me – burn out.

Yes, I have a big group of virtual employees, a large in-office staff, widespread international offices…but I’m also an entrepreneur.

As you well know, entrepreneurs have 10 ideas an hour – minimum. And I have a huge issue with saying the word “no” as opportunities come my way.

Entrepreneurs, we’re weirdo’s.

We get this thought in our head that if we don’t do it ourselves it won’t be done well enough. Or that it’s cheaper to learn to do something ourselves rather than outsourcing it.

We have some serious issues going on in between our ears.

I do, too…I plain did too much and burned out.

I won’t lie to you: The entrepreneur life is really about freedom and designing the life you want … but behind the scenes, it can be messy.

I wasn’t my normal, blow-your-socks-off-with-my-energy self.

So, I took some time away.

I had to get away to be with my kids, doing things that didn’t involve wrecking my brain.

It was amazing to get away.

I bounced back with a fierce rejuvenation – just ask my staff LOL.

I learned a lot about myself through this trial, mainly to follow my own advice better and sequence my business according to my values.

But do you want to know the most amazing part, the silver lining, the blessing in disguise from my messy situation?

I had a team to keep things going and running smoothly.

Nothing crashed.

Everything ran as planned.

It was as if I was not even gone.

You do that by hiring the right people in the right roles, and having the right systems in place.

To tell you the truth, I’ve grown this team over the better part the last 20 years.

The main reason was that I did not want to be run by my business anymore.

I wanted to run my business.

Because here’s the stone-cold truth: I don’t care how automated your business is, if you overdo things by yourself as an entrepreneur, I guarantee you will hit that wall.

That wall stinks.

But I’m to the point now where I can take weeks off – literally weeks off – and my business doesn’t miss a beat.

It’s unbelievably relieving knowing I have a more-than capable team to run the ship if I’m out…

Why do I tell you all this?

Because maybe you can relate.

Maybe you have this “Superhero Syndrome” too. You try to do everything, jump on every opportunity, give every single thing your undivided attention.

Maybe you’re just like me and have this ill-advised thought that if you don’t do it yourself, it won’t be done the best it can be (this is totally wrong, by the way).

This won’t work for long.

Eventually, you’ll overwhelm yourself, snap into reality, and realize that even if there were 48 hours in one day, you would still not be able to accomplish everything on your own.

So, outsource it.

Train people and trust people.

Create a strong, responsible, visionary team around you to carry the torch when you have to take some time for yourself – we’re all human.

Learning to have faith in your team is a process, but you’ll get there through finding the right people that fit your values – I don’t doubt it.

Trust me, you’ll be much better off in the long run.

Because what I’ve learned is that when you’re building your freedom, building your team, taking more things off of your plate…not only do you get more time…but you become way more successful!

So, don’t end up where I did.

If you’re on the path to burning out, take a step away from what you’re doing and ask yourself: What can I train and trust someone on my team to do so that I will never have to do it again myself?

Trust me, you’ll be a lot happier once you do.

Cheers,