10 Badass Entrepreneurs & Creatives Tell How Fitness is Part of their Formula

10 Badass Entrepreneurs & Creatives !

Tell why fitness is part !of the formula!

@AnneReuss! annereuss.com!

Want to become a more tenacious entrepreneur, creative or blogger? !!Challenging yourself physically and mentally will help you just do that. !!I decided to enlist the help of a few creatives and entrepreneurs that are rocking it to share how and why. !!They went above and beyond...which speaks for itself. !!

Founder/CEO of !3RhinoMedia & UW-Madison

Professor.!Spartan Racer.!

@3rhinomedia

I'm a big believer that a healthy mind and healthy spirit must reside in a healthy body. !!So three days a week I get up at 4:15 AM for a cross fit endurance workout to build my physical and mental capacity to be at my best.!!Like most of you, I have a very full plate. In addition to running my business, I teach marketing courses at the University of Wisconsin, and I have a family including 3 younger kids. !!People often say to me, "I could never get up and do what you do. How do you find the time and energy to do those workouts when you have all those other things on your plate?”!!

The answer is simple.

*drum roll* !!

du ooh ahhh ooh ahhh du du oooh......

If something is important enough to us, we'll find the time and energy to make it a priority. I’m 100% convinced if I didn’t do these workouts, I wouldn’t be able to do everything I do.!

- Don Stanley!

!Proving to myself that I can get up and work out builds my discipline muscle as well as my physical muscles. What I learn in pushing myself physically translates perfectly to when I need to push myself in my business and do the work necessary for success."!

President/Founder of Lightspan Digital.!

Scuba rescue diver & marathon runner.!

@manamica

During a particularly hot and hard half marathon I thought to myself, if I can do this, I can do anything. !!One of my coaches, a tiny and vibrant sextugenarian said to me, "you've done the training, you are ready for this, just finish it.”. !!Whenever I have a big professional challenge I think of the 8 half marathons I completed and of how each time there were moments where I could have given up, but I kept going. And I didn't keep going just because I needed to finish. !

I kept going because I worked hard and trained for that moment. !!Same in business, just when it feels the hardest, it's when we're the closest to the finish line. We have the experience to help us get through. We just have to trust ourselves and give it that one last push to get across the finish line. !

- Mana Ionescu!

You can see the finish line more

clearly.!!

You can see the finish line more clearly.!

Director of Operations at Arment

Dietrich. Outdoor adventurer, Olympian

wanna-be & supehero trainee.!

@lkpetrolino

!I consider fitness part of my professional life in the same way I do meetings, email and professional development tools–one hundred percent completely necessary for my survival and success. !!I’ve been an athlete my entire life and it’s provided me many of the skills that help me most in the professional world. !!Involvement in sports and fitness has taught me passion, dedication, endurance, strength, discipline, courage, competitiveness, and the ability to keep pushing, even when it hurts, even when you want to quit. !!

Beyond that, fitness is where I reboot. !!It’s the one time of the day I have all to myself, to be completely selfish and self-focused. I can connect with my body, focus on movement, on strength, on becoming a better version of myself every day and pushing past my pervious limits.!! It’s me vs. me and that’s incredibly empowering. !

!It gives me the energy and confidence needed to tackle the rest of my day full throttle. !

- Laura Petrolino!

It’s you vs. you. !!

Arooo!!

Managing Director & Founder of

Commercial Capital, LLC.!

Meditation Champ.!

@marco_terry

Launching and running a business is one of the most stressful things that a person will ever do. !!As you can imagine, it takes a toll on your body and your mind. This is why I have focused on my physical and mental fitness for years.!!!!!

My current routine involves strength training* three times a week and aerobic training twice a week.!

TIP: My strength training routine is based on Mark Rippetoe’s “Starting Strength.” It’s very effective and quick. I am in and out of the gym in under an hour.

- Marco Terry!

One of the things that you learn when you work out is that recovery is as important as working out. !!If you over-train, you risk injury. Your mind is no different. !!Trying to accomplish everything gives your mind a tough workout. Without recovery, however, you burn out – as many entrepreneurs do.!!For me, the solution was to use mindful meditation. It’s the equivalent of having “recovery time” during your work day.!!Combining strength training and meditation has been an invaluable tool in my business life. It has often given me an edge that allowed me to perform well during difficult times.!

It’s you vs. you. !!

Arooo!!

“Mindful meditation involves sitting for five minutes and focusing solely on your breathing. Nothing more. It’s simple, but not easy. When your mind wanders, you

refocus it on your breathing.”!

@dalicie

Global Marketing Manager at Concur. !

Boot camp enthusiast & dances Roger

Rabbit to 90s house music.!

!

I’m just getting back into fitness again after a long time off. !!I used to bike three and a half miles across a big hill multiple times a week to and from classes at SF State University while I finished my degree. That was exercise out of necessity, really. !!But I finished that degree in December 2013, and a few months after my daily bike trips stopped, I started noticing the detrimental effects of lack of exercise and having a desk job...!!

But now I’m getting back on track. I’ve been going to a boot camp-style class twice a week for about a month, and I’m already seeing results. !!I feel better in general, so I feel more confident and relaxed in meetings. !!And here’s the thing -!

- Dwayne Alicie!

!!

The first steps don’t have to be big. !!

I barely made it through that first boot camp class, even with modified versions of

exercises and stopping each round early. !!

But after the first outlay of willpower and effort, there is a built-in reward system that kicks in to keep you going back!!

- Dwayne Alicie!

CEO TakeOut Tech & partner of

Hashtracking. SoCal surfer, yoga, running

and Master in Hollandaise.!

!

@chlj

Working out as entrepreneur keeps me motivated, creates more energy for me, and allows me to keep me emotionally balanced. !!I have always felt if I am taking care of me, then all my dreams are possible. If I don't then all I will want to do is dream. !!In the case of Hashtracking, keeping the idea alive and working for the first three years as a free system, exercise is what kept me balanced and motivated. I am highly competitive and all I want to do is succeed.!!Just recently a different company I took over was acquired by GrubHub.!

- Charlie Jeffers!

In 2003 I was hit by a car and nearly lost my life and leg (I won't let you know the gruesome details, but it was bad). !!I was told: "You will always limp and we don't see you running again.”! Well 4 months afterward I ran a block (1/10th of a mile) and fell down. Then went out again. I stopped limping and I ran again. I don't run as fast anymore. :( !

But hey! I also do yoga, jump rope, surf, and just have fun.!

Without it I would be out of balance and not the hard worker I am. !

“If I don’t take care of myself, all I want is to just

dream.”!!!

Is dreaming all you want to do??!

I have always been "in and out" of the fitness movement. In 2008 I decided to get off of the sidelines and on to the course. I set my sights on a goal I had never reached: a sub 30 minute 5K.!!Between then and now, I have run three half marathons and countless races of shorter distances.!!Although I did not reach the sub 30 goal, I have still gained many benefits since 2008. Fitness has brought me into the fold of people I would not have met otherwise, has strengthened my body and spirit, and has hopefully made me a great example for my kids.! !!!

Writer at Big Green Pen. !

Runner and Charity Miles all-star.!

!

@biggreenpen

Set an example for your co-workers and loved ones. !

!!

@jeanniecw

CEO/Founder 360Connext. !

Full time mom, builds lego villages, does

yoga and runs. !

I ran my first 5K last spring. I trained with my 9 year old son at the time and he ran the race with me. I also started strength training last year, which helped me feel strong! !!Thanks to a bad car accident and the injuries from it, I'm still working through physical therapy to get back to running.!

I miss it more than I ever thought I would! !!The daily ritual of training was freeing for my mind and spirit. I'm determined to run that same 5K again this spring with my son at my side.!

@gettysburggerry

Principal at Glasswork Media

Arts & Gettysburg personality. !

Fitness and wellness has been life changing. I definitely think the two go hand in hand and it all starts from there. Life, business, relationships, all stem from a healthy mental and physical foundation.!

I still spend time online, but a lot less and it has really helped me focus on what is best for me, and what is real in this world.!! I think the byproduct of a healthy mind and body is the ability to see through bullsh*t. I feel confident and self-aware.!

Fitness is a personal experience and you

learn how to disconnect from the naysayers,

Debbie Downers and skeptics in business.!

!!

@nickkellet

Co-founder at List.ly.!Founder AnswerSets &

Gifttrap (now SAP/BOBJ), Serial Entrepreneur.!

Outdoor adventurer & runner. !

!

It gives me the strength to persist. !!Now I could not be still and not run.

!Thinking

about becoming a !biz badass yourself? !

A few parting words....!

PRACTICE:!!

Become a practitioner of !fitness and meditation. !

!It isn’t mastered overnight. !

(Either is business, plus that’d be no fun!) !!

Be brave to try new things. !Don’t settle on anything you despite. !

promise:!!

You will mess up some days. !!

Promise yourself it won’t come to a halt when that happens. Start again

the next day.!!

Promise to others to hold yourself accountable and make it more real!!

prevail!!☺ !!

Want to see or ask for more?!!

www.annereuss.com!!

or !!

@AnneReuss!