Transcript
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Introduces the widespread burnout problem, its impact on employees and leaders, and why it can become a serious health crisis. The speaker frames the talk as a search for a better way to work and live.
How many of you ever experience burnout?Look around the room.Yeah, that's not surprising.Kronos, a large human resource software company, came out with a report called the employee burnout crisis.They surveyed 614 HR leaders.And 95% of them report that employee burnout is one of the leading causes why people are quitting their jobs.But that's not the worst part.None of these HR leaders know how to solve this crisis.Burnout is happening with employees, leaders, entrepreneurs.At a business summit, the founders and CEOs of successful companies, including Lyft, Indiegogo, and Gilt, ask each other this question.What do you guys do to prevent burnout?And they all struggle to find solid answers.Now, burnout unaddressed can lead to premature death.And premature death is something that Japanese are very familiar with.They call it karoshi.Karoshi means death from being overworked.Now, some of you right now are thinking, "Allen, I thought this was a motivational talk.
Why are you being so depressing?"I get it.I want to dedicate this session exploring how do we get beyond the burnout crisis, create a new future, get fired up about our jobs, and love what we do.
The speaker shares his own burnout experience, including depression, job loss, and failed attempts to recover through exercise and sleep deprivation. He then explains how he turned to meditation, mindfulness, and lessons from admired leaders.
17 years ago, I struggled from burnout.It was a really tough time for me.I failed in my relationship, my finances, my health.My girlfriend, who I was supposed to marry, she left me.I got laid off.Couldn't find a new job.And I was this close from being homeless.Here's a picture of me back then when I gained 50 lb.On the outside, I look really happy.Deep down on the inside, I was really depressed.I went to my doctor for advice.Guess what he told me?
Yeah, I'm depressed.Just go exercise and eat healthier.I could have gave that same genius advice.I'll take it.I ran, kickboxed, bicycled every day.Ate a small salad every meal.Following my doctor's genius advice, I've achieved starvation and exhaustion.That did not work.I got this.Cuz I'm mentally smart, I got willpower.I'm just going to sleep 4 hours a day because I got the rest of the 20 hours to be super productive.In my own genius way, I've succeeded in insomnia.
That didn't work either.The National Sleep Foundation recommends we sleep 7 to 9 hours each night.Gallup also reported that 40% of Americans are sleeping less than 7 hours a day.Other countries like Japan, Germany, UK, Canada, uh Mexico also reported that people are not sleeping that well.So, this is what can happen to our brain when we're not getting enough sleep.Our brain can atrophy over time.The University of Oslo in Norway did a brain study where they scan 147 participants.3 and 1/2 years later, they rescan the same people to see if there's any correlation.And this is what they found.They found a strong correlation between sleeping problem and the shrinking prefrontal cortex.Another areas of the brain that includes reasoning, planning, and memory.Doctor's advice didn't work.Eating small salad didn't work.Crying for sleep definitely did not work.I had to try something new.
And that's when I explored meditation, mindfulness practices, and even became a yoga teacher.I also studied the iconic leaders like Oprah Winfrey,if she ever comes up, Tony Robbins, and Arianna Huffington, and many more.And I learned that they all had these three best practices.When I implemented the best practices in my life, my health fast-tracked to 100%.
The talk introduces the AIR framework with a breathing exercise and begins with aspiration, then moves into integration and work-life balance. The speaker uses examples and a yoga pose to show how flexibility and expectations help manage competing demands.
To help you learn these best practices, I'd like to invite you now all to take a nice breath of fresh air with me.Let's take a nice deep breath in.Nice deep breath out.A fuller deep breath in.A fuller deep breath out.And the deepest breath you take in all day.And exhale.And as you breathe, I'd like you to remember the acronym AIR.A I R.The A in AIR is aspiration.What are your aspirations?Simon Sinek said, "Working hard for something that we don't like is called stress.Working hard for something that we love is called passion."What are your big aspirations in life?If you're working parents, you want to spend even more quality time with your kids, like going to their soccer tournaments or helping out their homework, so that they can grow up with a healthy mindset.If you're entrepreneur, leader, or a single busy professional, you want to be successful at work.
You want to do the best that you can each and every day.Your aspiration is what's connected to your heart desire.And your heart desire is the guiding North Star.The I in AIR is integration.What does the ideal work-life balance look like?It's 50% on work, 50% on life, on each leg.But what happens when you have competing priorities?This is what it looks like at work.Man, we just missed a project deadline, and we have to pull all-nighters to catch up.This is what it looks like at home.Oh my god, just got a call from the principal's office.And I got to take my I got to rush my kid to the ER.How do you integrate work and life?To help you learn integration, I'm going to teach you a yoga pose called the tree pose.Notice my right knee.This is bent.
This reminds us to build in flexibility into our everyday lives.Because when we're super busy at work, it's the flexibility at home that makes the integration possible.And I'm like wobbling, right?Set good expectation with your spouse and your kids to get their buy-in.And let them know when your project is over to avoid disappointment.When we have emergencies at home, it's the flexibility at work that makes the integration possible.Set good expectation with your boss and your colleagues.Have contingency plans.Now, I could be standing in this posture for a long time, but after a while, I'm going to get burned out.I need to recognize when to take time out and rejuvenate myself.The R in AIR is
Focuses on the R in AIR: rejuvenation, using examples from high-performing executives and the dangers of ignoring recovery. The speaker offers practical ways to recharge, including mini breaks, sleep, and stepping away from routine.
rejuvenation.Finally right.Leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, you guys want to pay very close attention to this part.Because when I spoke at Yahoo, Amazon, eBay, Cisco, and many other corporations, I've realized they all have a common theme.They all run at full speed.What happens when you run at full speed and you ignore the need to take time out?Arianna Huffington, a high-performing executive, ran at her full speed and ignored the need to rejuvenate herself.One night, she was so exhausted, she hit her head against a desk, broke her cheekbone, and had four stitches.Here's a relevant quote.When you're healthy, you have a thousand wishes.When you're sick, you only have one.That night, Arianna, the moment she before she broke her cheekbone, she had a thousand wishes.And afterwards, she just had one because she wanted to be healthier.So, how can we gain wisdom without hitting our own heads against the desk?
We can gain wisdom from our smartphones.How we charge our smartphones is also how we can charge our internal battery.First, the mini charge.When your phone's at 5%, you plug it in for a short period of time, and boom, you get 20%.At work, plan to get 5 minutes of meditation or go for a walk.And this can help you recharge your batteries back to 20%.Second, the full charge.When you want to charge your phone to 100%, you want to plug it in overnight.What this means at home is plan to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every day.Consistently.Key word here is consistently.And you can charge your internal battery back up to 100%.Third, the operating system upgrade.Just like once in a while you want to upgrade your phone, you also want to upgrade your internal battery or your internal operating system.
Get off the grid, go travel, go experience different cultures.And share these amazing experiences with the people you love.And this can help rejuvenate your soul.
Shares a personal family trip that illustrates how relationships and meaningful experiences restore energy and perspective. The talk closes by envisioning a life where work and home are both fulfilling, ending with a reminder to follow AIR.
I'd like to share a a very special experience with you with my wife and my daughter last year.We had traveled to China to see my wife's grandmother.Somebody whom she had not seen for over 22 years.Here's a picture of her grandmother, my wife and my daughter.And it was such an emotionally rich
It was such an emotionally rich experience because her grandmother is 87 years old.And my wife wants to see her one last time.For me to see these three generations of women sitting together was such a heartfelt experience.It's moments like this rejuvenates my soul.Because I believe the best things in life are not things.They're the people that you love and have amazing experiences with.Imagine for a moment what it feels like to have crushed it at work.You and your colleagues are high-fiving each other for a great job done.Your peers recognizes your aspiration because you bring your best effort each and every day.When you come home, you drop your laptop bag off, you push your work aside.You tickle your spouse.You laugh with your kids.You see the sparkles in their eyes.And you bring the best of you from your heart each and every day.
I believe we can change the world one life at a time.I'd like to invite you all now to take a deep breath of fresh air with me.Nice deep breath in.Nice deep breath out.And this will help remind you to follow the steps of air.Aspiration, integration, rejuvenation.And you too can get fired up about your job and love what you do.Thank you.