Starting and running six companies taught Blake Mycoskie about burnout.
Especially at Toms Shoes, a social enterprise that was his fifth, he watched young people always “on” in the company’s fast-growing era, working so hard, managing their digital distractions while multitasking through pressure be. He feared that if they didn’t take care of themselves, they would have serious consequences.
Then, as 2016 turned into 2017, Mycoskie now admitted he was facing that burnout himself. “I’ve been working so hard for so many years now that I’ve neglected any kind of personal care,” he told Inc.’s What I Know podcast.
He did not want to seek treatment for what he himself diagnosed as depression. But he has investigated the causes – and tried to find his own solutions.
“What I found was that it wasn’t a magic bullet,” he says. “There was no particular guru. I tried everything.”
Although he had resigned from his position as managing director at Toms, his job still suffered. “I didn’t have the energy or the creativity and often felt the need to be checked,” he says. “And that’s about the time I really stopped being engaged.”
Mycoskie turned to behavioral science and delved into neurochemistry in his research on combating depression through lifestyle choices and healthy habits. He has teamed up with Pat Dossett, a former Navy SEAL, to create a wellness company aimed at helping individuals achieve long-term healthy behavior. It’s called Madefor, and it was launched in March 2020 – right when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down US cities and businesses.
For Mycoskie, 2020’s isolation wasn’t conducive to good mental health. But, he says, Madefor did create, “That was really a part of me when I bounced back and had something outside of me to focus on.”
Listen to the full episode of What I Know in the player below, on iTunes, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
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