Quick heads up: This is a longer email that doesn't have much to do with fitness. Yet, I know you'll find it helpful if you're a type-A, hard-charging guy like me.
​
A month ago, Instagram shut down my account.

No warning, and over a decade of content and the channel that drives 40 to 50 percent of our front-end revenue for Bach Performance evaporated overnight.
​
It happened in the middle of a launch, costing the business tens of thousands of dollars.

The good news is, I got it back last week.
​
But what happened in between matters more than the account.

First, the ugly part. That account pulls 2 to 3 million views a month. When it went dark, the lead flow stopped. That sucks when you have a team to pay on top of coaching.
​
I had to look hard at what Bach Performance looks like when its biggest front door closes.
​
What other tools do we have: Email, YouTube, Facebook, the podcast?
​
Where are we over-indexed? Where do we need to focus a bit more?

Then there is the second part, which I didn't really expect:

My head was clearer.

Tons of views, etc on social media sound good; however, that's much more "access" than we are built for. It weighs on you, especially when you've built a business around social media since 2012.
​
The human brain weighs one negative comment heavier than ten positive ones. I get mostly positive feedback, and I'm resilient, but that doesn't mean the negativity doesn't compound over time.

I slept better. I was less reactive.

I was able to take a 30,000-foot view of the business, why we do what we do, and work on some big projects.
​
The icing on the cake was sitting in a meeting in Vancouver last week when my friend Craig Ballantyne said, "To do better things, you must do fewer things."​
​
​Obvious from the outside. Not as easy to implement when you have a family, a business with 120+ clients between me and my team, and other projects going on.
​
The forced slowdown showed me something I couldn't see while I was in it.
​
I'd gotten so pulled into executing that I'd lost sight of the strategy.
​
And some days, the reason for doing what I do.

The lesson has nothing to do with Instagram. It had everything to do with spreading myself too thin and trying to do everything.

You've probably lived a version of it.
​
Your job, your family, the 26-hour schedule with 24 hours to make it all work.
​
I've had entrepreneur burnout before, and in hindsight I was right on the edge.
​
With my clients, I see men and women pushing the pedal to the metal in all areas of life... until a forced slowdown hits.
​
Maybe it's a layoff. Or a divorce. A kid acting out. A health scare.
​
The world is evolving faster than ever, and the best thing we can do is take a step back and observe so we can operate with more clarity.
​
​Here are a few things I've been focused on since then:​
1. I use the five-minute journal first thing in the morning. If I wait, I won't get it done.
​
2. I meditate. Even five minutes in the morning makes a difference over time. Again, if I don't do it first thing in the morning, I'm mainlining caffeine until mid-afternoon.
​
3. I read 10 pages. The first book was Unstoppable by Craig Ballantyne. Now, it's The Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday.
​
Those steps might sound corny. But personally, my issue has NEVER been effort or working hard enough.
​
It's often working too hard, losing sight of what matters most, and figuring it out before I burn myself to the ground.
​
The best way to prevent that is to slow down, to step back, and take a breath.
​
I'm looking forward to bringing you some new content going forward.
​
If this message resonated with you, let me know. Always happy to hear from you.
​
-Eric
​