How I'm Beating Burnout as a CEO

I have never been more burnt out in my life... Things have been going incredibly well for me and my startup, Stan, yet for some reason, I have never wanted to quit more than I do right now.
In this video I sit down and begin the process of working through this burnout.
Specifically, I talk about:
- Figuring out why you're burnt out
- How to classify different types of burnout
- What steps to take to solve Day-To-Day Burnout
- What steps to take to solve Existential Burnout
- What's next?
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Want to start monetizing your content? Check out my company, Stan:
stanwith.me/
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Follow me on social media!
Personal Instagram: jayhoovy
Coaching Instagram: coach_hoovy
Personal Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@jayhoovy
Coaching Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@coach_hoovy

[@mattshieldssmma]

"Burn out doesn't come from working too hard, it comes from not seeing a way out" Where vacation can come in handy is by giving you the peace of mind and mental freedom to discover a way out. I was burnt out for 9 months straight when scaling our start up. I look back on it as the most important and valuable 9 months of my life so far. Best of luck Jay! Thanks for keeping it real

[@jayhoovy]

Damn. Thank you for this quote Matt. Very healthy perspective. I am starting to see the way out, and just how much Stan is going to help folks, which is giving me wind in my sails. ❤️

[@habibi750]

I recently went thru the same thing. I tried a few different things but this what ended up working for me (don’t judge). I stopped waking up to an alarm, so I wake up when I wake up. I stopped going to bed by a certain time. I go to bed when I start falling asleep. I take Sunday’s off and do what ever I want. I work about 10-11 hours per day. It’s been great.

[@jayhoovy]

no judgment habibi! I also do no alarm most mornings! I try my best to take Saturdays off - just doesn't seem to be enough sometimes...

[@ariloves10]

@jayhoovy it will never be enough. It's all about money money money. When an investor told me, " All we want to hear is how you're going to make us rich." Epiphany moment. I have no desire to make the rich richer. I have every desire to spread love and make rich my loved ones and those who supported and believed in me when I had nothing. Learn from Tony of Zappos. Learn from Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos. The list goes on and on. Where are your wife and children? Every smart, balanced founder sold their start-up, cashed out, and moved onto what truly brought them joy, even another start up..controlled by 'self'

[@Galbra1th]

Great video man! Rooting for you!

[@dhruvpatel4948]

Loved your authenticity! I remember you asking similar question to your VC folks. I hope you find your “reason for joy” soon and hopefully take us along your journey so that someone like me who is also lost in my own journey can understand the process of finding it for myself.

[@jahonbahrom1114]

I like your positive look at things buddy. I am only on idea stage and the smile has left my face.

[@edbelocura7509]

Loved this video John, thanks for being vulnerable and self-aware and being willing to transform that into something productive we can all learn from! Super proud of you of making it this far, hope you can find your way in tackling the existential stuff soon

[@learnanalyticsorg]

thanks for sharing this video. definitely very insightful for myself as well. I have worked for three startups now in the last 5 years and have been feeling this burnout feeling. It was great to hear how you break down this and totally agree with that no one ever talks about this.

[@zenith_journey]

Glad I found your channel. I believe having a comprehensive understanding of how to optimize not working (aka recharge) is as important as optimizing the work itself... And as you mentioned, is currently very underrated and underappreciated. So I loved your methodical deep dive, it's very relatable and inspiring! I'm excited to be able to watch your journey :)

[@gyuioppoiuyg]

As always, love following the journey! It's good to take a short break sometimes to give your mind some rest but finding a balance is key. It seems as though you have a great game plan ahead of you to solve this burnout, I'm sure you'll manage the burnout well. You got this! Support from Toronto!

[@adebelov]

Love the content and journey. Keep up the great work.

[@harshsikka]

@jayhoovy this was awesome! I've been so burnt out, but I can't stop yet. We have so far to go! Thank you for sharing your insights.

[@jayhoovy]

You’ve got this Harsh! I’m gonna unplug + rest and go on a lil vacation myself in august

[@lifeofluba]

great video as always! here to support however I can!!

[@ishangoswami9462]

Thank you for being so honest

[@James_Lim]

Following your story since you were dancing on TikTok! been so pumped for you. I hardly ever comment, but this video has compelled me to. So sorry to hear you’ve been experiencing this, I just wanted to add my thoughts as I’ve worked with a few clients with burnout, and they’ve often got to me after significant mental damage has been done. It’s really difficult to watch, because they were killing it, and then they flop and I can see some similarities. Navigating their way out has been a very personal, fragile process but there are some patterns. I'd feel sad if I didn't at least throw in my two cents. Some personal observations: (please take with a pinch of salt though!) Resolving No. 2 is vital and needs to be addressed as a priority. Like you say, as you get more successful problems compound. It becomes increasingly more difficult to hear your own thoughts and what is true to you, you can begin to lose sight of your deeper mission, and many start to feel like they’re drowning as more day-to-day tasks pile on top of you. Then the feeling of being burnt out hits harder as you start losing sight of a way out. 3 common problems: 1. People rarely set aside adequate time/energy to work through a conclusion for no. 2 (often due to the pace at which they are being pushed! and the relative success they are experiencing) but this space must be created - sometimes forcefully! You will have to sacrifice a little of your time elsewhere but often only temporarily. The ROI of the clarity you will get will more than make up for that time. An analogy would be difference of being prey (zebra) in the wild constantly checking over your shoulder, it's exhausting, and you still have to run, but often in circles.vs being the lion with absolute focus on the mission. We often start off as the lion at the beginning, then drift into zebra mode as you as an entity become more valuable. (the market sees you as such) 2. The intention is often there, (to hear what you truly want/desire, no.2) but, like being on a phone on a busy street and trying desperately to focus on the words they’re saying, it can be nearly impossible to receive the message (from yourself in this case!) 3. Also, boundaries are difficult to create…. but even more difficult to uphold without a solid foundation of your core reasons, and how it associates with your values. (I see this a lot) e.g. you won’t stick with what you say when a stakeholder/team pushes you to get something done and you do it “one last time”, this becomes a habit. If you can resolve no.2 it is infinitely easier to put concrete walls to serve your needs, via boundaries. Re. taking breaks, (exercise, day breaks, holidays) In your previous BTS vid, with the VC advisor, she said how you return back to the station after vacation, you gotta deal with all the shit when you return. I see this so much, to the point, where for some, the break is often not a break, due to the anticipation of returning to a version of hell. p.s. I think breaks are very healthy and important! But rarely a long term solution for the giant elephant in the room. As you've not taken one for a while, you could combine this with the reflection as a thought. Gameplan, generally agree, an observation is the feeling that solving for 1 is not enough is sometimes because deep down many know there is a need to really get to grips with no.2 first. Once you commit to no. 2 you will find space for it. A lot of people try and optimise no.1 to create space, but this often has limited effect. Putting your foot down and saying no.2 must be evaluated now is often needed. Also, sometimes working on no.1. is an unconscious move to avoid.... Facing the prospect of no.2 in brutal honesty mode, can mean finding out answers you don’t want to hear…i.e. that you might need to let go of your position/change role (this is fear based, and the reason we want to avoid) The energy exercise you mention is one I’ve found to work incredibly well for people, but its effectiveness lies in how well you can calm your mind to identify what those things are without significant bias. (you have so many loud noises, stakeholders, your team, your customers etc. also be mindful of natural biases from friends, family, use any opinions/thoughts to triangulate) Suggestion is to find a space where you can (as much as possible) get that headspace to see what really works for you. Tune into what your truest core values are (sounds cliche, but it’s really important!) putting aside what is going on with the company (at least as an exercise) If you’re working with a therapist/coach that helps because they can reinforce the isolation your mind needs. Creating space and a sensible structure to resolve no.2 would be top on my list with them, you have to try and find a good person to navigate this with you. Re. The change of role you experienced. As many gain success the RATE at which it changes increases too, which usually means, if you’re not able to hold no.2 in focus early on, it only gets worse. Most people get swept up by external factors (more investors, bigger team etc.) so fast they didn’t even realise it happened. I would hate to see that for you, you seem like such a genuine awesome guy with a level of transparency that is truly admirable. You have been so inspirational! Anyway, that ended up being more than I planned to write. I hope at least some of this is useful if you even see it at all! love the product, and have recommended it to clients! I’m mainly on TikTok/Instagram james.ck.lim if you want to say hello.

[@seandoherty2360]

Love your channel! Big fan from Costa Rica

[@moose1158]

Been a subscriber for a while and am so proud of your growth Jay. Currently in this state, trusting the process, and learning to find joy in my circumstances. Thank you so much for sharing this journey.

[@jayhoovy]

Heck yea Moose! I'm proud of you! Keep going!

[@reginaldofontebassosasse7546]

Loved this video, John! I am going about the same thing, working for myself and creating a business is very hard, not a vacay in 5 years. Felt like burntout couple of weeks ago. Now trying to do the same steps as you

[@extremetech12345]

Great video! Appreciate your transparency. Can you make another video of the pros/cons of VC and the possible added pressures?

[@hussontomm]

Dude thank you for making this video - recently went through this as well. Resonate w everything you've said so hard. It's so hard to admit this as well with so many people around you having those expectations. Took a week off surfing in Morocco as well & was a game changer - came back with so much more emotional & intellectual bandwidth. To add = a huge perspective shift for me was that it's not about the hours of work you put in, but it's about the work you can put in your hours. Concrete example: pushing for 8 hours to find a bug/create a new deck/add any "hard work thing" vs leaving it till the morning after a great meditation sesh & doing it in 2 inspired hours is way better as the quality of work is usually 100x better :) - of course, sometimes you have to push but most of the time you don't really - and so having that perspective as a bit of a mantra has helped me to get more meaningful things done in less time, creating momentum, quicker. And for me the best antidote against burnout is momentum. anyway epic share & appreciate the vulnerability man! Inspiring :)))

[@jayhoovy]

Huge perspective shift for me too that I’m still working through! It's no longer about sheer hour input for me - if I dont work for a week but come up with a big idea - that has more impact than grinding a 100hr week! work like a lion, not a cow - Naval

[@vitaliidodonov2403]

Important topic to discuss and great insights on making sure there’s balance. A habit that helped me manage burnout was starting my day 3 hours before the work day starts (full unplug) and filling those 3 hours with things that are personally fulfilling. Start the day with YOU. And after taking care of YOU, focus on the company.

[@BransTiong]

Never thought about that actually. As we start to get a team we miss out on the things that we were doing originally on our startup that made it fun. It suddenly became a management role and we start doing things that we never thought about when starting up. Interesting take and really good to know that I am not alone as well.

[@justinkhanna]

Stoked to see you being honest here man - can't wait for what's next 🔥

[@jayhoovy]

Appreciate you Justin! And being in the kitchen is gonna help too :)

[@STYKO]

For the gameplan I completely agree with you, especiall day-to-day part. What worked for me was to find a hobby that would keep me occupied during my free time. It can be simple thing like trying to solve rubiks cube, or chess, or more complex like cooking, gardening. Whatever makes you happy, find it and let it balance your work load.

[@HaibertBuilds]

Working less is definitely the answer. The moment I started doing this things changed the most, the rest is more like taking a vitamin, not working is the aspirin. I’m working on a start up and hearing this was cool. What I would say is that practicing to work class and take care of yourself takes time.. journaling helps because you see a track of your attitude and habits. And I want to let you know you should have no imposter syndrome.. if there’s someone that will actually make this work it’s you. I don’t know you personally, but you seem like you are built for this.. you’re doing great. Keep it up.

[@user-ks9sf5hm8j]

Such a cool video man. Every founder of entrepreneur will go through this state. Thanks for bringing it up and discussing it. I would recommend you to appoint a CEO and take a step back. Then work on what gives you joy like a new feature development or another app that will help you to come out of this cycle of repetition and maybe after some months if things are not so great with the new CEO you can join back.

[@Bunny-mx1fm]

Thanks jay I love your insights 🫡

[@ostenparish2075]

Been feeling this lately, but every time I experience burn out I just try to frame my work in a different way that makes me excited about getting to work and improving results for my clients. Also, I noticed you're hiring for a Paid Social Wizard, just applied and im excited to hear back!

[@cowboybebop2648]

Great content Jay ! Building a game plan is key to overcome Burn out. Learning the Process ""control the controllable" was key for me and also making sure that my important decisions and meeting are taken in the morning (meeting with Investors, roadmap review) as when you take those decision when you are already exhausted that is when you are draining your life energy to compensate. Book recommendation on that : The Daily Stoic Journal: 366 Days of Writing and Reflection on the Art of Living

[@jayhoovy]

Excited to read this! Also - love that you’re a fellow anime lover :)

[@felipesouza8055]

U re huge my friend! Keep Walking ❤

[@Lexvilw]

Enviroment , Enviroment, Environment. Isolate the things that you do and associate them with different spaces. Create a healthy balance , rule of thumb , 1 space 1 activity. This way , you stop overthinking work in momments that it really doesn't provide any value. This has helped me a lot in the past 3 months, also CEO of a business and really inspired by you , thank you brother.

[@worldthree4524]

Very helpful thanks!

[@michael4072]

Hi John - thanks for sharing. I think the problem is the pressure to grow at a fast-pace to a $1B company, which comes from your Investors. If you took that pressure off, reduced your costs (e.g. had a smaller team/payroll), you'd be a very profitable small business and have a comfortable income for you & your partner. I would suggest following David & Jason from BaseCamp on their philosophy of building startups at a calm pace (highly recommend their book REWORK). Good luck to you!

[@WallStreetUniversity]

Thank you Thank you so so much

[@therealestatestory]

Good points

[@charlesokehie6294]

Yo John, I love that you're ramping up the content even while you're busy with the startup. Inspirational stuff. I'm interested in documenting my experience as well. As a creator, what camera/editing software are you using? Maybe you post a video on it one day? Big fan. Keep it up

[@jayhoovy]

Just use the TikTok app and start with short form and light editing initially! I did 2 years of short form lightweight stuff before getting a serious YT rig

[@jpthinks]

Great video. “Everyday I question if im actually capable of doing this” yup that’s me erry day too. And the answer is typically no. 😩

[@ariloves10]

Yeah, no. You can do whatever you want to do. It's not that you can't do it, maybe you just don't want to..

[@TomWang]

I ran 2 businesses in my late twenties. Although I achieved some levels of financial success, my health suffered. After I sold one of my businesses, I got sick for 1.5 years. I do not wish this upon my worst enemy. It has taught me that if you do not make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness. I now think of business as a competitive sport and I'm the athlete. Lebron James doesn't train for 15 hours a day. He understands REST as just as important as TRAINING. Good luck on the journey!

[@jayhoovy]

Damn, really appreciate this perspective Tom. I definitely need to rest more - really look up to how long Lebron has been in the game for.

[@MattTactacan]

wow, extremely well put. never thought of it like that before.

[@destronerd7884]

What a time to live in, you see founders sharing their wins and failures on the internet

[@kevinshin7131]

I think a good book I would recommend is Essentialism by Greg Mckeown. I feel like this would be the perfect book for you right now. Also, great video. I'm learning so many new things from you or rewriting my own thoughts about burnout.

[@jayhoovy]

Ooo thanks for the book rec Kevin! Will check it out

[@susbites]

Really cool breakdown. I wonder if letting go of the responsibility you feel towards your employees would also stop the burnout cycle for you. Maybe they would be fine if your company failed at some point? They could go off to do amazing things independent of your leadership. What if by taking care of yourself and working towards more work-life balance, you are actually serving them in the long-term, because you are in the best headspace to make good decisions that will help the product succeed? I don't know if this is realistic! I haven't started a company.

[@MultiMojo]

My advice would be to hire a Program Manager and Product Manager asap. The former to keep the team on track to deliver on dates/deadlines and the latter to manage technical aspects of product development. It looks like the management aspects of the startup are draining for you. Delegating those portions of the startup, while maintaining supervision, should give you enough spare time to start focusing on the bigger aspects of your startup, such as customers and investors.

[@alecchen833]

I think often working too many hours a day, filling up your time with tasks that are time consuming, comes from a sense of insecurity that at any given point you're not doing the absolute most to give your venture the highest chance of survival. When working as someone leading a team it can often be a cop-out to do so, because your value-added probably has more to do with pivotal moments, not a consistent stream of perfect menial work. I've found that making the smart, non-intuitive best decision in those moments is supported a lot by a healthy amount of down time, allowing for your ideas to sit with you, rather than doing things that are technically productive, but only on the margin.

[@PoSHEmediaglobal]

Consider investing in a chief of staff or multiple executive assistants ?

[@buildatory]

I feel the same way but without the employees to worry about, I started a business to and started a TikTok account, grew followers over 258k in 63 days since I started, Now I have 2 strikes from TikTok and now I can't post any content yet

[@cilinix4548]

Jay, love your vids! Personally from Europe so this is ideal timing, but I assume most of your audience is US-based so shouldnt your ideal upload time be a bit laterb

[@jaime9034]

Where are your clothes from? You have good style

[@johnmarchetti8611]

Dont focus on being happy. Focus on being competent, it will give you the huge depth of satisfaction.

[@Jerrymanz]

A little late to the party. But eat nourishing food. Even if you buy it from erewhon. Make sure you get good quality calories in. Sometimes that calms my brain in very stressful situations.

[@jayhoovy]

Hahaha thanks Jeremiah - nothing like paying way too much money at Erewhon :)

[@vishnu439]

Cannot unplug Set boundaries Take breaks Sleep Some exercise Eat well Less hours per day Less fishing Saying no and killing optimism

[@danielburgoa7209]

This is probably the best YT channel I found in this last couple of years. Thanks for all the valuable content bud 🫡

[@arielrestituyo6391]

You're burnout as a CEO? GOOD!

[@arielrestituyo6391]

Especially as a startup especially as a founder. That burnout feeling is a reminder that you're doing exactly what you're supposed to

[@arielrestituyo6391]

Also as a CEO myself it sounds like you're putting too much time into things you shouldn't be doing. It's all about the people, find the right people to get your time back to do the things you're good at.. Until then you'll always feel burnt out doing the things you have to do instead of what you're good at.

[@hiranga]

Dude. Get those 8hrs. Wake up fresh. Everything afterwards is either an excuse or a choice. Turn more excuses into choices and figure out your pursuit! Don't waste life in a mediocre/semi-pregnant state. YOU GOT THIS!

[@jayhoovy]

Appreciate it Hiranga!

[@galenamadi]

Hey Jay, i have no idea is this going work or not but why don’t you buy your pet? It’s always the best when there’s somebody who loves you no matter what situation you’re in!

[@savaok255]

Of course it's great. But when you already have the responsibilities of being a CEO , the last thing you want to do is buy an extra responsibility that basically holds you in on location.

[@galenamadi]

Are you ceo?

[@jnesis555]

@@galenamadiare you?

[@BevanHockly]

Thought about this a lot today on my run. And I’m sorry it’s hard and affecting you heaps. I prayed for you too. BUT Let’s go. You’re whole tone has changed Jay in such a short time. You gotta get back on your horse brother. Just go. You signed up for it, you can do it. I had some ideas too for increasing revenue on your platform too.

[@getzkillz66]

BIGGEST STRESS FACTOR: investors.

[@josephnam7267]

hey there fella ur doing actual way better on numbers than me but I thought sharing a tip could be helpful. The thing is... you really need to find something that truely disconnects you from the reality therefore releasing obssession which is normal for founders. I see you filming even when doing hobby. I see you not being as attention hungry as usual influencer. Therefore ur mind never escapes for awhile. So find something (legal) that really disconnects ur mind from everything at least for 1 hr. It will press refresh button and ironically it could be something really challenging

[@aquagreensorganic]

You need to have only two jobs: - Product (I guess mostly your co-founder) - Acquiring customers & optimizing revenue streams (You) The rest, delegate.

[@smartstocksacademy7758]

I think maybe its time to bring on a President and let them take the reigns of running the company. You should focus on social media and sales. I know it's an ego hit because you want to be "the guy" to make your company go to 1 billion but you might be hurting your company's growth and your sanity. You can still be the face and have the "founder" label even if you're not doing the day to day tasks. Look at Dave portnoy he hasn't been the CEO of Barstools for years but he is still the face of it. That can be you.

[@jayhoovy]

for sure!! dave is a great example of how to still be active as a founder - appreciate the perspective!

[@user-xt8nc1rr9z]

People say as the owner, you need to hire someone to be the operator of the business handling the day to day, so you can work on your business not in it…