Your Longevity Blueprint - Building the Future You Want

0:01So your blueprint is going to be unique to you. You've got to find what works for you and don't compare yourself to others, right? You've got to find what's right for you. But the key is consistency. so today we are talking about longevity and how you actually create a longevity blueprint for not only your thriving business but also to have a thriving life so nice to see you all i am your host Jeanette Linford welcome back to brave bulb and i'm really happy that you've joined me today because, you know, let's really have a real conversation. So let me start with a question. When you imagine yourself 10, 20 or even 30 years from now, what does your life actually look like?

0:54You know, are you still leading your business or your department or the company you're in, you know, with energy and passion? Are you feeling drained, maybe a bit overwhelmed and ready for a change? You know, and the reality is that when you're building a thriving business, it's so important to also build a thriving life as that being the ultimate goal. And the foundation of that future, it's not some big secret or magic formula. It really is down to those small daily choices that you make all of the time and especially around your health, your mindset and rest. So today we are going to dive into what I call your longevity blueprint, which is a practical science backed approach to creating long term energy, resilience and success, both in your business and in your life.

1:54So we're going to get into this, but I'd love to hear from you. So if you're watching this live on the stream or maybe you're watching it back on YouTube, you might be listening to the podcast, actually. Drop a comment in the social media post or send us a message. Send me a DM on social media or to our inbox. You know, what's the one daily habit you think helps or hurts your energy and focus? and I want to hear your honest thoughts because I'm all about keeping it real. Now, if you are not connected to me on social media, let's get connected. You can find me on all social media platforms. Connect with me personally and that's Jeanette with two N's and two T's, Linfoot.

2:39Or of course, we have our Brave Bold Brilliant social media pages as well, which are jam-packed with content so connect with us there as well and of course you know go to that website www.brave-bold-brilliant.com because on there you can join our community and really access all of those free resources to help you with your career journey your business journey and your life so we're going to break this down now into a number of sections grab a pen and paper always helpful to take notes so let's get into this And remember, you know, it is by being brave and bold that you're going to unlock your brilliant, but it's not easy on your own.

3:19So let's help and support each other on this journey. So part one, you know, longevity, it's a business strategy. It's not just a health goal. You know, when entrepreneurs hear the word longevity or business leaders or just anyone in general, many think only of health or ageing well. But I want you to think bigger. You know, we're not here to play small. We only have one life. But longevity, it is a business strategy. You know, if you want to build something that lasts, not just a quick win, but a legacy, something you can be truly proud of that you leave behind in this world, you need to be in it for the long haul.

3:59And that genuinely means avoiding burnout, maintaining focus, keeping your creativity sharp, you know, for years, not just months. And trust me, I have actually paid the price myself with my health because I've been so focused on business all of the time and I haven't taken care of myself as much as I should have done. That ended up with me in hospital a few months ago, being rushed into A &E, having surgery, you know, blocked bile duct, liver not working, having my gallbladder whipped out. Now, thankfully, it wasn't anything more serious, but I genuinely believe that some of that was down to stress and not taking care of myself.

4:40So I have been on the receiving end. I'm robust. I always can take a lot, but we are all breakable. So this is coming from a place of love and personal experience. And the reality is your business or the department you're running, if you're working in a large corporate, it depends on you as the engine. I always say it's three things. You've got to put your own oxygen mask on first, but it's always an inside job. There's always three aspects. And when we work with businesses, business leaders, entrepreneurs, high performing teams at board level, right the way through an organization, I always say there's three aspects, leading yourself, leading your teams and leading the business.

5:26so this today is all about leading yourself and seeing it as a strategy not just a nice to have something you'll get around to on the side or you you go oh I should do that but I never do no this is so important if you're not in the best shape you cannot be the best leader you cannot make the best choices you cannot deal with the setbacks that come your way you certainly can't be the best for your loved ones and those that you care about. So honestly, this is so, so important. So that's number one, seeing this as a real business strategy, not just as something on the side. So the second part of all of this is about your daily choices that you build into your future.

6:14And the truth is your body and brain, they don't work on autopilot. Every day, every meal, every night's sleep, every moment of stress, adds up to shaping your energy and resilience. And at some point, you might break, like I did. So I don't want to be like, you know, dictating a sermon. But this is very, very real. And, you know, there are some aspects to your daily blueprint. I'm going to take you through now. The first one is rest, you know, and this is about sleep. It's not optional. It really is the foundation. Quality sleep, you know, it repairs your body, consolidates your memories, it resets your brain for peak performance.

6:57Have you ever woken up where you've just had a terrible night's sleep or you had a late, you know, a late night or maybe might have had a few beers or whatever and you just wake up and you just, you feel like you've not slept at all and you're foggy, you're foggy and it's so hard to function, sleep deprivation. But I used to, you know, I can say myself I used to be like oh I'll sleep when I'm dead I'm not so worried about all of this you know cram as much in but as I've got older I've definitely become more conscious around the importance of sleep so my advice to you um is don't see it as something that is a pain to have to do like I used to see it as absolutely core for this being your longevity blueprint the second point is really about nutrition isn't it you know and I always think you've got to fuel your brain and your body with foods that support sustained energy, you know, clear thinking and recovery, you know, plenty of whole foods, hydration and balance, you know, are you taking too much caffeine to just keep you going, running on adrenaline.

8:03The third point is really about movement and regular movement. It keeps your circulation strong, reduces stress, all of this good stuff. You know, even just getting up from your desk, having a simple walk, stretching, it all absolutely helps and then mindset you know your mental habits they really matter you've got to work your brain in the same way as you would work your body in the gym you know daily practices for me I absolutely spend time every single morning thinking of three things that I am grateful for and I don't just pass over them I spend about a minute on each you know I'll lie down I'll just close my eyes I think about what are the things I'm grateful for today and some of them might be quite big things some of them might be really small things you know but absolutely it is very hard almost impossible to be pissed off and grateful at the same time it's impossible to be angry and grateful at the same time so you know whatever your situation there is always something to be grateful for no matter how small that may be but when you get into this it really sets you up, it calms you down and it puts things into perspective, especially if you're feeling a bit overwhelmed, maybe you're stressed out, you're running around like a headless chicken.

9:21The other thing that can help a lot of people is journaling. Now for me, I actually don't journal in terms of keeping a diary, but I'll tell you what I do in my morning routine, my miracle morning routine, is that I, when I read 10 pages of a book every day, something that's going to stretch my brain, you know I'm going to learn something and then I make notes as I read so that's what I do it's not the same as journaling but just that process really works for me so journaling is great you know it can really help you also reflect on where you are right now and look back at that you know sustain resilient managing your stress these habits they're not just nice to have they're really essential building blocks that create the energy focus and of course that emotional strength so that you can lead your business, you can lead your teams every day way into the future.

10:12So part three, let's just talk about this renewal. Renewal is your superpower. You know, building longevity, it's not just about perfect discipline or pushing yourself harder, it's about renewal. And renewal means regularly refilling your tank so you can operate at your best. Now we've talked about some of the daily habits, but in addition to that, what are some of the other things that you can do you know schedule downtime you know there's not a luxury but a necessity so that just might be I don't know an afternoon off and it might be that you're going to take yourself away for a little spa day or it might be that you know you absolutely schedule in your daily routine you know I fiercely protect the first two hours of my day right I'm an early bird some people are night owls but so whatever works for you we're all different but actually scheduling in some time where you can kind of regroup, relax, etc.

11:09And as I say, we talked about those daily, weekly rhythms that include those breaks and rests. And it's about setting boundaries, you know, protecting your energy from burnout and distraction. So when you take an intentional pause, it allows you to reflect, recharge, reimagine your goals. So making renewal as a priority is going to really help you show up as your best self, not only in business and in life. And that might include, you know, holidays with your family and friends. How often do you sacrifice those things? In the past, I've made loads of sacrifices, especially in my corporate career when I was the managing director of the emerging markets for TUI.

11:48You know, when I was the CEO of the travel division for Saga, those big jobs when you have global teams, they're incredibly demanding. And I used to, many times when I had holidays booked and I canceled them for work, et cetera. And sometimes that happens, right? Sometimes you just have to do what you've got to do. But that comes at a price. So I would always really encourage you to block those, you know, key rocks in your jar, really, let's call them that. Because, you know, if you don't, all the other stuff will fill your schedule, and you then can't squeeze it in. So don't sacrifice those really important recharge times for yourself.

12:27but what's it look like in real life well let's just kind of share I'll share a couple of examples with you and I'll also put a perspective in terms of how I deal with this you know so when it comes to sleep a lot of business leaders that they'll talk about having a strict sleep schedule you know lights out by 10 p.m waking up refreshed you know without an alarm however you know what I would say to you is you've got to be aware of your own energy levels you know I tend to be up at 5 a.m 6am latest so I will normally be going to bed between 10 and 11 but you may not be that kind of person you know you may find that actually you come alive in the evening so don't get distracted by you know the the 5am club and feel that you've all got to do that you've got to be you know you're aware of your own energy levels but whichever way you do it preparing for sleep and actually having and regular routine around sleep is going to help you one get off to sleep two have a deep sleep and then three wake up refreshed so no criticism at all for those night hours out there because that is just a different flow for you and it might be that you're going to bed at you know 11 midnight and you're getting up at you know seven or even eight depending on how long your commute to work is etc or what your your kind of business is so be aware of your energy and what's right for you nutrition you know um again you know some people they focus on simple routines like you know preparing balanced meals weekly you know avoiding those sugar crashes and of course staying hydrated what i've seen a lot actually in the gym in particular or or in various business meetings i've been in recently is these huge like massive um bottles that people have you know that they use it time and time in reusable bottles to have their water in and then maybe like three liters of water and it looks like ridiculous like glugging the water out of these big big bottles but the logic behind that is then you know how much water you know you're having and if your target is to drink three liters four liters whatever it might be during a particular day or whatever that allows you to measure that so that's quite a smart thing to do um but prepping meals you know i've always found that when I'm under pressure and I'm on the go all the time the temptation is that you end up eating crap and of course you don't want to do that do you so being prepared and taking healthy snacks and things like that it just avoids you picking on the biscuits and stuff um okay movement so again you know I think just getting up and exercising is a really important thing even if you can only afford 10 minutes to do that for me if I don't do my training every day I'm just not on my game and I know I can tell myself uh so in the morning and again for me training in the morning first thing works for me because then it's out the way and then I can forget about it when it gets to the end of a working day I'm I'm done I haven't got the energy to go to the gym and I've just sort of you know my mind isn't in the game for other people training at lunchtime is a really great way to have that break and that discipline or it might just be that you do a bit of yoga to end the day, whatever's right for you.

15:39So the mindset, as I talked about daily journaling or meditation, meditation, I find it difficult. I try and I do spend time in silence in the morning. So, you know, whatever works for you, but it is a great way to clear out that space in your head can be quite difficult and it takes a bit of practice actually. But if you can get into that meditation wow it is super powerful so your blueprint is going to be unique to you you've got to find what works for you and don't compare yourself to others right you've got to find what's right for you but the key is consistency sticking with it especially when you're under pressure or you're super busy because this is often the areas that we make the sacrifices the first so you know you will pay the price for that so you know we're here to help at brave bold brilliant I share my story, my business journey, my life and what's going on because I know how hard it is to build a business.

16:38I know how hard it is to run a huge global corporate business. You know, I know how hard it is to start your business, scale your business, build amazing teams and at the same time be able to give and receive from those that you love around you. So it's not easy. So let us know, what's the biggest impact on your energy? Where do you struggle in building your longevity blueprint? If you think about it, what's the one change you can commit to starting today? So let us know, drop your thoughts in the chat, send us a message, send me a DM. We're here to support you on your business and your life journey with your career and whatever you want to do to make the most in this world.

17:21life is short you know it's really short so we've got to make it count and do the best we can with what we've got and our body and our mind are a gift are a gift we mustn't abuse them and take them for granted so you know if you found this helpful please please my call to you my ask of you is do these three things one like the video or the podcast if you're actually watching listening to it on Brave Bold Brilliant. It really helps us reach more business leaders, more entrepreneurs. Subscribe to Brave Bold Brilliant. So then you never miss a deep dive on growing your business and yourself. Now you can join our community.

18:02Go to the website www.brave-bold-brilliant.com. Of course do that, but please also subscribe to our YouTube channel, Brave Bold Brilliant. subscribe to our podcast if you listen to that on apple or maybe spotify because then you will get notified when we go live with an episode so you don't miss anything that's number two and number three please share this episode this video with a fellow business leader or entrepreneur or a friend that's looking to really expand their career who really want to build a business and life that So remember, your longevity blueprint isn't just about living longer.

18:46It's about living stronger, fuller and more brilliantly. So until next time, remember, it is by being brave and bold that you are going to unlock your brilliant. So go for it. And just remember, create your own longevity blueprint because you matter. I really hope you've enjoyed this episode of Brave Bold Brilliant. remember check out our new website www.brave-bold-brilliant.com you're going to find loads of resources on there that's going to help you with your leadership journey and with the businesses that you're trying to scale up and grow so take care everyone and remember there are no limits to your growth but it is by being brave and bold that you're going to unlock your brilliant