 As leaders, we're always working hard to take care of our team members. But are we taking care of ourselves? Welcome back, and congratulations on taking one more step towards becoming one of the great leaders of tomorrow. If all is gone well, I should be on vacation right now relaxing and recharging. And that got me thinking about all the things we need to do to take care of ourselves. As leaders, we often spend a lot of time taking care of our team, making sure they've got the tools they need to do their job and getting time to spend with their families. But a lot of times we forget that we need to take care of ourselves as well. The first area for us to consider when taking care of ourselves is our health. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle gives us more energy, keeps our minds sharp, and helps keep our stress levels in check. Regular exercise is probably the best way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you're not into running or working out, playing sports with your friends, hiking, biking, or anything that gets you moving is a great way to get some exercise. And it doesn't hurt to get outside and get some fresh air and some sunshine either. Healthy eating is another important pillar that helps us maintain our healthy lifestyle. There are just as many ways to eat healthy as there are ways to get exercise, so find some meals that suit your taste and enjoy. Don't forget to drink plenty of water too. And getting enough sleep is a critical factor just like exercise and eating right. Not everyone is the same, so you may not need 8 hours, but figure out what your minimum is and find a routine that helps you get to bed at the hour that maximizes your peak performance. Some days the demands of being a leader will keep us from living our healthy lifestyle, but the important thing is we don't beat ourselves up about it and to stay on top form we get back to it as soon as possible. In addition to maintaining our health, taking time away from work is critical to maintaining our performance. Our creativity, cognitive processes, and decision making all suffer if we aren't taking time to relax and recharge. Make sure you're taking your vacation time. There's no prize for the guy or girl who takes the least vacation days and remember, you earned that time off. Sometimes we feel like our team might struggle if we're not there for them or you might miss something important, but delegating appropriately and preparing our team before we leave can help them keep the place operating while we're gone. Just as important as taking vacations is to make sure we take a little time every day to decompress away from work. Building a little time into our schedule to free our minds will help us get rid of some stress and improve our thought processes. And the people who care about us will be glad to spend a little time with us as well. If you found this helpful, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and don't forget to join us every Friday at 10 a.m. Pacific Time for a live, interactive leadership discussion on Blab. Click off on that globe to the right, and that'll bring all of our content direct to your inbox by subscribing to our email list. I want to thank you for watching, I really appreciate it, and remember, the future is out there. Lead the way.