Below is an article by Inc. entitled “Why Successful People Need Hobbies”.
Why Successful People Need Hobbies
By: Marla Tabaka, Inc.
Dec 22, 2014
Don't think it's worth making time for hobbies? Read this and you may reconsider.
As a creative, resourceful entrepreneur, you bring many talents to the table. Some of these skills and gifts are innate, some come from experience, and many come from life outside of business.
Busy people often engage in hobbies and weekend adventures as a way of blowing off steam, building endurance, and having fun. But there are other benefits: Your hobbies and personal interests could enhance your entrepreneurial and leadership abilities. They may also make you more resilient when you're facing a stressful situation. What entrepreneur wouldn't like that?
Have you let your favorite personal pastimes fall by the wayside? Perhaps the findings of a study done by psychologists at San Francisco State University will encourage you to take time away from work and have a little fun.
The research confirms that hobbies help professionals conceive creative solutions for work-related problems. Those more engaged in creative activity often scored 15 to 30 percent higher on performance rankings than those who were less engaged. Kevin Eschleman, an assistant professor of psychology at San Francisco State University says, "We found that in general, the more you engage in creative activities, the better you'll do at work." It may also serve you well to encourage employees to engage in a hobby. Eschleman noted that no matter what hobby study participants took part in, these people were more likely to go out of their way to help co-workers.
I checked in with several entrepreneurs to test the theory myself. Sure enough, they all confirmed that interests outside of work have taught them critical skills and made them better leaders. Here's what they've learned:
Keep going, no matter what.
"One of my lifelong passions is football. My father, Hugo Hollas, played for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers in the early '70s and that really had a massive impact on me in childhood. His career in football inspired me to play football on a collegiate level for Colorado State and the University of Tulsa in the early '90s. It's an incredibly complicated sport and I love the combination of the physical and mental challenges it demands.
"I've found that football prepares me to deal with challenges in other aspects of my life, especially as an entrepreneur. It also taught me to remain focused and to think under pressure. Even when I'm in pain or exhausted, I don't just say, 'Hey, let's stop the game, I don't want to do this anymore.' I always keep going. If your company is in financial stress or experiencing other stressful issues, it doesn't matter--you must keep going.
"I also love that it's not about individual accomplishment; it's about the team's accomplishment. In football a player and his fellow teammates sacrifice for each other for the common good of the team. Business is the same way. If you only focus on what you've done, then you've already failed. Teamwork and camaraderie are what drive success in business."