This last year – my first as a business owner – I noticed two things:

1. Starting my business took a huge effort. Sometimes I wondered where I'd find the energy to keep going.

2. As my coaching clients prepared to go after their own big dreams, many also struggled with start-up energy. Their daily lives already demanded a lot. How could they take on anything extra?

When I told my mentor coach about how hard it was to maintain my momentum, she said:
 
“Lisa, your biggest business asset is your energy.” 
 
The idea stopped me in my tracks.

Our energy determines whether we move forward with any goal.
 
Your biggest life asset is your energy.
 
What does this mean?
 
To live your best life, you’ve got to become an expert in managing your energy.
 
I started tracking all the things I did each day that gave me energy. Like eating a healthy breakfast, exercising and going to bed at 11 P.M. (which, by the way, is near impossible in Spain).

After a few weeks, I hit on the three activities that gave me the biggest energy boost. If I made time for each every day, I always returned to my desk refreshed and ready to go.
 
My key energy boosts:

• Eight hours of sleep

• Walk (at least 40 minutes) with my dogs

• One hour reading a novel on the sofa in the evening

(I’m still a bit sheepish about the last one, but it works! Apparently to me, relaxing on the sofa with a good novel is the energetic equivalent of taking a tropical beach vacation. Just in a smaller daily dosage.)
 
Does a lack of energy keep you from making progress on your goals?
 
Try this experiment.

1. Review your daily activities. Which make you feel good, refreshed, or restored? Maybe it’s cuddling with your kids before bedtime, cooking dinner, or playing the piano.

Also pay attention to your habits that clearly drain your energy. Do what you can to avoid or eliminate these.

2. Make a weekly chart (or download this simple template). Track how often you do each activity during a week. What do you notice?
 
3. Make adjustments. Get specific. Chart another week.
 
Ultimately, you want to find out: What three daily activities give you the biggest energy boost?

Once you identify your key energy boosts, you really start to notice their benefits.
 
You value them. You make time for them.
 
You prioritize them as non-negotiables. (Essential for those of us who always put caring for others first!)
 
You find you have a reserve of energy to generously give to others around you, rather than always running a deficit.
 
You find you have more energy to go after your dreams.
 
Your biggest asset is your energy.
 
Leave me a comment below to tell me what key things you've found are your energy boosts! And how do you make sure you do them every day?