We all know the routine. We hear it every time we fly. If the oxygen masks pop out, we’re supposed to put ours on first before we take care of the small children next to us.

The same idea is really important for entrepreneurs and business owners. Take care of yourself before you take care of your business. And take of your people too, before the business.

Yes, I know that’s tough. You’ve got the business weighing you down, there’s that magnetic pull you have to finish the post, finish the white paper, finish the programming, finish the collateral, finish that last email … so you skip the kids’ soccer game, or dinner, or that day off on the weekend.

It happens all too often. We end up overweight, not sleeping well, not getting enough exercise, stressed, and hard to live with. And it’s all for the business, which we say is for the people we care about.

Don’t do it. It’s tempting, of course, and hard to resist. But don’t do it.

(Image: sjlocke/istockphoto)