The other night my friend and I were talking about her new business. She and I both have been pursuing business ideas for, well, ever since we met in college about a decade ago.
As we were talking I mentioned how little sleep I was getting. Each night when I lay my head down, my brain becomes so active I have to get back on my laptop and do just one more, then two more then an hours worth more of something, anything. In describing this feeling of restlessness, I simply said sleep was a luxury for me.
She, too, seized by anticipation and excitement over her new business venture doesn’t get as much shuteye as we humans are supposed to get. Her brain activity also hits a high when the world is sleep. She said not getting any sleep has been messing with her. It’s becoming a problem.
Perhaps no one wants to believe that the way we speak affects the way we think. I look at sleeping as a luxury and the lack of it as simply something that we may have to endure to become successful. It’s not that she feels any differently, but when she views not getting any sleep as a problem, well, then I feel it will become a problem.
Napolean Hill wrote one of the best books that explains this concept. In “Think and Grow Rich,” he mentions that it’s not what people think that gets them to where they want to be in life. It’s how they think. It’s not whether you think you’re getting enough sleep or not. It’s how you think about that deprivation of sleep.
For me, lack of sleep may make my eyelids weigh in at a solid two tons around noon each day. But that feeling of heavy eyelids doesn’t compare to the feeling of accomplishment I feel when I stay up throughout the late night infomercials and make progress on my project.
Is it a problem? Does it mess with me? I don’t know. I never thought about it. As far as I’m concerned, sleep is just a luxury.
Sometimes I think about it like this. As Ken, my business partner, and I progress through our leadership mentoring program, and when we reach the goals we’ve set, I will be able to indulge myself in sleep. Until then when I feel my head is able to implode from the lack of sleep, I just chuckle and say, hey, it’s the price we have to pay to be successful.
So if my friend is up reading this at 3:15 in the morning, you don’t have problems. Not being able to sleep is not messing with you. If anything, not being able to fall asleep at will is just a sign that your brain is so eager to make your goals happen that right now, well, sleep is a luxury. When your eyelids beg you to take a minute off, you remind your eyelids that all across the world, people are dreaming of their dreams, while you are awake, with me, pursuing your goals. And when you get there, sleep will be a luxury you can afford.
