7 Habits That Help Top CEOs Stay Sharp, Energized, and Resilient No Matter What
In today’s high-stakes business world, mental clarity and sustained energy are the ultimate competitive advantages. Yet even elite CEOs and founders often find themselves feeling “off.” Not quite burnt out, but not at their best.
So what separates those who merely survive from those who consistently dominate?
In this article, adapted from a recent episode of the Executive Health podcast, we dive into the seven performance habits employed by top leaders to maintain mental sharpness, physical energy, and emotional resilience, even under relentless pressure.
These aren't generic wellness tips. They’re grounded in CEO health optimization, executive performance coaching insights, and longevity strategies.
Watch The Episode
Why Most CEOs Are “Off” Without Even Knowing It
You reread the same email three times. Your focus fades by midday. You’re a little snappier, your energy’s lower, and decisions feel heavier. Sound familiar?
This isn’t burnout. It’s a quiet biological drift. And it’s precisely what undermines long-term performance for high achievers.
Most CEOs don’t talk about it until it costs them: a health scare, a bad quarter, or a moment of disconnection with their family.
But the best leaders don’t wait for a crisis. They design systems to optimize their biology, just like they do their business.
Health Is a Business Strategy
Research shows that when an executive publicly announces a health issue or hospitalization, share prices can drop nearly 2% the next day. That was true years ago. In today’s personality-driven business landscape, the impact is likely far greater.
Your well-being is no longer a personal side issue. It’s a strategic asset. It affects your performance, presence, and relationships with your people.
Let’s break down the 7 habits that the most resilient CEOs use to protect their edge.
The 7 Habits of High-Performing CEOs
1. Treat Your Energy Like Equity
Time isn’t your problem. Energy is. Top CEOs are aware of their biological highs and lows and structure their day accordingly. Jeff Bezos, for example, avoided key decisions after 2 p.m. You’re not a robot. Treat your energy windows as sacred.
2. Engineer Relentless Accountability
Self-discipline starts with self-leadership. Whether it’s biometric dashboards, wearables, or weekly check-ins with a health advisor, elite leaders install systems to spot and correct performance leaks. You’d never run your business on guesswork, so why run your body that way?
3. Train for Volatility
Fitness isn’t just aesthetics. It’s your resilience buffer. When chaos hits (and it will), fit leaders remain composed and capable. Think strength training, endurance work, or movement-based practices that build adaptability under pressure.
4. Build a Mental Gym
Your business is only as sharp as your mind. Practices such as meditation, journaling, visualization, and breathwork help you cultivate clarity, courage, and presence. Your internal world determines how you show up externally.
5. Recover with Precision
Grinding 24/7 turns you into sawdust. Elite performers schedule their recovery, including deep sleep and off-grid weekends, to reset their dopamine levels. It’s not soft. It’s strategic regeneration.
6. Run Your Health Like a Business
You use metrics to scale a company. Why not do the same for your body? Think blood panels, HRV, sleep architecture, and more. One client discovered high inflammation before symptoms ever appeared, saving months of potential decline.
7. Invest in Full-Spectrum Living
Legacy isn’t just wealth. It’s vitality, presence, and meaningful connection. Coaching your kid’s soccer team, learning a new skill, unplugging for a weekend… these aren’t distractions. They’re essential inputs for a full-spectrum, high-impact life.
This Is the New Executive Operating System
If you're a CEO, founder, or high-stakes decision-maker, you're being asked to lead like an athlete without being given the recovery, coaching, or optimization strategies they get.
That’s where this work comes in.
As a high-achiever longevity strategist, I help top performers build custom systems for sustained energy, deep focus, and lasting performance. My framework goes far beyond biohacking. It’s designed to align your biology with your mission.
This is executive performance coaching for the modern era.
Ready to Upgrade Your Edge?
If you're tired of relying on caffeine and steadily feeling your edge slipping away, and you’re ready to design your biology like a top-performing business, book a complimentary Executive Health Diagnostic Call.
In 30 minutes, we’ll map out:
Where your energy is leaking
What’s undermining your recovery
What systems do you need to regain clarity and control
And much more
Book your appointment here: https://calendly.com/julian-exechealth/chemistry
Your health isn't a reward for success; it's a prerequisite for it. It's what makes your success sustainable.
Transcript (may not be exact)
(0:09) It usually starts quietly.
(0:12) You forget a key stat on a call. (0:14) You stare at a screen.
(0:15) You reread the same email line five times. (0:18) You're not burnt out, but something feels off, right?
(0:21) You're slower, you're heavier, tighter. (0:24) You're just generally off.
(0:27) You used to dominate 14 hour days and bounce back with no problem at all, but now recovery (0:33) is a little bit slower.
(0:34) You're a little less sharp, a little more stubborn weight. (0:36) You keep pushing though because you're still performing and that's the danger here.
(0:41) Most CEOs, founders and high level decision makers will not admit this out loud until (0:46) it actually costs them.
(0:48) Maybe it's a bad quarter. (0:49) Maybe it's a health scare.(0:51) Maybe it's a moment with their family where they weren't mentally present for.
(0:54) I'll tell you this, after researching, advising, interviewing and working with top tier leaders, (1:00) those who win the long game, they treat their biology like a business asset.
(1:05) In fact, it's their most important one.
(1:08) They don't guess, they design and that's what today's episode is all about. (1:18) Welcome to Executive Health. (1:19) I'm your host, Julian Hayes II.
(1:20) We're on a mission to help high performing leaders optimize their body and their mind
(1:24) and ultimately take command of their biology so they can dominate in business, lead with (1:29) intention and still have more than enough energy to show up fully for their family. (1:34) If this is your first time here, welcome.
(1:37) Thanks for stopping by. (1:38) If you've been here before, welcome back. (1:40) It means a lot that you are here.
(1:42) If you haven't, go ahead and hit that subscribe button so you'll never miss another video (1:46) or upcoming interviews that we have.
(1:49) Here's the thing. (1:50) If you think about it now, the current state of the world, just looking out, the demands (1:56) placed on today's leaders are more intense than ever.
(2:00) They're more pressure packed than ever. (2:03) Just think about it. (2:03) Of course, you always have endless decisions, responsibilities, but now there's constant
(2:08) connectivity now. (2:09) There's high stakes visibility.(2:11) There's economic uncertainty. (2:12) There's nonstop disruptions and threats and fears with AI. (2:16) There's tariff talks.
(2:18) There's a turbulent political environment. (2:20) It's a nonstop pace. (2:24) Here's the thing in the midst of all of that for us.(2:27) You're still expected to perform like an athlete, but the difference between an athlete is you're
(2:35) rarely given the tools or the space to actually train like one from a business context. (2:40) This is what starts to happen. (2:41) You start to slip, but it's not so much where it's noticeable.
(2:48) It's actually a small one, a gradually dip in your performance where if you think about (2:54) it throughout the day, your energy is starting to fade a little more midday, so maybe you (2:58) can't last this longer. (2:59) Your clarity isn't as good.
(3:01) Your focus, your clearness, you're a little more foggy.(3:04) Your recovery is a little slower. (3:06) You're snapping more often. (3:07) Your patience is running thin, and the very people closest to you, the people most important
(3:11) to you, they're starting to feel this a little bit.(3:14) You're starting to feel it, your edge. (3:16) You're losing that edge, that swagger that you have. (3:19) When your well-being dips, it doesn't just affect you.
(3:22) It doesn't just affect your family. (3:25) It affects the entire organization, not even just the people within that organization, (3:29) but those people's family as well. (3:33) Of course, that's a lot of stress for an individual.
(3:36) While preparing for this episode, I found an interesting study from the University of (3:40) Georgia that found that when an executive actually announces an illness, a medical (3:46) leave, or a hospitalization, share prices drop nearly 2% the next day.
(3:51) I don't remember this other study that's just popped in my head, but the CEO executive's (3:58) personal life, and if he's having relationship issues, that can actually affect the business (4:02) as well.
(4:03) Of course, that one's a little more common sense than the previous one.(4:05) But that 2% from that research study was actually years ago, and today's world now, it's much (4:16) more the founder to CEO, it's much more of a personality-driven business world, a personal
(4:20) branding world now, where a lot of times, people want to know the individual behind (4:25) the business now before they do the business with whatever it is. (4:29) So that impact now is highly likely to be substantially higher than just 2% for the (4:38) next day.
(4:39) It's probably going to last for a good bit of period.(4:43) So health, especially in 2025 and beyond, if you're actually watching this a year or two (4:51) later, this is far from just a personal thing of importance for you.
(4:57) It's actually now a strategic imperative. (5:01) It's actually now a performance lever.(5:04) And so it's essential that we all, as leaders, treat it like one.
(5:08) So that's why today, I'm sharing seven habits that top-performing leaders follow to protect (5:15) and to continually improve their physical and mental edge, and of course, doing this (5:20) in a way that doesn't sacrifice the mission or take away other important aspects. (5:25) And so the very first premise, the very first habit is to treat your energy like equity.
(5:33) So the majority of people, contrary to opinion, you actually do not have a time problem. (5:39) It's actually an energy problem. (5:42) Top performers don't just track time.(5:44) They protect these energy windows. (5:46) And here's an example.
(5:47) Many CEO's, Jeff Bezos was among them when he was running Amazon.(5:52) He didn't take calls for 10 a.m., very strategic and meticulous with how he went about that (6:00) early part of the day. (6:01) He also did not make super important decisions after a certain time. (6:05) I believe it was around 2 p.m. (6:09) And this early window for them and even for individuals like us, as we're protecting our (6:14) time, it's not just sacred.
(6:17) This is actually a performance window, a performance weapon for us. (6:22) It's where leaders can handle their most strategic thinking because it's like an iPhone battery. (6:27) Earlier in the day, you're most likely to have more percentage in your battery left.(6:33) You're going to be in the green. (6:34) As you go along throughout the day, that percentage is going to wane.
(6:38) And of course, most likely, the quality of your decisions is going to follow suit.(6:44) Another example of managing your energy and knowing yourself a little more and your windows (6:50) is CEOs who can refuse red eyes because they've learned that it tanks their performance for (6:57) two to three days afterward.
(7:00) All these scenarios here, and there's a bunch of different other ones that you can do. (7:04) This is energy-driven architecture.(7:08) You design your day around your biological highs and your biological lows, just like (7:14) you would design a quarterly business sprint. (7:17) And the premise here is it's not about doing more.
(7:22) It's actually about multiplying what matters.(7:25) So intentionality is much more of a thing here. (7:29) So with that said, though, if your days need endless amounts of caffeine, it's filled with (7:35) calendar chaos.
(7:37) You just feel like you're always reacting to the day.(7:40) You're always having to rely on brute force to get things done. (7:43) Now that I invite you to book a complimentary executive health diagnostic call where we'll (7:48) map out where your energy is leaking, what it would take to rebuild your edge with precision
(7:52) so you can be at your best for those who matter most. (7:56) If you're interested in that link is in the description.(7:59) Now let's get to habit number two, and that is engineering relentless accountability.
(8:06) Now, this is a no, this is a duh, of course. (8:10) But being a great CEO, being a great founder, probably being successful in general, it requires (8:16) a high degree of self-discipline.(8:18) But here's another thing with leadership. (8:21) The very first step in leadership is being able to lead yourself. (8:25) And it's interesting.(8:27) I was listening to an interview with Jamie Dimon, and I forgot the podcast that he was (8:31) on, but every Sunday he asked himself, what am I avoiding?
(8:36) What's hard? (8:38) What must I do? (8:40) And he was speaking, of course, from a business mindset of leading. (8:46) But I also got to thinking, this is a very good approach for health. (8:50) So fantastic health mindset to have as well, because in business, leaders are not going (8:56) to let blind spots grow.
(8:57) It's the same thing in health. (8:58) You're going to build systems to reveal and correct them. (9:02) I've seen it over and over.(9:04) Those who thrive in both business and health have accountability built in, whether it's (9:08) a quarterly wellness audit, whether it's biometric dashboards, whether it's direct check-ins (9:12) with their coaches and their health advisors, whether it's looking into their wearables (9:16) on a daily basis, they have some form of structure and accountability to keep them.
(9:20) Because I like to believe as humans, most of us, I'm one of them as well, I'm guilty (9:24) if I do not have constraints, if I do not have any parameters in place, I am a very (9:31) unproductive citizen. (9:33) Now, I want you to think about this, though.
(9:35) Would you run your company on guesswork, pure vibes, people use that word now, or memory (9:44) or randomness? (9:45) Of course you wouldn't. (9:46) You wouldn't do that. (9:48) So why do we do that with our health so much?
(9:52) We run our health on just guessing how we feel, but we really don't know, kind of shooting (9:59) in the dark.(10:01) This leads me to habit number three, and train for volatility. (10:06) Now, if you're a Bitcoin maxi, you know about microstrategy as well. (10:13) Michael Saylor loves to say, volatility is vitality.
(10:18) But I just wanted to add that because I really like that saying, volatility is vitality. (10:24) But anyway, let me get back on topic. (10:27) Fitness isn't just for vanity in this case here.(10:31) It's a leadership amplifier. (10:35) Disney CEO Bob Iger, when he was discussing and describing his fitness routine and why (10:41) it's so important to him in an interview, he was quoted as saying, staying in shape (10:46) having stamina, it's critical for me.
(10:49) I cannot do this job if I weren't physically and mentally fit.(10:57) So maybe if we're 22, 23 again, maybe fitness is just about abs, nice arms, nice delts. (11:09) But for most of us now in leadership positions, whether we're growing a business, whether (11:13) we're in the middle stages, whatever stage that you're at in business right now, it's (11:18) about resilience under pressure. (11:20) It's about once again, we're training for volatility.
(11:24) Volatility in terms of uncertainty with the economy, political turmoil, whatever comes (11:32) our way, it's going to be volatile. (11:34) It's not just going to be this smooth ride. (11:38) There's going to be chaos, unpredictability, uncertainty.(11:41) That's what we're training for. (11:43) So whether it's strength training, endurance work, sports baits, movement, whatever is (11:48) your flavor, whatever is your jam, I think you should do them all. (11:52) Fit leaders don't just last longer.
(11:55) They actually lead longer. (11:58) Your health is your volatility buffer. (12:01) So do not skip the reps that comes from training.(12:04) You're not just training for your body. (12:06) You're training for business, volatility, and survival. (12:11) And so number four is I want you to build a mental gym.(12:17) One of my mentors said, Julian, you go to the physical gym a lot, but how often do you (12:22) go to the mental gym? (12:24) You're a little weak there. (12:26) And business is a mental game. (12:31) And if your interstate is reactive, it's scattered, it's fragile, it's worn down.
(12:39) Eventually your decisions are going to reflect that. (12:42) Your inner world will manifest into your outer world. (12:48) And Jim Murphy in his book, Inner Excellence, and I like this, he broke down high performance (12:54) and I haven't heard anyone break it in these words.(12:59) These three pillars were love, as in purpose, wisdom, as in clarity, courage, as in resilience. (13:11) And as a CEO, as a founder, you can train these through meditation, visualization, (13:19) journaling, breath work, scripting, writing out your goals, or combination of all. (13:26) One leader that I worked with used box breathing before every major negotiation.
(13:32) And so when you add all that up, that is biological executive presence, where it's not trained, (13:42) or excuse me, I'm sorry, it's trained, it's not gifted. (13:46) And so moving on to habit number five is to recover with precision.
(13:51) And so grinding 24-7, it is glorified, but it's heavily outdated.(13:58) It's heavily unnecessary. (14:01) And Tim Grover, I think about in his book, Tim Grover is a trainer to Michael Jordan, (14:06) to Kobe, Charles Barkley, a lot of other great athletes as well. (14:09) And he said that if you are always grinding, you're going to eventually turn into sawdust.(14:15) And that's a very interesting saying.
(14:16) And athletes, more so than business leaders for a lot of times, (14:21) know that growth is not just happening during the push, (14:24) it's actually happening during the recovery phase. (14:27) And so they schedule deep sleep.(14:29) They schedule off-grid weekends.
(14:31) They schedule dopamine resets. (14:34) They schedule the evening wind-down rituals.(14:37) And if athletes don't skip recovery, then why should leaders? (14:41) And so habit number six is to run your health like a business. (14:44) So you scale companies, and when you're going to scale a company, (14:47) you're going to have data. (14:49) You're going to have metrics.(14:50) You're going to have systems.
(14:52) You're going to essentially have infrastructure. (14:56) So why not do this with your biology? (14:58) The same approach happens there.(15:00) The same principles that can make us successful in our business, the same habits. (15:05) These same things are 100% applicable to your personal health. (15:12) So when you're looking to optimize, there's blood panels to track.
(15:17) There's heart rate variability. (15:19) There's just sleep architecture. (15:20) There's cortisol. (15:21) There's light exposure and circadian rhythm. (15:24) And there's a whole other gamut that I did list right there. (15:30) And so one client spotted inflammation through a quarterly lab panel.
(15:35) That was a little higher. (15:36) Actually, it was much higher than it should be, if we're honest. (15:40) And a lot of times, these things will show up before any outrely symptoms manifest (15:47) and show themselves.(15:48) So a lot of times, people are way off from being optimized before any physical (15:54) outrely 3D thing is going to show.
(15:58) And in this whole case, this is proactive leadership, (16:02) proactive leadership for your health. (16:03) Because as we went and discussed earlier, (16:06) leadership starts with being able to lead yourself.(16:08) So health isn't just your afterthought. (16:11) It isn't just something that you do. (16:13) It's actually your most important asset in your portfolio.(16:17) And so habit number seven is to invest in a full spectrum living, (16:21) as I call it. (16:22) So a lot of us, we start out thinking legacy. (16:25) We use that word legacy a lot.
(16:27) And when we think of legacy, we think of it from a wealth standpoint. (16:30) We think of it from our business. (16:33) But perhaps as you go along more, you start to see that legacy (16:37) and a full spectrum life is building something much longer lasting.(16:41) Of course, the business and the wealth is part of it. (16:44) But maybe for some people, it's coaching their kids' soccer teams. (16:48) Others, it's learning new skills.
(16:50) Others, it's simply unplugging to recharge. (16:53) And the returns are amplified. (16:56) You're more creative.(16:58) You're more present. (16:59) You're more effective. (17:01) So when you're recharging, recharging is not just being lazy.(17:04) Recharging is actually feeling resilient.
(17:07) Hobbies and connections are not soft and a waste of time. (17:10) They're actually very strategic.(17:13) And so let's be honest here. (17:15) Some of us, some of you all are actually absolutely crushing it on paper. (17:21) But it's coasting biologically.(17:23) And that's not sustainable for the long run.
(17:26) So if you're ready to lead like a Fortune 100 company treats its most vital assets, (17:32) then it's essential to treat your biology with the same strategic rigor. (17:36) So I invite you to book a Executive Health Diagnostic Call today.
(17:40) It's private, complimentary, and custom-built for high performers. (17:44) Link is in the descriptions if you're interested. (17:46) And so as always, though, health is not your reward for success.
(17:50) It's what makes your success sustainable. (17:53) It's what ensures that you perform at your peak capacity today, tomorrow, (17:57) and for decades to come.
(17:58) So stay awesome, be limitless.
(18:00) And as always, optimize today so you can lead tomorrow. (18:04) Peace.
