By Eric Sprague C & R Magazine 05/27/2025
Life of the Restorer
We work 16-hour days.
We chow down on gas station food. We rarely say no.
We show up exhausted.
We roll out of bed in the middle of the night to help people during their worst moments.
We are there for others when they need us most—but in doing so, we neglect ourselves.
We are restorers.
To make matters worse, we do all this inside a pressure cooker. Restoration isn’t for the faint of heart. Eventually, something breaks. Sadly, I’ve seen that “something” be the health, happiness, or relationships of many restorers—including myself.
My breaking point came on December 21, 2016. I was burned out and overworked. I couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling that had lingered all day, and my heart had been fluttering for hours. Before I knew it, I was in the hospital. I had just had a heart attack—at 49 years old.
That moment changed everything. Not just for me, but for my team. I was surrounded by people who worked just as hard as I did. I didn’t want any of them to go through what I had. So I made a decision: to rebuild how I managed my life and my business— and to help my team do the same.
While recovering, I had a realization that changed my life:
True high performance requires self-preservation, not self-destruction.
The Hidden Cost of Neglect
It’s ironic. I had been an athlete all my life, trained in the idea that you push hard, then rest hard so you can come back stronger. But after college, adult life took over: a wife, kids, a mortgage, and all the responsibilities that come with them. My solution was to work harder. Provide more. Push through. Be the rock for everyone else.
But in trying to care for everyone—my family, my employees, my referral partners, my clients—I had stopped caring for myself.
The neglect piled up. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. Eventually, I was toast. I had nothing left to give.
When I finally hit the wall, I realized I’d been running on fumes for years. Just going through the motions. Showing up, but far from performing at my best.
And I know I’m not alone. So many of us in this industry are white-knuckling our way through each day. I knew I had to take a different approach—like I did as an athlete in my younger years. Recovery, care, and preparation had to become part of the plan again.
The Mindset Shift: Self-Care is a Performance Strategy
I used to think “self-care” was just some woo-woo bullcrap. Something for social media influencers or Silicon Valley CEOs.
I was wrong.
In my book The Road to Seven Figures, I talk about the high performer as “the asset”— and the need to protect the asset. If we are the asset, then we have a responsibility to protect and maintain ourselves.
And it all starts with mindset.
We need to shift into a new headspace—one that acknowledges that we perform better when we take care of ourselves. It doesn’t mean we take two-week spa retreats. It means we grab moments of recovery when we can. It means finding ways to disconnect, even briefly, during chaotic seasons.
If we want to produce at a high level, we need to live at a high level. That requires systems, routines, and habits that support—not sabotage—our performance.
Practical Habits for a Demanding Schedule
1. Sleep Is a Leadership Tool
For years, I prided myself on getting by with little sleep. I used to say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
Then I almost died.
That saying went out the window.
To change our culture, we installed a sleeping room at the shop so techs could rest between calls. We began to celebrate sleep as a performance enhancer instead of a weakness. We optimized on-call rotations to avoid burnout. We shared sleep data with our team to help them understand how it affected their health and job performance.
2. Fuel Your Body—Don’t Just Fill It
Like many home service teams, ours ran on energy drinks, chips, and cigarettes. We didn’t force change, but we started a conversation around fueling for performance. We gave everyone a good water thermos and encouraged hydration. Over time, some team members began bringing healthier meals and treating their bodies like the tools they are.
Small changes created big momentum.
3. Manager Awareness & Burnout Prevention
We trained our managers to be aware of workload issues, family stress, and burnout signs. If someone was pushing too hard, we sent them home before mistakes or resentment set in. We knew that short-term productivity sacrifices could prevent long- term disasters.
We also watched our managers closely. They often worked longer hours than the rest of the team, and stress from running the jobs took its toll. Sometimes, the best way to support a leader was to give them a few days off and pick up the slack ourselves.
Long-Term Success Requires Intentional Habits
I encourage you to take an honest look at your current lifestyle and ask:
- Am I working too much?
- Am I fueling my body or trashing it?
- Am I constantly stressed?
- Am I neglecting my relationships?
- Am I getting any physical activity?
If the answer is “yes” to most of these, it’s time to make a change. Burnout isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a warning light.
Start by making a plan—one that allows you to continue being a badass at work without destroying yourself in the process. The two are not mutually exclusive.
If you’re trying to be the best at what you do, you’re a business athlete. Treat yourself like one. World-class athletes recover, train smart, and invest in their longevity. We must do the same.
Because when you protect the asset, the asset produces.
