Since he was a child, Rob Dube—a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization for nearly two decades—struggled with a variety of health issues including asthma, eczema and a severe nut allergy. That, combined with a stressful home life, caused him severe anxiety. “You wouldn’t have known it,” he says. “On the outside, I was neat, organized and studious—or, as I later found out, had obsessive-compulsive disorder.”
Now the co-founder and president of imageOne, a document life cycle management company based in Oak Park, Michigan, Dube says it took his anxiety reaching an all-time high in 2005 before he found Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, a secular type of meditation practice used by branches of the military, health care companies and large corporations. Not only has MBSR helped Dube manage his anxiety, it has also made him a better leader.
“When I’m fully present and aware, [my team] feels that energy, and I do, too,” he says. “It’s a big difference.”
In order to be consistent, Dube sets this daily routine to ensure his self-care time is protected:
Wake up at 4 a.m., and meditate for 45 minutes.
Have something to eat, and read something challenging.
Set three priorities for the day.
Stretch for 20 minutes and then go for a run.
Slow down with a 20-minute yoga routine.
Shower and take on the day.
