What quirky hobbies do entrepreneurs have?

Hobbies can help an individual learn new things, acquire additional knowledge, declutter the mind, bond with people who share the same interest, and warm the heart. Hobbies are beneficial to the physical, mental and emotional well-being of a people, especially entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Intriguingly, some entrepreneurs have quirky hobbies, showing us their fun side that we do not get to see most often. Here are some of the interesting pursuits of EO Melbourne members that they do when they’re not on their laptops or immersed in their business.

Kitesurfing

Kitesurfing is the leisurely pursuit of Cesar Aldea, Founder and Managing Director of Aldea Consulting.

According to Cesar, “I started kitesurfing back in 2007 when I arrived in Australia. I love it because it keeps me fit and takes my mind away from any pressing problems, allowing me the time to reset and come back to it with a fresh mindset.”

Flying a helicopter

Getting into the air is also a penchant of Honeycomb Strategy Managing Director John Bevitt. “I started learning to fly a helicopter last year when I turned 30,” he declared.

“It was something I've always wanted to do. My wife bought me a trial flight for my birthday and I absolutely LOVED IT. In terms of what I love about it - it's the feeling of seeing something familiar from a new perspective, looking down over Melbourne and seeing so many familiar places. Just the freedom of flying in a 3d space and being able to move in any direction (compared to a plane for instance) is simply wonderful,” John shared.

Growing cacti

“I love cactus for some weird reason,” says Andrew Colliver, Executive Director and Co-founder of Banjo Loans. He explained, “My interest commenced on visiting our happy place in Sorrento and there was a massive cactus garden against a Mexican-looking wall. It was further reinforced on a trip to California 2 years ago. Each variety is so unique; they can be very tricky to plant and some sting like crazy – and they grow so slowly. Patience is required, a virtue I lack.”

“Some varieties have incredible flowers growing from a hostile-looking plant. They appear to be the adaptive masters of growing and surviving in a hostile environment – the poster child of a weird individual combined with resilience. And unrealistically, I somewhat expected a dinosaur to suddenly appear one day and start munching on them which would just cap off a great day,” Andrew said.

Stacking books

WeTeachMe Founder and EO Melbourne Past President Kym Huynh stacks books. “You would be amazed at how many options or variations are possible,” he remarked.

“I find the art of stacking books both meditative and cathartic. From the endless variations (all vertical, all horizontal, half up/half down, sort-by-alphabet, sort-by-colour, sort-by-size, sort-by-genre, sort-by-author and the endless combinations thereof, including but not limited to combining with art, photo frames filled with pictures of loved ones and cherished memories that instantly transport one to moments of pure unadulterated joy, and objects discovered in strange and foreign lands) to conscious choices in symmetry or asymmetry (perfect if one feels a sense of anarchy or looming irony), stacking books perfectly combines art in its creativity and expression and organisation in the structure of carefully-selected or curated books.”

“In this sense, I find that it mirrors life quite beautifully, and I'm sure there are theoretical links to leadership here in that it requires both creativity and structure for one to be effective and free. In actuality, I'm just practising leadership in each corner of the bookshelf or coffee table. That's what I'll just keep telling myself. Stacking books is practising life in a safe and contained environment where it is OK to fail or make mistakes,” he reflected.

Collecting and restoring Saab cars

“I collect Saab cars and restore the classic 900s,” shared James Murray, Founder & Managing Director of Work Healthy Australia. “I started doing it about a year ago,” he continued. “Once, I had a head-on collision in a Classic Saab 900 and walked away. If I had been driving my Ute I would have had a much worse outcome!”

“I drove Saabs for many years after that but stopped when they went under in 2011. Last year, I realized that SUVs were not for me as I missed my Saabs too much. Since then it’s all Saabs! I have two of the wagons that I use for work and they are both crazy fun to drive,” James revealed.

Paragliding

A sports enthusiast and Executive Director of Sports Tech World Series, Johann Odou is into paragliding since 2012/2013.

“There is something magical about flying. Learning to operate in a different world, one where you go up, down, left, right, forward and back. It's a pretty special feeling to be able to look down on birds flying,” Johann quipped.

Collecting chess sets from the USSR

Rankin Business Lawyers Principal and Founder Rob Roy Rankin has a fascinating hobby. “I collect chess sets with a focus on sets from the USSR.”

Well, if one is a chess enthusiast, why not collect sets from the land of the chess champions? Chess and Russia have a long history together as it is believed that their rulers were partial to this game.

Rob recalled, “I started collecting chess sets back in 1991 when I made my first visit to the USSR. Chess was such an enormous part of Russian and soviet culture in the 20th century and the variety of chess sets produced in that period is incredible. So much of the nation’s culture and history can be gleaned form each set and every piece of each set is a small work of art.”

pinball machines

Dylan Smith, Founder and Managing Director of Rubix, found pinball machines cool. “I started only two years ago and now, I’ve got fifteen of the beautiful creations.”

What makes him take interest in pinball machines is that “I love every tiny little aspect of it. I strongly believe it is the ultimate example of lessons on how to run a global long term business using some of the most complicated and advanced skill sets, whilst keeping a diverse global customer base happy and screaming for innovations, but then complaining when the machines deviate from their definition of pinball.”

He added, “Disciplines include software engineering, mechanical engineering, game theory, manufacturing, pricing, global distribution, support, innovation, sound, lighting, theme licensing, cost of goods, fussy customers, theme integration, storage, business operations, artwork, tournament management and world ranking algorithms plus lots more!”

Cooking new and interesting food

Of course, there are also hobbies that we may find simple, yet relevant in the current situation. For Ben Stickland, Founder and CEO of Alliance Software, he found his interest in preparing food for his family. “I'm enjoying cooking as a hobby, works well in lockdown. Every weekend, I figure out at least one new meal and cook it. My goal is to transition our family to new & interesting food, and a few months in it is working well. It works for me because my wife and children all love food and so it's allowing us to explore new meals together,” he shared.

While most of his growth as an entrepreneur comes from the people he interacts with, many of which are from EO, he finds personal and professional growth through the readings that he does. Still, cooking provides a different kind of value. “Cooking is about an escape. It's a small, completable project. Often as entrepreneurs, we're working on big things that sometimes don't have clear finish lines. When I cook a meal, it's done. Delicious or disgusting, it's done,” he added.

There are many other hobbies out there that entrepreneurs can be involved in and benefit from. What rare or quirky hobby do you have that is not on the list above? Share with us why you enjoy it through the comments section below.

Can changing your morning routine make you a better entrepreneur? Here are some real-life experience shares.

Morning routines can set the stage at how the day will unfold. Over the years our EO Melbourne chapter had the opportunity to learn in first person about the routines that successful business icons such as Warren Rustand use to start their day. Many of them claimed to be critical for their success.

Some say that you start your day right by taking care of your mind and body and doing something that will increase your productivity and boost your energy. Experts claim that having a rhythm as soon as you wake up in the morning may be beneficial to your physical and mental health.

Even for busy people like CEOs and business owners, an effective morning routine help them get through the rigours of work and other responsibilities. Highly successful people often attribute their good performance to their positive morning habits that enable them to start their day strong. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some morning routine changes our EO entrepreneurs made to get them going through the day, given their demanding schedules and tremendous workloads.

(Left to right) Salt & Fuessel Director Gabriel Esseesse, Torii Consulting Director Joe Woodham, Work Healthy Australia Managing Director and Founder James Murray, and Banjo Executive Director & Co-founder Andrew Colliver share the morning routines that work effectively for them, helping them face their day and tackle the things ahead of them with energy and focus.

Salt & Fuessel Director Gabriel Esseesse narrates the shift he did in his morning habit. Looking back at his old morning routine, it was rolling out of the bed after hitting the snooze button at least thrice, checking his emails, getting already annoyed by them, grabbing whatever breakfast he could find from the pantry, getting the kids ready for school or childcare and dropping them off.

“As you can imagine, my mood was already set for the day. A few years ago, I had to change that. Then my evenings finished quite earlier than the usual and I stopped eating sugar. Now, I can get up from bed without being torture. I also wake up earlier, and straight after brushing my teeth, I do weight exercise at home for 30 to 40 minutes. After completing that, I would have my oats or smoothie or toast and get ready to kick off the day,” Gabriel narrates. Starting his mornings like this, he regards it as already a win in his day.

Another thing he altered in his morning routine is cancelling out any news or radio. Rather, he would get to work listening to an audiobook or calling someone. Gabriel acknowledges that he may not be able to control everything that happens throughout the day, but he can at least control certain things like his morning routine, which allows him to have more energy to tackle all the things in front of him.

In the case of Joe Woodham, Director of Torii Consulting, he had many iterations to his morning procedure over the years. “I didn't just wake up one day and decide this is what I will do; I spent time adding to my routine and working out what worked for me until I had something I could stick to,” he revealed.

Joe admits that finding extra time in the day has always been a challenge for him. With a growing family and business, it seems that things only get tougher as they go by. “Over the last few years, I have found the only way for me to focus on myself with uninterrupted time truly is to swap later nights for earlier mornings,” he declares.

In the process of pinning down the right routine that worked for him, Joe read countless books and articles and attended events of successful entrepreneurs who had found ways to get the right balance between self, business and family. “In a lot of cases, it came back to having a successful morning routine,” Joe realised.

His current routine is waking up at 5:45 am, then going to the gym for 45 minutes, followed by a 20-minute meditation and 10-minute journaling. According to Joe, “Even under the current COVID restrictions, I have tried to keep my routine unchanged as I notice the difference when I don't. However, when I find that working out in my lounge room isn't so much fun I will swap out some days for studying, such as learning Japanese.”

Similarly, the morning custom of James Murray, Managing Director and Founder of Work Healthy Australia, has changed a lot for the last two years. “For me, the morning is the time that I have that’s just for me because with work and family, anything after 8 o'clock, I don't have control over that time. So, I get up a lot earlier than I used to. Now, I wake up before 6:00 am and then do the things that get myself ready for the day,” he explained.

The first thing James does is to meditate for 20 minutes. “By meditating in the morning, it allows me to learn a lot more about myself emotionally and know what my emotional triggers are. It’s very, very helpful just to keep me calm,” James stated.

After that, he does his exercise, which includes cardiovascular activities like doing 10 kilometres on the rowing machine, along with 10 minutes of yoga and some weightlifting. He pointed out, “When you exercise in the morning, you have to consider your strength, flexibility, mobility, balance and coordination.” He also uses a lung training device, called airofit, which he finds a good addition to his morning routine. Before, he would just do one thing, such as go for a walk, for example, or only lift weights. “What would happen was I would find myself into a rut. By building a stronger routine, I'm able to be more holistic in the way that I approach my mornings,” he explained.

Other things that James follow during the morning is avoiding his phone while working out. He also feeds the dogs, which he loves doing. “I also do my lemon juice in hot water and I drink a litre of water in the morning because sometimes during the day, I'm not so great at drinking a lot of water. I've had to add all these things in over the years,” he quipped. With his present morning routine, James finds it effective as it allows him to focus on work, increasing his concentration and energy levels.

For quite some time, Banjo Executive Director & Co-founder Andrew Colliver has been following Dutch athlete Wim Hof, a.k.a. “The Iceman”, who has 21 Guinness World Records, including climbing Mt. Everest in short pants and swimming under the ice for 66 metres. Inspired by Wim’s method of exercising and prompted by the lack of energy in the mornings, Andrew decided to change his morning routine at the beginning of 2020 by incorporating cold therapy and breathing.

“Every morning at 7:45 am, a small group of friends enter my pool for 10 minutes of cold water immersion. The temperature is 11 degrees, and we follow the immersion with an outdoor cold shower. In 2020, I have had three warm showers, and we have not missed a morning,” shared Andrew.

The results are magnificent as the benefits have been extremely noticeable for him, giving him clarity of mind and energy throughout the day. For Andrew, “It is a mood booster, and I sleep so well. It has helped my business by facilitating heightened energy and positiveness as well as building a higher resilience level. Every morning, my mind tells me the research is flawed and it is crazy to jump in a cold pool on 2-degree mornings. I love the challenge of overcoming the thought patterns and executing them. I also love the challenge of overcoming the pain and stress of the cold water immersion though ‘acceptance’. It soon becomes a very pleasant and rewarding experience, which is counter-intuitive.”

It pays to try various things and come up with a morning routine that works best for your mind and body. The important thing is that the first thing you do during the day will help you build strength and vitality, as well as develop discipline and focus, which can lead to a productive day at work. With such effective routines, you will find more energy to power you up towards your goals and closer to achieving success in life and business.

Have a morning routine story to share? Please do so by sending us your story at communications@eomelbourne.org or via the comments section below.