Derek is a young entrepreneur who has carved out a unique niche for himself through his social media brand More Plates More Dates.
He describes More Plates More Dates as "a one stop shop for helping you get yourself on the right path to the best you possible."
Derek has created a robust social media platform that focuses on topics like health, longevity research, bodybuilding, hormone optimization, lifestyle, supplementation, hair loss prevention and even dating.
His platform has been growing exponentially, and that is reflected not just in his following and engagement, but also in the growth of his supplement company Gorilla Mind and his hormone replacement therapy clinic Marek Health.
Working hard is great, but work-life balance is a concept not usually touched on by busy entrepreneurs. The mantra of "work harder" is driven home so often by motivational speakers that the idea of burnout is not considered a possibility, even though it can be very real.
Derek not only creates unique content on a daily basis for More Plates More Dates, but he also has to oversee Gorilla Mind and Marek Health simultaneously.
"It would be impossible for me to do what I do if I didn't have a strong team supporting me and I didn't take small breaks to keep my sanity" he explains.
He gives us insight into his daily life, stating that he ensures he gets 8 hours of quality sleep per day, no matter what.
"I used to try and get away with 6-6.5 hours of sleep, or even pull 24-hour all-nighters on a regular basis when I first started More Plates More Dates. I figured if I had an extra couple hours of work per day where I wasn't sleeping every single day, it would help me get ahead. I realized that this was counterproductive and actually resulted in much lower quality work throughout the hours I was awake, and overall actually led to less work being done, despite the fact that I was awake and trying to work for more hours. If I don't get at least 7.5-8 hours of high-quality sleep in, my next day of work will undoubtedly be subpar," he says.
He also strongly believes in getting the most intensive of your work done during the first 8 hours of the day, and leaving tedious tasks that require less brain power until later in the day.
"Unless we are having a sale or something is going on that I need to oversee directly on that day, I often leave my phone on airplane mode when I wake up to avoid getting distracted by social media during my sharpest hours of the day."
He also touched on the importance of work-life balance and mini-breaks.
"Even if you are a young and hungry entrepreneur, it is very important to allocate time to maintain your relationships. With your friends, family, significant other, etc. It is very easy to drift off into a perpetual state of working with no downtime. While this may seem like the most productive strategy, I have found over the years that maintaining high quality relationships is ultimately what will make you the happiest. Regardless of how much money or success you accumulate, your relationships need to have a high priority in your life. I know plenty of unhappy rich people, and often the cause of their mindset is a lack of high-quality relationships, minimal work-life balance (or none at all), and sometimes even complete burnout because they couldn't stop redlining themselves."
Although Derek spends a lot of time building his businesses, he has made it clear that spending time with those important to you is critical for long term happiness, which is ultimately what will dictate your overall success in life.
