We've investigated the hobbies of successful entrepreneurs...

If you're looking for tips on how to be successful in the entrepreneur world, we've got them! We've investigated the hobbies of successful entrepreneurs and found out what they do outside of the office. Some of their hobbies will surprise you, some hobbies less so!

Jack Dorsey

Jack Dorsey, is a man of many hobbies. He's the co-founder and CEO of both Twitter and Square, but that doesn't mean that this entrepreneur can't take time to relax.

Green-fingered relaxation

Along with his love for playing soccer as well as listening to music, Jack Dorsey's downtime includes gardening at home in San Francisco. He always has his earbuds in while he gardens, playing music that inspires him. Watching TV is also one way Jack spends his downtime - so don't feel guilty when this something you do to access that zen moment.

Reading to de-stress

A bookworm by nature, Jack Dorsey loves reading about history and philosophy, as well as biographies. He says reading is "a form of self-education."

He also loves to learn about new things by taking up a hobby that he's never done before - lately, it has been knitting! "Creative thinking involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things from a different perspective."

‍

‍

Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel made his mark at the young age of 22 when he founded Paypal. He's since had an illustrious career as a hedge fund manager, venture capitalist and technology entrepreneur. A pretty amazing resume for a tech guy.

Thiel is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in history with business ownership success stories ranging from Facebook to SpaceX to Palantir Technologie.  In 2016, Thiel stepped down as CEO at his company to focus his efforts on his new venture, the Thiel Foundation.

Queen's Gambit eat your heart out

Thiel is an avid chess player and has been known to make moves in high-stakes games against other grandmasters. He was a US-rated Chess Master and one of the highest ranked under-21 players in the country.

Discs for life

A former competitive player of Ultimate Frisbee, Thiel is co-founder and president of the Disc Sports Association (the international governing body for all disc sports), and he serves on the board of directors for USA Ultimate and World Flying Disc Federation.

His advice to entrepreneurs: "Build a company that will work for decades." Positivity is another important keystone of Thiel's success.  He attributes his to Buddhism, which he practices daily.

‍

‍

Marissa Mayner

Marissa Mayner has inspired many entrepreneurs and investors alike. Mayner is the CEO of Minted, an e-commerce business that focuses on customizing products for every occasion.

She started with a small startup in her apartment building's garage before expanding to millions of users from all over the globe. Marissa Mayner's hobbies are certainly indicative of her success; she's a marathon runner, an avid reader, and enjoys cooking.

The beauty of balance

Marissa Mayner gives advice to aspiring entrepreneurs on the importance of work-life balance: "It is important not only for mental health but also productivity." Family time is also important, "I like to spend time with my husband, go on walks and hikes. We have a dog so we try and get outside more."

Mayner's advice? "Work hard, take responsibility for your decisions but remember there is balance in life too."

‍

‍

Sandy Lerner

Sandy Lerner is an American computer scientist and entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of the business, Cisco Systems. Lerner is also a director of the Wikimedia Foundation, chairwoman emeritus at Rutgers University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, as well as an advisor to KnowNow (a startup company).

Blog writing as a release

"The thing about hobbies is that they get you through the really tough times. They give your life a kind of balance."

"Writing this blog post took me four hours to complete and it has been my hobby for three years now."

Lerner's balance is to take her dog for a walk in the morning before starting on email or going into the office and knitting is her most recent hobby.

‍

Warren Buffett

Possibly one of the most famous business icons, he is also famous for being one of the richest people in the world, Warren Buffett's primary hobby is the card game Bridge. He's been playing for nearly 80 years and still won't play without his trusty partner that he's played with since high school. It might sound like an unusual hobby to have when you're as successful as Warren Buffett is, but it allegedly makes his creativity sharp, and his cognitive function strong.

So how do you play Bridge and what even is it?

• First of all, it's a card game with 2 teams of two playing against each other.
• You score points by getting cards in suit sequence and by making what's called "tricks". You need a quick mind, as the more tricks you make, the better chance you have of winning a game.
• The rules for Bridge are fairly easy to learn because it is quite like another popular card game- Whist.

‍

‍

Richard Branson

If you're looking for some inspiration, Richard Branson is the business leader for you. With a net worth of about $510 million, this entrepreneur's hobbies to reduce stress include kiteboarding (he even founded his own brand called Virgin Kites of course), racing cars on public freeways, and mountain biking.

He published 'Losing My Virginity' which is about how he built his billion-dollar empire.

His advice to entrepreneurs

"The key is, don't think it's going to happen overnight. It took me two years before Virgin was generating any income at all."

‍

‍

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg's hobbies may surprise you, but they're actually pretty cool. You might be thinking he would have more time to relax than these other entrepreneurs with his net worth of about $62 billion,  but he finds the time for hobbies like playing piano and guitar as well as learning Mandarin Chinese.

How does he fit these hobbies in?

Getting proficient in Mandarin can take up to 50 hours a week of study.

Zuckerberg has said in the past that he wants his children to be bilingual, so it is likely he knows this from experience.  Playing piano and guitar also requires dedication, but Zuckerberg can find time with scheduling 20-minute sessions for every day where "he will just sit there playing around."

And his advice?

‍

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great and the only way to do great is to love what you do."

‍

In conclusion :

It’s a hard challenge. You’re the entrepreneur, you have to be on your toes and on top of everything all at once. It can feel like juggling knives while balancing on a tightrope. The best thing you can do for yourself is to stop trying so hard and take care of yourself first because that will allow you to be better at what you do in your business!

5 takeaways:

Here are five ways to find a personal and professional balance as a business owner, and yes, they include picking and sticking to a hobby:

1) Take time off from your business. It will thank you for it.

2) Get enough sleep. Your brain needs this the most. This is hard to do sometimes we know, as your head will be whirring with ideas a lot of the time. Magnesium baths and magnesium butter for your feet are something you could try 30 minutes before bedtime. It'll will help to reduce stress and has additional benefits of improving your general wellbeing.

3) Do something just for fun: video games, circus skills, crossword puzzles for ultimate brain health, golf, jigsaw puzzles, mastering the best cupcake recipe, get music lessons, home projects, zen meditation? All of these things will give your head a different kind of workout.

4) Find someone who understands

5) Make sure it's ok with your partner or spouse (just kidding!)