When I was 17, I dropped out of school to start a film production company. Within a year, I was completely burnt out. I went and mowed lawns for a while before heading to England to figure things out. There, a friend of my dad's gave me an analogy that I didn't fully appreciate for another decade. He said, "Imagine everyone has a bucket full of energy. When you pursue high-octane, high-stakes roles, you are going to empty that bucket. That's not a failure; it's a given. Your only job is to figure out how to refill it." The advice was abstract but I started to understand it. In your 20s, you feel invincible. You can just keep pushing with no consequences. In your 30s, mortality catches up. Your body reminds you that you're not Iron Man. You only truly heed advice when you learn the lesson firsthand through physical or mental consequences. (that’s definitely happened over the years) Now, refilling the bucket is a non-negotiable part of how I operate.