When you have the opportunity to ask some of the most interesting people in the world about their lives, sometimes the most fascinating answers come from the simplest questions. The Thrive Questionnaire is an ongoing series that gives an intimate look inside the lives of some of the world’s most successful people.
Thrive Global: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
David Kirsch: The first things I do when I get out of bed are meditate and pray.
TG: What gives you energy?
DK: I derive energy by connecting my mind and body and following it with movement of any kind. Movement, whether a brisk walk or a full-body plank workout, energizes and empowers me.
TG: What’s your secret life hack?
DK: To be honest with you, I couldn’t just name one secret life hack. Here are just a few that keep me together and “aligned.” Taking my bike up to work at Core: Club — that two-mile trek early in the morning is the perfect way to “right” my head; disconnecting from technology when I’m with my daughters, Emilia and Francesca; one of my thirty-minute express workouts; cooking with Emilia and Francesca.
TG: Name a book that changed your life.
DK: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
TG: Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?
DK: My phone and I have a very dysfunctional relationship. It consumes too much of my day, but it is an invaluable tool for staying connected — home and work, increasing work productivity while staying connected to my 9-year-old twin girls. I am embarrassed to say that the phone is the last thing I see before I go to bed, and the first when I awake!
TG: How do you deal with email?
DK: I tread lightly with my emails. I get several hundred emails a day, and I’ve learned that it’s okay not to respond to all of your emails by end of day. I’ve learned to distinguish between the important and the urgent.
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day; what do you do with it?
DK: Fifteen unexpected minutes in my day is time enough for me to get outside for a brisk walk around the block.
TG: When was the last time you felt burned out and why?
DK: Being a single parent of 9-year-old twin girls is a blessing, but most definitely there are moments (like today) when I felt totally burned out.
TG: When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
DK: Being an entrepreneur, I would say there were times when things definitely didn’t play out as I would have liked it to. As difficult as those moments are, I have learned that failure is just another word for growing. As a father, I have had moments when I lost my patience and/or raised my voice. I have learned the power of asking forgiveness — “Daddy was wrong for… and I am very sorry.”
TG: Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace.
DK: “It is better to conquer yourself than win a thousand battles.” — Buddha