What Touring With the Stones Taught Me About Energy
People always assume that life on tour with the Rolling Stones was one long party. And yes, there were moments that were completely extraordinary, cities I'd never have seen, people I'd never have met, a front row seat to some of the greatest music ever made. I wouldn't trade any of it.
But what people don't see is the other side of it. The waiting. The jet lag that never quite lifts. The way constant movement starts to wear on you if you don't find a way to ground yourself. I watched what it did to people who had no anchors, and I made a decision very early on to be someone who had anchors.
Mine were food and routine. Wherever we were, New York, Tokyo, São Paulo, I found the organic market. I cooked when I could. I got up at the same time. I went for a walk. These things sound almost embarrassingly simple against the backdrop of a world tour, but they were what kept me well.
The lesson I took from all of it is one I've carried ever since: your energy is your most valuable thing. Not your looks, not your wardrobe, not how many famous people you know. Your energy. And you have to be quite deliberate about protecting it, especially when the world around you is loud and relentless.
You don't need to be on a world tour for that to apply to your life. Most of us are dealing with our own version of relentless. Find your anchors. Come back to them every day. That's the whole secret, really.
