Anything For You All: INSTANT MBA: Arianna Huffington breaks down the biggest mistake you can make as an entrepreneur

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November 13, 2017

There's plenty of great advice out there about what hopeful entrepreneurs need to do in order to succeed.

But avoiding pitfalls is another big part of achieving success. So what's the biggest mistake a new entrepreneur can make?

Arianna Huffington, founder of Thrive Global and the Huffington Post, has some ideas.

Entrepreneurs who go to extreme measures to get things done are often celebrated, but Huffington tells Business Insider that it's a mistake to neglect other aspects of your life, especially health. In fact, the resulting burn-out can be ultimately catastrophic for your entrepreneurial career.

"Leading a sustainable life, and making sure their employees do, too, is the best way for an entrepreneur to make sure their business will be sustainable," Huffington tells Business Insider. "It's like what they say on airplanes — put on your own oxygen mask before helping others."

According to Huffington, new entrepreneurs shouldn't boast about putting in countless hours in order to build the company. Instead, they should focus more on the quality of their work rather than the quantity.

"They should also realize that you need to continue to nurture your creativity — the need for which doesn't stop once you have your breakthrough idea for whatever you want to build your company around," Huffington says.

"No matter how genius of an idea you had that allowed you to launch a company, just as important will be nurturing your creativity to overcome the inevitable challenges that will follow and to come up with new ideas that will allow the company to evolve and grow," Huffington says. "And we do that by prioritizing our well-being."

Huffington is scheduled to speak more on the subject at the Propelify Innovation Festival later this month.