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• Leadership Is a Lonely Path May 18th, 2012
  

  Leadership Is a Lonely Path

  
  

  I looked around this group of leaders in the room.  WOW.  Here was a group of people who have the potential to lead the business in the future.  Here was a group of people who are leading teams of hundreds, even thousands, of people.  Here was a group of people who are selling millions of dollars worth of business.

   

  But I wonder sometimes – do they realize how great their potential is?  No, not how great they are (that’s ego talking), but how great they can become? Do they realize that they are sitting in this room because the current company leadership wants to help them to become their best?

   

  Being a leader isn’t easy.  Many times, we don’t have great role models.  It’s hard enough to just get YOUR work done every day much less worry about what other’s are learning from your actions.  And, unfortunately great leadership efforts sometimes go unnoticed, ignored and woefully unrewarded.

   

  But it’s the person who stops saying,“I wish things could be different in my life/work/with my boss/etc.” and takes action to make them different, who is on their way to greatness.

   

  They tap into their potential.  They will have a following.

   

  We can all be leaders – it just takes looking at the world they way you want it to be and taking action to make that happen.

   

  Quick Hit Health: Find your inner leader

  
  

  Think about something you “wish could be different” – personally or professionally.  Now do one thing next week to make it different – even if it’s not popular, accepted, or what everyone else is doing.

  
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• The Beauty of List Building May 11th, 2012
  

  The Beauty of List Building

  
  

  Monday morning came as quickly as Friday night went.  I woke up to the usual Monday morning mind explosion.  You know the one.  Before your eyes are even fully focused, your mind has created a list of things that should have been done already.

   

  These feelings of dread and overwhelm quickly moves from your brain into the pit of your stomach.  Even if you wanted to snooze those extra 10 minutes you were allowed, you can’t.  You are in panic mode.  You are already wasting precious time.

   

  There’s nothing like waking up on a Monday morning already feeling mentally exhausted and physically sick.  Breathe, meditate, exercise – not going to happen as long as you are completely weighted down with the pressure of your upcoming week.

   

  So, how DO you get through this?  How do you channel that negative, anxious, stressed out energy into positive, recharging and focused action?  The List!

   

  I’ve used this approach for years now.  – from my college days to my corporate days to my current entrepreneurial days.  It works.  I swear by it.

   

  You need to create a place to take all of what’s on your mind and capture it.  You need to shift it from taking up valuable real estate in your mind to putting it somewhere else.  You need to take it out of your head so that it stops taking control of your actions and emotions.

   

  You need to write it down.  Every single thought that comes to your mind, write it down.  No particular order.  Personal or professional.  Kids to dos or work projects.  Reminders for next weekend.  Whatever it is, just write it down.

   

  PHEW!  Yes, out of mind, but now you have a terribly long list sitting in front of you!  Before that anxiousness creeps back in, start grouping your list.  Personal.  Important.  Urgent.  Must do to stay alive.  Whatever titles work for you.

   

  Then, look at your list/groups.  What can you move to next week?  Yes, I know.  You really want to get it all done this week.  You really should get it all done this week (that is your mind talking, not me).  The reality is – you won’t get it all done this week. So, deal with that reality and move some stuff.

   

  What you do now is up to you.  I like to go get a cup of tea.  Then, I sit back down and identify where in my calendar I will have time to do all the things on my list.  If I realize I won’t have enough time, I move some non-urgent things either to next week, or off the list entirely.  Oh, and don’t forget to save some time every day for the unexpected!  If the unexpected happens, you are ready for it.  If it doesn’t, well, you have some time for the rest of the list (or, an early dinner!).

   

  Then, I dive in.

   

  Don’t let Monday morning anxiety and overwhelm set the tone for your week.  Take control, make a list, scrub the list, schedule the list and then dive in.

   

   

  Quick Hit Health: Monday Morning List Building

  
  

  Right now, open your calendar for Monday.  Now, schedule time as early as you can in the day to do the list building exercise I outline above.

   

  Then use that list to take control of your mind, your body and your week.

  
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• When is enough really enough? Read on to find out … May 4th, 2012
  

  Enough Is Enough

  
  

  The business-coaching group that I’m a part of is made up of an amazing group of women entrepreneurs.  We get together every three months to learn how to hit our business goals, share ideas, help each other through ‘blockages’, and grow together as entrepreneurs.

   

  It’s always an intense time for me.  You all know me – type A personality, recovering perfectionist, struggling to always remember to work ‘smart’ not just ‘hard’.  While I wouldn’t trade the 21 years I spent in the corporate world for anything, those years did serve to only support the idea that more was really good.  More was better.  More was what set you apart from your peers.  And more was what you got paid for.

   

  I am growing a lot as a business owner and entrepreneur.  I’m finding that my growth is anchored in my learning that what I define as enough IS enough.  I have my goals.  I have my desires.  And I have to work for those.  But, I don’t have to do everything that everyone else thinks I need to do to be enough.  And, when I really get to the heart of it, it’s ME who thinks that everyone else thinks I need to do more.  Wow.  Read that again for full appreciation and impact.  That’s a breakthrough.

   

  I’ve been sitting with this ‘enough’ idea for a while.  In fact, when I take the time to really think about it, I realize that most of my health practices reinforce the idea that my ‘enough’ is pretty great.  It’s when I let the health slip that I start to question if I am really enough.  Let me give you an example.

   

  Taking time out of my day to exercise – be it in the gym, going for a walk, attending a yoga class or taking a bike ride with my husband.  While my initial feelings are of guilt (yes, those never go away, you just learn to manage them better), I do it anyway because I know that it’s what my body and mind need to stay healthy.

   

  As I rationalize my guilt on the way to the gym, during my walk, in the first 10 minutes of yoga before I’ve hit my ‘place of peace’ or during the first 10 minutes of my ride, I list in my head what I HAVE accomplished that day, that week, in my lifetime.

   

  I’ll say that again – I list what I HAVE done – not what I HAVEN’T done.

   

  By listing all that I have done, I realize that I’ve done a LOT!  I helped clients, I wrote my newsletter, I submitted proposals, I had dinner with my husband, I talked to my parents, I sent a card to my niece.

   

  So, I did enough!  I did A LOT, which for me, is enough.  I will continue to do more after my exercise.  I will wake up tomorrow morning and do even more.  But there comes a point where you have to realize – you are enough just the way you are and with all you have already done.

   

  I know I have a list of readers who think a lot about how they haven’t done enough, contributed enough or been enough every day.  You are hard drivers, perfectionists, people who want to make a difference in the world, and people who don’t want to let anyone down.  People who are MORE than enough, who do MORE than enough and who strive to give MORE than enough.

   

  I ask you all to stop, breathe (or exercise, or drink some water), and list all the things you have done today, yesterday, this past week, in your life.  Then look at that list and realize that you did enough.  You are enough.

   

  And, enough really is enough.

   

  “I became an overachiever to get approval from the world”  ~ Madonna

   

  Quick Hit Health: Make your Enough List

  
  

  Make your Enough List:  stop, breathe (or exercise, or drink some water), and list all the things you have done today, yesterday, this past week, in your life.  Then look at that list and realize that you did enough.  You are enough.  And, enough is enough (at least for now).

   

  Now, let it go.

  
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• Back To Basics April 27th, 2012
  

  It’s the last week of April.  Four months into 2012.  How have you done against those health goals you set?

   

  That question was just for you to answer to yourself.  In answering it, I ask you to be hard and gentle on yourself at the same time.  Here’s why.  Hitting your goals requires discipline; don’t let yourself off that hook!  However, even small steps toward your goals are good ones – so celebrate all that you have done.

   

  Now, put that all aside.  In these past four months things have gotten busy for us all!  Whether you’ve hit your goals or not, it’s a great time for us all to stop, breathe, and get back to our health basics.  Remember, health is not hard.  Don’t make it hard.

   

  There are 5 basic actions that you should always take to stay in good physical and mental health:

  1. Drink water – for energy, mental clarity, hunger control, keep the body moving fluidly (no pun intended).
  2. Eat whole foods – the closer a food is to it’s whole state, the more nutrients you get, the easier it is to digest, and ultimately, the less of it will stay in/on your body as fat.
  3. Move your body – even if it’s for 10 minutes one day, get the oxygen moving around your body and see the pounds come off, the tension relaxed and the productivity kick in.
  4. Breathe – deeply!  Immediately see how your body relaxes?
  5. Focus on the important and the positive – and let go of other people’s negativity and urgency.

   

  I promise you, if you do these 5 things every day, you will have more energy, look better, get more done, sleep more restfully, have more fun and ultimately live longer.

   

  Seriously, it works. Heck, I’ve bet my career on it!

   

  Success is a matter of understanding and religiously practicing specific, simple habits that always lead to success.
  ~ Robert J. Ringer

  
  

  Quick Hit Health: Get Back to Your Basics

  
  

  Take time this weekend to review the list of 5 basics above.

   

  For each item that you are doing every day, congratulate yourself!

   

  For each item that you have let slide, make a plan for how you will get it back into your daily routine next week.

   

  Anchor back to your basics, and you are back on your way toward hitting your goals.

  
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