Latest Posts

I was in a funk and needed a reboot

Published by Colin Nanka
Our daughter has not been sleeping well the last week, so neither have we!  Sleep is my ONE thing. If I get a good night sleep, I can conquer the mountain.

After getting through the morning, getting some work done, and the family fed, I had 3 hours to myself as the girls were visiting friends.

I knew 3 hours was a good amount of time to take on the tasks I had outlined…cleaning the closets, a couple blogs, and a workout.

So what did I do?  I slowed down.

I realized I had pushed right past my regular morning meditation with the hairiness in the morning, so I started there.  After the 20 min meditation, I used my “Calm” app and did an additional 20 min body scan to slow the breath down and gain some “creative intelligence.”

I rose refreshed, recharged and with 100% more vigor to go after my tasks.  Even the inspiration to write this blog. 🙂

Sometimes we need to SLOW down to ACCELERATE forward.

Colin

How do you make your own Sonic Break?

Published by Colin Nanka

Ask yourself powerful questions and watch ESPN 30 for 30 Sonic Break

How do you want to experience yourself?

Let that one marinate over you for a second.

That is what psychologist Dr. Gervais asked Felix Baumgartner to answer for himself through the final few months of the 5-year journey in jumping from a balloon from the edge of space.

Remember that red bull guy that broke the sound barrier hurtling through space faster than a speeding bullet?  That guy.

He was having doubts that he could do this, that he could survive.  Obviously. He needed to change the relationship between how he was experiencing himself.

Simmer on the question.  Answer if for yourself. Watch the 30 min episode….and redefine your personal narrative.

Colin

 

7 Ways to prepare for a tough conversation

Published by Colin Nanka
Having tough conversations with a peer or employee are some of the tougher things we do. 

Keeping each person in a positive space during the conversation is key. Empathy for the challenges being faced keeps us in the problem-solving part of the brain vs fight or flight.This is a great article a friend shared on how to prep for these types of conversations.
 
Here is number 1:
 

What is your purpose for having the conversation? What do you hope to accomplish? What would be an ideal outcome? Watch for hidden purposes. You may think you have honorable goals, like educating an employee or increasing connection with your teen, only to notice that your language is excessively critical or condescending. You think you want to support, but you end up punishing. Some purposes are more useful than others. Work on yourself so that you enter the conversation with a supportive purpose.

 

Read the rest of the article here.

Colin

My Turning Point to High Performance

Published by Colin Nanka

I didn’t realize that I had anymore to give until I was running on empty.

Three-quarters of the way through a week-long 160 Mile/250 Km adventure race in Iceland, I was on my last leg. Literally. Battered by freezing winds and pouring rain, I was running a marathon a day over jagged volcanic rocks,  which caused me to develop a high ankle sprain. I was at the end of my rope.

I had attempted two races previously, only finishing one. Somewhere deep within myself I knew I had the capacity to finish another one, but my foot (now swollen to twice its normal size) was telling me different.

When I awoke for the final day facing 45 miles and 70km up ahead, I could barely put weight on my right foot. Unsure if I could run, my tent-mates and teammates Ash and Jesse encouraged me to get out there and just put one foot in front of the other for as long as possible: To get into the arena and do the best I could.

Every step was painful. But each step edged me more into my untapped potential. I managed to run up hills, across glaciers and black sand beaches, finding new gears every couple of hours. Similarly, I had big depressive mental falls from those runner highs and had to rebuild my confidence to make it further. I stopped often and asked myself if I could go just one step further.

Left, right, left, right.

I had developed a mantra prior to the race, “Strong, Relaxed and Grateful.” It helped me stay centered, as I pushed my mind and body towards its maximum physical potential: uncharted territory. Through each painful step, I must have said that mantra 10,000 times.

After 17 hours on course, I finished in the dark at 1 AM.

That day was pure Grit. I had never strained myself so deep with every ounce of my being. That day I learned what grit truly tasted, felt and moved like. Moving through grit brought me towards my untapped potential and in turn I was able to discover my true potential.

So, What got me there?

Repetition and persistence through numerous obstacles. Dealing with maximum anxiety and being accountable for myself, my fellow competitors and tent-mates. The camaraderie on a shared goal and experience with others can push you to great heights.

After suffering, I found that my stretch goal is now my current capacity. Every day I continue to discover new ways to find more untapped potential within myself.

To finding your true capacity,

Colin

Have you been locked in?

Published by Colin Nanka

Have you been locked in? Unable to find your mojo? This is a story that will help you find your way back.

As a young girl, Victoria Arlen truly had the world ahead of her. But at the age of 11, she began to suffer from an illness that baffled her doctors and kept Victoria locked in her own body.

Listen to the 19 min podcast to hear behind the story or watch the 30 for 30 Short.

Listen to 30for30+ “Locked In” from 30 For 30 Podcasts in Podcasts.

Colin

Three Ways Focusing On Mindset Makes You Win

Published by Colin Nanka
I remember the time specifically when I realized I could be better than I was.  It was grade 9 and I was running in the 800 M Track & Field City Semi-Finals.  I always competed but was never relevant in placing.
 
I for once took our coaches advice about visualizing the outcome and playing it in my mind the night before. It was on the 3rd turn with 200 M left that I felt I may have some gas left in the tank and could pass other runners.  Let me be clear, I was not up all night thinking about it.  It was 10 min.
 
Wouldn’t you know it, on race day at the 600 M mark, like a birdie sitting on my shoulder, I had a nudge to run as hard as possible to the finish. I remembered seeing the way to the finish.  The 800 M is often a big lumpy crowd of 10-15 runners.  I was in the last 3rd and I shot myself up into 4th place and passed a friend who ALWAYS beat me.  He was surprised, so was I.  I never lost to him again.
 
Up until that point, I didn’t believe in myself.  I had not seen it happen, I had not experienced it.  From that point on, I got better every year.
 
1. Visualizing
 
Imagining your way before it happens, gives mental breadcrumbs to follow.
 
2. Positive self-talk 
 
Strong, Relaxed and Grateful was something I said to myself much later in life when I gutted my way through a very challenging day in an Ultra race.  If I had that mantra 20 years before, it would have made a huge difference.
 
3. Gratitude 
 
Be kind to yourself when things don’t go your way. Make small incremental improvements and learn from mini-failures and be grateful for the lessons that lead to long-term success and fulfillment.
 

Find your corner in the next race you run.

 
Colin

What you learn in death

Published by Colin Nanka

As a Canadian, I grew up watching Liberals, Conservatives, and Democrats in our Political system.  Now that I am in the US, you can’t help to be glued to the current political landscape.

What is telling is how great leadership crosses party, community and different phases of life.
 
There is a great opportunity to learn when icons pass and reflect for yourself how you would like to be remembered when you are gone.
 
Two Statements below from Barrack Obama and George W. Bush.
 
Obama:
 
“John McCain and I were members of different generations, came from completely different backgrounds, and competed at the highest level of politics,” Obama, 57, wrote. “But we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher — the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed.
 
The statement continued: “We saw our political battles, even, as a privilege, something noble, an opportunity to serve as stewards of those high ideals at home, and to advance them around the world. We saw this country as a place where anything is possible — and citizenship as our patriotic obligation to ensure it forever remains that way.”
Obama’s statement went on to reference McCain’s military service — and the five years he spent in captivity as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.
“Few of us have been tested the way John once was, or required to show the kind of courage that he did,” Obama wrote. “But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own. At John’s best, he showed us what that means. And for that, we are all in his debt. Michelle and I send our most heartfelt condolences to Cindy and their family.”
 
Bush:
 
KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE — “Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended. Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled. John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order. He was a public servant in the finest traditions of our country. And to me, he was a friend whom I’ll deeply miss. Laura and I send our heartfelt sympathies to Cindy and the entire McCain family, and our thanks to God for the life of John McCain.”
 
 
Colin

Five things I’ve learned in my first 10 weeks as a parent

Published by Colin Nanka

Patience 

Newborns have their own schedule and often don’t align with yours. We need to be flexible and patient.

Partnership

Defining roles on what each of you do is key. We are still working on it and have developed some sense of division of tasks. 

Joy

There is nothing that brings more joy than the smile of your child and watching them sleep. I’ve given up a number of things to spend more time doing both. 

Perspective 

When you get to wake up with your child and put them to sleep every night the challenges of the day seem lighter. 

Legacy

I find myself thinking longer term, building the foundation for Tess’s life. 10-year goals help bring perspective to priorities today. 

I’ll share more lessons as they come, I know we have a lot to learn!

Colin

Images are a powerful

Published by Colin Nanka

Why People Think They Can’t Draw

What I have learned over time is that if you put text on a screen or slide and then speak to people, they have a hard time retaining what you are saying. Think about it the next time it happens to you.

It’s difficult to read and listen at the same time!

A friend passed on a great video that shows you how to draw the basics of characters/cartoons on a whiteboard.

Images are a powerful way to communicate your message.

Have some fun learning to draw!

Colin