Latest Posts

Three ways to reset the day

Published by Colin Nanka
Two weeks ago my week flowed smoothly. I was happy with it. Last week roared up and down like a 6 flags roller coaster. One day good, one day full of angst and frustration.  The same day after day. It was frustrating. 
 
How can we reset?
 
Here are three ways that work for me:
 
1. Put the technology down and carve out 5-10 minutes to close my eyes and just breathe. Count to 10 breaths repeat. Reset.
 
2. Get outside and go for a walk. Put the technology away and just breathe in fresh air. 
 
3. Close the computer, iPhone early, and go to bed early. It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep will do. Begin again.
 
Bonus if I can read for 20 minutes before bedtime. I sleep better and wake even more refreshed. 
 
We are all better being present together. 
 
Defeating Average.
 
Colin

Who is in your guest house?

Published by Colin Nanka

I was reading a poem by Rumi this weekend. It reminds all of us to be with whatever is brought to us, in joy or challenge, fear, or frustration. Accept the road ahead, we are all on our own journey. 

What can I be grateful for today?

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.

meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

 

— Jellaludin Rumi,

 

We are all in this together. 

Defeating Average.

Colin

 

Every day is the same 

Published by Colin Nanka

Many people have shared this sentiment. I feel it too.

We are all watching endless Netflix series, navigating the same challenges with our children, or missing connections with friends.

The world can feel kind of drab.

However, there has never been a more important year to stand for equality and to turn society around. To build that inner resilience for the winter that is coming…and the next time this virus rears its ugly head.

Times are tough. Tougher for some more than others.

If you are doing ok, reach down and help somebody out. It will feel good and they will appreciate it.

If you need a hand, reach up. We’ve all been there. I’ve been there.

Two questions for you.

What brings me energy?

What brings me life?

Sprinkle that into your days going forward.

Make every day full of the same life and energy.

We are better together.

Colin

Let the piano keys do the talking

Published by Colin Nanka

I was watching my wife play the piano with our daughter Tess recently. We were in Hyannis Port at a friend’s house. She hasn’t played in a while but it didn’t take her long to get reacquainted. She felt out the keys and then played something simple that Tess could try and follow along.

I’ve also seen her play beside people who play the Piano well and she plays at a more complex level. She has the feel and muscle memory based on the situation.

It had me thinking about how we lead people or how we lead without title.

When you play at the beginner level, putting two or three keys together,

you may use one skill in conversion.

You learn through practice different key combinations for another skill and soon you have options.

With much practice instead of thinking what key combination or skill am I going to use in this conversation, you look at the person in the eye, and listen to what they need.

Then you let your hands find the right keys for the moment, the right questions, seeking to understand and playing along with them.

We are better together.

Defeating Average.

Colin

You are about to gain momentum

Published by Colin Nanka

Have you ever started something you thought was going to be fun and exciting and all of sudden you lose interest or momentum?

I have. We all have. 

I had an attendee of a talk ask recently: 

“I used to be in really good shape and want to get back into the classes I took. Every time I think about getting started, I stall. How do you stick with it?”

Accountability, Acceptance, and Gaining Momentum. 

Everyone hits a pothole on the way to a goal or a full out wall. It’s ok. It’s how you recover and pull on the rope and climb over or walk around it. 

In order to keep committed to a goal (working out, doing yoga, painting, reading, or any other hobby) you need three things. 

Accountability 

  • DWYSYWD (do what you say you will do)
  • Have accountability partners that will keep you on target 
  • Action: Create an accountability texting group

Acceptance

  • Think through the obstacles you are going to encounter, visualize your way through and you will be halfway to your goal 
  • When things get hard, how will I push through?
  • Action: Answer question above

Momentum 

  • To get started now, email two friends on what you want to achieve and ask them to hold you accountable 
  • Action: Write down “why” this goal is important to you and have it handy for any time you get stuck. 

It takes a support team to achieve anything worthwhile. Leverage them. 

We are all in this together. 

Defeating Average.

Colin

Pedal Power and the Fly Wheel

Published by Colin Nanka

I heard a great description on my peloton ride the other day. 

“You get your power at three and five O’Clock as you push, not at six O’Clock.” 

Similar I thought, at nine and eleven on the clock when you pull up through (in clipped shoes).

To me, the three and five is like the momentum we get with the right daily practice (Breathe, Dream, Move) before we actually start our first meeting in the morning (like the six position on the clock). 

Without being mindful, setting your intention for the day, and moving the body to tap into your inner wisdom, you are starting the day cold. 

If you don’t warm the body and mind, you may miss the momentum to accelerate and spin the flywheel…through lunch, and the mid-afternoon doldrums.

You may need to resent and start from scratch.

An early afternoon mindful minute or getting outside for a walk and breath of fresh air, keeps the flywheel going. 

We are in this together. 

Defeating Average. 

Colin

When the student is ready the teacher will appear

Published by Colin Nanka
“When the student is ready the teacher will appear” has been attributed to Buddha and other theologists.
What does this mean to me?
When the student is ready to acknowledge his or her ego has been in the way and are ready to set it aside with a laser-focus and pivot to a growth mindset, the teacher will appear.
When you are not open to learning or feel like you know all the answers, the real answers will stay clouded and out of reach.
The student may realize that the answers are everywhere at every moment and so many people can be teachers.
In order to crush the average inside stay open to be teachable, coachable, and receptive to learning when you least expect it.
We are all struggling with something right now.
Keep taking one small step forward each day in this anxiety-ridden and challenging marathon of life.  
 
We are in this together.
 
Defeating Average.
 
Colin

 

Something good is about to happen

Published by Colin Nanka

Optimism is scientifically proven to be a differentiator between long term sustained excellence and sporadic success.

If you can’t envision slightly above the horizon on where you are currently pointed, how do you expect to get there?

Creating a written vision that you review daily helps manifest it happening. I review mine every morning, in addition to the obstacles I need to overcome to get there. Visualizing success gets you halfway to your goal. 

It’s 5 minutes a day as part of my morning routine. 

It took me a few hours to create it over a few coffees. 

When you are clear on the vision and optimistic on the target, you are more likely to land the plane.

Defeating Average.

Colin

Why you should give your secret sauce away

Published by Colin Nanka

After 10 years of selling, I had figured a few things out. I had a process I followed what was working. Like a good BBQ sauce, I felt I had a recipe that was successful.

Then one day it stopped working. I hit the financial crisis in 2008 and the way companies were buying changed. I didn’t pivot fast enough and had a rough year. 

I also didn’t put up my hand and ask for help. I went it alone. 

What did I take away from that year?

People didn’t want BBQ sauce anymore. They wanted almond butter and I didn’t have a recipe. 

In addition, if I had brought my BBQ sauce to the potluck party earlier and shared while it was in style, others would have shared their recipes back. I may have avoided a big slide.

What am I saying?

The selling world is complex. 

If you give your secret sauce or go to nuggets away freely you are likely to get five to ten in return. 

Ones that will keep you on the right side of bear and bull markets.

Don’t hoard the sauce. 

We are all in this together. 

Defeating Average.

Colin

Two questions to narrow your career focus

Published by Colin Nanka
I was talking to a friend recently and they shared two questions they recommend when coaching people on finding the bullseye for their next role in a company or job transition.
What gives you energy?
What brings you life?
Doing what you are good at, where you have strength and passion is a good place to start.
Often, we need other people to help raise our gaze up to 30K feet above the clouds and daily monotony to see clearly.
I find writing the answers to these types of questions down and journaling against them for two weeks will give you the insight you are looking for.
Defeating Average.
Colin