All posts filed under: Health & Wellness

My Interview on Netflix – Cheating Death

Published by Colin Nanka

I had an interview earlier this year for a show called “A User’s Guide For Cheating Death” and episode 6 focused on mindfulness, well-being and how people cope with life in a stressful world.    My example is how I used mindfulness to cope with anxiety in Ultra races and how that can translate back into life. My part is 30 minutes in and I encourage you to watch the whole episode as Timothy Caufield travels all over the world to find experts who have the answer.   Enjoy.   Colin  

10 minutes of this per day will make you better

Published by Colin Nanka

As I heard Tony Robbins say recently, “the mind is like a kite on the end of a string, and where everything starts is with breath. Control your breathing, you control how the kite flies.” We wake up each day, with the chance to start fresh, through your first few breaths. Be intentional about how you start it, instead of letting it happen to you! The holiday (Canada Day and Independence Day!) week is a good time to reflect. Even if you have a family, what you do for yourself impacts how you can support the rest of the team. As they say in case of emergency, “put your own oxygen mask on first!” I spend the first 20-30 min of each day meditating. Successful people I know spend at least 10 min asking themselves questions related to gratitude or visualizing what success will look like in the day. Whatever your method, make sure you are taking care of yourself first! Colin

6 things I learned while on Paternity

Published by Colin Nanka

1. There is nothing like the birth of a child!  We are blessed to have a healthy baby girl, Tess Gertie Nanka. Getting to spend the first three weeks of her life together as a family has meant everything to me. See pictures of our adventures with Tess (so far) here on Instagram 2. I have gained a huge appreciation for how hard moms work!  I appreciate my partner, Blake, more than ever. She is an amazing mother and a resilient and inspiring human being. I’ll work very hard to tell her that. 3. You can integrate your child into many things.  I start most mornings with meditation. But now, my morning meditation comes second to Tess’s morning feed. I am learning to be more flexible and even try and incorporate some after-feeding quiet time with Tess into my meditation practice. I don’t always win, but I try. 4. Exercise has been important to me and will always be important. As sleepless nights and responsibilities prevail, I made it a priority to get at least 20 minutes of exercise per day. Take …

7 days of Tess

Published by Colin Nanka

Wow, what a difference a week makes.  For those of you who haven’t seen the IG Posts, we welcomed a healthy bouncing baby girl into the world last weekend, Tess Gertie Nanka.  I decided (or so it happened) to wait until a little bit later in life to get married and have a child.  I was still learning about myself (and always will be). I’ve been on a journey to see the world, test myself, meet and learn from incredible people.  I’ve always wanted to be ready. I guess you become ready when it happens.  As I turn 44 this year, I have never been more ready. If not now, when? There is a new layer of accountability that has snapped in, to do what is necessary to make sure she is happy.  Who knew one of my new favorite activities would be to just watch her sleep.  A new journey is upon us. It doesn’t mean the other will stop, it’s just on hiatus for a little while until they come together as one.  The …

I’m leaving my position tomorrow

Published by Colin Nanka

  …to start a new journey. Fatherhood. Feeling really grateful and fingers crossed everything goes as planned we’ll have a bouncing baby girl Nanka join the world this weekend. I truly appreciate Salesforce’s support of taking time off to fully immerse in the experience. I turn 44 in July and have been on many rewarding adventures across the globe over the last decade. This will the most rewarding yet. I’ll be offline from work for three weeks, so if you want to keep up with our going’s on, FB and IG will the place to be. I may pop a blog in here or there or just queue them up for when I return! Have a great weekend. Colin  

Three Pieces of Wisdom From Kyle Maynard That Will Make You Better

Published by Colin Nanka

Kyle Maynard is the best selling author, entrepreneur and ESPY award-winning mixed martial artist athlete and the first quadruple amputee to climb Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua. On failure:   “The best way I can describe the feeling of overcoming failure is the Finnish word – SISU – the mental strength to continue to try even after you have reached the limits of your abilities.”   Advice for new professionals:   “Follow your bliss.  Happiness is just above status quo, bliss is your feeling of freedom standing on top of a mountain or laying back in a catamaran halfway around the world.”   On saying no:   A CEO friend of his asks his people to rate candidates for hire as 1-10 on potential and they cannot choose 7.  That lesson has helped him make better decisions on incoming projects and requests.   Excerpt from Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferris    Advice to live by.   Colin  

Three reasons to stress test the system

Published by Colin Nanka

Eighteen months ago I sprained my ankle before a big race in Antarctica.  I healed it enough to make it through the race.  It took a bunch of rehab through 2017 and was aggravated again in Patagonia in the fall and this spring in Vancouver.   As I start my 2018 journey in less than a week…Baby girl Nanka joining the world, I am focused on long-term rehab and healing this nagging injury.   As I gingerly and proactively stretch the tendons, my trainer explained to me when you went over on it last year you applied at least 2-3 times your body weight of force.    You need to build it back up to withstand competitive stress.   Is there something in your game that needs stress testing?   Three things I am focused on:   Strengthen the tendons Stretch and stress the tendons  Rest and let the body repair Always be strengthening the foundation.   Colin   

How to invest in relaxed intensity

Published by Colin Nanka

“Competition does not cause anxiety. Any emotional reaction…getting supercharged, displaying team emotional spirit excessively…is an indulgence that could distract and reduce levels of energy so needed for success. You need to not display contrived emotions, it’s what teams do when their self-doubt needs an artificial boost. If you know yourself and your opponent…objectives, and motivations…then all the hoopla is unnecessary.” – Deng Ming-Dao, Tao Wisdom Frustration is natural when navigating the choppy seas of business change, within high anxiety arenas and that uncertain and pivotal fork in the road. Those who detach from the outcome and control what they can control are calm,  reserved, and prevail.  Can you protect and harness the energy source, even though the fire may rage within?  This is relaxed intensity.  It applies to both coaches (managers) and athletes (individual contributors).  Has a friend of yours every broken a tennis racket or golf club? It’s not technical skill but presence, and ability to connect with emotions of passion, courage, and belief that override anxiety. Exercise  Identify specific positive emotions you have on the …

Three reasons why you are failing as a leader

Published by Colin Nanka

1. You are insincere 2. You are not reliable 3. You are not competent This is the trifecta of building trust with people you manage, serve or partner with. If anyone one of the three is deficient you will have a communication breakdown. You can be a brilliant and competent leader and push your team hard, walk the talk and get the job done – and yet if you are insincere it’s like having an oil leak in your car. You can be sincere, treat your people well, know your role and coach well and yet not match what you preach in action and not do what you say you will do…and your team is like a semi-trailer truck with a flat tire and your trailer is swinging wildly on the road. You can be kind, fun, caring, follow up tightly on team requests and administratively do what is required as a manager. If you can’t model the way in the role for your people before you ask them to do it and sweat the …

How strong are your weak ties

Published by Colin Nanka

I recall a mentor of mine 10 years ago telling me about this new online tool called linked in. “He said this will help you build your network. Look through your inbox and outbox every weekend and meaningfully and personally connect with people you want to help and get to know better.” As David Burkus and Ryan Hawk talk about in this great podcast, spending a couple years building the foundation of your network long term will accelerate your ability to connect and leverage. If you do the work now and consistently, people down the road will come to you. Hear about how dormant ties, weak ties and creating clusters will supercharge building what you are passionate about. Colin