All posts filed under: mentoring

6 ways to grow through immersion

I went for a visit to my physio therapist last week.  I’m still working on the ankle rehab from an injury I sustained prior to my Antartica adventure. The good news is, it’s much better and I have started running a couple times per week.  There is no pain while running, but in the morning it still feels stiff. I see a great Physical therapist named Shawn for treatment for the first half-hour and in the second half-hour I work with a functional movement expert named James on strength. We focus on healing the ankle, and strengthening hips, glutes, hamstrings, quads and calves.  Often injury comes from a weakness in one of these areas, so we are trying to be proactive. James is a teacher and has a great method of training. He tells me the area we are going to focus on and why. He models the exercise and breaks it down to its basic components He creates a goal in each set, and has me focus on feeling and firing a specific muscle …

The Oracle of Omaha

Sometimes, mentors can take the form of people you’ll likely never get the chance to meet face to face. For me and millions of others, one of those people is the great Warren Buffett. The “Oracle from Omaha” is long revered as one of the world’s wealthiest and most brilliant business men. He’s also the most humble and giving. In 2009, he partnered with Bill Gates to form The Giving Pledge, a campaign to implore the world’s wealthiest to give away the majority of their wealth and devote it to projects that help those less fortunate. For as successful as Buffett is today, he had to overcome some big missteps and obstacles in order to get there. His family moved at a young age from Omaha to Washington, D.C. leaving his friends behind His grades took a dip and he started racking up Bs and Cs He ran away with a couple friends and was picked up by the local sheriff He was turned down by Harvard for his MBA   As he shares in …

10 Challenges To Get Unstuck From Your Rut

Sometimes, no matter how well life seems to be going, you get stuck in a rut. Much like a tire getting stuck in the mud, the more you press on the pedal, the deeper you get—stuck in the apathy, powerlessness and ickiness of a good ol’ fashioned rut. It’s ok. It happens to the best of us! So, what do you do now? How do you shift the gears to get unstuck? Here are 10 challenges to get you pointed in another direction, revving your emotional engine, and hopefully on your way, to driving out of that rut. 1. Connect with someone that you haven’t spoken to in at least three years. It can be personal or professional (but if what ails you is personal, make it an old friend. If it’s a professional rut, make it a former colleague, mentor or someone whose work your respect). Talking to someone who knows you, but doesn’t have preconceived notions of where you are now in your life, helps give you a new perspective on why you’re …

Inspiration and Connection

How many inspiration meetings do you have in your calendar in the next two weeks? Friends, colleagues, customers, partners, mentors. People you know will propel you forward. I always plan to have at least three people who inspire me per week, and if I can get 4-5 it’s a golden week.  Take a look at the road ahead and see if inspiration is in your future.  

Perfect day

I once new a Channel Partner, Karen, who concluded her voice mails and emails with “make it a great day” or “create a great day.” I always thought it sounded funny.  Karen worked hard, had a great sales team and was very successful.  It had me thinking recently of comparing my expectations for the day vs how it turns out.  The more I plan the better it is.  I have learned to be mindful and intentional in creating the experience of my day. It certainly doesn’t always go as planned. The more I focus on the potential of what they could be, versus  a lone sail in the wind, the more they turn out positively.  So I’ve been thinking of how I create the perfect day.  If it was truly perfect it would include steak or pizza!  On a regular basis, here is what I plan for, starting the week or night before.  Evening before Lay clothes out for work  Lay clothes out for run or workout  Pack any food taking to work  Zzzzz sleep  …

Best of May – 4 Critical Themes of Leadership

In this recap of May the theme is what makes a great leader.     Two articles and two podcasts that highlight four areas crucial to being a leader.   Emotional intelligence Building Trust Living with passion, risk and chance Understanding your audience and how to talk to them   Sounds like worth the intake?   1. 10 Habits of Likable Leaders – If you want to be a leader whom people follow with absolute conviction, you have to be a likeable leader.    2. What being a trusted advisor means to leaders – The Seven skills explaining what that actually means.   3. Tim Ferris – Phil Keoghan Episode – The Magic of Bucket Lists from the host of the Amazing Race.   4. Donald Miller Story Brand Podcast – Ian Cron—Can the Enneagram Make You a More Effective Leader.  Understanding how people think.     Whether May served you well or not, June is a brand new month.   Dig in.    

Sometimes you need to see the proof

If I have learned one thing from leaders and mentors over 20 years you can relate it to this: Ice Berg Theory 80% of the hard work is below the water line and you often only see the fluffy 20% above. I was watching an Instagram video of an Olympic athlete last week and she highlighted her morning routine. There are some components my physiotherapists have been recommending for years around flexibility, warm up, and balance.  It really clicked for me. She does this every single morning without fail.  Am I that accountable on this area? The answer was no. If it’s that important, which right now it is.  It must get done. It had me thinking of past business examples as leaders modeled the way so I could see the hard work under the water line. That is when it clicks for me. What about you? Have you wondered how your peer got the promotion when you think you deserved it? Have you thought about how a rising star spends their evenings or weekends? …

Who Packed Your Socks?

What does onboarding employees have to do with packing socks? My wife was gracious enough to help me pack for my recent trip to Toronto.  I had some good prep to get done, wanted to get a work out in Sunday morning and get some quality time in with her before I left. It was really helpful to “refill” my duffel suitcase while I got other things done.  She is a much better packer than me and having less wrinkles in pants and shirts when I arrive is always appreciated. She asked me a couple questions on what I wanted included, certain shoes and shirts for workouts, pants and shoes for work. I am sure you, like me have favorite things you like to have with you.  For me, its thicker socks that are soft and more comfortable, 2-3 lulu lemon shirts that are good for wearing under sweaters. As I unpacked my bag and searched through the bag for the shirts and socks as I put things away I was surprised I could not find …