All posts filed under: Travel

I don’t like my job

Published by Colin Nanka

Part 3 In her NY Times article and a part-time gig as work friend, Megan Greenwell writes about “How Your Job Will Never Love You Back.” Here are four buckets Megan puts most work anxiety into: My boss annoys me. My co-workers (usually millennials) annoy me. I am dissatisfied with the type of work I do and/or don’t know what to do next. I don’t actually have serious work problems but I am anxious about that. I remember sitting down with one of my early mentors in sales, Rick after a sales call. He was a big burly guy with force and a kind heart. We talked about what I did well and where I could improve. One of the things he picked up for me, that even when I made some mistakes in the sales process, I was intently focused on listening and getting back on track.  It may have been a winding road, but I achieved the objective. Fast forward eight years and in the first couple sessions with my coach I hired, …

Why you could be wild for Wanaka

Published by Colin Nanka

Everyone needs to recharge and restore. I’ve stared 1,000 miles into the abyss of some incredible places. Four incredible deserts, three magnificent mountain ranges and across the blue ice of the last continent, Antarctica. We have seen (and still are on the road!) and experienced some amazing food, culture, wine, and people. New Zealand is absolutely spectacular. Don’t get me wrong, Australia has been a blast. Beautiful sights, people, beaches, sun, food and of course toasted banana bread! There were three times I stopped and just stared in disbelief at the beauty around us and smelled and absorbed as much of it as possible. I could feel a restoration filling my body. Queenstown, Milford Sound, and Wanaka. I grew up near the snow-covered hills, alpine, and mountains, those type of places will always be my place to restore. Blake and I sat at a winery and stared across the crystal blue lake to the green mountains in Wanaka and both said this is one of the most beautiful places we had ever seen. It may …

What do you really love about your job?

Published by Colin Nanka

Get reconnected to why you do what you do on a daily basis is really important. We often start by looking at the barriers, what we don’t like.  When we take time off work to travel somewhere fun, we don’t usually think about how crappy the process of getting there will be, we think of the core of that experience that will bring us joy.   It’s all how you approach the start of your day and what questions you ask yourself.   What do “I” really love about my job?   Colin  

A big adventure deserves a big dinner

Published by Colin Nanka

Almost a decade ago I sat along the Nile river in Egypt celebrating a big adventure. My friends were celebrating the completion, I was celebrating the attempt. Since then, I’ve put a celebration dinner on the day of or after, for any big hairy audacious goal, not only to celebrate the effort but to honor the journey. I’m in Vancouver this weekend running a 50 KM race with a friend. I’ll get to celebrate the journey with him and his wife and another lifelong friend who I ran my first marathon with! Good things come together when you rally the right people about a worthy endeavor. I can’t wait to enjoy the moment during the race and after! Colin

Patience and Growth

Published by Colin Nanka

I heard a story about a Japanese businessman lately where he was giving advice to a mentee who was growing a team.  The mentee was frustrated with how slow his team was learning and his mentor said “you see these bamboo trees in my yard?  The next year when you come to visit they will be one foot higher.” Patience and growth. Have a great weekend. Colin

Five ways paddle boarding contributes to your success

Published by Colin Nanka

Steve was from Singapore originally. He moved to Hawaii with his wife 7 years ago after finishing his career in California. He’s built a burgeoning surf, paddle, and kayak business. Blake and I have both paddled once or twice before but it’s always good to get a refresher. After paddling from our knees through some ocean waves, we got into the calmer bay area where we both stood up. Lesson 1 – a few paddles on each side to get the board moving, stand up, weight equally distributed and in the center of the board or slightly back…and look where you want to go. As we slowly paddled along Steve told us about his family, what he’s learned being in Hawaii and about the different seasons on the north shore. Lesson 2 – Turning. Two ways. Look where you want to go, left, bend your knees and paddle on the right side. An alternative, paddle backward on the same side you want to go. Once you start turning, paddle on the other side to gain …

Three Ways To Power Through A Sales Kickoff

Published by Colin Nanka

Two to three times a year we prepare for Sales Kickoffs and Quarterly Business Reviews!   Everyone on our team is creating content, organizing, scheduling and presenting! There is always high anxiety!   What have I learned? When you are moving from one session, half-day and topic to another, compartmentalize each one, Pivot and Shift. Not all speaking spots will go as planned. One of biggest skills I have acquired in the last 18 months is to reset and reframe midday and turn it around.   What was the biggest difference between good speakers and the absolute best?   Those who were relatable, authentic, well-practiced and start or close with a relevant story.   Colin  

Culture weathers the storm of change

Published by Colin Nanka

We had our Chief Product Officer Bret Taylor join us for a fireside chat in NYC today. He was formally at Google, Board member at Twitter and the CTO at Facebook. One thing he shared today, stood out. The most important factor to weathering the storm of change is culture. He shared an example of Facebook when they needed to reorient their platform towards a mobile strategy when their primary revenue and focus was on the web application. It caused huge disruption and consternation within the company, however, the ability to leverage the bonds between people, the innovative and fast-moving culture pulled them through a very challenging time. Facebook lived in the old offices of Sun Microsystems in Menlo Park. As a symbol for employees to never forgot how quickly technology companies can become irrelevant and to innovate and move fast, he asked to leave the room signs from the old company where they were. 1990’s signs sat there to remind them they were building a new company on the ashes of one that no …

The ONE thing to focus on when times get tough

Published by Colin Nanka

  When you look back on the accomplishments you are most proud of, what were the most challenging moments when you had to find that extra gear in order to overcome?   Here is an example for me.  Night sky Patagonia Argentina – November.  After running four marathons back to back over four days and operating on little sleep and temperatures dropping we had 75 Km ahead of us in one day to complete the race. Sleeping was uncomfortable, it was cold and getting out of your sleeping bag in the middle of the night to water the flowers was not ideal.    Sometimes when you least expect it you find the motivation and opportunity for gratitude – in the middle of the night.    The most incredible stars and night sky over Tronador in the Andes mountain range.    How did I capture this essence going forward?  NOTHING YOU FACE TODAY WILL BE TOUGHER THAN THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ANGUISH OF DAY 5 IN PATAGONIA.   NOTHING.   What is your leverage moment you can focus …