Tips & Insights for Top Performance

1. Set Boundaries  Decide when and where you will check voicemail and e-mail. Limit your time and frequency of checking to one time a day. You are on vacation!

2. Business Cards  Take 100 business cards and pass out along the way. You never know who will be so thankful that your paths crossed. A great habit is to pass out 5 cards a day, and while you are on vacation let your journey take your card distribution into new territories!

3. Cd’s and Tapes  There are so many motivational and educational tapes you can listen to as you drive, fly and relax. This is a great time to soak in new information or review old information. You are on vacation, so don’t act on it; just savor it!

4. Books  Take one book and really get it read! Rather than packing five that you “hope to get to,” be serious about one and enjoy reading it.

5. Ideas  Before you go, pick something you would like to discover or get new ideas about. Take the questions with you as conversation starters and gather information from those around you. Pick their brains. They have great ideas and you might be able to glean new resources and information that will be greatly applicable when you return.

6. Perspective  Look at your business from a new perspective. Look at your business from the framework of relaxing on the beach, enjoying the breathtaking mountains, etc. What is possible here? What can you take from this view and apply to or bring into your business?

7. Explore  Look at phone books, ads, posters and businesses around you. Check out the needs and saturation of your market. Is your vacation spot your next target area?

8. Focus  Evaluate your goals and progress. Where have you been and what do you want? Revise your goals and set new ones. While you are away from the office it is a great time to do some longer “thinking” activities that you do not have time for when you are in the chaos and rush of normal schedules and business life!

9. Journal  Spend some time just writing down and capturing your ideas. What are you learning and noticing? What do you want to do differently when you get back? Brainstorm something new. Write a top ten to keep your mind sharp. Writing is powerful. Even if you never look at the entry again, there is an amazing connection in the act of writing thoughts down and remembering them later!

10. Keep Motivation Pieces  Look for an item (postcard, picture, souvenir, etc.) that is motivational to take back with you into your working day. Bring your trip and the inspiration from it back with you!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Why have passion? Is it possible that everyone has a passion or are some people just more “emotional”?

Passion is seen as you look out into the world and selflessly allow yourself to be an instrument, using your gifts and talents. As you do this, you will begin to see your reflection and therefore more readily identify your passion. After you identify your passion, by experiencing the lit fire inside, you are able to focus in and use those gifts and talents more – your purpose and passion are united and drive the most fulfilling adventure of your life!

The reward of living a life of passion is incredible! Once you have tasted it, you will crave for its return. It is an amazing overflowing of your heart, body, mind and soul. You have energy, direction, purpose and focus. As humans we all want this, but sometimes it seems too hard to achieve, so we give up, and decide to just enjoy what life gives us.

“What life gives us?” I ask. Don’t be fooled, we are not here on earth to be floating down a river on an inner tube, just passively taking in what life has to offer. You will not find passion in that inner tube. You might hit some rapids and get a little taste of it here and there, however if you want to know what living a life of passion means and is, you have to go look for it.

Life can dish out some hard knocks, tough lessons, challenges and adversity. How you handle those are up to you. You see, there is a quote that states, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do with it.” The more you can look at life as a lesson, something to learn from and a gift, the happier you will be. The more you are living in your purpose and passion, the easier it is to see things from this perspective. Do you want to have this synergy in your heart, body, mind and soul? Do you want to be content, overflowing with joy and being of value to the world?

Jack Finds Passion
Jack became tired of stumbling through life. He did some investigation and found out a few things: he enjoys the outdoors, being invigorated by the fresh air, strategic thinking, and intellectualizing. Earlier in life, when he was playing golf he was engaging a few of these passions, an appreciation of nature, strategic thinking, and intellectualizing. He had stopped playing golf because of a lack of time. The irony is that after picking the hobby back up, he seems to have more time and energy.

At work, he also noticed that his job had become dull because he was not reading the statistical reports like he did when he had first started his job. Back then, when he read the reports, it motivated him and got him excited about driving strategies that would save the company time and money. So, he started reading the reports again and found himself more engaged at work. The momentum helped him do things faster, be more positive and actually finish up on time many days so that he could get home to his kids.

Since Jack was getting home on time, there was a little break before dinner when he could go outside and play with the kids: he loved throwing the ball and teaching little Jake how to ride his bike! It even inspired him to equip the family to embrace Saturday morning rides on the local park trail.

As Jack realized that his passions were being outside in nature, using his intellectual abilities and creating solutions and strategies, he found that these same things showed up in every area of life. It was exciting and compelling! He was happy, fulfilled and had found a synergy in every area of his life.

You now know what passion is. You now know the benefit of inviting passion into your life. Take the time to explore your personal passions and to integrate them in your life. Passion is a phenomenal gift. If you want to LIVE life to the fullest and enjoy it along the way, take time to discover your passions. Put them into your daily life. You will find you have time for everything you did before and more.

There once was a man, Jack, who worked very hard in his job. He had gone to school in an area of interest and got a job working in a similar industry. He found a good wife and they had 3 wonderful children. Life was good in his adult years, but he found himself feeling like he was just on the treadmill of life. He got up every morning, he went to a job that he liked but where he longed for a break, some type of long awaited vacation. He had lost most of his hobbies, due to the time restraints of working many hours at his job, balanced with trying to take care of and spend time with his family. The dreams Jack had talked about in his youth (traveling, starting his own business, becoming an armature golfer, winning fantasy football, etc.) were still in the back of his mind, but only faintly. Jack had a successful life by America standards (income, job, home, family, etc), but he did not jump out of bed in the morning: he did not have a spring in his step and he seemed to carry a high level of stress. In general he was happy, but not HAPPY.

This is a story of a man with a great life, but of a man who is lacking PASSION.

What is passion?
Webster defines passion as “a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.”

I define it as: Passion is an internal subconscious emotional calling that fuels the perspective, focus and actions you take as you live life and fulfill your purpose in life.

Passion is not obvious, unlike the ability to throw a football, being a gifted musician or a talented craftsman, or living as an amazing inventor. Passion is not on a conscious level, something that you are thinking about daily and noticing. Passion is more “energetic” in nature and therefore hard to see.

People say they are passionate about their kids, families, hobbies, etc. While these are all admirable, I would say these are interests that bring joy and pleasure. They may also be the tip of your passion or an indicator of your passion. While passion is a common word to describe an emotional state of liking something a lot, the passion we are talking about here is a much bigger concept. Here, it is about the core attributes that drive you and get you excited about life and living.

It is also important to recognize that people often confuse passion with purpose. As I see it, purpose is the vehicle that you ride because of your passion: your purpose is what you do (ex. Playing sports, writing music, reading literature, or parenting.). Passion is the fuel and energy that you use to drive: passion is how you are fueled (ex. by creativity, by problem solving, or by helping people).

Passion is the internal fire burning inside you as a result of using your natural gifts, talents and purpose here on earth. You have passion before you use it, but it is like a match unlit. Passion gets lit when you use your gifts, talents and purpose and results in personal fulfillment and “life in the flow,” where everything works together and every area of your life is filled with joy, contentment, and synergy.

2.  Set filters for each of your Essential Eight areas. You want to list your Essential Eight in order of priority, and set a filter for each (take the purpose/goal for each area and then be clear on what fits and what does not). Take special note of the proportion each area is getting. If priority one is family, two is work, three is health, and you have committed 100% to work, with no time allotted for family or for personal care, several negative things will happen. Your health will suffer, which will then jeopardize your physical ability to complete your work. Your family will also interrupt and demand superhuman feats for you to squeeze their needs onto your already full plate. These filters will help you discern to what things you need to say “No” to in order to maintain balance.

3.  Evaluate what is on your plate. Considering each of the Essential Eight areas and your priorities, determine what your needs are. Do you need it or not? Consider your balance so you have some big projects (meat), some personal care (veggies), some daily necessities (good grain/fillers), and a hobby/fun thing (dessert). These are the things to which you are saying “Yes!”

4.  Say “No” to the things that do not meet your filters. These may be the least important things on your list, or new things that come up in your life. Remember that whenever you say “Yes” to something you are saying “No” to something else. If you say “Yes” to a weekend project at work, you are saying “No” to your family time that weekend (You may not have to specifically tell your family “No” but that will be the result). If you say “Yes” to volunteer at the evening carnival, you are saying “No” to your workout, which could result in your being more tired and lethargic, and therefore less productive the next day.

When you say “No” you have more power to say “Yes” to what is important. Remember that “No” can mean “Never,” but it can also mean, “No, not right now.” Let yourself have some space to do what is important. You will experience the power of balance and boundaries, which will result in you being more effective and productive. You will enjoy less stress and more peace with your life.

We are in a season in which activities and demands are picking up. There are more schedules to manage and more pulls on our time. In general, we want to be helpful and accommodating to people. As a result, we hate to say “No.” People often do anything to avoid this word: We will avoid people, redirect conversations, make excuses, be non-committal, or simply say “Yes” to things we know we will have a hard time following through on. The reality of the situation is that we simply cannot do everything. When we keep saying “Yes” to things, we are adding on more stuff to our plate, which causes stress, frustration, and an overwhelmed feeling. Even though we would like to answer “Yes” to everything, in order to have a peaceful life that contains quality, balance and basic sanity; we must learn how to say “No.”

How do you do it? When you say “Yes” to a new activity, you have to say “No” to remove something else that is already on your full plate. Here is how:

1. Be clear on your priorities and what is important. If you are not clear, you will not have a compelling reason to say “No” when you feel drawn to accept a new item on your plate. Try to strike a balance with the Essential Eight: family, friends, work, health, budgeting, fun, physical space (home, office, car), and personal growth (spiritual, educational, personal development). For example, for family, you could commit to spending five hours a day taking care of your family and making sure their needs are met, and for work you could commit to spending eight hours a day working on projects that produce an income of $5000/month in order to provide for your family.

Many people feel so busy they think they just don’t have time for a day off. They keep working hard, day after day. Motivational speaker, Brian Tracy, encourages people to take a FULL day off where they do not think about work at all. The benefit of this allows your brain to rest and recharge. After time off you will be more productive than if you keep trying to push it. If you do not take a break, your brain will move slower and not be efficient. This slow time and mistakes will eat up relaxation time you could have enjoyed.

Do not only take a day off, but engage in a fun hobby or downtime activity. When people take time to do their hobbies, they are even more energized, fulfilled and motivated to work hard. There is a new energy and life when people are doing things that they are passionate about and love. They seem to work faster in the job so they can be rewarded with a little spare time for a prized hobby. Has it been so long since you had a hobby, you don’t feel like you have one?

Action:

• Decide what day you can take off 100%. (This will not be perfect, but aim for this).
• Clear your calendar; tell people you are booked (appointment with yourself or family) and only put personal things on that day.
• Determine a hobby that you would like to do that you really enjoy. Often this is something that you have not done in years (play instrument, woodworking, etc.) Dust off the old tools and use that skill.
• Make time to do this hobby at least 2 hours a week.
• Watch how your energy is renewed.