Ideas, stories, and reflections.

Your next level of confidence will determine your next level of success.  The opportunity is to build up your confidence "reserve" so you can boldly act when you need to next.  

Many people get self-confidence wrong.  They think it's all about endlessly "grinding" forward, burning out, and hoping for the best.  Or that they are not worth good things in life, so why bother trying.  Or that they are special so everything will come easy.  They get surprised when they get stuck and don't continue, because their well has run dry.

Maybe you've felt this way before at some point in your life?  I know I have.  

When I first started training for marathons, I thought I would just run and run and run and it would work out.  I lasted a week before I wanted to give up.  I wasn't confident in my training plan, so I asked around and got ideas from a few friends.  Hal Higdon's "How to Train" book set up what I needed to do to survive the...

Many of my clients and students ask me questions like "I don't understand why I can't finish this project", or "I know I want to change, and I feel stuck in my current job/level of health/relationship".

So many of these folks know a bit about personal development, so it's not a lack of knowledge that prevents them from keeping focused and finishing their goals or dreams.  

They know to change their "state", to remember their "why", to check their negative beliefs and self-talk, and so on.  

In each case, the thing that got them unstuck was something surprising.  What is the surprising thing successful people have to move forward?

Relationships - It's a new relationship, or new perception on an existing relationship.

It's having a coaching relationship that checks in and calls you out when you are inconsistent with your priorities.  It's the relationship that role-models for your children.  It's the relationship with your parents that makes...

Garbage In = Garbage Out, or GIGO.  With so many of my clients and students, it comes down to getting better inputs in their lives so that they can have better outcomes. 

The idea is from systems theory, and can be thought about like this.  You have five buckets in a row.  You will fill the first bucket with water, and when that bucket is filled you will take that bucket and pour it into the next one.  At the end, you pour out the water.

If you start with dirty, unclear water, the chances you will end up with dirty water are high.  If you start with clean water, it's much easier to have clean water at the end.

As a coach and trainer, it's my job to help make sure we start with clean water and keep it clean throughout the process so that you can change your life.  

The common way to make a change goes through five steps:

1. Mindset - Have a positive, open psychology that provides confidence, joy, and engagement in what you do.
2. Plan - Know the big...

We hear about how importance of body strength, your heart, your gut biome, or your liver are to living a healthy life.  But what about taking care of your brain?

Mood, IQ, and decision making are all impacted by brain health.  Besides the obvious don't get hit in the head, what else can we do to make sure our brain is healthy for our families, businesses, and ourselves?

Here are five ideas I use, borrowed from Dr. Daniel Amen and other studies, to take care of my head.  As always, please check with your health professional team before making big changes to your life.

1. Sleep - Try to get 7-9 hrs/night
2. H2O - Try to drink 3-5 liters a day
3. O2 - Try breathing exercises, like Yoga or diaphragm breathing each day
4. Movement - Maintain a healthy, strong body with exercise, stretching and movement each day
5. Food and nutrition - Avoid excessive caffeine, alcohol, and processed foods.    

If you felt less fatigued, made better decisions, had better creativity in your...

Hey!

Ashley and I have been eating Whole30 style, and we are just about three weeks in.  I'm feeling more energetic, clearheaded, happier, and sleeping like a log.  

With so much information out there about food, you might be thinking "How can I tell if this is good information?"

Well, if you are looking to improve your food, I have a few ideas for things to look for in a diet (or lifestyle as the whole30 puts it).

Please, be sure to contact your doctor or nutritionist before changing your diet because this is just one man's humble experience and opinion.

1. Eat more veggies; Mostly leafy greens
2. Eat foods without pesticides, hormones, or other harsh chemicals if you can
3. Drink more water
4. Cut out sugar, because it's in ER'THANG here in the US.  Learn the secret names for sure companies change out to confuse you. (High fructose corn syrup is sugar.). Whole, non juiced fruits are ok.

If you want some cool ideas for recipes that mostly adhere to these, check out the Nom nom...

* This was recorded live this week as I test out some new technology for an upcoming project!

Many times, people have the same struggles that prevent them from growing.  When you know these three common hurdles, you have the power to enable change in your life!  Because then you know how to move forward to get to your dreams and goals.

The three things people struggle with the most are:

• Doubting they can reach or accomplish their dreams and goals
• Delaying when they get started on making things happen in their lives
• Feeling Divided from others by actually working towards their dreams

When in doubt, work and start!

Not feeling like you are enough, like this is what you want, or like it will actually happen can crush you.  If you don't think good things will happen to you by taking action, or that you will fail then it becomes much harder to succeed.  

It comes down to a decision on the kind of person you want to be.  Do you want to be the person...

Have you ever noticed in your life that sometimes you grow more than other times?  This week's blog is all about the number one tool for personal growth - your journal.

Thinking back to the times when I had big changes in my life, I can't imagine making it through without writing my thoughts, feelings, and concerns on paper.  The act liberates your brain to think about solutions, different perspective, and emotions once you know you have your trusty thoughts down in your notebook.

Journalling has helped me train for marathons, change careers, change how I felt day to day (burnt-out to hopeful), among countless other things.

If you are looking to gain some momentum, make a change, or get clarity on your life then you need to up your self-reflection and journaling game.

So what are some important questions to yourself in your journalling practice?  Here are a few of my favorite:

• What went really well today/this week, and why?
• What went really wrong today/this week, and...

Hello!  

This past week I've gotten some questions about high performance from a few different people, and thought to share a few situations I've found high performance helpful.

The framework us certified coaches use are to find heightened and sustained levels of clarity, energy, courage, productivity, and influence to help advance a certain part of your life.

For me, it helped me run my first marathon; I needed to figure out how to train and what to do, generate enough energy to go out and do it, take the bold action to sign up for the Chicago marathon, and get my family and friends onboard to cheer me on through it all!  

Or the time when I quit my corporate gig to start a business.  I needed the claitry to know what I wanted and what I needed to do, the ability to manage the stresses of jumping from a stable paycheck into the unknown, leaving the corporate gig, working on what would make me successful, and convincing people I could help them through my business.

...

Show me your closest 5 friends or associates, and I'll be confident in guessing how you will behave.  The old adage "guilty by association" many times is true.

So, how are you actively building the tribe or community you would be proud to show your friends, family, or the world?

This week's video was inspired by my good friend and coach, Lisa Pezik.  I met Lisa at a networking event a while back, and we hit it off.   She has a wonderful message to help women grow in business, and great energy that is uplifting.  

I had the distinct honor to spend about an hour with her on her podcast (link here) this week, and I absolutely loved it!  If you are on my email list, I'll send you a link this Thursday when it's live.  If you are not on the email list, make sure you sign up so you get the email!

Helping Lisa serve her audience got me thinking about how fortunate I am to help you, and got me thinking about building our tribe even more.

I think it comes down to...

Ever struggle with figuring out if it's time to switch jobs, companies, and/or projects? 

In this video, I share the thought process I would go through with a client on making a big life change.

For those that want a quick summary, here are the five criteria I use to help me evaluate a big move:

1. Will this help me build skills I'll need for the future
2. Will this help me focus on a few things, more?
3. Will letting this go bring me more joy and happiness, or free me up to experience more joy and happiness.
4. Will letting this go help free me to spend more time with family and friends?  Will the new thing prevent me from spending much time with family and friends?
5. Will I have a backup plan if the new thing doesn't work out?  How can I mitigate any risks from ending this project, or starting a new one?

You can rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on each of these questions if you are trying to decide between two opportunities.  The one rated higher is probably the...