5 Things Learned This week!

Warm Up

What would you say if you found out your favorite sports team did warm up before a huge rivalry game? I know that I would be upset, especially if they ended up losing that game. But isn't it funny that most of us do not warm up in life? We play life cold!

This past week I was doing some preliminary work for a speaking engagement and I quickly became frustrated by the amount of time it was taking me to prepare. As I sat thinking of stories, examples, jokes and phrases that would capture my audience, it hit me... I wasn't giving myself enough time to warm up to the process of being creative. I was trying to jump straight into my talk without warming up my creative process! I was expecting amazing results without warming up.

I took a break and refocus my efforts. I gave myself more time to warm up and I rid myself of all distractions. After an hour of working, I started to feel myself get in the grove... I was warmed up! What followed was pure gold, but I had to warm up first.

I find myself doing this often, starting an activity without a preliminary warm up and getting frustrated when the results are subpar or they don't come fast enough. Whether we are talking about speaking, sales, relationship or your day to day job... Find time to warm up. There is a reason why athletes spend time stretching and warming up! It prevents injury, it prevents burnout, but most importantly it helps them perform at their peak levels. Prepare yourself for success! How will you stretch and warm up before you next life Match?

"I practice every day, I warm up before I play" ~ Travis Barker

The Decision Matters

Have you found that we make the worst nutritional decisions when it is late a night? I discovered this last weekend. I had dropped off a group of people to go on a 90's boat dance party around 10:30pm when I found myself getting hungry. As I drove home I passed multiple restaurants where I could have stopped eat a "decent" meal. I could have even stopped at the local grocery store... However there was one thing that I wanted more than anything...

You guessed it, those Golden Arches. There wasn't even one on the drive home! I proceeded to drive past my home to find this guilty pleasure. Now, I must admit to you that I do not buy fast food often. In fact, the last time I visited a McDonalds was over 2 years ago and I was reminded why it had been so long...

For the past few years I have really made it a point to be careful about the fuel I put in my body, however this weekend was an exception. The food in the moment was good. It satiated my hunger... But what I didn't expect was the massive food hangover the next morning. 

The pain I felt in my stomach the next morning was unreal! I woke up with a splitting headache and my entire body was aching!  You see in the moment, everything was great... It usually isn't until later that we find out how bad of a decision we made. So what is the lesson? No matter what, stick healthier food options... The McDonalds Hangover is not worth it!

What is your pleasure that gives you a hangover? Are you ready to try something new with better results?

Teams Are Required

Have you ever been apart of a team where you felt like it was a family? It was great in the beginning and in what seems like an instant, someone... or the entire team betrays your trust. This can leave a bad taste in your mouth and it causes us to stay clear of teams.

For the past 6 years, I have had other entrepreneurs ask me to partner with them for speaking engagements and other opportunities. However I was reluctant to partner with others because I didn't want to be stabbed in the back again.

A few weeks ago, a coach whom i didn't know, asked if I would be willing to help with an event that she was putting on. I agreed to help, even though I had my reservations. I said yes because I know that you cannot become great if you do not have a team. You cannot make a difference if you can't rely on people.

Well our event was this past week... IT WAS WONDERFUL! There is such a thrill to be apart of a team that is making a difference.

If you have been hurt by partnering with people in the past... Can I encourage you to take another chance? I promise you, the REWARD is worth the RISK every time!

Create Levity!

I started playing on a volleyball team this last year, and one thing I know about myself is that I DO NOT like to lose! But there is one thing that I hate more than losing and that is NOT having fun. This past week I was reminded of this when we were demolishing our opponents. They weren't having fun and neither was our team!

So I did what only I can do... I started to crack jokes... I let my crazy side out. By the time we had finished our matches, we were having such a good time that we decided to keep playing. But here is the kicker... We divided our teams up and played as hybrid teams. It was fantastic!  Not only did my team enjoy the game, the other team wanted to keep playing with us!

Did we win our matches? Yes... But most importantly everyone had fun throughout the process because we could laugh and have fun. Do you create levity for people? I never realized that this was a gift of mine until this last week, and I know moving forward I will continue to insert it into every aspect of my life! Levity Lightens Our Hearts Hard!

"Take the utmost trouble to find the right thing to say, and then say it with the utmost levity." ~ George Bernard Shaw 

The Power Of Words

I am reminded this week of how powerful our words are. We have the ability to build people up or burden them down. Never has this been so apparent this week as I was able to pour into the lives of quite a few people. Without going into the details, I told someone this week that I believed in them... "When you don't have enough belief in yourself, call me and borrow my belief in you!"

Personally I know what it means to borrow someone else's belief in you, because I am a product of other's beliefs. If you feel alone... That you don't think you can keep going on with your job, a relationship, ____________...  I BELIEVE IN YOU! Keep moving forward! It is not the most talented people who end up winning or being significant in life... Many times it is the person who gets up one more time than they fall down.

Get up! People are watching you and I BELIEVE IN YOU!