life Archives - Page 2 of 2

A Navy SEAL’s 4 tips to boost mental toughness

Mental Strength – Amazing post on mindbodygreen, an absolute must-read:

I’ve had a 20-year career as a Navy SEAL, 30 years of martial arts training and more than 15 years of yoga practice and teaching to warriors. If there is anything I can teach you, it’s how important your mental strength is, over any physical ability you may possess. The mantra of mind over body is true — you can do anything if you set your mind to it. Here are a few tips to help you build mental toughness, the body strength comes later:

1. Focus on yourself first.

Self-awareness is a place to start building what I call your “unbeatable mind.” Greater self-awareness will help us avoid making the same mistakes over and over, and allow us to get aligned for serious forward momentum.When I was younger, I was a daydreamer. If you asked me to describe what my future looked like, I would have given you a blank stare. This is not uncommon.A journal is a good place to establish self-awareness. Even if it’s just 10 minutes a day, find a quiet place where you can avoid disruptions. Do some deep breathing to center yourself and then spend some time candidly reflecting on who you are and where you are in your life. Do this every day and build it into a reliable habit, like brushing your teeth.

2. Figure out your purpose.My investigation into integrated training and optimal performance propelled journeys into CrossFit, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Pranayama, remote viewing, visualization, mindfulness meditation, Apache Sacred Silence, Tibetan mantras, Ninjutsu, and San Soo / SCARS.All of these practices had a large impact on my worldview, the way my mind works, and my performance benefited because of it all. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help determine if you’re on the right or wrong path:

What have you been conditioned to think you’re supposed to do with your life?
What do you think you are really supposed to do with your life?
What do you feel you are really supposed to do with your life?
Is there a tiny voice of doubt deep within you suggesting you are on the wrong track?
Is that same voice nudging you forward with the sensation that you are on the right track?
What ONE thing do you think you are here for? What ONE thing would you focus on if you had nothing holding you back?
What would you do differently if you knew you had one year to live?

So what do you do with the insights that follow? For me, it was a powerful self-realization that motivated me to leave a career path that was eating me alive. Asking myself these questions provided guidance and enabled my pursuit of what was my true dream: To become a Navy SEAL.

3. Determine your path.

Developing skills like discipline, dedication and acquiring a capacity for high-performance first requires tuning in to your true self. A path with heart will be authentic to your true self. Not some muddled version of what others think is best for you, but the real you.

This was my situation years ago, my lack of clarity and self-awareness had me chasing goals imposed on me by others, like a life of corporate success on Wall Street. I felt like I was on the wrong path and the only way I got back on track was by becoming more self aware. Start off with the questions listed above and see where they lead you.

4. Support your new purpose with a healthy lifestyle and the support of others.

For many, if you’re life is on the wrong path, you don’t have the energy to make a fitness program part of your daily life, or to fuel yourself with ahealthy, energizing diet. A consequence of poor self-awareness is that a life rut will claim your spiritual, mental and physical health.

A platform of self-awareness that leads to a renewed purpose in life will ultimately require you to take care of your body in a complimentary way. The good news? You’ll be so fired up about being on your true path that energy will no longer be a problem. The key is to harness this energy and commit to a fitness lifestyle (both exercise and nutrition!).

If this is a problem area for you, don’t do it alone. Perhaps the most important attribution to the Navy SEALS is the prominence of the word “team.” Find a group of like-minded others to who will support you. This is how you not only get on the path, but stay on the path.

Original POST

Author: Mark Divine

Optimistic People All Have One Thing In Common: They’re Always Late

Hmmm… I’m usually on time. Don’t know what that says about me.

Here’s the article with a big ht to Wait But Why:

Alexis Ren

I woke up at 6 am this morning, three hours before I’m supposed to be in the office, and was still 10 minutes late to work.

This is pretty standard for me. I’m almost always a few minutes late. I don’t mean anything by it, and I certainly don’t think I deserve a different set of rules than everyone else — it’s just the way I am.

I wake up early and try to fill the time before I leave for the office with as many activities as possible: a short workout, breakfast, catching up on the news, daydreaming while struggling to put my socks on, etc.

I’ll look at the clock and think, “Oh, I still have plenty of time.” One or two tasks later, I’ve only got 40 minutes to get to work and a 45 minute commute.

This has been the case with every single job I’ve ever had and is typically true when it comes to social meetings as well. I’m habitually unpunctual, and apparently I’m not alone.

As management consultant Diana DeLonzor states:

Most late people have been late all their life, and they are late for every type of activity — good or bad.

Surprisingly little scientific research has been done on tardiness, but some experts subscribe to the theory that certain people are hardwired to be late and that part of the problem may be embedded deep in the lobes of the brain.

So if you’re chronically late, I feel for you and sympathize with the onslaught of criticism you likely receive on a consistent basis.

I know you’re not a lazy, unproductive, inconsiderate or entitled person. I know you’re not attempting to insult anyone by your tardiness.

Your lateness is simply a consequence of your psychology and personality — nothing more, nothing less.

With that said, while those of us who are continuously tardy should work to overcome this trait, there are also hidden benefits.

Chronically late people aren’t hopeless, they’re hopeful.

People who are continuously late are actually just more optimistic. They believe they can fit more tasks into a limited amount of time more than other people and thrive when they’re multitasking. Simply put, they’re fundamentally hopeful.

While this makes them unrealistic and bad at estimating time, it also pays off in the long-run in other ways.

Researchers have found optimism has a myriad of physical health benefits, from reducing stress and diminishing the risk of cardiovascular disease to strengthening your immune system.

Indeed, happiness and positivity have been linked to a longer life in general.

Maintaining a positive outlook is also vital to achieving personal success. Research shows happiness increases overall productivity, creativity and teamwork in the workplace.

All of this makes a great deal of sense, as a study conducted at San Diego State University has also connected lateness with Type B personalities, or people who tend to be more laid-back and easygoing.

In other words, people who are habitually late don’t sweat over the small stuff, they concentrate on the big picture and see the future as full of infinite possibilities.

Time is relative, learn to live in the moment.

We should also note punctuality is a relative concept. Time and lateness mean different things in different cultures and contexts.

In the United States, we often interpret lateness as an insult or a sign of a poor work ethic.

When people are late, it’s assumed they feel their time is more important or valuable. Americans believe time is money and money is time.

But if you head over to Europe, it’s almost as if the notion of time magically mutates each time you enter a new country.

In Germany, the land of perpetual efficiency, punctuality is of the utmost importance.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin was late to a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for example, she left because that’s how Germans roll.

If you venture over to Spain, however, you’ll find time has taken a completely different character. The Spanish run by their own clock and are famous for eating dinner at 10 pm.

Sail on down to Latin America, and you’ll discover punctuality bearslittle to no importance.

The point here being, we all do things our own way.

It’s fair to contend unpunctuality is bad for economic growth and that schedules are vital to maintaining efficiency.

But when we look at the fact Americans work extensive hours yet exhibit low levels of productivity, this argument feels somewhat empty and void.

As both societies and individuals, we all need to find the healthy balance between punctuality and lateness. Schedules are important, but breaking them isn’t the end of the world.

People with a tendency for tardiness like to stop and smell the roses, and those with a propensity for punctuality could learn a thing or two from them (and vice versa).

Life was never meant to be planned down to the last detail. Remaining excessively attached to timetables signifies an inability to enjoy the moment.

Living in the present is vital to our sanity. Sometimes it’s much more beneficial to go with the flow.

We can’t spend all of our time dwelling on the past or dreaming of the future, or we end up missing out on the wonderful things occurring around us.

Original post here

Wait But Why post on the post

15 reasons why you should never visit Puerto Vallarta

Oh wow. Over two weeks has flown by since my last post. I am thinking about warm, sunny beaches, ocean and sunsets today so here is an amusing post from matadornetwork.com. You can test your Spanish, or translate it (roughly!) with the widget on the upper right.

Puerta Vallarta — Puerto Vallarta sunset by Keith Kendrick via Flickr

15 RAZONES POR LAS QUE NUNCA DEBERÍAS VISITAR PUERTO VALLARTA

POR RULO LUNA

JUNIO 16, 2015

¿Cuál es la gracia de pasear por la bahía en un barquito lleno de luces y fuegos artificiales?

¿Ir en búsqueda de playas perdidas en medio del Océano Pacífico? ¡Demasiada aventura para ti!

¿Y cómo le hacen para tener esos colores en los atardeceres? Seguro es puro photoshop, ni vale la pena verlo en persona…

Y las ballenas jorobadas invadiendo la bahía todo el tiempo… ¿no tendrán otro lugar en donde pasarla bien?

¿Por qué alguien querría bucear o esnorquelear entre estos imponentes arcos? ¡Mejor te quedas en la alberca del hotel!

¿Pasear por las calles del centro de Puerto Vallarta? Para qué, seguro es un lugar tan turístico que ya ni parece México…

¿Comida mexicana con mariscos y pescado frescos? ¿Dónde está el atractivo en eso?

¡De seguro no hay nada que hacer en estas playas! Suena de lo más aburrido…

Y esa selva que se encuentra rodeando toda la ciudad… ¡Quién va a querer aventurarse en esos parajes tan escabrosos!

¿Playas desiertas con aguas cristalinas? ¡Si lo mejor de ir a la playa es no poderse ni mover entre todo el gentío!

¡Y estos señores siempre están interrumpiendo la tranquilidad de la tarde! Ya no hay respeto…

¿Por qué querrías convivir con esta gente? ¡Te pueden contagiar su estrés!

Y ese clima tan horrible… ¿Quién va a querer dar un paseo o sentarse a disfrutar de la brisa en estas condiciones?

Y ni qué decir de ese malecón tan surrealista que tienen… ¡M i e d o!

De plano, ¡No sé que le ven a este lugar!

Crédito de la imagen de portada: Thomassin Mickaël.

Picasso and the Napkin or: ‘Be a Consulting Pro, Not a Consulting Ho’

Are you offering free consulting without realizing it?

Upon first reading this, a Silicon Valley episode (spoiler alert!) came to mind. In it, Richard, an entrepreneur, and his team are prospecting for investors and meet one particular group that seems very interested and excited about everything they have to share. A few days later they decline to invest and instead take all the useful information they gleaned from Richard’s team and use it for themselves to develop a saleable product. BTW – the series is extremely funny and highly recommended. It’s just not so hilarious when it happens to us IRL.

The information we gather and learn as professionals is valuable and perhaps the advice below is a little cynical. Unfortunately, more often than not, it also holds true. Read on.

Originally posted on Carol Roth: Tough Love for Business

Please Don’t Ask to Pick My Brain

By: Catherine Morgan

The working title of this post was “Be a Consulting Pro, Not a Consulting Ho.” I can argue that consulting might have come before what is generally considered to be the world’s oldest profession. And we are renting our bodies, too – our brains.

Yes, fellow brain-renters, people pay us for our knowledge and expertise. It’s an intangible, but often quite valuable. They pay us for the things we have learned over the years. They pay us so that they can save time, save money, save aggravation, etc.

There is a famous (possibly apocryphal) story about Picasso and the napkin drawing where someone in a café asked him to draw a picture on a napkin. Picasso then asked a large sum of money for something that took him a minute or two to draw. He justified the price by saying it took him 40 years to be able to draw it.

Did you just have an “ah-ha!” moment? I did when I first heard this story.

Honestly, as much of a consulting pro as I am (having worked as a solo consultant, project employee for the mid-tier firms, and full-time employee for three of the former Big Five), I still struggle with this.

I do understand that you want to get clients and, sometimes, it is easy to just give it away. Especially if you really enjoy doing it. Helping people develop business strategies is like eating popcorn for me – I love doing it and I can’t stop myself.

Ways to give it away

If you know you are giving too much away, here are some suggestions:

Create an “office hours” time on your calendar and have a way for people to book that time with you or join you on a conference call line or Google Hangout.
Develop some kind of assessment offering that is easy for you to do and valuable for your prospect. Give it a special name so it sounds important. Create a few time slots that you dedicate to providing this. Make sure people know that it is a good way for both of you to see if there is a fit for you to work together more.
Create a webinar that you give periodically that people can sign up for. This will have reusable content so it won’t take a lot of your time after the first time you give it.

Ways to make them pay

Here are some things to try if you are having trouble saying no.

Make people pay a small amount so you weed out the real tire kickers – maybe $15-30 for 15-20 minutes. You can even add this to your services page with a link to book you for that.
Create a low-cost webinar so that people are getting good information, but you aren’t spending a lot of one-on-one time. This way, they get used to paying you for your knowledge.

Ways to avoid coffee dates

So, what do you do about the dreaded “can I buy you a cup of coffee” request? Honestly, I mostly try to redirect that to a short 20-minute chat, unless they are a very close friend, possible business partner, referred potential client, or Bradley Cooper.

This sounds snotty, but I lose three hours of my day meeting for coffee between getting ready, getting there, having the meeting, and getting home. You need to be pretty interesting to get me to do that.

You also could direct them to the free ways to work with you mentioned above.

Ways to avoid premature proposals

Consultants start to get excited when a prospect asks for a proposal. We think that means that the prospect is serious, and that they might actually hire us.

Here’s the thing, proposals take time – often a lot of time. And you may give away too many ideas too soon.

To avoid premature proposals, try the following:

Get the prospect to clearly articulate their need or exactly which of your services they are interested in to solve which of their problems. Clarity is key here to avoid having to send a second proposal. Also, try to confirm that they have a budget to avoid a giant time suck.
Have the prospect complete some sort of detailed intake form or survey or inventory. Making them do something that takes time will weed out some tire kickers. They think their time is valuable, although they may not particularly value your time.

As you can see, there are specific situations where it makes financial sense to give them a quickie, as you have a good chance of acquiring a long-term client.

What should you do with the obvious tire kickers, freebie junkies, and entitled who think they don’t have to pay for your hard-earned knowledge?

I recommend you tell them what I do, “No, you can’t pick my brain.”

Original post is HERE