by Erin Owen | Oct 22, 2013 | Ezine
Special Note: No time to read this whole article? Click here to receive a series of short audio recordings with tips and strategies to cultivate new energy reserves. You can then listen to the audio tips in transit or while walking to your next appointment.
Do you ever get on an airplane? Then you might want to pause to consider the single most important thing an airline pilot must know: the minimum speed at which he can fly the plane before the engines stall.
The equally important thing for you to know—to not only survive your onslaught of responsibilities but thrive in life—is how to cultivate your energy reserves with strategies and practices that act like renewable fuels. YOU are, after all, the engine of your life and you need your engine to run efficiently and effectively day in and day out.
If you’re feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, then maybe the reserves you normally draw on have gone dry and you’ve hit some kind of invisible ceiling—or maybe it feels more like you’ve fallen to the bottom of a pit you can’t crawl out of.
You’re not alone, though.
When I left my corporate job nearly a decade ago, I was reeling from the devastating impact of a stressful, energy-depleting lifestyle that left me physically out of shape, struggling with health issues that required prescription medication, feeling estranged from my closest personal relationships.
Even my earnings had started to plateau because I had been unknowingly drawing on non-renewable forms of fuel.
After leaving that corporate job, I was cautious about putting my own heart and soul into building my business from the ground up. Why? Because I knew I could easily be driven further down the same exhausting path, working the stereotypical owner-entrepreneur’s 24/7 schedule.
I vowed to find a smarter way of working and living, and I set out to experiment with any and all methods, from East to West.
AWESOME RESULTS!
The strategies I experimented with in my own life resulted in me not only significantly increasing my natural energy reserves but also prioritizing what was most important to support my vision.
- I changed my work hours to support the life I wanted to live (rather than fitting “life” into the corners around the edges of work).
- I increased my mental focus and productivity so I got more done in a shorter period of time.
- I even dropped 2 dress sizes and felt more confident in my body and overall.
The changes I made also reduced my anxiety level so I no longer woke up sweating at 4 AM, with my mind racing about the day ahead, and ultimately put me back in the driver’s seat with regard to running by business and growing my income.
Since 2004, I’ve shared these same strategies with hundreds of business leaders, entrepreneurs, and private individuals, and here in today’s blog post I share my best tips with you—ones that you can implement immediately, today, to boost your energy and not only feel better but work more effectively and enjoyably so you can generate better results in your business sooner and get home earlier to enjoy the rest of your life.
Boost Your Engine’s Efficiency
Start the day with a warm, protein-rich breakfast. Colder temperature foods require more energy to digest because your body has to heat them up first before they can be processed. Protein-rich foods like quinoa, black beans, eggs and lean meats help to stabilize your blood sugar so you don’t burn out mid-morning.
As I write about in chapter two of my book Refuel, Recharge, and Re-energize, starting your day in this way “not only sparks your digestive fire, but also boosts your metabolism, brain function and immunity—all critical for supercharging you—the engine behind your business, your passion, your purpose.” Try eating leftover Indian dal (lentils) or black beans and rice to kick-start your day like many of my clients do.
Get your heart rate up 20 minutes or more each day. While it takes only about 1 minute for all the blood in your body to circulate one time around, the standard recommendation is to elevate your heart rate an average of 20 minutes to fully “flush” your system. To feel more energized and productive, follow the American Heart Association’s recommendation for moderate physical activity: 150 minutes a week or roughly one 20+ minute period of elevated heart rate each day.
Why? Just like the pipes in your bathroom need to be flushed, all the old toxins and cortisol and other hormones your body releases through naturally processing need to be flushed out of your system. When they stay in you, they cause fatigue and sluggishness. Not exactly the best recipe for feeling energized and productive
No time to exercise? Try these integration strategies:
Meet with your business partner or colleague while walking briskly, jogging lightly, or biking. One of my clients conducts regular meetings with her direct reports while walking on the bike path near her office. (Moving your body is a great way to fuel creative inspiration too!)
Use your own body power to run an errand rather than relying on a car, public transit, taxi, or even a courier service. Take that package in hand and see how quickly you can walk to the nearby mailbox store and back. Put on a backpack and shop for those office supplies on foot or by bike.
Get active with your loved ones. Throw the ball for your dog, then chase it down with him to see who gets there first. Try to keep up with your daughter as she plays tag up and around the jungle gym equipment at her favorite park. It’s amazing how quickly 20 minutes will pass by and how easily you’ll be able to do this.
The more regularly you get your heart rate up, flush out those toxins, and ask more of your body’s performance, the more your engine will support you in operating at its optimum level in your daily work routine.
Get to sleep an hour earlier. If your excuse for staying up late is that you have too much work to do, then know this: numerous sleep studies have confirmed that when you sacrifice sleep, you are more likely to make mistakes, have trouble focusing, get sick more often, gain weight, and be in a grumpier mood. Can you afford to continue wasting time on illness, error, and inefficiency? Experiment with going to get an hour earlier for two weeks and observe the incremental benefits that accumulate over time.
No time to read on? Sign-up to receive these strategies as a series of short audio recordings for easy listening on-the-go.
Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.
We have all been hypnotized by the false illusion that multi-tasking and pushing ourselves harder for more hours leads to higher levels of productivity. This way of working draws on a non-renewable form of fuel that eventually runs out, causing our internal engine to burn out. And just like in any system of production, each one of us has a unique level of exertion at which we hit the point of diminishing returns and become tapped out.
Try out the following strategies to best utilize your existing energy, create some breathing room in your schedule, and simplify your life so you can maximize your productivity.
Do one thing at a time. Quickly switching between and among disparate tasks—like sending text messages while trying to stay on track with your colleague’s presentation while simultaneously eating bites of lunch—is mentally exhausting, often causes misunderstandings, increases indigestion, and ultimately results in you wasting more time due to the inherent inefficiencies. Whether you call this mindfulness or single-tasking or just plain old focus, it’s time to set aside other distractions and give your full attention to one thing at a time.
I teach my clients to design a schedule template from scratch that allows them to consolidate common activities into fixed blocks of time. For example, any decisions and activities involving business finances might get slotted on Monday after the weekly planning meeting, while product development and improvement strategies and tactics are the focus for Wednesday mornings. When new demands or tasks arise in the course of daily business, those items get added to the next “slot” for those tasks. Email and online activities get consolidated into two or three short blocks of time at different points in the day to avoid distraction during the rest of the day.
Line up your schedule commitments with your natural peaks of energy. We each have unique peaks of energy in our day, when our Physical, Creative, and Mental energies are highest. I teach my clients to identify their own peaks, then re-organize their calendars to support these natural highs and lows. For example, one client has her best creative energy in the morning between 5 AM and 7 AM, so she blocks out that time to write and brainstorm new project ideas. Later in the day when her physical energy wanes, around 2:30 PM, she leaves the office and hits the gym to get in her cardio and weight training and re-charge her energy reserves. After she showers, she jumps back online for another 90-120 minutes to wrap-up her day and plan for tomorrow’s activities.
Say no to what does not support your vision. Whether driven by a heart-felt desire to help others or the desire for more recognition, you are more than likely involved in at least one (if not many) activities that drain your energy rather than spark your inner fire. Take a moment to mentally note or write down what you’ve committed to in your life out of a sense of obligation (whether it’s a colleague’s kid’s birthday party or another position on the board of a community organization) and figure out the best way to politely decline future involvement. Saying “no” to what does not support your vision will free-up your mental, emotional, and physical energy to focus on the good stuff!
Don’t stop here! Keep going, or if you prefer you can sign-up to receive these tips in audio format, conveniently delivered to your email in box.
Improve Your Inputs to Improve Your Outputs
It is generally agreed that better quality ingredients create better quality products. And better package design appeals to your target market’s aesthetic and ergonomic needs and makes them want to buy more. These details and more may be on your mind day in and day out as you do your work or run your business. But, how often do you pause to consider the quality of inputs you are putting into YOU, the engine of your business?
Add one or both of these Renewable Forms of Fuel to your daily intake to experience a surge of sustainable energy that stimulates your creativity, mental focus, and productivity:
Water. A majority of busy professionals are dehydrated. Not only do you forget to drink water, but you eat a lot of processed, salty foods and caffeinated beverages which further dries you out. Your body and brain need water for every single basic function, so if you want your body and brain to work well for you, give them this essential ingredient!
How much water should you drink?
- According to the Institute of Medicine, men should drink 3.0 liters of fluids per day (roughly 13 cups); women 2.2 liters per day (roughly 9 cups); 80% of the water should come from water, 20% from food.
- According to J.R. Worsley, a well-respected internationally known acupuncturist, drink 1 ounce per 2 pounds of body weight (e.g., a 150 lb adult should drink 75 ounces of water).
Make the water more appealing by bringing a large, beautiful glass to work and filling a glass pitcher with water and slices of cucumber or citrus.
Mindful Breathing. Not sure if this works? Pause now and take 3 to 5 deep, full breaths with slow inhales and long exhales and notice how quickly your heart rate slows, the tension in your muscles get released, and your mental clarity comes on line. The ideal state to focus, be creative, and get work done is when you are more relaxed and present in the moment. Mindful breathing puts you in this state of mind.
Add a reminder to your calendar to pause and breathe several times a day. Or better yet get involved with a fun activity that forces you to breathe like rowing, a spinning class, or an active form of yoga (like vinyasa). Breathe more consciously to fuel every cell in your body with oxygen and activate your highest potential!
Reduce or eliminate one or both of these Non-Renewable Forms of Fuel to sleep better, escape the after-lunch fatigue, and better sustain your energy throughout the day:
Caffeine. No, don’t believe the hype. While a small amount of caffeine used on occasion can improve mental focus and productivity, research has linked the long-term habitual use of caffeine to adrenal exhaustion, insomnia, headaches, anxiety, irritability, and more health problems. I cut out my daily coffee habit nearly 10 years ago and have never looked back. Most of my clients have been shocked at how much better they sleep and how much more easily they wake in the morning after cutting out the caffeine. Don’t go cold turkey, though. Gradually reduce your caffeine over a two-week or longer period and (if you like) replace with an energizing herbal tea, like ginger or peppermint.
Alcohol. After a long day full of caffeinated beverages and cortisol-surging intense work activities, you naturally crave the relaxing and balancing effects of alcohol. However, a little known negative side effect is that alcoholic drinks contribute to insomnia, which fuels the daytime cycle of exhaustion and low energy, which again makes you reach for the caffeine.
Increase your water and oxygen intake, slowly decrease that caffeine, and wean yourself off the alcohol too—all to boost your energy and get you the results you want.
SHIFT FROM AWARENESS TO ACTION
Be kind to yourself and remember that you are living and working in one of the most challenging, demanding, and complex times in human history. Keep it simple by identifying the one idea out of this post that most resonated with you and experiment. Then, email me about the unique kind of energy-boosting effect it has for you.
About the Author:
Erin Owen, who earned her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management in 2001, has been creating breakthrough results and transforming the lives of her clients since 2004. She teaches stressed-out, busy professionals like you how to increase your income and generate better results in business and life by boosting your energy, reducing your stress, simplifying everyday routines, and better managing your time.
In addition to being a certified Total Leadership Coach, Health Coach, Yoga Teacher, and Reiki Master, Erin is the author of two publications: Refuel, Recharge, and Re-energize: The Conscious Entrepreneur’s Guide to Taking Back Control of Your Time and Energy (available on Amazon) and Boost Your Productivity In and Out of the Office with Eastern-Inspired Clutter Clearing Secrets (only available on her website).
When she’s not working, you can find her chasing around her two growing boys and chocolate Labrador retriever with her husband in Philadelphia. Follow her on Twitter for more tips @Erin_Owen_YPB, like her on Facebook, or email her at Info [at] YourPerformanceBreakthrough [dot] com.
by Erin Owen | May 28, 2013 | Ezine
What would you do if you thought anything was possible?
Or, flipping this question on its head, ask yourself: What would you do if you did
not think it was
impossible?
It’s okay to not know exactly how you will get from where you are right now to the picture you have in your mind of what you want. Your job is to DREAM!
Many of the jobs in the marketplace today did not exist 30 years ago. Most of the things in your life that you take for granted did not exist one hundred years ago: your phone, your computer, your car, the airplane you flew on for vacation, your refrigerator, the internet, and on and on.
What you want to create in your life may not exist yet—but YOU CAN CREATE IT if you really want it.
Consider these questions:
- Why do you assume that you can’t create positive change in your life?
- Or take steps now to create your dream?
- To improve your income?
- To change to your dream job?
- To build your own company?
- To travel to your dream destination?
- To make a positive contribution to our world?
YOU CAN!
The principles I teach my clients are inspired by yogic and other Eastern energetic practices at the root of what we in modern life call the Law of Attraction.
When you allow yourself to dream and get excited about what you want in your life, and then take small steps to align your feelings, thoughts, words, and actions, your dream becomes real.
That’s the Secret behind my Spring Into Being® group program: I provide the inspiration, the guidance, the structure, to resources, the support you need to finally move forward. To stop being stuck. To stop feeling miserable about what you’re putting off. To stop limiting the development of your fullest potential.
If you don’t believe me, watch the awesome video called Beyond “The Secret” – Law of Attraction better explained that I’ve linked at the bottom of this post.
When you have a clear idea about what you want to create or what you want to change, and you are EXCITED about why it is important for you and how it might benefit others, you create a powerful energy within you. The question then is how you channel that energy.
As I wrote about last week, when you…
- document your vision,
- clarify goals that support your vision
- and work out a system to track your progress toward your goals that support your vision…
…you powerfully channel your excited energy to tangibly create your dream: to make more money, to grow your business, to do better for yourself and your family, to make a positive contribution to your community and our world.
This is exactly what we are doing in the Spring Into Being program.
As one of my current clients said in her recent coaching session: “It’s liberating to have a plan, to know what to say yes to, to know what to say no to.” And she is seeing the concrete benefits of powerfully channeling her energy –she is just days away from landing her next dream job.
In addition to a clear vision, goals, a plan to move forward and a system to track your progress, the Spring Into Being group program ALSO gives you:
- Richly expanded network of supportive people and resources
- Greater self-awareness and the removal of internal obstacles
- A Boost in your confidence and energy reserves
- Enhanced communication skills
- Radically improved focus and time management.
All the foundational skills you need to have WHAT WE ALL WANT!
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Money to pay your bills and enjoy life to its fullest
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Connection with lovely people
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Feeling good in your body and enjoying good health
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Making a meaningful contribution to the world
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So, ask yourself: “If anything was possible, what would I do?”
I believe in you. And I invite you to believe in yourself and take the courageous step forward to make your life what you want it to be. You are in the driver’s seat and it’s your choice.Here’s to you creating your dream NOW!
Get inspired! Watch this awesome video called Beyond “The Secret” – Law of Attraction better explained, and then say YES to your dream by joining us for the Spring Into Being program. The application period closes this Friday, May 31 at midnight, so don’t delay!
Check out more information on the Spring Into Being group program here: Program Overview
Curriculum Close-up
FAQ
Replay of Informational Call
by Erin Owen | Apr 23, 2013 | Ezine
Last Sunday, I approached a friendly looking dog with a leash that was running solo down the street, thinking that I would tie it up and make it easier for its owner to find it.
Then, the dog growled, lunged, and bit my thigh.
Shocked, I screamed and jumped back. As soon as I realized the dog didn’t want anything more to do with me, I slowly turned around and got the heck out of there.
Here’s what I learned from the experience:
First, the Obvious—Never Trust a Dog You Don’t Know, No Matter How Cute He Is.
(I can just hear my six year’s old voice in my head: “Mom, um, duh!”)
Second, Life is Short. So live so You Have You No Regrets.
After meeting with the doctor and realizing the life-threatening nature of getting rabies, I quickly evaluated my options AND did some thinking about my life.
Happily, I realized that I have no regrets. I have made decisions I’m proud of, I am grateful for the way I’ve set-up my business so that I can spend time with my boys after school hours and be with my husband and family evenings and weekends, and am so glad I summoned the courage to make all the changes to my health and career and lifestyle ten years ago to get to where I am today.
That said, the experience did put an exclamation point on my desire to do my work in the world. And it’s given me even greater motivation to successfully support conscious-minded individuals in more effectively doing their work in the world now!
So, please support me by checking out the new mastermind incubator I’m starting in June (application period opens May 1st) and recommend someone who would benefit from the structure, support, and expert guidance to get their big idea out in the world. Spring Into Being!
Third, Sometimes it’s Best to NOT be Risk-averse but Instead Call on Courage to Move Forward in Powerful Ways.
I could have gone straight to the hospital to begin rabies treatment, but weighing the odds and remembering my second foundational principle (to direct my attention to where I wanted energy to follow), I set out to find the dog and its owner to confirm it was healthy.
When you have an idea or goal that you dream about over and over, that means that it’s calling to you—and it’s time to do something about it. Why wake up years later regretting you never followed your dream, when you could live out loud right now and go for it! It takes courage, for sure. But when you focus on your vision and your excitement, the courage comes more easily and leads to realizing your dream in this lifetime—which by far outweighs any doubts you might have, don’t you agree?
Fourth, Social Media Sites and Online Networks are Fast and Powerful, and Can be Leveraged for Incredible Good!
We’ve all read about this in the media when it comes to political movements and finding lost children. But, I experienced this first hand.
After doing a web search, I identified neighborhood and dog organizations in the area where the dog bit me and made a few calls and posted some messages online. Within minutes (minutes!), people called me back with suggestions and leads, offered to forward my message to others, and more. Less than an hour later, I had tracked down the dog and confirmed he was securely quarantined in animal control. Turns out he bit at least two other people and threatened others who tried to help him.
Like many of you, I can appreciate the benefits of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but I don’t fully understand the best way to use them. After this experience, I’m now inspired to make even better use of social media.
Here’s what I’ve already started doing: I’m reaching out to ask people in my network to invite socially-minded people with a great idea that can benefit our world to apply to my new Spring Into Being group program. I’m also inviting recommendations for additional partners who can provide outreach and technical support to complement what I’ll be teaching.
If you already know someone who would benefit from learning effective strategies to avoid the most common pitfalls of starting a new endeavor, please share this link with them: http://execcareerreinvention.com/spring-into-being-basic-faq/
In this unique program—which turns a typical business incubator on its head—I’ll be focusing on PLATINUM SUCCESS FACTORS:
- Having a really clear idea about your overall life vision and how exactly this big idea of yours fits into and supports that big picture vision
- Knowing essential practices for cultivating much greater awareness of your internal roadblocks – when your thoughts or feelings are not in total alignment with your dream—and how to shift them back into alignment
- Effectively utilizing critical communication skills to influence and gain support from the key people in your personal and professional networks who you need on board to make this happen
- Explicitly acknowledging that you (YOU!) are the engine behind this idea and you must be operating at your optimum level physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to not only get this thing up and running but successfully keep it running once it’s out there in the world
To learn more about the Spring Into Being program, click here.
Fifth, Fear is a Choice.
Sure, it was scary in the moment to get bitten by a dog and experience that shock and pain. And, sure I could have allowed my mind to start spinning about how awful the rabies treatments would be and how I might die if I didn’t get treatment, and on and on. But, why put myself through that?
None of that is real. What was real was having a big “boo boo” on my thigh and a nasty bruise to show for it, along with a really sore upper arm where the nurse administered the tetanus shot.
But, the reality is that I feel great! I’m healthy, happy, and living my life. I did what I could do to track down the dog, and the rest is out of my control. Why let my mind spin and get overwhelmed with fear? Fear is a choice and I choose to let it go and direct my energy to more of what I want in my life.
Sixth, ASK for Help—Even Strangers Will Go Out of Their Way to Help You.
Something I once learned while riding the subway in New York City is that, when asked, a total stranger will go out of his or her way to show you the way and help you find your destination. In this case, total strangers dropped everything and took precious time out of their day to forward messages and posts, to call me and follow-up, and to help my cause of finding the dog who bit me. How awesome is that!
We are all human beings who have basic needs to eat, sleep, be loved, and feel important. By sharing with others the vision that you have for what you want to create in the world, you’re inspiring them and inviting them to take part in that vision—and that meets their need to feel helpful, to feel important, to feel they’ve taken part in something larger than themselves.
As I move forward, inviting people I know AND people in their network to support me in making a positive impact on the world, I’ll be asking them: who do you know who is a socially minded or environmentally minded or health minded who wants to be more successful and make an even better impact? Along the way, I will be remembering these lessons from that dog who bit me.
And lastly, Be Prepared and Have a Really Well-stocked First Aid kit!
Yes, we have a first aid kit in our car, but it’s been well-used and was lacking many basic ingredients. So, the first thing I did when I arrived at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Fairmount that day right after the dog bit me, was to ask for a first aid kit. Thankfully they had an ambulance and an EMT onsite to clean and bandage the wound.
What’s in your first aid kit? Or, the better question to ask you is: what’s in your metaphorical first aid kid? Consider your self-care practices, your dearest personal and professional relationships, and other resources you can call on in times of need to be key ingredients in your first aid kit. Continue to re-stock your kit by nurturing them so that they are there for you when you need them.
In my life and work, I am mindful to re-stock my metaphorical first-aid kit (if not the actual one in my car – ha!). Because I regularly challenge my mind and body with the practices of yoga and meditation, when faced with this traumatic situation, I was able to calm myself immediately after and mostly stay connected with my inner joy as I moved through the layers of the experience. Through these past 10 days, I have been reminded to be even more conscious and pro-active in restock my metaphorical first aid-kit by continuing my platinum practices and calling on the resources I have intentionally and unintentionally lined up over the years.
So, thanks “Chomper” (that’s the nickname they gave him at animal control) for reminding me of these important lessons.
Some final questions for YOU to consider:
- How do you respond to challenge life situations?
- How are you continually re-stocking your metaphorical first-aid kit?
- What can you do now to live your life more fully so you have no regrets?
- Who can support you in taking concrete and positive steps forward in support of your dreams?
Here’s to you living and working in a way that is fully in alignment with the vision you have for your life!
by Erin Owen | Apr 17, 2013 | Ezine
I want to know.
What’s your big idea?
The one you’re itching to get into the world?
- Is it a new product or service for your existing customer/client base?
- Is it quitting your job to launch a community service organization?
- Is it a new initiative to improve access to healthy food?
- Are you hoping to downshift your business to focus more on your own pursuits and wellness?
- Is it the masterpiece inside you that you’ve not yet shared with the world?
What is it? What is your big idea?
I truly want to know…
And while you’re at it, tell me what stage of development it’s at.
Which of the following statements would best describe where you are:
This is “The Spark”, where you have the inkling of something you’d like to do and start to daydream about how you need to metaphorically weed the garden of your life and cultivate your soil to allow for the seed to get planted in the future.
This is when you get even more excited and you have what is like a really detailed, full-color “Visual Picture” of your idea in your head. You imagine your idea as being real, out in the world, and where you’re further along in the metaphorical weeding and cultivating stage and have ideas about the seeds, tools, soil conditions, and nutrients you’ll need to plant and cultivate – but if you’re planting, you’re still in the greenhouse.
This is the “Co-Creation” stage, where you’re planting in your metaphorical greenhouse and inviting others to come in and take a look and see what tools and expertise and supplies and nutrients they can offer up to help bring your seeds to life.
You’re deeper into the “Co-creation” stage, not only tending the metaphorical seeds you’ve planted in your greenhouse and using the support that’s come your way, but preparing the site where you’ll move your seedlings or more developed baby plants into the field outside.
You’re even further along in the co-creating stage, planting your seeds in the outside field or transferring your starter plants to the field, cultivating growth. It’s exciting to be out in the world and have it be real.
Your idea is solidly planted in the outside world, and you are cultivating its growth, while you continue to weed and prune and water and add nutrients.
You are beginning to see metaphorical buds or flowers or berries or first bits of harvest-able growth in your beautiful plants, and further along in this stage you’ll be harvesting wholly formed flowers or fruits or yields and celebrating successes more and more.
Next week I’ll write more about the challenges and opportunities of each stage of growth in bringing your big idea into the world.
For a sneak peek at my mastermind incubator group program, Spring Into Being®, launching later this Spring.
You feel completely and totally overwhelmed by the most basic responsibilities that need to get done to keep the household running… to just keep the lights on in your business… to just get up in the morning.