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By Roger Crawford. This was originally published on Roger's blog.
Strengthening your resilience is like strengthening your muscles. Both can be accomplished with a program of regular stretching and exercises. Attitude stretching requires no special clothing or expensive equipment, just awareness. Here are nine keys to improving your resilience: 1. Believe Success is Possible. Resilient thinking is the foundation of resilience. Even if you weren’t “born resilient,” you can learn to reframe negative events into positive challenges, giving yourself extra energy and endurance. Start by paying attention to how you talk to yourself each day. 2. Flex Your Humor Muscles. Flexibility is essential for controlling stress, increasing business opportunities, improving personal relationships, and dealing with change. How can you limber up? Let go of the immobilizing perfectionism and give yourself permission to notice the genuine humor that is all around you, and you will automatically increase your flexibility and vitality. 3. Bank on Your Past. Draw strength and inspiration from what you’ve done and what has happened to you. We’re often told, “Don’t look back” and “Don’t dwell on the past,” but when you know what to recall and use the information positively, you can tap some of your most valuable assets. 4. Stay Hungry. The most basic human instinct is a powerful tool for maintaining resilience. Learn the difference between money and true wealth, and where and how to direct your hunger for knowledge, adventure, and positive personal relationships. 5. Use All Your Resources. Make a realistic inventory of your assets. As you compile your catalog, you’ll discover some surprising and important skills and resources that you never realized you had. 6. Seize Responsibility. Decide what you can control. Then take responsibility for it. What an important life skill, yet unresilient people fail to grasp it, and feel overwhelmed much of the time. When you learn how to these two decisive steps, you put yourself in control, no matter what life throws at you. 7. Harness the Power of Purpose. Having clear goals and an action plan to reach them is absolutely mandatory for success. “The Five E’s of Goal Setting” in chapter 7 of my book How High Can You Bounce, will show you an efficient new way to plan and achieve. 8. Develop Your Inborn Leadership. Everything you say and do affects the resilience of others. No matter who you are or what position you hold at the moment, you become a powerful leader at work, at home, and in your community when you learn to share your resilience. 9. Embrace Challenges. Learn the difference between planning and preparation, and how the resilient prepare for life’s many challenges. Even when fate delivers an unexpected blow, you’ll be able to draw on your storehouse of resilience to identify the new and exciting opportunities that await you. Each of the nine chapters of my book show strategies for acquiring one of these nine skills. You’ll learn how to stay in optimal mental shape by nourishing and exercising these resilient qualities each day, the same way you nourish and exercise your body. As you strengthen your skills, you are building an invincible core of resilience that will always be there for you to draw on. Too often, when people suffer a major loss, they also lose their sense of identity and purpose in life. But with a resilient core, you keep a clear inner vision of your strength and flexibility in the face of challenges. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success!
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By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
The majority of the time when I ask people, “What is your #1 priority?” they answer, “Family.” Yet most quickly admit that being together and staying connected can be a challenge in our frenetic lives. Throughout history, family mealtime was the predominant occasion to communicate and interact. These days, meals together are often infrequent and brief. One study reported that the average family mealtime lasts 20 minutes, though the benefits for children include better grades, lower body weight, lower cigarette and alcohol use, and better mental health. Kids or no kids, people who dine together have stronger relationships. One study found that adding just 3 minutes to a meal lessened the risk of family members being overweight. I found that hard to believe until I added up 3 minutes a day x 30 days and came up with 1 1/2 hours of connection time! So here are a few fun ways to make meals last longer:
Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By John O'Leary. This was originally posted on JohnOLearyInspires.com. When John O'Leary was 9 years old, he suffered burns over 100% of his body and was expected to die. He is now an inspirational speaker and bestselling author, teaching more than 50,000 people around the world each year how to live inspired. John's first book, ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life was published March 15, 2016. John is a contributing writer for Huff Post and Parade.com. John is a proud husband and father of four and resides in St. Louis, MO. Order John’s book today anywhere books are sold.
In a world filled with many individuals concerned primarily with taking care of themselves, the courage of the Ukrainian people to fight for their home, their neighbors and their freedom has been humbling and inspiring to observe. To be reminded of the beauty of showing up for others- even when our commitment to doing so is tested beyond imagination- look no further than Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska. For the first 15 years of marriage, through both good times and the unavoidable struggles all couples endure, she supported her husband Volodymyr. She encouraged him when he chose an unlikely career in comedy after law school. She supported him when he imagined traveling throughout the country providing live performances. She even backed him when he considered producing and acting in a television show portraying an ordinary teacher, sick of the country’s corruption, abruptly thrust into the role of President for an entire country. But when her husband suggested stepping away from entertainment and actually running for political office, Olena was at first adamantly against it. She wanted nothing to do with the attention certain to arise from her husband running for office. Raising two children, she didn’t want the pressure of her husband’s campaigning to negatively affect their childhood. And as unlikely as it might be, if he actually won the election, how might the role of First Family change their lives? After numerous discussions together and soul searching personally, she agreed to support him, yet again. Against overwhelming odds, on April 21, 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky, a charismatic former comedian driven to end corruption, received 73% of the votes and became president of Ukraine. And his wife, who never clamored for the bright lights, found herself thrust directly into them. Originally disliking the prospects of this new role, Olena soon recognized the opportunity to make a difference by fully embracing it. She passionately advocated for women’s rights around her nation. She fervently worked to elevate nutrition programs within all schools to ensure the health and wellness of their young people. And she remained committed to showing up for the boy she first fell in love with in college as he led an entire nation. Less than two weeks ago, that nation of Ukraine was viciously attacked, and the resilience of a relationship was again tested. As Russian tanks positioned themselves on the border to Ukraine, the Zelenskys repeatedly rejected opportunities to leave the country. When those tanks invaded and began shelling the capital city, again they refused to leave. As the veracity of the attack escalated, Olena explained why she wasn’t leaving the country: “I will not have panic. I will be calm and confident. My children are looking at me. I will be next to them. And next to my husband. And with you.” Their devoted love of one another kept them together. Their unwavering love for their nation and for freedom united a world against an unjust attack. By showing up for each other, they’ve shown us all what true bravery and devotion really is. For Olena and Volodymyr, the stakes couldn’t be higher right now. But that’s not the only time being supportive of others’ matters. Showing up for a friend going through something difficult, a child learning a lesson the hard way or a spouse whose decisions may directly impact your own allow not just an opportunity to provide strength and confidence to others, but to also allow us to become better versions of ourselves. Today, be reminded of the strength and resiliency borne from showing up for someone we love. Doing so may not keep injustices from occurring, difficulties from happening or bombs from dropping, but it will remind us in the midst of conflict that we are not alone, there remains reason for hope and the best is yet to come. This is your day. Live Inspired. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
Boating is one of my passions. Few hobbies are more peaceful than a slow boat ride with your favorite beverage around the breathtaking lake on which I live. Or, more exciting than the hard pull of a large big mouth bass on a fishing line off the front of my pontoon boat. One of the features on my boat is the trim button on the throttle. Like the gas pedal on a vehicle, the throttle controls the speed of the boat. The trim button embedded in the throttle controls the outboard engine’s angle in relation to the plane of the boat. As such, it controls the smoothness of the ride. Set wrong, and you are in for a bumpy ride, especially at higher speeds. A few years ago, I was jogging near the grocery store I frequent. I remembered we needed a couple of items, so I jogged into the store and picked them up. But once in the check-out line, I realized I had no cash or credit card (I only jog with a driver’s license and a house key). Without hesitation, the clerk said, “Oh, that’s okay. I see you in here all the time. Just write your name and amount on this piece of paper and pay us the next time you are in the store.” Smooth sailing; no hassle. I once owned a gorgeous antique Mercedes 240S sedan. When it needed a minor repair, I took it to Brothers Auto Service. Turned out the fix was going to take a bit longer than the hour or so thought initially. And, I had a few errands to run in the area. The repair shop owner, Nicky Brothers, was out of loaners—but he had a trim. “Take my car,” he said as he handed me his car keys. You can guess what he drove. A brand-new Mercedes sedan. Smooth sailing; no hassle. Trim is all about eliminating drag on your customer’s path to getting the outcome they desire. It takes knowing the customer well enough to anticipate issues; it requires trusting the customer; and it takes caring enough to have solutions ready to ensure smooth sailing. Make sure you have a trim button on all your customer service processes. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Josh Linkner
We know that embracing innovation is the only way to grow and win over the long term, but it sure can feel risky and overwhelming. This is often because we overemphasize idea generation while skipping the most important step in the process: experimentation. Most of us think: Step 1: Generate an idea Step 2: Widespread implementation Step 3: Grit our teeth and hope it works, or horrible stuff will happen No wonder we’re scared of trying new things when the stakes are that high. If an untested idea doesn’t manifest perfectly, we could sink our company, lose our job, or tank our career. That level of risk is just bonkers! Luckily, there’s an easy fix: crude experimentation. After initial ideas are conceived, we can drastically reduce risk by building a test plan. Instead of wild, swing-for-the-fences moonshots, start by exploring how cheap and fast you could test your idea. Could you build a prototype out of Play-Doh? Could you test with a single customer for 15 minutes on a Tuesday afternoon? These early, crude, low-fidelity experiments can quickly tell you if your idea has merit or if it should be tossed. If an experiment shows promise, just expand the size and scope of the experiment and try again. At each pass, you’ll likely tweak and refine your idea so by the time you get to a more lifelike (high-fidelity) experiment, the odds are already in your favor. And when it’s time to launch, your probability of success is 1000 times higher. Here’s a far better process: Step 1: Generate a bunch of ideas Step 2: Select a few ideas to test Step 3: Crude experiments (cheap and fast). Quickly discard ideas that flop Step 4: Refine ideas that show promise, test again. With each test, increase the scope, scale, and fidelity of the experiment Step 5: Widespread implementation, only after your experiment results are stable and predictable Step 6: Sit back with confidence and enjoy the fruits of your creativity With this new model, you only go big once the evidence supports it. In other words, you’ve now radically reduced the risk factor. This approach works for products, marketing, processes, sales strategies, safety measures, recruiting techniques, and just about everything else we care about (including getting your five-year-old twins to finish their vegetables, which I know firsthand). The experimentation mindset will help you get it right and get there faster. Realizing that every single new idea won’t work out, we might as well have the misfires occur during a small test rather than with your most important customer. Test constantly… cheap and fast. Crude prototypes and experiments are the most pragmatic way to drive widespread innovation with a high success rate. Experiment Constantly. Fail Small. Win Big. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Kristin Baird
Nobody likes a micromanager, someone who hovers wanting to know every detail of what you do. But don’t confuse micromanaging with holding people accountable. The two are miles apart in how they affect the employees and culture. HOLDING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE IS ESSENTIAL TO ACHIEVING GOALS AND GETTING THE DESIRED RESULTS. A leader holds the team and individuals accountable by setting clear expectations and goals and offering regular feedback without hovering. I feel compelled to distinction explain micromanaging and accountability after a recent conversation I had while coaching. The manager I spoke to was experiencing several behavior issues among his team members. When I asked him how held them accountable, he said, “I don’t want to be a micro-manager.”[i] As we spoke, he realized he had been ignoring issues that needed to be dealt with. He was confusing accountability with micro-management. Once he recognized the difference, he was able to make huge strides with his team. We use the word accountability frequently in healthcare and understandably so. Without accountability, patients die, infections spread like wildfire, and safety issues explode. No one argues with the need for accountability in clinical practices. But it gets fuzzy for some leaders when it comes to holding others accountable for service behavior. They shy away from confronting staff on things like tone of voice or attitude. “It’s just too subjective,” one manager told me. And there it is. The word subjective. THE CULPRIT THAT MAKES US SHRINK AWAY FROM A CRUCIAL CONVERSATION. It’s important for every leader to know the difference between accountability and micro-management. Not sure if you are a micro-manger? This article from Forbes[ii] gives great insight into the signs of micromanaging. It also spotlights the impact micromanaging has on business. “Micromanagers are detrimental to the success of a business and the mental health of everyone involved.” You don’t have to micromanage to hold others accountable, but you do need to be clear about expectations, goals, and responsibilities. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! |
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