By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.
The skateboarder came careening toward me at about 100 miles per hour down the post office steps, then screeched to a stop inches in front of me. My expression of terror (and admittedly annoyance) caused him to drawl, “Chill out, Dude. Relax.” I wanted to shake my finger and lecture him on his social skills, but realized the “dude” had a point. I’d been working at a frenzy all day, rushing to meet the postal deadline, to then hustle to my next meeting. I needed to chill out and relax. Maybe we all do. Relaxation is important because it is more than a state of mind; it physically changes the way your body functions. When your body is relaxed breathing slows, blood pressure and oxygen consumption decrease, and most people report feeling an increased sense of well-being. This is called the “relaxation response.” Using relaxation techniques to produce this response actually changes not only your mind, but your body, researchers proved. They discovered this list of ailments relaxation can help cure (in alphabetical order for your convenience): anxiety, asthma, depression, digestive problems, fibromyalgia, headaches, heart disease, high blood pressure, hot flashes, insomnia, irritable bowel, nausea, nightmares, overactive bladder, pain, ringing in the ears, smoking cessation, temporomandibular pain. Whew! Are any of these a bit too familiar to you? If so, will you join me? Chill out, and relax, Dude. 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 Steve Gilliland
The internet is awash with easy tricks to develop a healthy, positive mindset. While the intention is good, to be a strong, motivated person, you can do better than hacks. Throughout life, you’ll be receiving tons of advice about how to stay positive, but here are some ideas you might be better off discarding: Myth: Positivity Is Constant Happiness Some people confuse optimism and positivity with happiness. You can maintain a positive outlook without pushing yourself to keep smiling. When we do the latter, we don’t allow ourselves to acknowledge our genuine emotional responses. Even motivational and inspirational speakers appreciate that life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, and suppressing feelings is a quick fix with a short life. The benefit of allowing your perspective and mood to shift is that you can fully express any negative feelings you might have and move on from them. Alternatively, you carry them with you. You’ll find that positivity flows naturally when you have a strong sense of purpose and vision. Think about the larger picture and all the happy moments still to come, and suddenly small-scale disappointments become just that. That sense of purpose will come directly from your passions, and the journey to it will be filled with self-love and care. When you’re being honest with yourself, disappointment is fleeting. Eventually, you’ll realize that no matter what, you’re not stagnated. You’re not bound to any one event or result. Your future is still as filled with possibilities as ever. These ideas will give you the momentum to push through obstacles, big or small. There’s no reason to force them. Myth: Contentment Is A Destination There’s nothing wrong with seeking contentment, but as a purpose, it might bring you the drive you need. Contentment and satisfaction are emotional responses, and they could vary from one moment to the next. Instead of thinking of your destination as a set place in space and time, give yourself the liberty to find your own way. You might be pleasantly surprised to see how far you go. Goals are good when they’re flexible and geared toward growth. These are more likely to give you the consistent push to keep your ambition untethered and active. Myth: Surround Yourself With Positivity Having external sources of positivity is wonderful but not reliable. When you’re in a happy environment filled with upbeat people, not taking care to keep your inner positivity from slipping can make you vulnerable to losing momentum. The difference between an external source and an internalized perspective is that one of them is with you for life. Myth: Don’t Dwell On The Past Why not dwell on the past? Yes, we’re not defined by our past experiences, but they’re a part of our journey. Thinking back to previous joys and missteps and reflecting is a key ingredient for personal growth. If you’re careful to remember that thinking about the past is about learning, not fixing, then you can’t go wrong. It’s also a great way to embrace the ups and downs of your life and learn about who you are at your core. The consistencies will teach you about what drives you forward and what weighs you down. To admit these things takes courage. It might be tempting to put some memories behind you and not look back, but these are the parts of our lives that stand to benefit from reflection the most. You’ll find your problem-solving skills becoming second nature as you learn more and more about your inner workings. Discard the idea that you need to be constantly ‘fixing’ something about yourself. Instead, think about how you can optimize your strengths and weaknesses. Myth: Set Achievable Goals, Because Failure Is An “F Word” It might seem counterintuitive, but failure is one of the best things that can happen to you. Maybe it wasn’t what you hoped for, but the phrase “high risk, high reward” doesn’t lie. Failing at something is a sure sign that you took a risk because you believed in yourself. When you do this, the results can sometimes turn out better than you could have hoped for – and sometimes they’ll fall short. When you opt to play it safe, you restrict yourself to your perceived capabilities. All people are capable of amazing things, most of which they’ll only discover by taking leaps and opportunities with zest and knowing that it’s not about succeeding. It’s about having faith that no event will take away from your power. When you set a wildly unrealistic goal, you’re not setting yourself up for failure. You’re expanding your realm of possibility. When you see a challenge that seems too much too soon, tackle it. If you don’t succeed the first time, you’ll find a better way the second time. If you succeed, you’ve accomplished something incredible that you might’ve mistakenly thought was light years away. Being able to call yourself to action and rise to impossibly high standards will knock the word ‘unachievable’ out of your vocabulary. You’ll surprise yourself and the people around you with the consistent drive to do better and retain the energy that moves you. Obstacles in the future might appear bigger than they are, but as you march along your courageous crusade, reliant on your determination and focus, you’ll find that there’s always a way forward. Myth: Prepare For The Worst When you entertain the idea that things will go wrong, you manifest the chance that they will. To prepare for the worst is to fear the worst, and as top business speakers will attest, there’s nothing to fear when you’re armed with faith in yourself. When you think you’ll be better off preparing for something, remind yourself that all the power you have comes from within you and, one way or another, it’ll deliver you to success. You also have everything that’ll help you to overcome. No loss could take away from your skills and talents. You can grow from failure, but you can’t shrink from it. At the end of every day, you’re the same person with the same power who sees risks and sets out to face them. Practicing authenticity and staying true to yourself is a great way to avoid becoming trapped in your achievements. When you keep humility, passion, and priorities in your toolkit, a bad outcome is just a stepping stone to a better one. Keep your perspective intact, and see things as they are: solvable. When you love and respect yourself, your resilience comes naturally. 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
We have a volunteer plant. It stands tall, beautiful, and mysterious. It is a volunteer—a plant that grew up spontaneously without our doing anything. It likely came from something planted years ago by the previous owner of the property. We refer to it as our wild plant. What if service delivery was like a volunteer plant? Customers love volunteer service—something that occurs without regard to pattern, agenda, or marketing plan. Like getting an unexpected birthday card from some friend you haven’t heard from in years, volunteer service makes customers feel like they are a part of an adventure or some whimsical show. It is the customer service version of a flash mob performance. Volunteer service breaks the set, upsets the status quo, and turns humdrum into awe. It engages the heart, envelopes the spirt, and transforms plainness into kaleidoscope, conventional into sprinkles. It can come in the form of an experience highly “customerized”—that is, made just for you, not just customized or made for someone like you. It might include something mysterious, inventive, or inclusive. It could feel to customers like a puzzle, a celebration, or an improvisation play. It might enchant, enlighten, or educate. But whatever its form, it should speak the language of bold and sing the song of extemporaneous. It is the essence of amazement. Our wild plant could care less about the nearby “pretty daises all in a row.” Volunteer service signals you are daringly innovative and willing to reach for a brighter future and not be shoehorned by your proper past or your practical present. So, shoot for the service moon. As the late Norman Vincent Peale wrote, “Even if you miss, you will end up among the stars.” 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 Mary Kelly
Sometimes your most brutal critics can be the people you love the most. Your parent, siblings, spouse, children—you know, the people who should be supporting you. Instead, you get unvarnished, unsweetened criticism about your clothes, your choice in partners, your hair, or your career. Sometimes in happens in front of the rest of the family. So, what can you do during the holidays to handle unwanted comments? Here are five things you can do to survive critical feedback. 1. Reframe Criticism as Caring It can help to change your perspective of your family’s criticism. You know deep down that they do not think you are a terrible person or a failure, but maybe they do care enough about you to want the best for you. Sometimes their worries or concern manifests as criticism, even if the person did not mean it that way. Mentally reframe hurtful words as a sign that your family member really cares about you. 2. Talk About the Effect of Criticism on You Not all caring feels warm and fuzzy. Some family members probably have no idea that it is hurtful to challenge your life choices or criticize your parenting skills. Sometimes the best thing you can do is calmly tell the other person how their criticism makes you feel. Say you value their advice, but perhaps they could be more positive and helpful in the way they deliver it. Ask for concrete suggestions and see how you can strategize together. 3. Remind Family Member that Unconditional Love Is Not Just from the Dog Families are supposed to love each other no matter what, but sometimes people forget that. They think it does not matter how they talk to their child or their sibling, and the niceties of politeness fall by the wayside. It is interesting that we are often more polite to complete strangers than they people we love the most. Make a conscious effort to be more polite. Remember to use “please” and “thank you.” 4. Set Clear Boundaries Sometimes family members forget that grown-up children are adults, not kids anymore. I still remember when my nieces and nephew were born, and sometimes it is a shock when I think that they voted in the last election. Adults make their own mistakes and take responsibility for their actions and life decisions. Much as I WANT to give my nieces and nephew advice on their lives, I need to remember that if they want guidance or advice, they will ask for it. My job is to make sure they know that I am available for them if they want that advice. 5. Decide to be the Dog We all know that dogs love unconditionally. I personally live with The Happiest Dog on the Planet. She was a rescue dog who had no idea where she was going when we selected her, but she happily jumped in the truck, wagging enthusiastically the whole time, and never looked back. She was not sure where she was going, but she decided that it had to be better than where she was. Her attitude continues to inspire me. We can emulate the dog’s attitude and decide to love our family no matter what. That does not mean we like them all the time, or that we approve of some of their dumber life choices, or that they do not drive us crazy. But we can control our responses to their comments. We can decide that we will accept them as they are. 6. Make Good Choices Ultimately, it is our choice. Yes, some people are toxic, and maybe we need to limit our time with them, whether they are friends or family, but we can set time and emotional boundaries. We can choose to take on their negativity or not. We decide how we react. The holidays can be stressful because we all want happiness and enjoyment, and sometimes our expectations of others do not match reality. That is okay! Smile and say please and thank you, be pleasant, and control what you can control. 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.
As schools prepare to open, it’s a great time to reflect on some highlights from summer before it fades. For me, the list includes morning walks with Beth, a slower pace at work, evening swims with Grace, playing cards with my boys and family vacations to Michigan and Florida. One highlight, however, started as a bad experience, became even worse and through a new friend’s generosity was transformed into a highlight. Let me explain. On our last night vacationing with my parents, five siblings and 21 cousins in Florida a bunch of the younger kids wanted to get ice cream together. Beth and I loaded them up into a golf cart, double buckled a few, triple buckled the rest and began the short commute. The night was cool, the stars were out, the kids were laughing, the week had been perfect and the glistening lights of the ice cream hut appeared in sight. Everything was perfect. Until… Until the bright red and blue lights of a police car pierced the darkness and sirens shrieked over the sounds of nature. My heart sank – as did my pride – as I pulled the golf cart off the road into a parking lot used as overflow for the ice cream stand. (A little golf cart pulled over with seven kids in it became quite the spectacle for an extensive line of customers waiting for their ice cream.) While they gawked at us, the kids behind me started asking questions. “Why did they pull you over, Dad?” “Are they going to take you to jail, Uncle John?” “Will this be your first time in jail? “Does this mean no ice cream?” The officer approached and explained that although our headlights were on, the taillights weren’t. She needed to run my license, but would get us out of here as quickly as she could. After getting my license back, I thanked the officer, double checked that the tail lights were on, pulled out of the spot and finished the commute. We parked, the kids popped out, skipped to the end of the line, and waited to place our order. It had been a bit of an ordeal, but the night was back on track. Until… Until Beth whispered to me, “You have cash, right? This place doesn’t take credit.” My heart sank as I realized neither of us had brought cash. We looked at these little kids, with the realization the place was closing shortly. There wasn’t time to run back for cash. The little ones were going to be disappointed. We started telling the kids what happened, prepared to step out of line and dejectedly return to the golf cart, defeated. Until… Until a gentleman a few people behind us heard our conversation, approached and shared that he’d like to buy our family ice cream. After repeatedly telling him that his offer was too generous, we had too many kids, it cost too much, he shared: “John, I actually read your book ON FIRE. I loved it. And I’d love to buy your family’s ice cream.” My friends, the suntan from that Florida sun has faded. The shells collected from the beach have been misplaced. The sand has finally been washed out of the clothes and the ice cream stains removed from the kids’ shirts. But none of us will forget our last night. We won’t forget the series of mistakes that almost made the night a total failure. And we won’t forget the unexpected generosity of a stranger who did far more than buy ice cream for a bunch of kids. What he really did was remind a line of onlookers that anyone can stand back, gawk and feel sorry for another. But the opportunity we all have is to not merely observe what’s wrong with someone else, but to care enough to step up, to walk over and to try to do something that makes a difference. We all know life is not perfect. We all know it’s hard. We all sometimes struggles with self-doubt and self-worth. Until. Until someone shows up. Reminding us that we are loved, our life matters and the best is yet to come. Take the opportunity today to be that person for someone else. Today 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 Marilyn Tam
Bill, CEO of the industry leading company smiled, nodded and said, my people will go through walls for me. He was confident that his team would follow his direction in the upcoming challenges. We were working together to significantly improve the standards for the industry, and there are potentially significant obstacles along the way. Making dramatic changes are disruptive, and some of the team may resist and/or sabotage the process. What about you? Are you certain that your crew would stand with you when you lead them into demanding situations? This is the test of leadership. This is the heart of leadership. Today’s tight labor market and proliferation of remote work have given workers more employment options. People are seeking reasons to be committed to an organization where they are spending the bulk of their time. According to Harvard Business Review and Gallup research , people are looking for meaning and growth in their work even before a bigger paycheck. Microsoft, one of the world’s most respected and highest ranked company’s CEO, Satya Nadella states that empathy is the center of their agenda for innovation. Respect, understanding, and support is at the core of their flourishing and ability to attract, retain and develop their team. On the employer review site Glassdoor, Microsoft is rated 4.5 out of 5.0 by their employees. This rating is second only to Bain and Company, a company also known for treating their team with heart, after all as a consulting company, Bain and Company must treat their biggest asset, their consultants well. They need their workers, without them they have absolutely nothing. Building our heart — mind connection is essential for personal wellbeing as well as a leadership skill. Deborah Rozman, President & CEO of HeartMath, author and psychologist knows this very well. Her organization is founded on guiding and training leaders on how incorporate heart into leadership. Frequently, accumulated stress results in anxiety, anger, depression, sleeplessness, illness, and more. When your physical, mental and emotional systems are aligned, you are more able to access your heart’s intuitive guidance and connect with your higher creative potentials and enable you to manage and interact from compassion and understanding. Recently Deborah Rozman and I discussed why and how to lead, recruit, retain and motivate an organization’s teams. The podcast and video are now offered on HeartMath’s website and on Youtube. A leader with heart means that they listen, build confidence and respect, while establishing and executing on the mission and purpose of the organization. They sincerely appreciate, understand, and train their workforce with understanding and compassion. And the results are remarkable and well documented scientifically. Exactly what is needed for the current times, when workers are looking for meaning and connection in their work. How to build your heart-mind coherence? Below are five tools you can use from HeartMath and my experience, to support your development of this powerful connection: 1. Establish a quiet and safe environment — where you can take a few moments to reflect and center. You can be inside a building or in nature where you can spend by yourself for the duration of the exercise, which can be as short as a few minutes to 30 minutes or more. 2. Heart Focused Breathing — turn your focus to your heart/chest area and breathe from there. Take slower and more conscious breaths. Notice how that relaxes your body by gently sensing into each limb, your torso and your head and shoulders. Close your eyes and continue to breathe in this manner. 3. Enliven a positive mindset — recall and hold a pleasing and fond incident or memory and/or invoke gratitude and a feeling of love. Keep that feeling in your mind and heart. Continue your heart focused breathing. 4. Hold that positive mindset and relax in that space for 3 minutes or more. You can stay in this condition as long as you are comfortable. Notice how your body and mind continue to unwind and de-stress. 5. Slowly open your eyes — and consciously re-enter the physical space you are in. Acknowledge your strengthened coherence between your heart and mind. Gently move your body and resume your day with renewed energy and insight. What happened to Bill and his challenging project? He incorporated the 5 mind-heart coherence steps into the beginning of his strategy meetings. He shared the bold and potentially hugely rewarding venture with his team. Indeed, his team stood with him as they took on the biggest and riskiest project in their company history. They exchanged ideas, outlined opportunities and pitfalls that are inherent in the ambitious venture. They bonded and felt safe to share, innovate and co-create. Now six months later, they have secured the foundation of what will be the next step forward in their company’s future. Even a solid team needs a boost when the stakes are very high. In our assessment review, Bill gave me a high five as we celebrated the enthusiastic reception to what was a perilous journey. They are not home yet, but they know the way, and the 5 mind-heart coherence steps are now part of their meeting protocol. The heart in leadership is now part of their company culture. 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
In traditional training approaches, 85 percent of the organization’s effort takes place during a single, one-and-done event. Only five percent of the effort and resources are devoted to follow-up after the “event.” For training to stick, here’s our recommended approach for where to place your time and energy:
To achieve this balanced approach, you must be carefully plan training to be effective. When I look at organizations with the highest success rate for making training stick, they all have one thing in common. They plan for how they will weave the training into the fabric of the organization. It doesn’t matter whether it’s customer service training or adapting to a new computer system. The new skills need to become a way of life at the organization. Here are our four keys to making it stick. START WITH THE LEADERSHIP Connecting leadership is key to success. Help staff understand why the training is needed, how it will take place, and what will be taught. Leaders should see the entire program that the front line will be trained on. They should be prepared to reinforce the training immediately after it occurs. Leaders should also be prepared to coach and mentor staff about the program so they can help make it stick. You won’t gain the necessary traction in the culture, if leaders aren’t fully on board or aren’t prepared to effectively coach. A practice we like to incorporate with leaders is identifying tough situations or questions that staff may face. Leaders often need to discuss how they will handle resistance. We coach them to walk through these situations. Preparing for these “what if” scenarios upfront. It will help leaders gain focus. The act of “rehearsing” a response prepares them for potentially real situations that may emerge. It helps them to stay on message with confidence. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Skill building is best done with live practice in an interactive manner and in an environment where attendees can get feedback. In a digital world, we’re often quick to assume that doing everything online is best. When it comes to this type of training, though, that’s not the case. Remember, we’re in a service-oriented, people-centered, business. We interact with patients when they are at their most vulnerable. To manage the interactions effectively, we need to practice, in person, with real people. We need to become adept at reading nonverbal cues. We need to practice giving and receiving feedback. That doesn’t happen online. We all learn best by doing. MAKE IT PERSONAL Sharing personal stories and personal reflections helps to make the training stick. During our busy days, it’s easy for new skills to get swept aside for familiar routines, but connection to purpose will make your training memorable and give it a sense of importance. Stories help make that connection to purpose. In addition to helping leaders to build their storytelling skills, we give attendees a challenge. We ask them to think of one thing that they are going to do differently after the training. We also tell them that their unit leader is going to be asking them about that personal commitment. Making it personal takes the training from the head to the heart and hands. It moves them from thinking about service concepts, to thinking about how they’re going to put these behaviors into play with the customers they serve. Remember, not all employees have patients, but all of them have customers. We also encourage all unit managers to speak with staff after they attend the training to learn what change they are working on. DELIVER A BIG DOSE Timing can be a challenge when you’re training hundreds or thousands of employees. It can take significant planning and organizing to get everyone through the training. Taking a trickle approach, offering one or two classes at a time, and spreading the training out over several months, risks losing momentum. Focus on getting the training completed in a relatively short period of time. Harness the momentum and create a palpable shift in the organization. This is much more likely when there is a big dose delivered all at once. A single training session won’t get lasting results. What you must strive for is a culture shift—a culture focused on unwavering accountability for delivering exceptional patient experiences, every day, every time, with every encounter. Creating a consistently positive customer experience requires training that builds skills but engages staff in a strong connection to purpose. Everyone needs some early wins. When done right, and reinforced by observant leaders, training will support the early win. 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
There’s an old saying among professional boxers: “Champions don’t become champions in the ring; they are merely recognized there.” The implication, of course, is that the hard work of winning happens during an intense training regimen. The blood, sweat, and tears on the gym floor; the relentless planning for every possible scenario; the sacrifice and careful preparation. This is the stuff that ultimately enables victory. Professional athletes achieve at the highest levels by spending 90% of their time training and 10% of their time performing. In most areas of life, however, we do the exact opposite. In fact, most business leaders, parents, and professionals spend closer to zero percent of their time in thoughtful study of their craft or training for improvement. Instead, we labor through the days in full-exertion mode and then wonder why we fail to reach our full potential. Imagine a star tennis player who never trained and only stepped foot on the court during major tournaments. Or a pro football player who never bothered with conditioning, learning the plays, or running drills with his teammates. Predictably, these athletes would unravel in a spectacular fashion. Which is exactly what we do when we fail to commit the time and energy to our own personal development. While you probably don’t have the luxury of devoting 90% of your days to training, carving out just 5-10% of your time for focused improvement will quickly improve your performance. If you are in sales, spend a few hours each week in role-playing sessions and carefully practicing your pitch. If you write code, spend time studying others’ work, attending hackathons, and forcing yourself to solve complex problems. Simply put, a training regimen will jettison your career to the next level. Just like the pro athletes who develop a written training program with specific maneuvers and goals, you should be taking the same, proactive approach for your own career. Reading books, attending lectures (or watching them online), running “drills,” solving practice problems, doing simulations with colleagues, and even trying to decode your competitors’ approach are all helpful exercises to include in your training plan. If you have the discipline to improve yourself without the prodding of others, you will quickly fly past those who lack the ambition to push themselves to becoming world-class. As the Spartan Warrior Creed professes, “Sweat more in training, bleed less in war.” 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 Laurie Guest
You’ve probably heard the phrase “Fake it ‘til you make it.” It’s a reminder that even when you don’t feel like you can perform at your best, sometimes just acting like it will make it so. When it comes to busting out of our service fatigue rut and getting back to customer service excellence, I call it being Showtime ready, and trust me: it makes all the difference. What is showtime?Consider a theater in which the actors waiting behind the curtain to go on do not get along well. There may be personal conflict or performance stress, but when they step on stage, they have lines to say and a role to play in order to give the audience an enjoyable experience. You’ll never observe an actor step out of character, look out into the audience, and say, “Hey, you think he’s a nice guy? You have no idea what he’s really like.” It simply would not happen in the theater! The same is true for business. How often do we tell the customer things that happen behind the curtain that they don’t need to know? Once the lights go on and the open sign is on the door, it’s showtime. Show up in your costume (your business attire). Use the scripts you’ve been given (the right words at the right time for a desired result). Give your audience (your guest) the best possible experience no matter how many times you’ve recited those lines or completed that task. Use Showtiming to Bust OutWhen it’s showtime, it’s go time. But service fatigue can keep us from summoning the energy it takes to truly be “game ready” at the start of each new day. This is where it’s important to put mind over matter, to get into a showtiming state of mind even if it doesn’t come naturally. Give yourself a pep talk. Take a few deep breaths. Do what you need to do to shift your mindset and your attitude so that as soon as you’re open for business, you’re ready for showtime. Because the reality is, if you can shift your attitude, it’s actually very difficult not to raise your energy levels and bust through your service fatigue. If you pump yourself up for your day like a professional athlete or stadium performer before a big event, the energy and enthusiasm are sure to follow. So here’s your homework for this session: commit to showtime every day next week. Get your whole team on board if you can! Making a commitment to a showtime attitude trains your brain to recognize that when it’s “game on,” it’s time to perform at your best. And if your coworkers, staff and teammates are on board, all the better. Showtiming is contagious, and no one wants to be left out of the party! And if you think I’m crazy for suggesting you rally your team to get into a showtime mentality, take the office manager of a clinic who saw me speak once about this. Weeks after my keynote, she reached out to say the office staff had started a daily ritual: every morning before the clinic opened, the staff gathered in a huddle for a team cheer, hands in the center and “Showtime!” shouted in unison. After a few weeks of this? “Our energy was higher, and people were showing up to work on time. Even though it was a silly little thing we were doing, we were serving our patients better because we had a showtime mentality,” she said. The exhaustion you’re feeling is real, and there’s no single way to bust out of it. While you work on setting boundaries and getting enough rest, consider committing to a showtime mentality—whether you’re ready to or not!—to get back to the customer service excellence your guests, customers and clients deserve. 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 Ron Culberson. With a master’s degree in social work, Ron Culberson spent the first part of his career working in a large hospice organization as a clinical social worker, middle manager, and senior leader. As a speaker, humorist, and author of "Do it Well. Make it Fun.The Key to Success in Life, Death, and Almost Everything in Between", he has delivered more than 1,000 presentations to associations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations. His mission is to change the workplace culture so that organizations are more productive and staff are more content. He was also the 2012-2013 president of the National Speakers Association and is a recognized expert on the benefits of humor and laughter.
When I was a kid, I didn’t think my life would be complete until I was famous. I’m not exactly sure why I thought fame was a worthy goal. Perhaps curing cancer, inventing the internet, or even creating a way to have healthy teeth without flossing would have been worthwhile endeavors. Seeking fame for fame’s sake seems a tad bit shallow. Nonetheless, as a teenager with no fear of failure and a total lack of worldly knowledge, I devised a plan to become famous. I did an inventory of my skills and determined several key attributes. I was funny. I was good at performing in front of other people. And I had memorized all of Steve Martin’s albums. So, I decided to be Steve Martin. I don’t mean that I had planned to become Steve Martin. I just figured that I could perform his act for any group that couldn’t afford him. The act was very good and I was very cheap. It was a perfect formula for success. I couldn’t imagine what would stand in my way. At this point, many of you are wondering how I even got into college. It’s a valid conundrum. Amazingly, I attended the University of Virginia, one of the top public schools in the country. But since I grew up in a very rural and impoverished part of the state, I believe my acceptance to The University had something to do with a quota system for students from the very rural impoverished part of the state where I grew up. However, that’s a discussion for another blog. Suffice it to say that my plan to be Steve Martin, while in many ways simplistically brilliant, did not materialize. And in hindsight, I suspect we can all breathe a sigh of relief. In fact, I’d probably still be in litigation. So, without the need to purchase a second white suit and more rabbit ears, I took the non-famous path of attending college and working in a variety of interesting jobs. In the late 80’s, I started speaking at conferences because I had developed a presentation on “Humor in the Workplace.” I was still funny in a not-at-all-like-Steve-Martin way, and my message of work-life balance was something people would actually pay for. Ironically, after getting some traction with this topic, I thought I might actually achieve some level of fame after all. This idea was reinforced during one of my early engagements when I spoke at a conference in rural Maine. The event was held at a local bowling alley and conference center. The marquee out front read, “Welcome Ron Culberson” and “Try Our New 7-10 Split Nachos.” As I drove into the parking lot, I was convinced that this was a sign (literally) that I had finally arrived and perhaps one day, my name would be in lights at a bowling alley and conference center in Las Vegas. Again, I refer you to the fact that I probably had help getting into college. Well, my name didn’t appear on any more marquees. And while I’ve enjoyed a long fulfilling career, my path to success did not lead to fame. That being said, I do occasionally run into people who say, “Oh, I’ve heard of you.” But, let’s be clear. I do not have paparazzi in front of my house and I’ve never been recognized in the produce section of the grocery store. I have, on occasion, run into someone who knows me in the beer section, however. Maybe that counts for something. Anyway, while I no longer have the desire to pursue fame, I do still question my ultimate life goal. One day, while I was pondering this very idea in of all places, the produce section of the grocery store, I remembered the many funerals I had attended when I worked in hospice care. Some were packed to the brim with people wanting to pay their respect to the deceased. It occurred to me that having hundreds of people attend my funeral would be a great goal to pursue. It would not suggest that I was famous but it sure would show that I was popular, right? When you think about it, a funeral is a great reflection of someone’s life. Unless, of course, it’s done poorly. I once attended a funeral where the officiant kept referring to the deceased by the wrong name. Who does that? If there is one simple bit of information that anyone can capture during the post-death, pre-funeral planning phase, it’s the dead person’s name. I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s usually printed right there on the program. Geez. As I contemplated this new goal of a packed funeral, I realized that there could be a problem with my plan. You see, I come from a family with good genes. My parents lived into their 90’s. So conceivably, I might outlive many of the people who would have attended my funeral. To me, the risk of a poorly attended funeral would be a huge letdown after a lifetime of pursuing a standing-room-only sendoff. And that brings me to a weirdly coincidental experience I had a few weeks ago. One of my volunteer roles is to operate the camcorder for my church. I record the weekly church services and occasionally record a special event or funeral. Recently, I operated the camcorder at the funeral of a woman who had attended our church. She did not have any family but a handful of friends attended the funeral. Eight years before her death, this woman had started showing signs of dementia. With no family available, her friends became her support system. They assisted her around the house and kept an eye on her diminishing mental condition. Eventually, she needed more support and these same friends helped her transition to the memory care unit of a local nursing home. However, they never abandoned her. Even after she moved, they remained committed to her care and helped with her legal and financial responsibilities. As I listened to several of these friends speak during the service that day, it occurred to me that this might be a better goal for my life—to have friends who would take care of me when I am no longer able to care for myself. I got excited by the idea and immediately made a mental list of the people who would be the best choices for my support system. I figured I needed to start grooming them for this very important role. Then, it hit me. I had it all wrong. My goal in life should not be focused on luring a group of people to be my caregivers. Instead, maybe I should be the type of person who cares for others. If I am able to support a family member, a friend, or a neighbor, then fame and the number of people who attend my funeral would be moot—because, at that point, I would have already achieved my goal. In the end, perhaps that’s what it’s all about for each one of us—for life to not be all about us! That’s such a profound concept, it might actually make me famous. Wink. 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