How to Fail Fantastically 

(2 minute read time)

Do you embrace failure?  There are TONS of articles, blogs and speakers that tell us we should.  But do you? Really?

If we are honest, most of us would say “No”.  I don’t blame you.

Success feels so much better than failure.  Success feels amazing. It’s kind of addicting really.  

So, we typically end up lowering our expectations of ourselves so we can get more of that amazing feeling of success.  And avoid the awful feeling of failure.

The problem is when we lower our expectations we are also cheating ourselves out of our real dreams.  We fail ahead of time by not even trying. We don’t go after our real passion, our real desires, our moonshot goals.  We either recycle the life we already have or go after smaller, easier goals we believe we can accomplish.

So how do we get out of this horrible habit?

  1. Let yourself dream – make a list of your BIG goals, the ones that seem impossible. Pick one.  
  2. Make a plan – List all the things that need to happen for you to accomplish the goal.  Put them on your calendar. Commit to honoring these appointments. Don’t fail by not doing them      
  3. Define failure – Most of us make our fails mean there is something wrong with us.  Then we give up and beat ourselves up. Decide now what you will tell yourself if your plan doesn’t work.  “I’m learning what doesn’t work” and “I am curious about what will work” are phrases I use often.
  4. Keep Going – Do. Not. Quit.     

I love the imagery of a child learning to walk.  They have some EPIC fails in the process of learning to walk.  The very act of falling down and getting back up again is the thing that strengthens their legs so they eventually walk successfully and confidently.  

Need some help failing?  Click here to schedule a free 30-minute coaching session with me.     

How to get things off your To-Do list

(2 minute read time)

If you are anything like me, there is at least a couple tasks on your To-Do list that get carried over to the next day or week or yikes, month!    

They’re probably not fires that need to be put out, yet they are important enough to be on your list.  Maybe they have deadlines (like performance reviews) and maybe they don’t (like updating your LinkedIn profile).  

There’s this conflict between wanting them done and not wanting to do them.  

The simple reason behind why they linger instead of getting done and crossed off the list is a thought.  Yep, that’s it. It’s just a thought.

We usually think it is the task itself, or the time it will take, that causes us to leave it on the list.  It’s not. It’s our thoughts about the task, our thoughts about the time it takes.

Thoughts create feelings.  If we think a task is going to be boring, difficult, time-consuming or arduous then we are likely generating a feeling of reluctance to do it.  And we will probably not do it.

Instead of giving into this, ask yourself how you want to feel in the doing of the task.  Maybe you want to feel motivated, confident, or determined.  All of those emotions are available to you now with the right thought.

Ask yourself, “What could I think to feel (insert desired emotion here)?”.  

I assure you action will follow and you will get those things off your list!

Want to learn more about how to get those pesky, lingering To-Do’s done? Click here to schedule a free 30-minute coaching session with me.

Leadership: A messy endeavor

Blog1“How hard can this be”? That is what I thought when I was promoted to my first leadership position.  I would be the boss, I would have a team, we would have goals, I would divvy up the work and we would get it done right?  How hard can it be?? Oh, to be young and naive again!!

If you are a leader, you know leadership is far more complex.  If it were that easy, almost anyone could do it and do it pretty well.  But, if you have ever had a “bad” boss, or felt like you have been a “bad” boss yourself, you know not everyone leads well all of the time.

One of the things that makes leadership complex is it involves humans.  Our employees, our colleagues, our own bosses – all human. Humans have emotions, dreams, families, goals, desires, hopes and fears.  And so do you. All of these influence how we behave. It can be beautiful and it can certainly be messy.

This blog is dedicated to helping leaders figure out how to simplify those influences, channel them, use them to your advantage and bring life to the aspirations you have for your leadership career.

Need help sorting through the messy part?  Click here to schedule a free, 30-minute coaching session with me