Episodes 101-110

 Success leaves clues.  And one thing successful people do is deal with “things” well.    I’m talking about the unpredictable… the external factors… the things out of our control.  Anyone can be successful if everything goes according to plan.  What we’ve noticed about successful people is that they seem to handle situations very well when the unpredictable happens.  How?    According to this week’s #truthseekers guest Matt Drinkhahn, CONSISTENCY is the key.  Coach Matt gave the example of Michael Phelps, “play the video tape…” – listen to the conversation this week to see what he means.  “If we know what situations we might be in, we can practice them.”  Got a recurring challenge in your life?  “identify it,” says Coach Matt.  As we reinforce all the time on #truthseekers, the first step is AWARENESS.  The coaches go into this conversation much more deeply during this week’s episode – enjoy! 

 Have you ever experienced a time where your “high standards” cause you to not end up taking action?  If high standards cause you to freeze and wait for something better to come along, you may be expressing symptoms of a perfectionist…  What better way to discover the antidote of perfectionism than from the mouth of a recovering perfectionist?!  Coach Nick talks about the journey all the way from not being able to see himself as a perfectionist to eventually embodying the mantra “massive action is the cure-all” (thanks Tony Robbins).   Space first.  ALWAYS space first… without the space, you can’t put something in it without having first taken something out.  Said a different way:  if you don’t like where you are, change something.  That change may just be what the doctor ordered to create enough space to illuminate your next step away from perfectionism, and towards results that you desire! 

 If you don’t win September, you’re screwed for the following year!  This is Coach Nick’s casual way of saying Q4 starts NOW, and sets the tone for the following year too…  Instead of becoming a victim of your schedule, how might you focus your INTENTIONAL TIME on what’s most important for the rest of 2022?  When we have clarity, we can win.  It behooves us to get out ahead of it; to focus on what’s needed NOW instead of playing catch up as the holidays roll around.  Wouldn’t it be nice strolling into holiday season with CERTAINTY that our 2022 goals are on lock!?  And that the back-end of 2022 can be used to tee up an amazing 2023!?  That all starts, you guessed it, RIGHT NOW! 

 Why do we do anything?  What’s our purpose?  What’s our meaning for existing?  These are existential questions that benefit ANYONE who has the wherewithal to slow down and contemplate.  That’s what we do on #truthseekers!  Our conversations are intentional time to slow down and translate our feelings into words… what we’re going through… how we see our progress being made.  On this week’s episode, we coaches determine that communication with each other is the “WIN” for us each episode.  But we want more!  What about others?  Should we consider what our viewers are gaining from our intentional time?  Does fulfillment and value come from ROI?  Our number of followers?  The levels of engagement with our content?  You can literally watch double streams of consciousness as we talk through the future of our podcast.    Perhaps some changes are afoot, and you can literally watch it happening in real time on this week’s episode of #truthseekers!  Enjoy 

 The more you enjoy something, the more valuable it is.  When you enjoy something, you put more of yourself into it, thus making it more valuable for others.  This week’s #truthseekers guest, Evelyn McMullen, is responsible for Return on Investment analysis for technology deployments, particularly global ROI strategy within content management, collaboration, and talent management software areas.   Her primary responsibilities include gathering and analyzing data around the costs and benefits of technology deployments to identify common value drivers, ROI, and other financial metrics.  When you hear “ROI”, you may cringe at the implication of numbers, data, and spreadsheets.  This is particularly the case with HR where the default tends to be cost-focused.    What we coaches found interesting about today’s conversation with Evelyn is the less-traversed parts of Human Resources, particularly the connectivity to and feedback from the end users of a product or rollout, in alignment with the value that is gained.  We ask Evelyn what gets her most excited about her role… how she thinks about value in her role… and so much more – enjoy! 

 How long does it take to come out of a funk?  …those times where you don’t feel quite yourself.  You feel off…  Something about that feeling used to put me into a spiral for months… who KNOWS how much time I would give away as I wandered away from what I wanted!!!  That doesn’t happen anymore (the wandering).  And this situation in which I found myself recently had me pondering why.  What was I doing that was so effective?  How was I managing the situation so that I could back on track; back to my productive ways?  I still didn’t feel great, but I didn’t feel like I was pushing.  Forcing.   And I definitely didn’t feel like I was wasting time.  So what was it???    Coach Nick and work our way through on this week’s episode of #truthseekers. 

 What are some of your practices, habits, techniques, and strategies to navigate the times you are feeling “blahhhh”?  One major coaching principle we embody is called “future pacing”.  This is the practice of thinking about the space we WANT to be in; not the one we currently find ourselves.  And once we’re in that space, what would it feel like?  As we coaches navigate this conversation on this week’s episode, you’ll hear a balance between the concept of future pacing and something we call checking in.  Checking in is the practice of calling out the obvious.  Sometimes life moves so fast (we can’t smell a rose when we are in a dead sprint) that we don’t have time to acknowledge the break-neck speed at which we experience life.  What if we created the space to ponder our recent experiences?  Like Coach Nick says, what if we create the space so we can put something else in?  Perhaps something like your cell phone is preventing this sacred time for you.  What might the power be if you substituted a little “me” time for the mindless scrolling?  Something to think about as you listen to this week’s episode of #truthseekers! 

 How do you keep it fun?  When you CHOOSE to engage in activities that bring you joy, excitement, and fun, you are the best version of yourself.  Why?  It gives you access to a higher version of you; more articulate, more creative; less guarded and more fluid.  Not to mention… when you are the best version of yourself, it gives others permission to rise to their potential as well.  Watch as the coaches tie in a bow how to have fun in association with giving to others.  What happens when you have fun, giving?    Enjoy… 

 The art of setting goals…  If we set goals that are too easy, that’s boring.  If we set goals that are impossible, that’ll demoralize us.  So how do we set goals?  How far into the future should our goals be set?  How do we know we are setting the correct goals for ourselves?  The coaches navigate certainty with goal setting on this week’s episode of #truthseekers.  They talk about being dirt honest with yourself, and the power of recognizing that you could be part of the problem (no way!)… 

 The coaches are off and running on their Second Century of episodes!  This week’s #truthseekers conversation comes with a bit of a shakeup in the environment, but more of the same of what we’ve come to know:  picking apart the simple principles.  A Self-Improving, Mindful, Seeking Mastery of Self Machine… the coaches discuss accelerating progress, and the cycles we go through along the way.  It’s the recognition of these patterns and principles that can make all the difference!  Check out our conversation this week to dive more into calling things out for what they are… and acknowledging the stages when you see them