Three Ways to Find Peace in Your Personal Choices & Priorities

In today’s self-promotional, often grandiose, rose-colored online society, it’s easy to feel that you never do enough, that you’re not at the right places with the right people at the right times, and that you can never catch up. It’s a self-sabotaging mindset that can dash our hopes and deflate our spirits.

How do we find peace with where we are at this precise moment in time, and with the choices we make for ourselves? How do we not feel as if we are missing out?

I live in multiple universes. For the last 20+ years, I’ve been a driven entrepreneur as I’ve built two companies while developing my writing and speaking careers. However, for the last 18+ years, I’ve also been a full-time, hands-on mother to two sons (now 18 and 15) with my husband of 23 years. During that time, I’ve also juggled elder care and loss during my mother’s grave illness and eventual death.

I speak frequently about the elusive holy grail of work-life balance, and the myths that one can have it all. I’ve spoken with and counseled hundreds of women about juggling my dual-careers of business- building and home-building.

Microsoft selected me last Fall as one of eight entrepreneurs to participate in a discussion with other industry experts about the future of women’s entrepreneurship. In my interview, I stressed the importance of “Leaning Out,” and of being OK with passing up opportunities that don’t align with where you are in life at a specific moment in time.

After performing this non-stop juggling act for almost two decades, I’ve finally learned the secret to knowing and celebrating your personal priorities:

You alone must make peace with your choices, with no regard for anyone else’s opinion, understanding, or approval.

This inner peace results from acknowledgement of three truths:

1: Your knowledge of your personal core value system, and how it drives where you are at this point in time;

2: Your courage to live your values and reach back to them when you are challenged to depart from them;

3: Your awareness that where you are today will shift. All is impermanent, including your priorities, at any given moment in time.

Prioritization is a pyramid.

While we may think we have “competing priorities,” we can only have one priority at any given moment. To be thinking of other commitments while we are physically engaged in a single priority only prevents us from being present in any priority.

I’ve created a Prioritization Pyramid that shows the correlation between prioritization and clarity. When we fully commit to our priorities, we achieve clarity.  Clarity leads to renewed focus and a sense of calm.

When we are confused and conflicted, our path to clarity is through our core values. What matters most to us at this precise moment in time?

I was recently presented with several incredible opportunities that seemed like prioritization conflicts but through deeper analysis, I realized they were not conflicts at all. In the end, my choice of where to be at this precise moment in time manifested from my core value of “family first.”

My mother used to say, “We can’t be tall and short at the same time.” I think of this often as I continue to be presented with wonderful opportunities that may challenge my “family first” value.

When we are presented with “opportunities” no matter how big or small, we will miss something else if we choose to accept the opportunity. There are no “right” or “wrong” choices; there are only choices that do or don’t work for your specific life, at this moment in time.

Your choices don’t have to please others. They must simply work for you.

1. Knowledge of your core values.
2. Your courage to live your values and reach back to them when you are challenged to depart from them.
3. Awareness and acceptance of the fact that where you are today will shift and that everything is impermanent.

These three truths will allow you to celebrate your personal priorities without second-guessing your choices, and achieve clarity & peace along your journey of both realized and missed opportunities.

Wishing you peace and clarity as you step into your personal power of prioritization.

PS: I wrote about the path to clarity in our businesses in a previous blog here. I also share my three integrated strategies (time management, energy management, and prioritization) for Peak Productivity here.

I work one-on-one with CEOs to help them clarify their priorities in both their personal and professional lives, so that they achieve maximum clarity, productivity, peace, and joy. Through my proprietary toolkit and highly targeted coaching sessions, we clear away the clutter. Email me at [email protected] if you can benefit from greater clarity of your priorities and more effective time management.

——————————————————————————————————–

Sign up here to receive Successful Culture’s leadership blog every Friday. All posts contain actionable content to make you the best leader you can be, to help you develop your people to their greatest potential, and to help you build your best organization.

About Successful Culture
We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.

Ready to move forward? Email us today at [email protected]

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with me during my morning Periscope sessions as well (@marissalevin).

Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.
– In my latest Inc, article, I share The Essential Guide to Avoiding Workplace Text, Email, & Social Media Disasters.
– Learn about the 9 Leadership Behaviors that Lose Employee Trust & Respect here.

~Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”

My 8 Wishes For You as We Turn the Calendar

This is a re-print of one of my most popular blogs that I first published in December 2011.

Three Integrated Strategies for Peak Productivity

We all have a set number of hours in a day, with multiple demands always competing for our attention. How do we maximize efficiency & productivity? This is a MAJOR issue with most leaders who are chasing way too many relationships, company tasks, opportunities, and requirements.

Productivity is essential for health and happiness because it allows leaders to get off the constantly running treadmill and incorporate downtime for rest. “Busy” often has a way of looking like “Productive.”

Peak Productivity Results from the successful integration of three things:

1: Time Management
2: Energy Management
3: Prioritization

Time Management
• Say NO. No is a complete sentence. Limit volunteering. Say no to lunch and coffee appointments. Offer a 15-minute skype session/Google hangout instead.

• Make decisions quickly – avoid ANALYSIS PARALYSIS. I’m setting up a media studio in my home for the weekly video tapings I am launching in June, and for my podcast show (summer launch planned). The amount of information available on equipment is overwhelming. I am keeping a narrow focus and working from a checklist to get what I need, and actually MOVE FORWARD rather than getting caught up in a never-ending swirl of decision making.

• Set an agenda for every meeting to make the time together meaningful and effective. If someone can’t identify three desired outcomes for your time together, don’t meet with them. This goes for 5-minute meetings, 15-minute meetings, or 50-minute meetings.

• Set time limits on things that can drag you down a rabbit hole (research, new ideas, networking events). Create a time budget for new activities you are going to explore.

• If possible, bundle your commitments/appointments to get the most “mileage” out of driving. Do not drive 45 minutes each way for one appointment.

• Put boundaries in place with people/activities/groups to allow downtime.

• Don’t reinvent the wheel – leverage things you have already done or created and build upon them. Creation of original content is great, but it’s time-consuming and expensive. Determine when it makes sense, based on your desired outcome.

• Be OK with “good enough.” Perfection” is the enemy of “good enough.” People get sucked into the fantasy of needing things to be perfect. This becomes the enemy of productivity AND execution. The goal is to FINISH…not complete it 99%.

• Delegate. Working on the wrong things sucks time, money and energy, and puts us in a position of not working from our strengths.

Energy Management
• Become aware of your own energy and work with it. Know when you are most productive to handle specific tasks. Some tasks take more mental energy than others, so knowing your own energy rhythm is necessary for peak productivity.

• Become aware of other people’s energy and distance yourself from negativity. Everyone projects energy. Protect your own energy by being cognizant of the energy of other people.

• If you can’t distance yourself, create mental barriers. Know your triggers. Do not allow yourself to be dragged down. Some people are like energy tornadoes; they suck you in. It is not your job to fix everyone else’s problems.

• Become aware of the impact other people’s drama has on you and do not engage. You can say NO when others try to bring you in. We can help others without becoming a drama victim.

Prioritization
• SINGLE-task. Itemize your priorities according to the criteria that works for you (time needed; deadline to be made; money spent; money made; ROI, etc.) and only work on the top few – sometimes only one, depending on the size of it. That’s it. You will get more done, more quickly, with better quality, with much less stress.

Other Important Tools/Strategy for Peak Productivity

Here are a few more tricks to tap into your Peak Productivity:

Mindset
• Practice a mindset of achievement and productivity. There are no excuses for not producing.

• Build a mindset of resilience. Do not let fear or setbacks derail you.

• Start the day in a positive place. Develop habits and own that time.

Goal Setting & Accountability
• Create realistic goals.

• Create an accountability partnership with someone who is in a similar place that you are.

Your Circle of Influence
• Who is around you? What is their daily pace? We run at the pace of our peers. When people exercise, they train with people on their level. It’s the same philosophy with our work pace.

• This is also a cultural issue in organizations. The CEO sets the pace. We are the people that surround us. When hiring employees, does their pace match the organizational pace?

Productivity Hacks
• Technology apps that streamline your most common tasks are essential for productivity. You can now accomplish almost everything you do at your desk with a mobile app.

• Scent/candles: Cinnamon and Citrus stimulate limbic system in the brain and make us more focused.

• Music: Focus music proven to stimulate the limbic system too for enhanced concentration (Spotify and [email protected])

• Physical care: Mind, body and spirit. All three need care & feeding on a daily basis.

For specific tips on neutralizing the effect that toxic behavior has on you, read my blog, Six Strategies for Containing Workplace Behavior.

For more insight on my Peak Productivity tips, visit Washington Business Report’s website to view my regular monthly appearance. My March segment focused on Peak Productivity.

If you would like to discuss how the Successful Culture Prioritization tools can work for you, email me at [email protected] We can set up a Skype chat to discuss how my TransformU tools can move you past your blocks and onto your next level of growth.

Sign up here to receive Successful Culture’s leadership blog every Friday. All posts contain actionable content to make you the best leader you can be, to help you develop your people to their greatest potential, and to help you build your best organization.

About Successful Culture
We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.

Ready to move forward? Email us today at [email protected]

Connect with me on Instragram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with me during my morning Periscope sessions as well (@marissalevin).

Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.
– In my latest Inc, article, I share The Essential Guide to Avoiding Workplace Text, Email, & Social Media Disasters.
– Learn about the 9 Leadership Behaviors that Lose Employee Trust & Respect here.

~Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”

“Why:” Why it Matters in Your Company and How to Uncover It

I attended a round table last month with some other CEOs to discuss growth strategies. The topics included People, Strategy, Execution, and Working Capital.

One of the CEOs shared that she was struggling to get the right people in place. She had employees that could do their jobs, but they weren’t passionate about the company mission or the customer’s mission. Being able to perform the work is obviously important. However, equally important is having a belief in the larger mission…a connection to the “why” behind the work. In this instance, this company was hired to support a program for the Department of Homeland Security that was directly tied to the safety of our first responders. That’s a HUGE mission! Even if her company is playing a small supporting role in the program, the work they are doing it still vitally important. And yet her employees were only focused on their tasks, not the bigger picture.

So, what’s a business owner to do when employees don’t feel a meaningful connection to their work? There are three options:

1. Try to make them care, by communicating your company’s mission, vision & values (the foundation for all company decisions), and by helping them connect their personal mission to the company’s mission
2. Accept the fact that they are not connected and learn to be OK with that
3. Get new employees

This may sound harsh, but finding meaning in our work is important for everyone in an organization. If an employee doesn’t feel connected to the mission, they are missing out on what I call a return-on-heartbeat (ROH), which is the deep personal satisfaction that comes when you’ve personally made a difference in the life of another.

Every company is only as strong as its weakest link. This goes for technical aptitude, general engagement, and ROH. When one employee is emotionally invested in the success of a customer deliverable, and another views it simply as a task, the emotionally invested employee will get dragged down. We are all susceptible to the energies of others, both positively and negatively. We all get excited when someone inspires us to do more, be more, or strive for more. Conversely, we get deflated when someone lacks the passion to care about a cause.

As entrepreneurs, we have to be connected to our “why” in everything we do. Customers don’t buy our “what.” They buy our belief in our company, they buy our passion, and they buy the likelihood that we are going to give 110% all the time because we care about their mission.

For me, my big “why” is a better world through entrepreneurship. In my heart, I believe that I can improve the world, one entrepreneur at a time. By helping business owners reach their greatest potential & be better leaders, and by helping them build the greatest organizations possible, I can improve the quality of life in our country and in our world. Companies that have strong leadership and operations grow. Growing companies generate jobs. These jobs help local economies, regional economies, national economies, and global economies. My macro “why” is a better world through entrepreneurship. My micro “why” is the wonderful satisfaction of watching my clients push through their obstacles and into their next phase of growth, because of our work together.

One of my clients is Stefanie Reiser, Founder & CEO of Align Development, a boutique residential real estate development firm. Her “why” is not making a profit on a good investment – although that’s a great outcome. Her micro “why” is transforming lives and communities through exceptional architecture & craftsmanship, elevating the human condition through the built environment, and creating meaningful experiences and beauty for residences and the larger community. Her macro “why” is to leverage her passion and experience in residential development to bring transformative change to villages in Peru, a country she visited and fell in love with. As she works to build her business inline with this purpose, she is also enacting a larger plan to encompass this social enterprise as well.

Another client is Heather Miller-Cox, Founder & CEO of Mighty Little Web Shop. Heather is a brilliant brand strategist and expert WordPress website designer. Her micro “why” is helping small business owners increase their revenues through websites that generate more leads and result in more sales. She wants to provide big-agency benefits for companies that can’t afford big agencies. Of course she loves branding and design, but her “why” is directly tied to her customer’s success. Her macro “why” is supporting organizations that help women and children. The entire team of Mighty Little Web Shop is committed to various organizations that provide resources and opportunities for women and kids. It is a shared organizational mission.

What is your “why?” if you have a business and you are selling a product or service, you’ve obviously defined your what. But what is the driver behind it? Beyond that, how does your organizational “why” connect to your personal “why?”

Here are five questions to ask yourself about your “why:”

1: What is it?

2: How are you living it and delivering it?

3: How are you communicating it internally and externally?

4: How are you attracting employees that connect with your “why?”

5: How are you helping your employees connect their “why” to your “why”?

Your why is your reason for your company’s existence. If you want others to understand this, you need to first understand it yourself. Then you will be able to communicate it to the world.

Good luck!

Sign up here to receive Successful Culture’s leadership blog every Friday. All posts contain actionable content to make you the best leader you can be, to help you develop your people to their greatest potential, and to help you build your best organization.

About Successful Culture
We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.

Ready to move forward? Email us today at [email protected]

Connect with me on Instragram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with me during my morning Periscope sessions as well (@marissalevin).

Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.
– In my latest Inc, article, I share The Essential Guide to Avoiding Workplace Text, Email, & Social Media Disasters.
– Learn about the 9 Leadership Behaviors that Lose Employee Trust & Respect here.

~Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”

photo credit Chaiwat via FreeDigitalPhotos

Four Steps to the Best New Year’s Gift You Can Give Yourself

“Those who live in the past limit their future.”

This was the message I received on my Yogi tea bag last night, as I enjoyed my nightly cup of tea. How timely and appropriate as we bring 2014 to a close.

Strengthen the Body, Strengthen the Mind, Strengthen the Outcome

I’ve been a hard core fitness enthusiast ever since I was 15, when I saw Linda Hamilton in The Terminator. I learned then that physical strength is not only beautiful; it is also essential to feeling confident and capable in all aspects of your life.

Executing on a dream or vision to build a business is one of the most mentally challenging endeavors a person will ever pursue. Every day, we are faced with nonbelievers, seemingly insurmountable challenges, and 101 reasons to quit. But still we persevere.

Driving an Intrapreneurial Spirit and Mindset

I’m working with a great company who’s committed to moving to the next level of growth. The owner/founder has done a very good job of establishing himself as a highly dependable and reputable subcontractor, but wants to triple the company size, and evolve into a prime contractor over the next 3 years. We have a lot of work to do. To make this pivot, we have to build his infrastructure, implement required processes, and align with the right people.

One of our most immediate tasks is to evaluate and shift the mindset and commitment of his current team. Growth can’t happen alone. It takes a village to build a business.

It’s Not Personal; It’s Our Values

Values dictate every major decision and action in an organization – from the clients that a company engages, to the people that a company hires, to seemingly simple behaviors such as leaving a door open or closed. Values determine our behavior when others are not around to watch us. They are the core of integrity – which manifests when values are integrated with our actions. Personally and professionally, they frame the most important aspects of who we are, and what matters to us.

Who Is the Best Sales Person in Your Company?

One of my coaching clients called me this week, asking for advice on where to find a great sales rep. She’s launching a start-up that has been in the works for months, and is obviously anxious to get her product to the market. My advice to her was to look in the mirror. That’s where she would find her best sales rep.

A Higher-Level Leadership Framework & Inspiring Through Adversity

As one who sees leadership and spirituality as two sides of the same coin, I often refer to Deepak’s 7-Step Framework for LEADERS. Deepak describes a leader as “the symbolic soul of a group of consciousness.” He says that group consciousness could be a family, an organization, a community, a country or the whole world. He explains that the leader represents the longings, the aspirations, the deepest desires of the group, so in a sense, “the soul.” This is exactly why the CEO owns the culture of an organization, which is the organizational DNA.