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Tag: awareness

The balance of hustle: How do you find flow?

The line between engagement and productivity, a flow state in which decisions and actions are fluid and purposeful; balanced with the cost of too much: moments of exhaustion, lack of focus and clarity, the heaviness of feeling overwhelmed.

How do you create balance?

Harvard Business Review estimates 150 million workers across North America and Western Europe are favoring independence over traditional employment.

I want to hear from founders, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and others who are hustling in the gig economy (and most likely working overtime). What are your tips for managing workload and client demands? How do you ensure you’re giving enough to your team while keeping a hardy reserve of energy for yourself?

Talk to me. Send me a message or tweet me @redheadlefthand.

Unhappy? Change one thing.

Unhappiness and discontentment feed off each other. When one thing goes wrong, it is easy to focus on all that is negative. One issue then consumes your energy and colors your entire life. It’s a spiral that winds downward, and quickly, if you’re not careful.

Feeling miserable? Find one thing you can change. Just one thing. Drink lemon water in the morning. Take a group fitness class. Carve out time to take a long walk. Set up a coffee date with a friend. Plan a vacation. Download a new podcast.

By shifting your attention, you’ll begin to redirect your focus towards experiences you look forward to. Feelings of excitement will gradually overpower those negative ones.

Of course life doesn’t always go your way, but by choosing to chase the positive, you’ll be closer to living a life you don’t want to escape from.

Ask or invite

We are taught early on that when you need something, you ask. Ask for permission, ask for directions, ask for funding, ask for time off. Information is required, and in order to get an answer you must ask a question.
Invitations, however, are reserved for special occasions. To invite is to include and to welcome; an opportunity to further a relationship and encourage dialogue.
Inviting a company to join your cause or partner together builds a different dynamic than a pointed ask for resources and support. Instead of asking clients to buy your product, invite them to take part in a greater story (see Seth’s Permission Marketing and Bernadette’s Story of Telling).
The next time you need something, look for ways to create an invitation instead of a simple ask.

Above, beyond, and the unexpected

Anyone can construct a building and call it a hotel. Some will care about cleanliness and service. A few more will add personal touches, unique decorations, or interesting artifacts. Fewer still will care about the unexpected, delighting guests in the process: Hats and gloves and a warm jacket folded for winter months, hot bottles of water placed between sheets to warm beds, organized happy hours where guests are invited for snacks and popcorn around a fire.

Of course visitors will remember beautiful scenery and tasteful decor. But the experiences that will get guests raving about any establishment are those that are unexpected — thoughtful additions that can’t be easily replicated.

Your daily five

Five minutes. Five minutes in the park or walking around the block.

Five minutes to remind you that YOU are the most important item on your to-do list.

A five minute reward. Linger over your morning coffee, stop into the bakery, or visit the farmer’s market on your way home. Play an at-home yoga video, light a candle, write in your journal, or sit quietly. Five minutes refueling your mind and energizing your body.

Five minutes. Time to pause and reflect when everything around you is swirling and mad. A daily commitment that honors your self worth. Dedication to yourself and your growth as a human being. A reminder that your home is where you are and that your inner world reflects onto that which is around you.

Five minutes.

A ritual that helps you be more fully present and energetic for those around you. Five minutes to inspire and motivate you to continue to create and give and dream. A reward.

Just five minutes.