There is something special about coming together with people in your community, and I’ve discovered it’s even more rewarding to meet your neighbors on a sport court for some friendly and fierce competition. I’ve written about my recent Pickleball obsession, but I’d like to dig a little deeper on the power of learning something new alongside your community.
Because it is a community sport, you never know who you’ll meet up with on the Pickleball court. You may play a match against a six-figure CEO, or partner up with an amazing tradesperson, teacher, or bartender. You really have no idea who has accomplished what in their lives – you are all just there to play the great equalizing game of Pickleball!
It’s no secret that learning something new is good for your brain. Adding a new skill to your “arsenal of knowledge” is a powerful mind/body benefit. I’ve reached a level of success in my professional life that I’m proud of. It has been humbling to start learning a sport as a complete novice and have to push myself in new ways to grow as a Pickleball player.
As I’ve improved, I’ve had to ask myself…am I just here to have fun? Or do I really want to improve? The way I am wired, I want to keep getting better. There certainly are some days that are frustrating! But I have decided that it is more than just a cardio workout so that I can have cookies and milk at the end of the day (which I love). It is something I want to learn to do at a high level and be successful at.
This particular new hobby has also forced me to tend to my body like I haven’t before. I’ve played for almost a year but have just started being more mindful of taking care of my body. There is the warm-up and a cool-down, which need to be tailored to different climates. I have invested in purposeful stretching, recovery creams, and a massage gun. I am investing in my health so I can play again tomorrow! All of this has come along with the challenge of learning something new.
Whether you are a virtual assistant or an executive, a business owner or entrepreneur, the fastest road to success is being willing to bounce over failures. Not “bounce” like . . . Forget about them . . . or discount them . . . or say three positive affirmations in the mirror to yourself to make yourself feel better about them.
No, not any of that. But rather, can you stand in the heat of knowing that failure is all part of the process of growth and expansion and success? Can you include it as part of the journey? Can you bounce back quickly and carry-on with your mission?
What finally had me put in my notice at corporate America after seven good foundational years at IBM (very grateful for those years in my late 20s and early 30s) was a paragraph in a book. The book was Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiosaki. In Chapter 16. Page 232. He said this:
“Whenever I meet people who are afraid to ’try’ something new, in most cases the reason lies in their fear of being disappointed. They are afraid they might make a mistake or get rejected. If you are prepared to embark on your journey to find your own financial fast track, I would like to offer you the same words of advice and encouragement my rich dad offered me when I was learning something new:
“Be prepared to be disappointed.”
“He meant this in a positive sense, not a negative sense. His reasoning was that if you’re prepared for disappointment, have a chance of turning a disappointment into an asset. Most people turn disappointment into a liability – a long-term one. And you know it’s long-term when you hear a person say, ‘I’ll never do that again.’ Or: ‘I should’ve known I would fail.’”
So once I got that disappointment was going to be part of the journey and I settled with myself that I could handle that, I ventured out to be an entrepreneur. And I’m still taking my licks to this day. Every issue, every problem, every breakdown, every failure is simply illuminating what needs to be re-worked, re-jiggered, tweaked, thrown out, reconsidered.
What I have accomplished is simply not getting as twisted up about it all. I don’t have to lament about it as long. I don’t make myself wrong, no flogging of myself. It’s simply part of the journey.
So stop beating yourself up and keep moving forward. Next time something like that problem arises again, you will be bigger, better, brighter and bolder in the face in it.
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” ~Michael Jordan
Our clients let us know on a regular basis just how organized their lives are, and how much stress has been removed from their daily existence because they have Rockstar Executive Assistant. We never get tired of hearing about it!
Having a right-hand person in your corner is fantastic, but there are also simple things you should do beyond delegating to ensure you have a balanced and fulfilling life.
This article outlines several things you can do right away to help relieve stress when you aren’t working, like truly shutting down when you’re home and setting firm boundaries.
What are some things you do to bring joy into your life and reduce stress that can come from your career?
I don’t have time for Yoga. I don’t have time to learn Pickleball. I don’t have time to see my parents. I don’t have time for a lunch date with a friend. Someday when I have more time, I’ll be one of those people.
Is that you, or something like you? Some weeks, is this the case? It was for me, for a long time.
There may be many ways to solve this issue. I’ll share with you what made the biggest difference for me .
First it has to be an issue or a problem for you. Not visiting your parents, or not taking time to talk to them has to first become an issue for you. Your current level of fitness or health has to occur for you like an issue, or a problem that you’re out to solve.
(Side note: If you’re 50+ I recommend this book to motivate you about fitness over your next 30 years: Younger Next Year.)
Once you’re committed, once you see something as a problem that you’re out to solve, then what? How to get things that feed your mind or body into your schedule. Your calendar is full. There are only 24 hours in a day.
What to do? SCHEDULE IT & HONOR IT
Put it in your calendar. That thing that you “don’t have time to do” that would really feed you – SCHEDULE IT in your calendar. Your schedule may be so full that you can’t see a space in your schedule to put it for a few weeks. That’s fine. For example you may schedule yourself to go for a walk for 30 minutes every day, starting 2 weeks from now.
Now, here’s the key. HONOR IT. Work around it. When someone asks if you’re available at 3pm on Tuesday and you are going to go for a walk then, you say, “I’m not available then, how about Wednesday at 10am?” You do not need to say anything more than “I’m not available then.”
If you schedule it and honor it, here are some discoveries you may have:
• You can do that 60 minute meeting in 30 minutes • You can talk to that co-worker, staff person or friend while you’re going for a walk • You can not always be the one to raise your hand and say, “Sure I’ll do that.” • You can delegate more and allow those around you to contribute to you more
Once you start honoring the items in your schedule that feed and nurture your mind, body or spirit, you will find that you have more energy for the rest of life. You will find that who is now working, attending meetings, making sales calls, or making dinner is a much happier, more effective human being. You will get better at producing results with less time and less effort.
Knowing and empathizing with whatever your remote workers are dealing with is critical. As someone who has always had staff who work from home, I have always been interested in what’s going on at home. Why? Because that’s the environment in which they are working (for me and our clients). It gives me a sense of how hard or easy it is for them right now to be working from home.
Staying connected to your people is an ongoing job. You can’t assume that how they were last week is how they are this week. People and their circumstances are always changing. As a leader it serves you to always be interested in what your people are dealing with in life and with their work. If you have more attention on listening than speaking, you’ll be amazed what you will learn.
This recent article from Financial Management Magazine has some great tips and suggestions on how to successfully manage a remote team.
I need to be alone sometimes. I’m not mad. I’m not upset. It’s just one way that I refuel and rejuvenate. Once an only-child, always an only-child. And I think when you’re a Gen X only-child, that somehow makes you even more independent and seeking some alone time. Every afternoon like a good Gen X latchkey kid I had a couple of hours after school to myself. Sometimes I went to a friend’s house or there was soccer practice, but those couple of hours with Happy Days, Scooby Doo and Brady Bunch were fabulous! Never mind the graham crackers and orange juice snack I made myself.
I often came home to a list that mom had made in the morning before she went to work, of things I needed to do after school. Mostly likely defrost protein and other prep work for dinner. Then there were my general chores: bring in the mail, walk the dog, etc. But the name of the game was to do all that as fast as possible, so I could chill out in front of our 13” portable black and white TV that I moved all over the house.
This is a long way of saying, alone time can be very rejuvenating. I’m heading down to my place in Pismo Beach, CA next week by myself for a week. (Thank you awesome life partner John for having that be ok for you and your life.) I know other CEOs who rent a local AirBnB for a day or two just to hole-up and have quiet time in a different environment to think about, ponder and work on the future of their company.
There’s a lot less to think about and coordinate when it’s just you. That means more brain power can go to other areas of life that need your attention, creativity and focus. I encourage you to give it a try!
Athena virtual assistants make it possible for our clients not only to get more done but to be more fulfilled and satisfied with the work that they do themselves. We take off your plate, those items that are not worthy of your time, skill, purpose and prowess.
