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Helping You Create Your Extraordinary Life

The Stages of Change

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I’m sure that by now you’ve realized that making changes in your life, even the positive ones, is hard. Our minds are wired to keep us safe, and changing the status quo comes with risk. That’s why we put off starting a new exercise routine, waking up earlier to meditate, or even drinking more water. Half of overcoming procrastination like this is understanding the process of change, and the other half is strengthening the “I do what I say I’m going to do” muscle. 

Over the past five years, I realized that I wasn’t making fitness a priority in my life as much as I wanted to. Since I signed up to be a coach on my son’s mountain bike team that’s improved a bit, but I want to do better. Moving each day is something that I used to do and want to make a priority again. That’s one reason I joined a friend to do the 75 Hard challenge. It’s seventy-five days of being...

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Turn Off Autopilot & Take Control of Your Dreams

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I think it was my mentor, David Neagle, that said a map doesn’t do you any good if you don’t know where you are. You have to know where you’re starting to get where you want to go. This is why I use the Whole Life Assessment and High Performance Habits Assessment in my High Performance Planner regularly, and why I share it with my clients. It makes me aware of where I’m at and what I’m doing, so I can see what needs to change (or not!) to achieve my goals and dreams. 

This works because most of us are unaware of what we’re doing unless we start tracking it. For example, when I taught childbirth classes I gave the moms-to-be a weekly worksheet to track what they ate because eating enough protein, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats is important to growing a healthy baby and increasing the chances of an easier birth. But if you’re on autopilot and not conscious of what you're eating,...

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How to be Courageous in Your Life

High Performance Habit #6: Demonstrating Courage

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We’ve reached the sixth and final High Performance Habit in this series of blog posts, which is demonstrating courage. I’m sure your mind went straight to dramatic ideas of courage, like rescuing someone from a burning building; but in the context of building habits to create an extraordinary life, courage is made up of the smaller actions we take that push us beyond our comfort zone. To me, being courageous is stretching to become a better, stronger version of yourself - and it’s something we can all learn to do. 

Find Your Version of Courage

Demonstrating courage will look different for each person, since we all have different goals we want to achieve. In my Design Your Decade workshop, I ask my students to look at their goals and dreams, and identify what courageous actions they can take now to achieve their ten year dreams. More often than not, it’s very small, brave...

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3 Ways to Increase Your Influence

High Performance Habit #5: Developing Influence

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Thanks to social media, the idea of “being an influencer” has an uncomfortable energy around it these days. I want to start off right away saying that the fifth High Performance Habit, developing influence, is far from being manipulative or getting people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. Let’s dive into what developing influence really is, along with three simple and powerful ways you can create it in your own life. 

A Reminder to Learn Your Habits in Order

If you haven’t read about the first four High Performance Habits (or listened to the podcast), stop here and go back. This is because you need to fully understand the personal habits (seeking clarity, generating energy, and raising necessity) before you can move on to the social habits, like this one. 

 What Developing Influence Means

In his book, High Performance Habits, Brendon...

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A Different Way to Look at Productivity

High Performance Habit #4: Increase Your Productivity 

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve been sharing facets of the 6 high performance habits. They are the result of surveys and research done on the most successful people in the world by Brendon Burchard and the High Performance Academy. Even if your goal isn’t to be the head of a Fortune 500 company, these habits still hold immense value for all of us. The fourth habit, increasing productivity, is a favorite of my coaching clients and the one I’m talking about today. After all, who doesn’t want to get more done? 

Being Productive Shouldn’t Add More to Your Plate

Today, I want to invite you to look at the definition of productivity differently; it isn’t about doing more, but doing more to reach your goals. I’m sure most people would prefer to start here, but you really do need to be working on the first three habits (Finding Clarity, ...

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Increase the Necessity of Your Goals

High Performance Habit #3: Raising Necessity

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Over the past few weeks I’ve been introducing you to the High Performance Habits, and today we’re halfway through with the third habit, raising necessity. As Brendon Burchard says in his book, High Performance Habits, “necessity is the emotional drive that makes great performance a must, instead of a preference.” When you have an increased sense of necessity to do well, it’s easier to keep going when life gets hard, obstacles pop up, or you just don’t feel like showing up that day. 

Another way to understand what raising necessity means, is to think about increasing the pressure or force surrounding your goals. Some people don’t like the idea of being under pressure, even if it’s a positive pressure, while others thrive on it; but at some point, pressure is what will drive you to succeed. So choose whatever word you like the best, (necessity,...

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How to Increase Your Mental Energy

High Performance Habit #2: Generate Energy

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I’m making my way through the six high performance habits, and the second one is generating energy. Taking care of our energy is so important because if you don’t have enough of it, how are you going to go after the things you want in life? Today I’ll touch on the three types of energy, dive deep on how to increase your mental energy, and share tips on how to spot (and prevent) burnout. 

The High Performance Institute has studied how our energy levels impact our lives, and they show that energetic people are more likely to have a high level of success. They're also more likely to pursue education, be more creative, have better relationships, and be more assertive. And it makes sense; when you have more fuel, you go further and can do more. How energetic have you been feeling lately? Do you think you have enough? 

Three Types of Energy

Physical 

When I think...

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How to Clarify Your Life Vision

 High Performance Habit #1: Clarity

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I’ve been talking about how important habits and routines are to accomplishing your goals and creating an extraordinary life. But if you aren’t clear on where you are going or what you want to be doing, then you probably aren’t sure what those routines and habits need to be. That’s why it’s so important to clarify your life vision. I think this is the most important of the 6 high performance habits, even if (like me,) you aren’t aiming to be one of the most successful people in the world.   

How do you know that you’re lacking clarity? A big clue is feeling overwhelmed in life. There are so many things to do, and there never seems to be enough time or energy to do them all. When you are clear on where you are going, however, it becomes much easier to prioritize your time, tasks, and even your thoughts. Here are the basics of finding clarity...

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