You, too, can be an Olympian

​If you're wondering why I have these multicolored donuts behind me arranged in the shape of the Olympics logo, it's because for the past couple of weeks, I've been part of a group called the Leadership Advantage Olympic Games, created and led by my dear friends and executive coaches, Shawn and Christine Shepheard.
 
For the past 10 days, we've had a daily challenge to help us focus our energy and commitment to serving our clients and the world in a much more profound, meaningful and purposeful way.
 
For our closing ceremonies for the games, we had a final challenge to share specific insights and actions that we've taken, and I thought it would be great to share this with you as well, that you might also benefit from my learnings.
 
Here are some key learnings.

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For one of our challenges, we had to identify what gives us energy and what zaps our energy.
 
I realize one of the things that zaps my energy is clutter.
 
My home office has had all of these boxes and papers on the ground. It had been like this now for a few months.
 
For that day’s challenge, I decided to do something about it, so I cleaned up my office and put away all that clutter.
 
Do you know how long it took me to do that?
 
Less than half an hour!
 
And it's been clean ever since, at least for the last couple of weeks.
 
The big insight here is that your environment impacts your creativity, so choose to be in an environment that enhances your energy.
 
Look at your environment around you.
 
Does your environment give you energy, or does it zap your energy?
 
And can you do anything to enhance the energy of your environment, like bringing in beautiful flowers?

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Another Olympic challenge invited us to share our morning routines for success.
 
My regular routine starts off with me reading my vision statement for my life, followed by my eating something healthy, and then I meditate.
 
On the day of this challenge, during my meditation, I received a hit of inspiration to do a quick run, to do some exercise and movement to get my body going.
 
And as I thought about where to run, I tuned in and realized I was in the mood to eat some dim sum.
 
So what did I do?
 
I ended up running to Chinatown, AND I got my dim sum, too!
 
The insight here is that how you start your day sets you up for the kind of day you have.
 
Why not start off your day in a way that nourishes you?
 
Think about how you start off your day.
 
What are your regular morning routines?
 
Is there anything you can do to up-level your routine so you can include something that sets you up for an even greater day?

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The third challenge I want to share with you was to come up with a way to serve our clients, in a way that goes above and beyond what we usually might do.
 
What came to mind was that I had recently taught a course called Re-Write Your Money Story.
 
For this challenge, I had the inspiration to come up with a meditation audio and video of affirmations to set people up for having a great day.
 
I created the meditation video and sent it off to the class participants.
 
It's interesting because I've been wanting to do these kinds of meditation audios and videos for some time now, but for some reason, I had been telling myself that this would take too long to create.
 
The insight here is that when you come from a place of service, the work doesn't feel like work.
 
What you’re doing actually feels like you're giving a gift.
 
And who doesn't want to give a gift to someone else?
 
Think about one person in your life, someone special in your heart.
 
What one small thing can you do today to let them know they are special to you?

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And here's one last bonus insight I want to share with you.
 
Figure out how to have more fun in your life and in your work!
 
These Olympic Games were a way to make everything a lot more fun and easier in community.
 
If you look at my picture and watch my video, why do I have these Olympic-colored donuts behind me?
 
Because they're more fun!
 
And so, my final question to you today, then, is:
 
What insights are you taking away from my sharing all this?
 
And what actions can you take today, even the smallest baby steps, to be who your heart is calling you to be, and for you to be of greater service?
 
The thing is, you, too, can be an Olympian.
 
All it takes is for you to say yes, and step into the arena of life and show up as the best you that your heart is calling you to be.
 
Abundant Blessings and Namaste.