by Helena Escalante | Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset
TODAY’S IDEA:
Random acts of kindness equal extraordinary teams
— From: The Best Team Wins: The New Science of High Performance by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton
I usually share ideas from books that I have read, yet in this case, I have not read the book because it just came out today… I just ordered it and can’t wait to have my nose in it!
What I learned (and loved!) about the book is what I saw about it in a video (below) from Dave Kerpen (featured here a few times) interviewing Chester Elton, one of the authors of The Best Team Wins: The New Science of High Performance. Elton shares 3 takeaways from the book, including a great story about the astronauts at the International Space Station.
Whether professionally or personally, I’m sure that you are part of one or many teams. Thus, I’m sure you will enjoy Elton talking about the importance of soft skills:
«The International Space Station… over six months, had three Russians, two Americans, one Canadian… The Canadian was the Commander, and he said “we exceeded every goal the six months we were up there.” Six big guys in a little tin can. And he said, “The biggest reason why we succeeded was… yes, we were all technically proficient, we all knew our jobs, and we were really smart, but we had one unwritten rule that made all the difference and it was this: that every astronaut had to perform one random act of kindness every day… And the message is ‘I care about you, I’m supporting you, I’m cheering for you, I love you, and we’re in this together.’ And they were little things… ‘I’ll clean up… I’ll help you with the calculations… let me cook dinner…’ That one unwritten rule was the difference between us having a great mission and an extraordinary mission.” One random act of kindness.»
Below is the video so that you can watch it. Well worth 5 minutes to hear the latest on how teams perform best nowadays (the story of the International Space Station starts at the 4-min mark). Some things may seem obvious, but I find that sometimes I need someone to point out the obvious to me so that the idea can sink in.
ACTION
TODAY & FUTURE: How about following in the footsteps of the astronauts and committing to perform a random act of kindness every day for your team members? I’m in!
Let me know in the comments or via Facebook or Twitter if you’re in too! Enlist your team members as well, and please tell them to join us.
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Tools
TODAY’S IDEA:
This person is my teacher
— From: Habit Changers: 81 Game-Changing Mantras to Mindfully Realize Your Goals by M. J. Ryan
Years ago, I was going through a rough time at work because I had the boss from hell. My mother told me that I should think of that person as an inverse mentor, to learn how not to do things, and how not to treat people. That idea made me focus on something good that could come out of such a difficult situation. Since I was planning my escape, my new focus enabled me to be very clear—going forward—on the things that I did not want and that I was not willing to tolerate. (Thanks, Mom, I know you’re reading this!)
So, when I read “This person is my teacher,” in M. J. Ryan’s book, I knew I had to share it with you. The concept behind this Buddhist practice is powerful:
“It’s about seeing everyone who annoys, frustrates, angers or otherwise bothers you as someone who is providing you the opportunity to grow some positive quality in yourself—your equanimity, your kindness, your patience, your boundaries, your tolerance…It’s up to you to figure out what you are supposed to be learning.”
Give yourself the opportunity to keep growing and learning even in the most difficult and craziest of situations. By thinking “this person is my teacher” you’ll create awareness in you, and soon you’ll be making the most out of the situation.
ACTION
TODAY & FUTURE: When someone or something is bothering you think, “this person/situation is my teacher” and figure out what you need to learn from that experience. It’s hard and it’s no fun when you’re going through it, but it will be worth it for you in the end.
I found this to be life-changing and hope you do too. Let me know if you got any a-ha moments in the comments, please!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Mindset, Planning
TODAY’S IDEA:
The ten-thousand-hour rule is only half true
— From: Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence by Daniel Goleman
A few years back, Malcolm Gladwell popularized the “10,000-Hour rule” in his book Outliers: The Story of Success. Briefly, the rule states that the key to mastering any skill at world-class level, is a matter of practicing around 10,000 hours.
However, Daniel Goleman, in his book Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, states that the problem with the rule is that it’s only half true, despite the fact that it has “become sacrosanct gospel echoed on websites and recited as litany in high-performance workshops.” He explains, “If you’re a duffer at golf, say, and make the same mistakes every time you try a certain swing or putt, ten thousand hours of practicing that error will not improve your game. You’ll still be a duffer, albeit an older one.”
Goleman contacted Anders Ericsson, the psychology professor at Florida State University who is known as the world’s foremost “expert on expertise,” and the one who conducted the study of the 10,000 hours that Gladwell mentioned in his book. Ericsson said:
“You don’t get benefits from mechanical repetition but by adjusting your execution over and over to get closer to your goal. You have to tweak the system by pushing, allowing for more errors at first, as you increase your limits.”
The important thing to keep in mind is that this does not apply solely to the physical practice of something (sports, musical instruments, etc.). If you follow this advice of constantly improving and increasing your limits, you too can achieve the highest levels of performance in your field. This is great news because it means there’s hope for all of us.
My take on this is that the rule may not have to be so-daunting: while you may indeed need the 10,000-hours to achieve one of your goals with mastery, “good enough” sometimes works out very well too. And because good enough is a step on the road to mastery, you’ll have to go through there anyway. For example, if you are going to Italy on vacation and are learning Italian, with 10,000 hours you will likely be able to write an Italian best-seller, but with much less than that you will be able to speak well and have wonderful, memorable conversations on your trip.
Whether you want to achieve mastery or sufficiency, the best way to go about it is applying what Ericsson calls deliberate practice, “where an expert coach […] takes you through well-designed training over months or years and you give it your full concentration, […] and it always includes a feedback loop that lets you recognize errors and correct them.”
That’s the key formula: don’t spend the hours merely repeating something that doesn’t work. Spend the hours, instead, in studying people who have done what you want to do, hiring a coach to help you get there, focusing on improving, and getting out of your comfort zone. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat until you reach your goal.
ACTION
TODAY: Look at your most important or pressing goals and determine which ones need mastery and which ones need sufficiency. (This mere exercise, to me, was an enormous eye opener. It took the weight off my shoulders because I had mistakenly believed that I needed to achieve mastery in many things, when in reality sufficiency was all I needed).
FUTURE: Plan for mastery or sufficiency accordingly. Look for your role models. Who has achieved what you want to do? Are they within your reach? Do they offer coaching/training or some sort of teaching? If not, who can they recommend you work with? Or ask around for a competent coach/teacher/mentor in that area. Figure out how long it will take to get to where you want to go. Commit. Get started. Don’t look back. Enjoy the journey!
Any major a-ha moments while reading this? Please let me know or leave a comment!
by Helena Escalante | Planning, Productivity, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 24 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Actualize your dreams during the weekends
–From What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend, a short guide included in What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: How to Achieve More at Work and at Home by Laura Vanderkam
Remember how Laura Vanderkam helped us reframe the way we view our weekends? Well, how about bringing her back in to help with the actual planning of the weekend?
Laura says that, when figuring out what to do over the weekend, the best way to frame the question is to ask, “What do you want to do more of with your time?” And, invariably, with that answer comes the realization that we’re going to need more fingers and toes than we have to count all the things we want to do. So, she suggests creating a List of 100 Dreams and brainwriting “anything you might want to do or have in life.”
The first entries on that list will likely be large, once-in-a-lifetime happenings, such as “…go see the pyramids in Egypt. By Dream 100, however, you’ll be coming up with more everyday founts of joy, which tend to make excellent weekend events.” Further, she suggests, “keep going until you have a good long list of these doable dreams. You could also think of these as a bucket list focused on activities within a two-hour radius from your house.”
Keep the list handy so that, as you plan your weekends, you can access it and check off the items that you are going to do over the weekend. Also, the list is dynamic: you may want to change, add or delete from it according to the things you cross off, additional interests you want to include, or changes in your life’s circumstances that will prompt you to modify things on your list (such as moving to another state).
And don’t forget to include in the list the wishes of your kids, significant other and anyone else who spends weekends with you. You’ll all be creating memories together, so might as well plan for them together and enjoy the anticipation together.
Vorfreude: (German noun) The joyful, intense anticipation that comes from imagining future pleasures.
ACTION
TODAY: Start (and if you have enough time, finish) your list of 100 Dreams. Divide it into things you can do over a weekend and things that require more time than a weekend (save this last one for future planning).
FUTURE: Take your “weekends” list of activities and plan to do them during future weekends. Enjoy doing this!! Laura gives an example about a woman and her husband who “sit down with beers on Friday to plan out their weekends. It’s more about catching up and brainstorming what they’ll do (and drinking beer) than a chore.” Take it easy and have fun, that’s what this is all about!
Have a lovely weekend and let me know in the comments what you are going to do!
by Helena Escalante | Planning, Productivity, Resources, Tools
TODAY’S IDEA:
There is no such thing as a shortage of ideas!
This idea is a segue from yesterday’s post on practicing proactive procrastination to generate ideas. Yet instead of procrastinating and getting bored, today we are going to do the opposite: take action.
How many times, when we need an answer, do we ask “hey, do you have any ideas on…?” only to hear our teammates, or even ourselves, say “no, I really can’t think of anything…” This answer naturally leads us to call for a brainstorming session. But more often than not, during brainstorming sessions everyone tends to agree with a few of the first ideas tossed out and that’s it, we’re stuck again with a less-than-desirable solution.
This happens because, usually, the most vocal people in the group toss out the first ideas and the rest of the group either agrees or keeps quiet, leading to groupthink (“the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility” – Google Dictionary). To avoid this, the concept of brainwriting can be used. It’s very simple: have everyone write their ideas down in paper before either saying them out loud, or passing the list on to the next person as a way to spark more ideas. That’s it.
The process then can follow many different courses (examples here and here). Yet it ultimately follows the course of whatever the moderator wants to do with the many ideas generated.
I recently put this to the test with several friends where the task was to generate as many business ideas as possible in 10 minutes. We came up with over 130. Of course, not all of them were good or viable, but they were all valid for what we wanted to prove to ourselves: that anyone is able to able generate many ideas at once with this method, and that it’s better if you do it as a team because you’ll produce many, many more ideas than as as individual. And once you start discarding the crazy, unviable ideas, you’ll be left with a handful of good, actionable ones that you can start putting into practice right away. As Seth Godin says, “you can’t have good ideas unless you’re willing to generate a lot of bad ones.”
So there you have it. Use brainwriting instead of brainstorming, and you’ll never be at a loss for ideas again.
“The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away.”
— Linus Pauling
ACTION:
TODAY: Play along with the idea of brainwriting for yourself. Take 10 min and write down as many ideas as you can think of for an issue you want to solve or for a goal you’d like to achieve. Don’t judge the ideas, simply write them all down and let your brain loose while you’re doing this exercise. You’ll see that you can come up with a great amount of ideas and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at yourself. Then discard the bad ideas, take the good ones and implement them.
FUTURE: Get together with a group of friends, colleagues, or family and brainwrite answers to a challenge or problem that you are facing. Alternatively, set a goal (e.g. write down 50 ways to improve a process in your company, or 100 places where you’d like to go on vacation, etc.) and give yourself a finite amount of time, say 10-15 minutes. Then be in awe as to how many ideas you come up with! Vote for the best ones, discard the bad ones, and happy implementing!
Enjoy learning this new process, it’s easy, fun and VERY helpful in all aspects of business and life. Let me know how you did in the comments!
by Helena Escalante | Habits, Mindset, Planning, Time
TODAY’S IDEA:
Practice Proactive Procrastination
— From: Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
For many of us, the best ideas strike randomly, and likely in a place—like the shower or the gym—where we cannot write them down. So we interrupt what we’re doing, scramble to finish, change the watch/ring to the other hand, or repeat the idea incessantly… until we can get to a piece of paper or favorite electronic device to write it down.
While ideas are very welcome at any time (see: 15 Famous Ideas That Were Invented in Dreams), I’ve often wondered if we could purposefully create those a-ha! moments to our benefit. Turns out, we can. Austin Kleon in his great (and beautifully designed) book talks about harnessing this power to come up with ideas by boring ourselves on purpose. He calls it “practicing proactive procrastination.”
“Take time to be bored. […] Creative people need time to just sit around and do nothing. I get some of my best ideas when I’m bored, which is why I never take my shirts to the cleaners. I love ironing my shirts—it’s so boring, I almost always get good ideas. If you’re out of ideas, wash the dishes. Take a really long walk. Stare at a spot on the wall for as long as you can. As the artist Maira Kalman says, ‘Avoiding work is the way to focus my mind.’ Take time to mess around. Get lost. Wander. You never know where it’s going to lead you.”
I believe we are ALL creative people. We all make use of creativity and imagination to solve our problems, to see things from a different angle, to come up with new and exciting projects, to surprise our loved ones, etc. And thus it comes as no surprise that more and more people are scheduling time to just think. One of the most famous examples is Bill Gates taking “Think Weeks,” but short of that, as Kleon mentions, even the time that it takes to iron a few shirts will produce results.
Maybe that is why Raymond Inmon said, “If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.”
And don’t forget to take a notebook with you!
ACTION
TODAY: Take a few minutes to practice proactive procrastination today by going for a walk or simply taking time to think. Pick an issue that you need to solve and set the intention to find answers or solutions during your “think time.”
FUTURE: Plan to take some “think time” periodically, and schedule it in your calendar. By creating this habit, you’ll be able to harness the power the ideas to your benefit and your business and life will be better for it!
Let me know how it goes!
by Helena Escalante | Celebration, Growth, Leadership, Mindset
TODAY’S IDEA:
We’re all weird: Weird is your superpower.
— From We Are All Weird: The Myth of Mass and The End of Compliance by Seth Godin
This is a brief but powerful book. As most of the things that Seth Godin writes, it’s simply brilliant. He walks us through a bit of history to understand how we were put inside a box and told to conform to the mass so that we could be labeled as “normal.” Anybody else who did not want to play in that box was considered “weird.” Those at the fringes, the so-called weird, are those whom we now revere and admire: think of a virtuoso today who, as a child, practiced a musical instrument with gusto all the time instead of going out to play. That was considered weird, but it turned out beautiful for the benefit of all involved.
Seth’s definition of weird in this instance is not the negative connotation that we usually associate with the word—by no means. Instead he defines it as: “weird by choice… people who have chosen to avoid conforming to the masses, at least in some parts of their lives.” Weird are those who fly against “the culture of mass and the checklist of normal.” Further, he says “the epic battle of our generation is between the status quo of mass and the never-ceasing tide of weird.”
In this sense, what we are today is far from normal: we’re all happily weird. And I’d like to take this one step forward and declare that your chosen weird (or a combination of all your choices of weird) is what makes you unique and what gives you your superpower. And through your superpower you create impact and give others implicit permission to follow in your footsteps and become their own choice of weird. Like the flame of a candle lighting up other candles, without ceasing to give light by itself.
Make a choice. Choose “an identity and follow a path that matters.” Being your weird self is beautiful. Celebrate it. Embrace it. “We’re at our best when we’re weird and when we’re enabling others to become weird as well.”
Call it weird as Seth does: you are as unique as a snowflake, and always remember that no one does YOU better than YOU. I’ll leave you with Oscar Wilde’s great quote:
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
ACTION:
TODAY: Figure out in which ways you are weird and how this superpower enables you to change your corner of the world for the better. Commit to stop hiding your superpower and embrace it. If you share it with us we will all be better for it.
FUTURE: Weird of the world, unite! Find a tribe where you can belong, or create one that you can lead with your superpower. Engage and share your weirdness. How can your superpower change the world? Here’s a beautiful quote to get you inspired: “Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve…. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Leadership, Resources, Tools
TODAY’S IDEA:
Need help on something? Create your own FAB PAB
–From Work It: Secrets for Success from the Boldest Women in Business by Carrie Kerpen and The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want by Dave Kerpen.
(Yes, Carrie and Dave are married, they are both rock stars, and they have one of the coolest wedding stories you’ll ever hear!)
So what is a FAB PAB you ask? It’s your own FABulous Personal or Professional Advisory Board.
But isn’t an advisory board for corporations? Originally, yes. But who says that you cannot use the power of an advisory board to your advantage? “You can form an advisory board for any purpose, duration or idea that you choose,” says Dave in his book. And the multiplier effect of having very smart people in the room together—all with the intention of helping you—generates sparks that produce powerful results.
Are you thinking of taking time off from work and going back to school to get a law degree or an MBA? Create a Personal Advisory Board of people you trust who can guide you to make that decision.
Are you thinking of starting a business or growing your existing one? Do as Dave did: realizing he needed a mentor—but being the one with most seniority in his company—he built a Professional Advisory Board. “The members of my advisory board have been game changers in helping me tackle problems I’ve really needed help with and achieve things I’ve really wanted, including launching [a] software company… I found my own mentoring program and I haven’t looked back since.”
“No matter who you are or what you do for a living, a well-constructed advisory board can help you take the next steps to grow personally and professionally. The board can help challenge you, guide you and teach you. […] The key is to find smart, experienced people in whatever area you’d like to focus on.”
And as Carrie’s book explains, we all need guidance on a lot more than workplace related issues. Our lives have many different, interwoven threads and, very likely, one person won’t be able to help you in every single area. That is the beauty of creating your own advisory board made up of people who love you, respect you and want what’s best for you.
Whether formal or informal, your FAB PAB is an invaluable tool to help move you forward. Consider creating one for a reason, a season, or a lifetime, depending on your goals and aspirations. And don’t forget to pay it forward when your turn comes!
ACTION:
TODAY: Figure out where you need help. Draw a circle on a piece of paper: that is your table. Who would you like seated at that table sharing their experience and expertise with you as part of your FAB PAB? List their names (choose wisely and carefully). Contact them.
FUTURE: Once you have contacted them and they’ve agreed to help you, figure out the best way to run your meetings (in person or virtual) so that they are structured, solid, purposeful and efficient to maximize everyone’s time and knowledge. Dave suggests starting with an icebreaking exercise, then sharing one or two challenges, and then going around the table to give everyone a chance to weigh in with their experience, ideas and suggestions. I love this formula. I would add to that: making a promise to the PAB to move swiftly on implementing the ideas/actions, and following up with them individually (prior to the next meeting) to celebrate when a little win happens based on a particular PAB member’s idea, or an introduction they made, etc. (it’s important to keep them in the loop and to show your appreciation).
Happy FAB PABing! Let me know how it goes, and if you’d like to bounce any ideas with me, I’ll be happy to do so. 🙂
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Habits, Planning, Productivity, Time
TODAY’S IDEA:
Create uninterrupted time FOR YOU daily.
Given that we all have 24 hours in a day, how come some people seem to get a lot more done than others? I believe the secret lies in creating the habit of scheduling uninterrupted time on a daily basis and focusing during that time on your priorities.
At plain sight this seems very simple, but in practice it’s not: we’re all busy, not to mention sleep deprived… And the first thing that goes out the window in the face of a looming deadline or lots of work is the time we make for ourselves.
Most of the authors I read and the people I admire prefer to open up a chunk of time in their schedules early in the morning.They accomplish a lot when their minds are fresh and when they are well rested. This is their time, there are no interruptions, and they focus it on exercising, writing, meditating, journaling, reading, or a combination of these or other things that enables them to get closer to their goals.
Mornings are ideal because then you can go on with your day knowing that you have already accomplished, or taken a step towards your main goals. At the end of that day, you’ll feel like you’ve made progress, as opposed to feeling overwhelmed by the lack of time and distractions that would otherwise prevent you from working on your goals. The U.S. Army says: “We do more before 9AM than most people do all day.” This leads me to the amount of time to carve out: whatever is best for you. Experiment at first until you find your sweet spot.
Most of the people I’ve read who have a set morning routine spend anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes. Yet Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM), says that, in a pinch, he can do his six morning activities in one minute each and then get going. Could you start with 6 minutes a day if you knew this would take you closer to your goals? Seen this way it doesn’t seem all that crazy, right?
Andy Traub, author of The Early to Rise Experience: Learn to Rise Early in 30 Days, tells us to “publicly declare an end to wasting your mornings,” and reminds us, once a day, to:
“Make one decision that will change a person forever:
That day is today.
That decision is to get out of bed early.
That person is you.”
I am an early bird (and even more after reading these two books!) but my husband is a night owl and he gets a lot done in the evenings and late into the night. Since I’m a witness to these two personalities living together in harmony, I’m not an advocate for one or the other, except for the one that works for you. Or if you simply don’t have time in the morning or the evening, how about during your lunch time? And how about just 5 days a week? That’s the idea behind BoxLunch Lifestyle. Cheryl Johnson, the Founder, says: “Your lunch matters in a way you’ve never thought of before. It can reveal what you value and what might be holding you back. Real changes in how you eat and spend your time start here. Take back your life.”
Whether you do it in the morning, lunch time or evening, please make sure that you are indeed carving out some uninterrupted time on your day to work on your goals. Give yourself the gift of focusing on making your dreams come true. It’s never too early and it’s never too late. Your life will be all the better for it.
ACTION:
TODAY: Schedule some uninterrupted time on your calendar today and honor it like an appointment. What gets scheduled gets done!
FUTURE: Start creating this habit this week. Schedule chunks of uninterrupted time in your calendar and determine what you are going to do with that time. Also, unless you are a cold-turkey kind of person, I suggest starting slowly and building up to it. For example, instead of setting aside 1 hr daily as of tomorrow, start with 20 min during one week, then move up to 40 the following and by the 3rd week you’ll be scheduling one full hour of uninterrupted time for you, that way you’ll be able to assess how much time you need for your goals. Be gentle with yourself if you slip while you are building this habit, there will always be a million things screaming to take your attention away from this time. Just keep coming back to set aside time FOR YOU, daily, to work on your goals.
Let me know how it goes!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Mindset, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 0 seconds. 
TODAY’S IDEA: Move forward imperfectly.
— From Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff.
Confession time: I am a recovering perfectionist. Yet the more I talk about this, the more I realize that besides the child, the introvert and the party animal inside all of us, there’s also the perfectionist inside us that sometimes rears its ugly head.
If this is your case, read on, your life is about to get so much better!
One of the concepts Acuff describes in his book is that of all-or-nothing: for us perfectionists, when we decide to start something we are all excited, gather the things we will need, and start with big dreams. At some point (usually sooner than later) something happens, there’s a hiccup somewhere, and because it’s no longer perfect, instead of continuing, we give up altogether.
Acuff calls this the day after perfect: “…when imperfection arrives we usually quit. That is why the day after perfect is so important. This is the make-or-break day for every goal. […] The day after perfect is what separates finishers from starters. […] Unfortunately, perfectionism dies slowly. It’s persistent and particularly dangerous because it masquerades as excellence… [People] think the opposite of perfectionism is failure. It’s not. The opposite is finished.”
The good news is the realization that perfectionism exists only in our minds, and thus we have tools (such as the ideas in this book) to control it. Let me leave you with this thought from the book:
“Move forward imperfectly.
Reject the idea that the day after perfect means you’ve failed.
That’s just not true.
You get to try again.
Today, tomorrow, next week.”
ACTION:
TODAY & FUTURE: Commit and recommit every day to move forward imperfectly. Tell someone close to you and whom you trust about this commitment. This way, when the day after perfect strikes and you’ve quit—or you’re thinking about quitting—this same person can remind you of your commitment.
SURPRISE!
I’d like to send you an electronic quote card (for you to print out) to remind you to move forward imperfectly. All you have to do is give me your name and email address in the form below so that I know where to send the card. You’ll get an email message with a PDF file for you to print, cut in four, and put each card in a visible place to remind you to reject the idea that the day after perfect means you’ve failed. No. No. No. Never again. We’re moving forward imperfectly!
