SigmaU Blog

An ally will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear! A great friend listens, is empathetic, compassionate, and soothing. This is great under some circumstances like experiencing a loss. If, however, you want to be challenged to grow, you want an ally.

I was going through a difficult period in my life and one of my “big brothers” on my executive board said, you want an ally, not a friend, so I’m going to tell it to you straight. This gave me tremendous perspective. To change and grow, I needed the hard truth.

An ally may show up as a devil’s advocate. I have an amazing right hand person on my leadership team.  She plays the devil’s advocate; she will challenge an idea or present her so-called “crazy idea” that is often genius. Having someone challenge an opportunity or decision, especially if you are a trigger-happy person and they are more measured, like in my colleague’s case, can save a lot of heart and...

Look for the good and look for the overwhelming evidence that life is amazing!

Despite today's challenges and tomorrow's obstacles, life is great. Hey, you and I woke up on the right side of the soil this morning!

Often when things start to crumble around us, we look for evidence that life is hard. While life will always pose challenges big and small, there are also ways in which we can redirect our focus to live happier right now.

Look for it.

If we’re consistently looking for evidence that supports our belief that life is hard, we will find it. We will also find that life is good if we’re looking for evidence of that too. In fact, when we look for the good, it snowballs, and we tend to see more and more of it. if this becomes habitual for us, we will find the good in the smallest of details like the birds singing, the gorgeous weather. We will have moments of deep gratitude in simple acts like having a shower with running water when so many on the planet do not have...

Did you know that the most successful people in the world are firm and vigilant about boundaries? They set boundaries with friends and family members. They set boundaries with team members, and they set boundaries with themselves. They know that boundaries are critical to their focus and success. They have heightened levels of clarity as they approach each day and anything that is a distraction needs to be eliminated. 

High performers think long-term vs. instant gratification. That means they can say no to what's in front of them right now if they know it will not impact them positively for their future long-term success.

Boundaries with Family and Friends

We all have that friend or family member who seems to be consistently operating in crisis mode. They need you and often call during work hours. They have a difficult time regulating emotion so often those phone calls are tear-filled or even manic. High performers must protect themselves from taking on that energy,...

The definition of stretched is “of something soft or elastic be made or be capable of being made longer or wider without tearing or breaking.”

I’ve been studying resiliency lately, listening to podcasts, reading books, and doing so because I feel like, recently, I’m being stretched. I also see colleagues and team members who seem stretched as well.

During one of the resiliency podcasts I was listening to, the speaker said that we don’t bounce back we rebound forward further. I’m paraphrasing but I loved the concept!

We don’t necessarily go back to where we were before because the situation changes us!

Go back to the definition above. It refers to something soft changing into something bigger without breaking. How cool is that? I don’t know about you but there are times when I feel soft when I feel like I can’t take on anymore and somehow, someway, I keep pushing and I do come out stronger.

When we’re at the gym, we mold...

You have the time! Time is not your issue! This was something that came across in a booming voice during my motivational workout video the other morning. I’ll be honest, it initially triggered me. My first thought was, “Dude, you don’t know me and the expectations people have of me. You have no idea how many meetings I have today.” The imaginary verbal attack ensued! Perhaps it did for you as you read my opening line!

Ryan Blair famously said, “If it is important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” It seems that it’s not a lack of time but a lack of clarity around the importance of a task or goal that derails us.

I recently uninstalled Instagram from my phone. It was no longer serving me, and I was appalled when my weekly report showed that I had spent 8 hours the previous week scrolling. I mean, come on, that’s an entire workday!

Immediately I reclaimed 8 freaking hours of my week just by removing...

Is it perfection we’re seeking or judgment we’re fearing? 

When I coach clients, we talk a lot about courage. The highest performers in the world seek out ways to demonstrate courage. They take more risks and they are rewarded more often. This doesn’t mean that they do not fail. This doesn’t mean that they don’t get criticized. The big differentiator is that regardless of the consequences, they do it anyway!

It’s interesting that most people want to put on a persona based on how the world ought to view them when, in reality, there are people out there seeking to connect with the authentic you! They don’t want a paired down version of your sassy and feisty spirit; they want all of you, warts and all! 

Will you resonate with everyone? Not a chance! In fact, studies tell us that some people will like us, others will tolerate us, and a group of people will not resonate with us no matter what we do or say. Cool. So, we move on and...

I love studying people, watching people, being curious about how they act and react. When I first started studying Brendon Burchard’s work I was fascinated with the data and science behind what makes a High Performer… well a high performer!

I had some previous misconceptions about success. Let’s see if any of this holds true for you.

I thought that success was for people other than me. 

I believed that there was an elite group of pre-determined people that had access to success while the rest of us didn’t. I have since learned that success is not reserved for the elite. We can all be successful if we’re working towards a goal. We can all be high achievers if we’re disciplined enough to focus on the habits that support success. 

I thought that successful people had mentors in their corner cheering them on and building them up. 

What I have learned is that the most successful and resilient people do not need or look for approval...

“Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose.” - Mary Shelley

The quote above was in my 5 Minute Gratitude Journal the other day and it struck me because purpose has come up quite a bit with clients and in conversations with colleagues lately.

I had just been telling a colleague about how impressed I was with a saleswoman at a clothing store. It wasn’t a super fancy story by any means, but she was dressed to the nines and had her make up and hair done like she was headed to a gala. I had never seen that in a retail environment before. If I had to guess, she was in her late sixties, early seventies and while she was helping me, I was curious about her. Was she working again because of the recession and things have become harder to afford at home? Was she struggling to make ends meet? Then it dawned on me, perhaps she gets dolled up the way she does and happily serves clients because she has a strong sense of purpose!

My colleague and I...

It’s supposed to be hard! That’s something I yell out when I’m feeling exhausted working out. It’s not meant to berate me or demoralize me, quite the opposite. Reminding myself that it requires effort and it’s going to hurt and supposed to be inconvenient is the key to growth.

This lesson keeps popping up for me and so I thought I’d share some ideas around this notion of “hard”. I was recently listening to an excellent podcast and the person being interviewed shared something I found fascinating. He was telling a story about recruits and how at the end of a grueling fourteen days, most would band together and collectively fight back or quit. Under his leadership he was able to retain 90% of new recruits! How did he do it? Did he make it easier for them? Did he let them get away with things? Did he speak nicely to them, cheer them on or coddle them? Not at all. Everything remained the same except for one key thing. He gathered them...

Being intentional is not a small feat in a crazy busy world, but it is the key to living a fully engaged life!

I'm not sure about you but I often find myself going through the motions. When things are hectic or I'm under a lot of stress, I tend to push through tasks and even conversations with little thought.

The challenge of course is that this impacts our level of happiness and engagement. Let me explain.

When we're intentional about how we want to show up to a meeting, let's say, we know the behaviours we want to display. We know the energy we want to bring and we know the outcome we're aiming for. At the end of the meeting, we can reflect on how we measured up to our expectations.  Without intent, the meeting "just happens".

The same is true on our personal relationships and the interactions we have. We can half listen while scrolling on our phones while our spouse is describing their day, or we can listen deeply. When we show up to these interactions it takes effort but I...