SigmaU Blog

Life can be challenging and throw curveballs to the best of us.  We have big dreams, goals and plans and then something outside of our control derails those plans, and we get stuck in the struggle.  Today I want to encourage you to honour the process and struggle so that you don’t miss the hidden gifts along the way.

This isn’t about being a Pollyanna, this is about accepting the struggle, seeing it as a process and learning and celebrating what the process is developing in you. 

Let me explain…

Having a driving WHY, knowing the importance of remaining consistent in our pursuit towards our goals will keep us focused.  Reflecting on the benefits of sticking with it, the sense of pride you will feel on the other side and picturing yourself in that moment of victory is key to staying the course.

When we lose sight of the end game, we can get trapped in the victim mentality. I did this recently.  There’s a situation that is physically...

How do you stay positive when the odds are against you? Perhaps positive isn’t even the right word! How do you actually keep going and taking action when you continuously get punched in the face?

We’ve all faced this sense of frustration, false starts, and defeat. The difference between the mediocre and the most successful individuals isn’t talent, it’s grit. It’s that courage to get back up again, no matter what, and preserve.

While this all sounds great, you may be thinking, HOW do I develop grit?

Do Hard Things

Get outside of your comfort zone and stretch your goals. The simplest way to do this is to level up on your physical fitness. Few things have had as much of an impact on my overall life as fitness. During 2021 I enrolled in the 75Hard.com program and it changed my life! I dealt with family issues including suddenly losing my dad, friendship struggles and the continued pressures of the lockdown that severely impacted small...

Sometimes life runs so smoothly; relationships are flourishing, business is booming and you’re unstoppable! Then there are times when you feel like you’re constantly being kicked down by life’s circumstances. If that’s you, I want to share with you three ways to beat defeat!

1. Remind yourself of everything that you've done before
2. Seek out support from others who won't be soft on you, but will remind you of your greatness
3. Take action! Grant Cardone uses an amazing expression. He says that action gives fear and doubt the middle finger and I couldn't agree more.

The first thing that you need to do is remember your greatness. Not in an egotistical or an inflated self-confidence sense but actually going back and reminding yourself of your value. 

• What are some of the amazing things that you have done in your life?
• How have you helped others succeed?
• How is your product or service that much better from the competition?
• What are the statistics that tell you...

I was hiking in a picturesque snow fall this past weekend and it got me thinking…

As I was making tracks, I noticed that there were similar sized boot prints in front of me.  I got thinking about who may have walked those tracks before me.  For a moment, I walked in her boot prints and quickly noticed that they were at a much smaller stride than mine. It felt uncomfortable and slow.

I stepped out of those prints and went back to my own pace which seems to measure a full footprint ahead of the existing set.  Not going to lie, for a brief second I though “WOW she’s a slow walker. I’d beat her if we were walking together.”

Upon reflection I realized that life is like those prints. Was I getting distracted from the stunningly beautiful winter wonderland I was relishing in just moments before to compete with a ghost? And so what if she walked slower, maybe she was meditating or ill or just knew how to be more present than this typical...

The person who executes beats the person who is still planning and perfecting every time!

I was reminded of this recently as I watched my neighbours work on their ice rink.  They spent countless hours out there in the cold, wind whipping across the lake clearing snow. They set up systems where they had water pumping through a hose so they could flood the area each week. They painstakingly spent time and effort to trudge through the freezing water and mop the surface so that it would be smooth to skate on. Each time there was a snowfall, they were out there diligently shoveling and clearing their little slice of Canadiana! They were out there every single weekend for twelve weeks and I saw a ton of effort and zero skating.

While that was happening, a group of people about a nine iron away cleared a regulation-sized rink for the community to use. Everyone pitched in and shovelled here and there. There were times after huge snowfalls that only half of the rink was cleared, and the...

What’s “the Suck?”

The suck is losing the big contract that you had your heart set on. The suck is being in quarantine with a limited lifestyle for over a year and counting. The suck is the lost friendship, broken marriage and devastating loss of trust. The suck is working on a project for four months, putting your heart and soul into it and seeing it fall completely flat before your very eyes! The suck comes in various forms and knocks us off kilter in different ways. We all experience it from time to time. Often it hits us over and over again and in business it can leave us feeling lonely and frustrated.

Why it hurts so much!

When we feel like failures and setbacks are coming at us from all sides, it can feel like our world is closing in on us. It hurts when we have finances on the line. It hurts when we show up, give our best and we get rejected. We question our competence and our resilience. I recently went through a massive failure that devastated me and so I...

Being a student of high performance and watching those who are the top of their game has been a passion of mine for several years! I’m always amazed that some people are able to create and contribute so much, consistently achieve at high levels and maintain a healthy balance and higher levels of happiness. It dawned on me that these are people of ACTION!

A – Act vs. Overanalyze

Achievers take action even when they’re not ready! They aren’t afraid to show up with imperfect video content, imperfectly written blogs and they execute plans before having every precise detail figured out. This is a key differentiator between achievers and their lower producing peers. Their peers tend to overanalyze the situation, dissect the videos and blogs before sharing them and worry about perfectionism. The cost is twofold. One, the person who really needs to hear your message continues to suffer and two, you miss opportunities that go to the person who is out there making...