SigmaU Blog

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...

I recently shot a video for LinkedIn about courageous conversations. I had assumed that people knew what I was referring to when I spoke about these conversations and I shouldn’t have. I realized this while I was wrapping up an introductory webinar on high performance and someone asked me to give an example of a courageous conversation.

In the moment, I gave a personal example and shared a story of a courageous conversation I had.  After the webinar it dawned on me that I should not only define courageous conversations but also provide you with some tools and lead-in conversation starters that I have found to be incredibly helpful as I’ve faced these once fear-inducing moments.

Here’s what I can tell you about courageous conversations: they are easier and easier to have as you build your courage muscle!

As a recovering ostrich who would put their head in the sand and avoid confrontation at all costs, I can tell you that I would never dream that confrontation...

Having congruency with your intentions creates a strong sense of self confidence, peace, and a greater sense of purpose. We know that high performers are deliberate with their actions. They set intentions each day and likely before transitioning to each new activity.

High performers map out what their top priorities for the day are, what their focus needs to be on and how they would show up as their best selves.

When I coach with clients, one of the very first things I have them do is to select 3 words that would describe their best self. These words may not necessarily reflect who they are today, but rather who they are becoming as they work towards growing and transforming into a high achiever. Some clients can come up with the 3 works quickly, they are sure about who they are and what they would want others to describe them as. For others, this is an introspective process that takes time.

What’s most important is making sure that future actions align with those 3 words. I...

Ever have one of those “hit you over the head” moments where your perspective dramatically changed in an instant?

Well, that happened recently while I was watching a recording of Brendon Burchard’s teaching.  He was talking about his ability to connect deeply with a diverse group of people across ages, gender, cultures, religions, political affiliations, and it all came down to one powerful concept.  Release your expectation that others should think and behave the way you do, and your life will be forever changed!

What the what what??!!! YES!

See I’ll admit, I was stuck in this way of thinking and it absolutely impacted my relationships. I would get frustrated when my husband would hold on to something that I deemed he was holding on to for too long. Well, who cares? Let him feel and process things the way he wants to. In the past, I would immediately want to remedy the situation, give him 3 ways to change his physiology or make him tell me 3 things...

Who would have thought that one of the most powerful ways you could get ahead today is to be fully present!

Back when I wrote Relationship ROI, my keynotes were all about being a magnetic person to do business with by giving people your undivided attention. It was true then and it’s incredibly relevant now. We’ve all been on Zoom calls for over a year and I totally get it - fatigue can set in and we’re distracted more now than ever.

The challenge is that when we’re not present, we do more damage than good. I remember several years ago when I trained to be a kids coach for Future Possibilities for Kids. One thing that they taught that has stuck with me is the importance of presence. They warned that if you seem distracted on a phone call, your kid will sense it and probably call you out on it. As adults, we’re not as forthcoming calling it out.  Instead, we proceed with the meeting while others on a Zoom call check their phones, turn their videos...

I bought into the lie that I was someone who would always have to watch their weight. In fact, I’ve been up and down since eleven years of age and with dramatic swings. I’ve been unhealthy consuming less than 300 calories a day in my teenage years living off lettuce and diet coke and I’ve been over a hundred pounds heavier than my tiniest weight.

I’ve invested hundreds, no thousands of dollars in weight loss programs from Herbal Magic to high-end weight loss doctors and systems and here’s what I found. I would gain quick success and see huge results that NEVER lasted! I would be so disciplined with my eating that I would literally stand around and watch everyone eat my birthday cake while I munched on celery sticks. Not a sustainable or very enjoyable way to live!

It was only around 40 when I had a breakthrough and that was to do the inner work required for long-lasting and sustainable results.

Many motivational speakers including Ed Mylett talk about...

This was one of the first major lessons I learned at the beginning of my career. Since then, I’ve been studying high performers and devouring their content! What I’ve noticed is that the highest achievers aren’t lucky. In fact, many came from dire situations and rose out of unspeakable adversity. They weren’t special, in fact some were treated so poorly early on in life that you wouldn’t fault them for being bitter or for having a victim mentality.

What I found in the highest achievers is that they have different habits and higher expectations of themselves that produce intentional and exceptional results!

When we’re not paying attention, we can drift through life and miss some pretty epic clues to leading a fully engaged and charged up life! 

As a Certified High Performance Coach™ as well as a student in high performance, here’s what I’ve noticed about high performers…

They have strong habits!

Most are dedicated to a...

A little while ago we had “coffee-gate” go down in our home. To paint a picture, the alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. My incredibly loving husband got up a few minutes before me and had made me a cup of coffee.  Just as he was coming to give that cup of joy to me, in the dark, he missed the side table and coffee went everywhere! All over the beige carpet, the white sheets, the light grey fabric bed frame. It was literally a hot mess up in here! :D

In that moment, I had two distinct choices: I could either let it ruin my day or I could reframe the situation and stick to my regular routine to set my day up for success. I know that when we’re not intentional and are reactive in situations like these, we lose control.  When we intentionally SHIFT, we reclaim our power!  So how the heck do you make that SHIFT?

S – Self Talk

The way we talk to ourselves is so incredibly important. Studies show that most of the time our thoughts are biased to the...

Sundays are a great time to rest and restore as well as get a jumpstart on your success for the week ahead.  Here are a few ways that high achievers make the most of this day to gain a strong footing on the racer’s block and nourish the mind, body and soul!

1.  Silence

While I’d love to claim that I do this each and every week, I don’t. But I do every so often and see the huge benefits of “Silent Sundays”. This means turning off all electronic devices, disconnecting from social media and tv and instead basking in the silence of either quiet reflection or a walk in nature. So why take the break?  Maybe you think that scrolling social media IS your way of relaxing.  Consider this, According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “excessive and pathological internet use has been recognized as an internet addiction, which shares features with substance-use disorders or pathological gambling. Common features...

I didn’t realize just how vehemently I am committed to personal growth and development until I was challenged and told that it was selfish. I stopped dead in my tracks and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This individual said “ya but have you considered the flipside of personal development. It’s actually selfish.”

Well, no! I must admit that I’d never considered investing in myself to be selfish and it got me wondering if people hold back from growing because they have bought in to this myth as well.

Here are a few reasons why I believe that personal development is not selfish.

1. You’re human which means you have an inherent need to grow.

See, most people stop living well before they’re dead. I look at some of my own family members who consume hours and hours of news and television and stopped growing years ago because they learned “all that they needed to know.” For me, that’s a sad existence.

I believe that...