Are You Living In A State Of Stress?

The Problem

Are you living in a constant state of stress and urgency, moving from one challenge to the next?  Do you find yourself struggling to get ahead.  What causes the state?  How do you avoid it?  For many, stress is just the cycle of your day to day life and is typically caused by self inflicting reactions to specific circumstances that we all face daily.  Thus, you are always living in the state of reaction to urgency rather than focusing on what is important but not urgent.  This cycle and state you operate in will not allow you to be empowered and often cause many to seek avenues to “remove” the stress by entering a state in which the urgency is temporarily removed.  For some, they revert to alcohol or drugs, others eating, watching TV, working out and the list goes on.  Now most of these avenues are not bad, rather many are healthy and empowering.  (minus the drugs, alcohol and over eating)

The problem is the amount of time spent in these areas to remove yourself from the stress.  Rather, your time should be focused on identifying how to manage your life in such a way that you are not living in reaction.  Living your life in reaction will cause your life to be run on the terms of other people and outside circumstances rather than on your terms.  Often we allow other peoples “urgent” matters to control our reaction as well.  Some are important and must be taken care of, on the contrary, many are typically non important and cause most of us, to fulfill the basic need to be “significant”  and we will enlarge the matter to feel more significant.

The Solution

The key is to spend your time, your #1 resource on the things that serve you and matter to you most.  The way to do this is to learn how to get in the “zone” where everything is flowing for you, things are happening in such a way that you are fulfilled and you are operating at a higher level.  Getting to this zone requires you to step back and break out of the cycle of living from urgent moment to urgent moment.  It takes a realization that you have choices, most stress comes from the belief that we are in a position without choices, we have a to do list of  things we “must do” and this causes stress.   You always have at least three options to any scenario.  The choices as you approach  matters of urgency are the following:  is this urgent and important, urgent and not important or neither urgent nor important.  This is about developing a change in your belief system as to how you view urgency.  Urgency, is not your friend, urgency is the source of stress and the source of living reactionary.

Where do you spend your time on a regular basis?

Evaluate your time and what you spend your time on.  What % do you spend on things that are urgent and important, what % on those things that are urgent but not important and what % on things that are neither urgent nor important.  Learn to shift your time and organize your time to focus on things that are important so that they do not become urgent.  Remove yourself from the belief that urgent = important, often the things that we are making urgent are not important.  When you learn to focus specific time on the things of importance you will not be living in a moment of reaction rather of choice.

As you develop a systematic approach to how you evaluate where your time is spent and you reduce the moments or urgent reaction, you will find more of your time in the zone.  The zone will allow you to be fulfilled, to accomplish more, to live with more free time and ultimately design your life around the areas of importance to you.

Keep On Charging

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The Safari, The Lion & The Entrepreneur

So here we are at the Milwaukee County Zoo, a fabulous zoo with a lot to see.  Ethan has his favorite animals that he likes to see and funny enough he always wants to first go to the part of the zoo that has barnyard animals to see the cows first.  Of all the animals he chooses the cows, actually last year Kelly and Ethan were able to watch a live birth as a new calf entered the world.  So here we are mid week a couple days ago, we decided to drop what we were doing to take Ethan and Cole to the zoo and hang out as a family.  As we stroll through the streets of the zoo and look at all the animals I am reminded that only a short while ago this was something that I was not able to do during the middle of the week as I was stuck at work.

As we meandered through the zoo we came to “Big Cat Country”.  I love seeing the majesty of the Lion, the sleekness of the Cheetah, the confidence of the tiger and the funny acting Hiena.  Walking through the building where all the Big Cats are “caged” in a complete pseudo safari is always humbling for me.  Why?  You may think I am talking about animal rights etc., I am not.

The Lion & The Safari

Look close at the picture above, this majestic king of the “jungle and safari” was staring directly at us.  As I looked right at this beast 6 inches from the glass, I realized, he is NOT LOOKING AT ME.  He is looking right through me, I mean I didn’t exist in his world, no matter what I did he just stared as though I wasn’t even there.  Friend, as I watched this lion I realized this . .

In his being, the very FIBER of  who he is, a King, A Conqueror, he makes his own rules, he roams the Safari with might and power.  He leads his pride with freedom and power working in his environment roaming, being and living.  I knew at that moment this majestic animal was NOT looking at me, He was imaging the SAFARI, he was sitting on his throne living on his terms, picturing in his mind, seeking his prey, leading the pride, conquering his domain, he was at that moment exported from the “cell” behind the glass and he was living in the safari in which he was created to be.

What a powerful parallel to the lives of MANY entrepreneurs . . .

The Entrepreneur

Here you are it is Monday morning, you are an entrepreneur and you’re heading to work.  You arrive at the office, you step out of the car and head into the building to begin your week working in your “cell” behind your glass.  You go through the motions of the day, you accomplish your job, you deal with the things of the moment.  However, not too long into your day, you find yourself staring . .

You imagine, roaming the safari, conquering, living on your terms, your heart races, you feel at home, you know that in your heart you are an ENTREPRENEUR and you are not meant to live by the terms of others rather it is your destiny to build, lead, create and prosper.  You find yourself imagining your day, what you would do, how you would act, who would be and what your life would look like as a successful entrepreneur.  Than, BAM, wake up you are back to reality, you snap out of your zone you look around and see you are there behind the glass in your cage . . .

Friend,

There are two types of entrepreneurs.  Those that accept the position they have and allow their dreams, their destiny and their true identity to die and than there is the entrepreneur that takes action.  They begin to build so they can break FREE from the glass, they can roam the safari, they can live on their terms and they emerge as a conqueror an entrepreneur who no longer is behind the glass!

Take a look at the lion above . . .

“Are you going to remain as he is in a cage?  Or will you emerge as the entrepreneur with the freedom you desire and deserve?”

Keep on charging,

Josh

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What Would You Do If . . .

One day I come home and Kelly (my wife) is all excited about this plaque she picked up at a boutique.  Typically, I don’t get that excited when I hear she bought something at a boutique especially something that requires me to hang on the wall.  To my surprise this was different.  Here it was a little plaque that read, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”  Kelly said, “I saw this and thought of you and I had to get it.”  So if we ever have the pleasure of you being in our home you will notice in the guest powder room right above the light switch we have this plaque.  This statement alone has spurred many conversations about what people “Would do”.  The sad truth is most people leave it at that, they dream, they create a vision, they develop passion, they get excited, they speak about possibilities and then they shrug the shoulders and say oh well.

Friend, would people in your life see this plaque and think about you?  Success begins with decision even when faced with the fear of the unknown and the fear of failure.  Those whom have created success in their lives have approached their ventures with intense focus knowing that even in the face of defeat, even in the face of doubt, even when their chips were down, when the outlook wasn’t so good, they would move forward with the mindset that failure is not an option and even when failure is eminent they recognize that failure is temporary. Failure is the breeding ground for some of our biggest successes, failure is the road that teaches us lessons that most will never be blessed to learn.  Failure is the time when we become most transparent, most humble and most open to self examination.

“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”  . . What a thought provoking statement.   This statement also provokes . . . “What WILL you do when you FAIL?”

The entrepreneur often is defined not by the success rather the journey he/she took towards that success.  Remember the plaque, approach your ventures with passion and focus and above all bloom where you are planted, whether that be in success or in failure.

Keep On Charging

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