Resources for Those Beyond Start Up

I hear from business owners that there is a lack of resources and support for small to medium size companies that are beyond the start up but do not have the budget or time to attend national training and seminars. There is a real need for companies with 10-75 employees to find resources that not only provide knowledge but also focus and support growth strategies. Designed exclusively for results-driven small to medium businesses, Purpose Boards provides business owners with the specific insights, strategies and leadership development to achieve results.

Surviving Year End

The average person has so many competing priorities this time of year it can be difficult to juggle all of the things that are competing for your time. Here are FIVE things to remember to help you survive the year end.

1. Stay Organized

Most of us know that being organized offers a slew of benefits. It helps you feel more confident and

capable, it helps you stay connected to the things and people that are important to you, and it saves you time. According to Jamie Novak, author of The Get Organized Answer Book, "the average person wastes almost an hour a day searching for misplaced items like house keys, reading glasses and important pieces of paper”. Remember that how each of us defines organized and what it may look like may be different for each of us.

Cultivating Authenticity

The other day I read an excerpt from the book "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brené Brown on authenticity and I was reminded on how simplistic being authentic is and should be, on one hand, and yet most of us struggle being so because of the energy and awareness that it takes to be truly authentic.  She says, "authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are."

She also reminds us that it is our choice. It is a choice that we make with every decision, every interaction, and every feeling. It is that choice that allows us the ability to be authentic all the time, and it is that choice that takes constant self awareness and energy. "The idea that we can choose authenticity makes most of us feel both hopeful and exhausted. We feel hopeful because being real is something we value. We feel exhausted because most of us know that choosing authenticity is a huge undertaking."

To Just Be for a Moment

"The most relaxing activities may be the ones in which we do absolutely nothing. And if we can do nothing amid the sounds of nature - birds chirping, water bubbling in a brook, the wind rustling in the trees - so much the better. During these moments, away from the noise and chaos of our fast-paced, stress-filled lives, we commune most directly with nature. Without distraction, our bodies can totally relax; there is no danger, no need to be ready to respond to anything. All we have to do is be." 

That quote is from the book: Body, Mind, and Spirit and it reminds me to slow down, to smell and taste the rain, to hear the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves and the beating of my innerds. Reality can be a difficult place to live. Sometimes it seems impossible to stay in the here and now. From time to time we all revisit the past, yearn for the future or stress/worry about what is going on around us. This is natural.

Still, we can strive to be in the present, to just be, for as many moments as we can. When we can stop and just be for a moment, not only can we find clarity, direction, and strength but we can hear our passions, values and dreams that can get silenced by the daily grind of our lives. We don't need to be in the middle of nature to be "in nature". Whether we are downtown or in the countryside can we slow down or stop long enough to just be for the moment.

Today, may we all find time to just be long enough to hear the sounds of nature and the beating of our innerds.

Navigating Work-Life Balance

When work life and personal life are out of balance, our stress level is likely to be high.

Balancing work and personal life has rarely been an easy task but in today's technology driven environment, the lines between work and personal life can be even fuzzier. Technology has allowed people to take work home and be accessible 24 hours, 7 days a week. It has also allowed people to be on the road for sales calls, leave the office for doctor's appointments and kid's events and still be connected to the office and productive. Although that flexibility can be beneficial for both the employer and the employee, it can make it hard to identify when work life stops and the personal life begins.

Consider the consequences of poor work-life balance:

Fatigue - when you are tired, your ability to work productively and think clearly might suffer. This can lead to poor performance, costly mistakes, and a feeling of not being present with family and friends.

Lost Connections - time is a fixed commodity. When you spend too much time with work, family and friends suffer and the possibility of losing touch with them increases.

Reduced Productivity - trying to do more usually results in accomplishing less. When we are stressed, overworked, or moving too fast, our bodies and minds can't process actions and ideas optimally or efficiently.