How to discover your life purpose

WholeLife Matrix: Personal Awareness – Spirit / Life Purpose

“The Purpose of Our Lives is To Be Happy.”  — Dali Lama

As the Dali Lama said “The Purpose of Our Lives is To Be Happy.”  This is true since everything we want in life is because we believe we will be happier once we have it. But among all the options, expectations, and beliefs we encounter in life, it can become a challenge to identify the things that will truly satisfy us and lead to the most fulfillment in our lives. So, the first step to discovering our purpose is to let go of false beliefs and the opinions of others, and then to ask ourselves what really makes us happy.

Exercise to Find Your Purpose

An exercise you can do to find your purpose is to write at the top of a page “What is my true purpose in life?”  Write down the things that pop into your head and see what resonates with you most.  Try to write at least 100 answers. You can also rate each idea from a scale of 1 to 10. It may take 15-20 minutes to clear your mind of expectations of what others think your purpose should be. You can also make lists for all the things that are most important to you and all the things you want to do.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to come up with some answers:

1. Think about what you would like to be remembered for once you have passed.  What would matter to you at the end of your life and what things do you want to accomplish in your life.  Are you on track to accomplish those things?

2. What makes you smile or lose track of time? What things do you enjoy doing now and what have you enjoyed doing in the past?

3. What makes you feel great about yourself, who inspires you and what qualities in a person inspire you?

4. What are you naturally good at, what do people ask you for help about, and what could you teach others?

5. What are your strongest values and what would you regret not doing, having, or being at the end of your life?  

6. What challenges are you currently overcoming and have overcome? How did you overcome them?

7. What causes do you believe in and care about? If you could send a message to a large group, who would that group be and what would your message be?  How would you use your talents, values, and passions to contribute to people, causes and the environment?

Examples of Values and Goals

1. What matters to me most is feeling blissful.

2. I most value having meaningful connections with people. I want to have strong connections with my family and friends.

3. I want to have financial freedom so that I can have more free time and go anywhere at any time.  I want to achieve financial freedom by doing things I enjoy which align with my values and goals. 

4. I want to travel the world and experience different cultures.

What Are You Chasing, and Why?

Ask yourself what you are pursuing or chasing in your life and if it is worth going after. Should you be pursuing something else at this point in your life?  For example, maybe you will discover that having a family is important now or that you want to create a new business. 

Creating a Mission Statement

Based on your brainstorming of your life purpose, things you care about, and things you want to do, you can create a mission statement.  To create a mission statement, ask yourself, what you want to do, who you might want to help and what value or results you want to create. An example of a mission statement is “To inspire, empower, and motivate women to achieve their goals and live fulfilled lives.”  To find out what people, causes, animals, etc. you might want to help, make a list of them.  Your lists can change over time, and so can your mission statement.

Choosing Opportunities That Align with Your Mission

Using your mission statement can help you decide what opportunities to pursue.  For example, when an opportunity comes up that does not align with you mission statement, values, and goals, you can decide not to pursue it.  As Stephen Covey mentioned in his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People," “Writing or reviewing a mission statement changes you because it forces you to think through your priorities deeply, carefully, and to align your behavior with your beliefs."

In the WholeLife Matrix, we have four aspects for developing and accessing your live purpose: 

1.  Discovering

2.  Pursuing

3.  Reviewing

4.  Sharing

Once you have discovered your purpose, mission statement, values, and goals, you will be better equipped to choose things in your life that align with them and on your way to a more fulfilling life.

Are you ready to win?

How to have flexibility in your body

WholeLife Matrix: Health and WellBeing - Exercise and Fitness - Flexibility

"Make an effort to perform each exercise through a full range of motion to reap major flexibility benefits." - Jeremy DuVall, M.S., CPT

Improving flexibility by stretching is an important part of a workout routine.  Stretching helps you to get the most out of your workout and eliminates tightness in your body. Flexible muscles let your joints move through a full range of motion and prevent repetitive stress injury. 

Benefits of Stretching

In addition to improving your performance and reducing injury, stretching can help to improve your posture and reduce lower back pain and muscle soreness.  It helps by increasing blood and nutrients to the tissues and improving coordination.  Your stress level will be reduced and you will enjoy your exercise routine more.

When to Stretch

You should be completely warmed up before you begin to stretch.  It is also good to stretch after your workout when your muscles have become very warm and pliable.  Stretching throughout the day can also reduce tension and stress, so it is a good idea to do some stretches when you have breaks during your work day. 

Areas to Stretch

Stretch the muscles that you are focusing on using during your workout. If you have limited time for stretching, concentrate on major muscles or the muscles that are usually the tightest such as your calves, chest, hamstrings, quads, and hips. 

How to Stretch

Spend at least five minutes on stretching. As you hold a stretch, the sensation of tightness should diminish.  Stretch to the point when you feel a gentle pull on your muscle - before your start to feel discomfort.  Do not bounce when doing static stretches; bouncing can result in a pulled muscle. Breathe out into the stretch and do not hold your breath.  Each stretch should be held for approximately 15 to 30 seconds.  If you feel pain or too much tightness, stop the stretch.  Shake out your limbs in between stretches and do two to three stretches before doing the next exercise.  

Types of Stretching

There are several types of stretching. These include Ballistic stretching, Dynamic stretching, Active stretching, Passive (relaxed) stretching, Static stretching, Isometric stretching, and PNF stretching.  The most popular type of stretching is static stretching.  It involves stretching a muscle to its furthest point and maintaining that position.

There are also popular exercises that you can do to increase your flexibility that involve stretching, such as yoga.

In the WholeLife Matrix, we have four aspects for developing and accessing flexibility: 

1.  Stretching

2.  Yoga

3.  Pilates

4.  Isometrics

Picking a type of exercise that you enjoy doing that involves stretching is a great way to get the benefits or exercise while, at the same time, also improving your flexibility.

Are you ready to win?

Weight Management Tips

WholeLife Matrix: Health and WellBeing - Nutrition and Weight - Weight Management

"The key to keeping weight off after a diet is incorporating habits of sound nutrition, regular exercise, and reasonable expectations that you can stick to for a lifetime." - Joan Salge Blake, MS, RD, clinical associate professor at Boston University

It is important to manage your weight to live a healthy and happy lifestyle.   Here are some tips for looking and feeling your best!

1. Enjoy Daily Exercise

Exercising regularly will boost your mood and concentration, reduce stress, and help keep your mind and body healthy.  Pick types of exercise that you enjoy doing and can continue to do on a regular basis.  There are many options such as running, biking, swimming, and tennis.  You do not need to do strenuous exercise to lose weight or to maintain your weight.  Just walking for twenty minutes a day can help you to lose weight or to maintain your weight. Regular exercise will help you to burn fat, feel less hungry, and stay fit. It is also important to get sufficient sleep to regulate our body.

2. Drink Plenty of Water

Drinking 6 to 8 glasses of fluids every day will help keep you from overeating and will keep you hydrated.  Try to avoid sugary drinks. Drinking tea can also help. It has been shown to prevent dental decay, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis. There are a variety of teas that are recommended for weight loss.

3. Fill Up on Fiber

The recommended daily intake for fiber is 25-30 grams. High fiber foods include whole grain breads and cereals, whole wheat pasta and rice, dried beans, fruits and vegetables.  Four to five cups of fruits or vegetables are recommended for each day.  They are a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber and naturally low in calories and fat. Fiber helps you to eat less and curbs hunger by filling you up faster.  Eating a salad before your meal or a cup or bowl of vegetable soup can reduce calories by ten percent.  Also, soluble fiber can lower your cholesterol.  

4. Low Carb Diet

It is good to have a low carbohydrate diet because carbohydrates can raise your blood sugar level, increasing your insulin, which causes your body to store fat.  With a low carb diet, you won’t be hungry between meals because you will be burning fat.

5. Including Dairy

Including three servings of milk, yogurt, or cheese a day can help your burn fat and lose weight.  Dairy products are a good source of vitamin D and calcium.

6. Control Your Portions

Portion your meals in a calorie-conscious way thinking of both the quality and the quantity of the calories you will be consuming. Carefully counting calories may help you to lose weight, but for the long run, you need to learn to manage your portions to control your calorie intake. To control your portions, try to use smaller to medium sized plates. One quarter of your plate should include a palm-sized portion of lean protein such as fish or chicken (about 3 ounces).  Another quarter of your plate should contain unrefined grain such as brown rice (about the size of your fist).  Half of your plate should be filled with various colorful vegetables.  Eat your food slowly to enjoy your meal and to allow time for your body to signal that it has had enough.  If you still feel hungry after you have finished eating your portions, wait 20 minutes.  If you are still hungry, eat a piece of fruit, some more vegetables, or a tossed salad.

In the WholeLife Matrix, we have four aspects for developing and accessing weight management: 

1.  Weight Monitoring

2.  Exercise

3.  Body Mass Index

4.  Stability Over Time

7. Managing Your Calories

Do not skip meals.  Eat three meals a day and snacks to fuel your body so that it will work efficiently throughout the day.  Eat breakfast to jump start your metabolism and consume most of your calories in the first half of the day.  You will need less calories during the evenings when you are less active.  Check your weight on a scale if this encourages you and helps you to make sure that your weight is not going back up.  Weight fluctuates daily and hourly so it is recommended that you weigh yourself once a week. You can also tell if you are gaining or losing weight by how well your clothes fit.  Keeping a food log of what you are eating each day and the approximate number of calories for each food can help you keep track of how much you are eating and how healthy the foods are.  You can also include your exercise plan and weight goals.

Are you ready to win?

Community Beautification

Matrix Key: Personal Awareness - Community - Beautification

"Ugliness is so grim.  A little beauty, something that is lovely, I think, can help create harmony which will lessen tensions." - Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson fought for improving city neighborhoods throughout Washington DC - high traffic tourist areas and dilapidated inner city neighborhoods received equal support. She recognized that a neighborhood's appearance did not just reflect the status of the neighborhood, but could also influence the status of the neighborhood.  

Bringing a little beauty into the situation makes everything brighter, happier, livelier. Whether fixing up the first house in a run down Detroit neighborhood, or planting wildflowers on an empty lot, bringing new life to an area brings new life to everyone in the area. People have something positive to talk about, a reason to engage with a smile or a laugh.

I have identified four elements of bringing more life to your community:

1. Public spaces
2. Common Areas
3. Beautification
4. Environmental Impact

Maybe you are motivated to start a project on your own street, or join a community-wide effort.  From your local school or scout troop, to your city government, to a nationwide organization such as Habitat for Humanity, opportunities abound. Reach out and make a new friend, make a positive impact, and create something that brings beauty to your community.

Are you ready to Win?

What makes a good leader?

WholeLife Matrix: Financial Viability – Resource Management - People – Leadership

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

 —John Maxwell.”

When you think of a good leader, what qualities come to mind? How does this person connect, communicate, follow through on commitments and treat others? Good leaders have similar characteristics whether they are in business, politics, religion, or sports. Good leaders are not born, but made, and to become a good leader, you must start by leading yourself first.

1.  Create Win-Win Situations

A good leader has a vision for the future that encompasses the good of all. He or she does not want to win at the cost of loss to others but wants to succeed while helping others to succeed as well. This is a primary difference between good and bad leadership. Good leaders understand that you get back what you give, so they focus on being as positive as possible and giving positive energy to others. They are not complacent about things that may not be working but move ahead to find and implement solutions for the betterment of themselves and others.

2.  Courage to Do Things Differently

Good leaders have the courage to take the path less traveled by to explore new ways of doing things. They know that doing things the same way as has been done before will not lead them to discover new ideas and solutions, so they embrace the challenge of exploring new possibilities and taking new paths. They have the courage to face the unfamiliar and keep the faith even in the face of pressure, or when things look hopeless. They take the road of honesty, truth, love and non-violence.

3.  Motivate and Inspire Others

Often, people need motivation, encouragement, and inspiration to get to the next level, whether it is on a business level, such as encouraging an employee, or on a personal level. Great leaders take the initiative to create positive support and give hope, life, and joy in the face of hopelessness and despair. 'Inspiration' means 'breathing life into', which is what a great leader does for people.

4.  Effective Communication Skills

A good leader communicates well with people, connects with them and builds bridges. He or she is approachable, connects people with others and touches their lives. People respect a good leader because they know that the leader will take action and will do as he or she says.

5.  Create Next Generation of Leaders

Good leaders train the next generation and next level of leaders to continue their legacy and encourage leadership qualities in them. They guide and encourage the younger generation so that when it is time to step down, good leadership will continue. It is important to train the next generation of leaders so that they can match the performance of the previous leaders and keep the organization running smoothly.

Are you ready to win?

5 Sales Meeting Tips

Matrix Key: Financial Viability - Profitability/Finances - Weekly Meetings - Sales

"Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, 'Make me feel important.'  Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life." - Mary Kay Ash

1. Send a Relevant Agenda Before the Meeting
This helps ensure a productive meeting.  If you find that there isn’t really much to talk about, you might opt for sending an email rather than having a meeting.   When creating an agenda, ask yourself if the item really needs to be on the agenda or if it can be done outside the meeting.  To ensure that individual updates don’t take too much time, set time limits and create themes such as Key Findings and Future Areas of Focus.  Have others participate in the planning of the meeting.  For example, someone might secure a guest speaker, another might send out the agenda, another might be the timekeeper or topic leader, etc.  To make your agenda interesting you might ask your group to solve a challenge before the end of the meeting.  You might also give them an article to read before the meeting, ask them to think about ideas on a topic, or research something for the team.

2. Start with Some Fun
Start your meetings at the scheduled time and stick to the allotted time.  Begin with some fun to get people interested and to encourage people to arrive on time.  You may start with trivia games, funny stories, highlights of the week, or brainstorming ideas for the coming month.

3. Invite Relevant Guest Speakers
The guest speaker can share information with the sales team that will help team sales.  A guest speaker might be someone from the marketing team who shares a marketing report about your target market or a product developer who might answer questions about a new product.  A customer might also share their experience working with your company.

4.  Motivate and Reward Your Team
Sales is challenging and it is important to support and recognize your team for their accomplishments.  Celebrate successes! You may give away small prizes, even a little chocolate can make people feel good.  You might create different categories for rewards.  Rewards can be team-based, fun, competitive, or recognition-based.

5.  Ongoing Skills Development
Challenge the skills of team members to keep them on top of their game.  These can be skills in networking, lead generation, prospecting, closing, presenting solutions, public speaking etc.  You might ask someone at each meeting to teach a sales module.  Each week, ask a sales person to share something they tried that is working.  How and why did they do it and how can someone else try it?

Family Communication

Matrix Key: Relationships - Family - Communication

 "Any problem, big or small, within a family, always seems to start with bad communication. Someone isn't listening." - Emma Thompson

Ten minutes a day is the key to healthy family communication. Some families connect every day over the evening meal, but for others, schedules dictate a different time to communicate.  Time of day or menu are secondary - it is the daily check-in that keeps everyone connected.  When we allow more time to pass, our human nature ensures we forget the small victories and we escalate the minor disconnects.

Family meetings allow a time for everyone to celebrate the wins and find resolutions for the problems.  It is possible that one week's "problem" may become your biggest "win" after resolution.  Involve your kids in managing the weekly schedule. Make the meeting fun and enjoyable so everyone looks forward to the next one.

In the WholeLife Matrix, we have four aspects for developing and assessing our family communication:

1. Check-In Daily
2. Family Meetings
3. Extended Family
4. Listening

Developing the communications skills so critical in relating to your partner or co worker are even more important with your kids.  First, because we are all more cooperative when we feel heard and understood.  And second, we want our kids to learn and practice this skill early in life, entering their adult life with this skill firmly established in their toolkit.

Communicating with your partner

Matrix Key - Relationships - Significant Other 

Communication



What if love wasn't the act of finding what you were missing, but the give-and-take that made you both match? - Jodi Picoult

Communication is key to any relationship, but it has special significance in your relationship with your significant other.  When you and your partner share well developed communication skills, you operate as a team, and can handle any situation.  When these skills are not developed, even the most innocent remark can be taken out of context and grow into a horrendous fight.  In fact, poor communication skills are a clear symptom of a troubled relationship.

Fortunately, with a little time and attention, good communication skills are surprisingly easy to develop.  Four keys to healthy communication are:

1. Listening - pause during your conversation to make sure you correctly understand what your partner is sharing.
2. Verbalizing - put words with your feelings.
3. Non-verbal cues - watch for body language that matches or differs from the spoken words.
4. Checking In - set aside time on a regular basis for a general review of your relationship.  

The next time you feel completely misunderstood, or find yourself locked in an argument over something inconsequential, stop and look at how you are communicating. Find a way to bring kindness, respect and courtesy back into the discussion.  You will be glad you did.

Local politics - the heart of the community

Matrix Key: Personal Awareness - Community - Legislative

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." - Ronald Reagan

Malala.  Do you recognize the name of the young Pakistani woman whose name swept our headlines last autumn?  Malala gained international attention as a young teenager for speaking out in support of keeping girls in the educational system.  At age 15 she survived a gunshot to the head by Taliban sympathizers.

Fortunately, local politics here in the United States are not a life or death matter. However, local issues affect our daily lives much more than what happens in Washington or in the rest of the world.  Do the firefighters have sufficient equipment to respond if your home catches fire?  What if your garbage was no longer magically removed from your sidewalk? Those potholes in the road will not be fixed by your congressperson. And on the upside, your local leaders are probably truly interested in your opinions and welcome a chance to talk with you.  Your input and support could be a crucial factor in the outcome of a community issue.

In the WholeLife Matrix, I suggest four ways you can be involved with your local political community:

1. Knowledge of Issues
2. Voting
3. Dialog
4. Support

When you stop to think about it, Malala did not set out to become an international activist.  She was a Pakistani schoolgirl who passionately wanted to continue attending her local school.   What local issues are you passionate about?

Retreat from Daily Routine

Matrix Key: Health and WellBeing - Vacation and Time Off - Away from your Daily Environment

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”  - Terry Pratchett

Have you ever caught yourself driving down the street and realize you have no idea where you are going or why?.  Maybe you drive past a new business that just opened and ask yourself "where did that come from?  How come I didn't notice that before?"  Our systems are hardwired to develop habits – essentially to put things on autopilot so our brain can conserve energy for other activities.  Which is a great for efficiency and many redundant daily activities like brushing your teeth.  These habits serve us poorly when they shut off access to new ideas or cause us to stop interacting with the world around us.

At these moments it is important to give your brain a vacation and reset.  When you distance yourself from a situation you are able to look at it differently, discovering new solutions and understanding.  Interacting with a different group of people, especially if you travel to a foreign country, brings new appreciation for the people who surround you every day.

In the WholeLife Matrix, I identify four keys and benefits to snapping yourself out of a brain dead rut:

1.     Travel

2.     Getting Away

3.     Change of Scenery

4.     New Perspectives

The change can be as simple as taking a different route to work for a few days, or as involved as a trip to a foreign country.  So go ahead and expose yourself to new sights, smells and sounds and wake up those sleeping sensory mechanisms!  Your brain will thank you!

Employees - Your Most Precious Resource

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Resource Management - People

"People are definitely a company's greatest asset.  It doesn't make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics.  A company is only as good as the people it keeps." - Mary Kay Ash

A vital component of Financial Viability is Resource Management.  Your company must be a good steward of the people, products, capital, and information it has available if the company seeks to be profitable.  The most valuable resource of all is your people.  In these challenging economic times, it may be easy to think that it is an "employer's market."  Many people are searching for work, and it could be tempting for employers to cut wages, benefits and incentives thinking that their workforce can be easily replaced.

Here's the thing...you wouldn't purposely buy inferior products, because the lack of quality will cost more in the long run.  Excessive employee turnover is another huge cost to an organization.  Better to hire, train and nurture excellent people who share your commitment to making the company great.

To properly care for your employees, you need to be taking the following actions:

1. Create a human resources department that can handle your employee needs and comply with all pertinent rules and regulations.
2. Train your employees well, and cross train them so they have a better understanding of other roles.
3. Provide consistent, visible leadership.  Make sure your employees know where they fit in to the company's goals and why you are asking them to do what they do.
4. Evaluate employees regularly and reward excellent performance.

If you recruit and train great people, you will want them to stay.  The best teams are those that have worked together over time and who feel like valued partners in the company's success.  When you have your A-team on the field, you have a much better chance of winning the game of business.

Are You Ready to Win?

Sales Conversations

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Marketing and Sales - Sales Conversations

"To succeed in sales, simply talk to lots of people every day.  And here's what's exciting - there are lots of people!" Jim Rohn

The topic of sales shows up again and again throughout the WholeLife Matrix.  If you want to sell something, you've got to have sales conversations.  Some people need a lot of persuading; others just need a quick explanation for how your product fits their needs.  Some form of interaction must take place to transact business and that is usually a conversation.  The more conversations you have, the more sales you will close.

A successful sales conversation has four distinct parts:

1. Identifying the Opportunity
2. Presenting the Proposal
3. Follow Up
4. Closing - Asking for the Sale

When you start to think of your sales conversations in this way, you become more efficient and effective.  You present how your product meets the client's needs and you close more sales.  You also gain the confidence necessary to keep on talking and winning deals.

Are you ready to win?

What holds you back?

WholeLife Matrix: Personal Awareness - Self - Psychological Awareness

“The mind is divided, like a rider on an elephant, and the rider's job is to serve the elephant.” ― Jonathan Haidt

You may be familiar with the image of the elephant and the rider...one of my favorite descriptions of the mind/body connection, popularized by Jonathan Haidt. The elephant represents the emotional side and the rider the rational side of our beings.  Dan Heath and Chip Heath developed this metaphor further, noting that both parts must be present, active and working together if we wish to accomplish anything in life - they can help each other or undermine each other.  Sometimes we have great ideas of what to do, but lack the energy; other times we have lots of energy and no idea where to channel it. We must get the rider and elephant aligned on the path and resolved to stay on it.

The WholeLife Matrix identifies four keys to increased psychological awareness - the way to get your rational and emotional systems working together in the same direction:

1. Introspection
2. Understanding
3. Acceptance
4. Resolution

Take time to stop and look closely at the moments when you feel particularly unable to move forward on your path.  Is your rider/rational side working with a clear plan and focus, or spinning in circles with analysis paralysis?  Is your elephant/emotional side well tuned with lots of rest and reserve energy, or physically or emotionally exhausted, unable to move forward despite your resolute intentions?  Look carefully at these states without judgement, and allow the stronger side of your being to patiently understand and accept whatever it is that holds you back.  The resolution to move forward can only be realized when the two sides make allowances for and support each other in the journey down the path.

Are you ready to win?

Managing Your Capital

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Resource Management - Capital

"Capital, in some form or other, will always be needed." - Mahatma Gandhi

As most entrepreneurs know, obtaining capital to fund their start up or their ongoing operations can be a daunting task.  Your business must have capital in order to be financially viable.  So once you acquire capital, how do you manage it?  Capital is a precious resource that needs care and nurturing if it is to help your business grow.

To properly manage your capital, you need to manage all four of the following:

1. Investors - They gave you the money.  Make sure you hold yourself accountable to them and be able to show them the value of their investment.
2. Profits - If you are not converting your capital into profits, you have a problem.
3. Banks - Your banker can be your most effective partner.  Banks can supply additional capital and give you tools to manage it.
4. Accounting - You must track how your capital is being deployed into the production and delivery of your product and be as efficient as possible.

Every business owner has a duty to carefully manage capital.  It is important to find the right balance between releasing capital into the business and holding some back to fund future projects.  Get as much advice as you can from trusted sources, and always be on top of your numbers.  When you manage capital effectively, you have already won half the battle.

Are you ready to win?

Finding your common purpose

Matrix Key: Relationships - Staff and Colleagues -

Common Interest

“Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” - Patrick Lencioni

Back in the day when I owned a sheet metal fabrication shop, I received a cold call from a business coach.  The woman at the other end of the phone asked "How would you like your employees to operate as a high performance team?"  My response was "Team? I would just like them to work together and to stop wanting to claw each other's eyes out!"  And so began my journey of transformation and coaching.  

One of the most important elements of balance and stability at work is to share common interests with your colleagues.  You do not all need to be friends, but is is critical that all employees be in agreement on several key elements.

In the WholeLife Matrix we define those elements as:

1. Vision and Mission
2. Projects
3. Workability
4. Meeting Deadlines

Consider for a moment an orchestra, and the many subtle and not so subtle refinements required to produce the sound that lifts and carries the audience.  The musicians need the same musical score; they must play in the same key and at the same tempo; each individual instrument must be in tune; every musician has to be committed to the performance from beginning to end; and everyone needs to pay attention to the conductor.  If any one of these factors is out of place or missing, it is obvious to the listener that something is wrong.

Likewise, for a group of colleagues to work together effectively, they need to share the same vision (purpose and values) and mission (mechanism for success).  Once these two items are in place, it is much easier for the group to align on the chosen project, work together in an effective manner, and agree to meet common deadlines.  Aligning on a common interest results with everyone being on the right bus in the right seat headed to that same destination.


Are you ready to win?

Making an exercise plan.

Matrix Key - Health & WellBeing - Exercise and Fitness - Exercise Plan

"No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch."
Anonymous

One of my most basic coaching rules is that any result demands an intention, a period of time and some kind of action.  You can see this rule is key to any section of the WholeLife Matrix.  

Intentions must be specific and measurable.  Once you define what you want, you start to create it.  This is a logical process with itemized action steps.  The results from the actions do not always show up the way we envision, but they show progress on our intentions all the same. Unlike goals which require a specific outcome, we only fail our intentions if we quit trying.

You may set fitness intentions of any kind: changes in body mass or size, strength or endurance levels, weight loss, flexibility, improved emotional health...your list will be unique to you and your situation.  

In the WholeLife Matrix, we identify four key criteria for your exercise plan:

1.   Intentions

2.   Variety

3.   Keeping it Fun

4.   Support: Coach/Trainer/Friend

Having set your intentions, consider the other three criteria:  incorporating variety will keep your mind and body alert and aware; keeping it fun makes it so much easier to continue on the days you encounter resistance (and remember that skipping one day makes it easier to skips days 2, 3,4 and so on).

Finally enlisting a second and ideally a third person into the plan will also increase your wins at follow through.  Our mind can be our enemy when we challenge ourselves, and you have a 50/50 shot at talking your partner out of follow through on a particular day.  But when you bring a third person into the mix and form a triad, you have exponentially increased your ability to keep time and action focused on your intentions.

Are you ready to win?

What is your relationship with nature?

WholeLife Matrix: Personal Awareness - Environment - Relationship with Nature

"People think Nature is outside of them.  They don't take in the idea they are part of it." 
George Carlin

How would you explain your relationship with nature?  Do you see a separation between a "natural world" and a "human world?"  Or do you see a world where humans are a part of nature as much as anything else?

We often discuss nature in terms of the basic elements of the outdoors...ground, water, wind, even fire.  How do you describe your relationship with these elements?  Sometimes we have an active relationship: touching the earth, hiking on a trail, or smelling a flower.  On other occasions, you may take a more passive stance: listening to waves crash on the beach or looking closely at the many shades of green on a tree.  I remember an afternoon as a young boy, lying on the grass, watching and wondering how the clouds could possibly move across the sky.  

In the WholeLife Matrix we have identified four components of your relationship with nature:

1. Passive
2. Active
3. The Outdoors In
4. Preservation

Stop for a moment and think about your relationship with nature.  Whether we interact actively or passively, we are part of the natural world.  Increasing our awareness of this connection with the world outside us actually strengthens our connection with our personal inner world.  We do not always have time to be outside as much as we would like.  It can help to have indoor displays or reminders of the "natural world" to balance out the electronic and sterile world we often create indoors.

Underlying all these different ways to connect with the natural world, we must always remember the need for preservation of this natural world - it is a fragile system that sustains us.

Are you ready to win?

Managing Sales & Marketing Actions

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Marketing and Sales - Managing Actions

"Sales are contingent on the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect." - William Clement Stone

If you are going to be successful at marketing and sales, your actions must reflect your commitment to the sales process.  You must have a disciplined approach to managing your sales and marketing actions.  Sales requires a lot of constant effort in order to keep clients moving along the sales cycle and to keep new opportunities coming in to your pipeline.  If you're not careful, you can easily drop something out and lose an important deal.  You can use the WholeLife Matrix as a guide to managing your sales actions.

The most successful salespeople know that these four attributes are essential to an effective sales process:

1. Training
2. Attitude
3. Setting Goals
4. Time Spent in Sales and Marketing

The best salespeople understand that they need continual training to stay on top of trends and technology.  They set specific goals so that drive their actions.  They spend time every day in sales actions, and they know that a good attitude shows through to prospective clients and keeps them in the game when times are tough.  There will always be days when you want to throw in the towel, but if you focus on consistent sales and marketing actions, you will soon find yourself in the winner's circle.

Are You Ready to Win?