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In A Creative Rut? Try Taking A Nap

by Walt | Sep 8, 2016 | Success | 0 Comments

It’s 2 p.m. and I just woke up from a nap.

No, it’s not the weekend. And no, I’m not on vacation. It’s just a normal workday.

A year ago, I would have been embarrassed to admit this. After all, I live and work in the United States where sleeping in the middle of the day is practically stigmatized. In my 20s, my friends and I proudly proclaimed (as we downed cases of energy drinks) “Who needs sleep? There’s plenty of time to sleep when we’re dead!”

Today, I’m more embarrassed by that admission than I am of saying I regularly schedule power naps into my days because, the truth is, it was that kind of twisted thinking in my younger years that left me feeling perpetually irritable and exhausted — not exactly qualities that inspire creative thinking.

As a writer and creative, I was sabotaging the very things that fuel my best creative work: a rested mind, a relaxed body and a refreshed spirit.

I realized there was nothing noble about being sleep deprived, or denying I needed more shut eye. So I started getting to bed earlier.

At first, the motivation to get more sleep was purely vain. I got tired of looking in the mirror and seeing a sallow complexion and dark circles around my eyes. After watching Arianna Huffington’s TedWomen talk, How to Succeed? Get More Sleep, I realized not only did I need more beauty sleep, I also needed more Creativity ZZZs if I wanted to get better at my writing craft.

Creativity ZZZs, as I call it, are 10- to 20-minute power naps that I work into my schedule a few times a week, usually between noon and 3 p.m.

In South America, where my family’s from, it’s not unusual for people to take a “siesta” in the afternoon. But in the U.S., naps have become the domain of the “lazy”, the “unproductive” folks who either don’t work or don’t want to work.

But there’s a growing body of research that makes the case for getting more sleep. Sleep, it turns out, is not just good for your body. It also boosts your creativity.

Here’s what I discovered when I started taking more cat naps:

Ideas Flowed

It no longer felt like I was trying to pull thoughts out of cotton. At a certain point in the afternoon, usually around three o’clock, I hit a mental wall. In the past, I tried to climb over that wall with gallons of caffeine and sugar. But that did nothing to unlock ideas or creative musing that seemed trapped in dark, unreachable corners of my brain. The crash that inevitably ensued after my caffeine high only made me feel worse. But after a power nap, my mind is able to brainstorm and draw connections between seemingly disparate ideas because it’s clear and refreshed.

Got More Focused

Creative work requires uninterrupted stretches of time where you are immersed in whatever activity you undertake. It’s what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls Flow. Power naps help me get more focused, and more “in the flow.” I stop reading the same sentence in an email, a book, a blog post, an article, even my own writing, over and over again trying to understand what I was reading. After a nap, I feel reinvigorated and ready to focus on something intensely for a longer period of time.

Became More Energized

As a kid, I spent my summers in Colombia, where my parents were born. On most days everyone took “siesta”, an afternoon nap usually taken after lunch. That makes sense, of course, since most people tend to feel sluggish between noon and 4 p.m., the time of day that coincides with the lowest point in our circadian cycles. My low point usually begins around 2 p.m. when my eyelids start to feel heavy and my brain starts to slow. A short nap can feel like a shot of espresso without the caffeine jitters.

Became Happier

There’s no doubt sleep deprivation can leave you feeling cranky, irritable and moody. In fact, studies have shown that even partial sleep deprivation has a significant effect on mood.

“People who have problems with sleep are at an increased risk for developing emotional disorders (such as) depression and anxiety,” says Harvard University professor Dr. Lawrence Epstein.

Feeling tired and run down is not just bad for your mood, it’s bad for creative endeavors because stress and anxiety feed creative blocks. But when you’re feeling good and rested, ideas flow which leads to more good feelings.

So if you if you want to be at your creative best, do yourself a favor:

Go take a nap.

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This is a guest post by my talented colleague and friend Brenda Barbosa. Brenda is a speech writer extraordinaire and story strategist. The piece first appeared in the Huffington Post. You can find Brenda – and you should – at: http://www.brendabarbosa.com/

Is It A Labor Of Love?

by Walt | Sep 1, 2016 | Success | 0 Comments

It’s Labor Day weekend in the United States: A celebration of work and workers; an opportunity to honor labor; the chance to celebrate the fulfillment of our effort.

Or perhaps, more realistically, an escape from tedium; a long weekend away from the insanity of the office; with a beer… or two; and burgers and dogs on the grill.

Because, you see, nearly 80% of folks are unfulfilled in their work. (More than 90% among my lawyer colleagues.) Employee engagement worldwide, that is a worker’s investment in his or her employer’s vision and mission, stands at 13%, meaning 87% of folks couldn’t really give a damn about what their company is trying to achieve. (And, by the way, employers beware: engagement is correlated directly with your bottom line.)

Which is terrible: Because our work is the highest expression of who we are in the world. Our work is the opportunity to serve in the world; to share with the world those gifts and talents that are uniquely ours to share.

Our work takes up the majority of our waking hours. It takes us away from our homes and our families. It requires our attentions and focus; our blood, sweat and tears. And at the end of the day, if it is devoid of meaning, we are left empty and depleted and despairing.

Our work is not the entirety of our being; and yet it is a huge part of who we are.

“Isn’t work supposed to be a grind?” my young career-coaching client asked.

“No!” I yelled into the phone. “It’s not.”

It’s supposed to be rich and full and joyous. Not without stress or worry; not without effort. But filled with meaning and purpose and deep satisfaction.

Your work should be fun; your work should make you happy.

Steve Jobs said, “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something… .”

If you find yourself filled with dread on Sunday night, then what you’re doing isn’t working. If you’re not waking up most days excited and on fire about your work, then you need to do something different.

Because when you’re in the flow, when you lose track of time, when your Monday feels as awesome as your Friday… that’s when you know you have the work and life you love. You deserve that; the world deserves that.

Because your work should be a Labor of Love.

Happy Labor Day.

It’s Time For A Different Map

by Walt | Aug 25, 2016 | Success | 0 Comments

I was carried away by the sound. Beautiful beyond words. Beautiful beyond anything I had ever heard.

Each note, each passage, more glorious, more magnificent than the last

A soaring concerto.

A virtuoso violinist.

I was the commencement speaker at a high school music academy. And this – this masterpiece – was the evening’s prelude… played by a graduating senior.

I leaned over in my chair on the stage and whispered to the assistant director sitting next to me. “What music school is he going to?”

She frowned and rolled her eyes. “He’s not. His parents want him to study economics.”

I was stunned. And sad.

What the world would never hear.

Even more, I knew how the story would unfold.

You see, many of my clients seek me out for career coaching. Quite a few of them are in their 30’s although some are in their 40’s or 50’s. They’ve gone to great colleges, graduating at the top of their classes (and have a lot of debt). They’ve gone on to graduate school, business school or professional school… and excelled. They’ve landed the plum job with a great salary… and a lot of prestige.

And they’re miserable. They hate their lives. They don’t know how they got to where they are. They can’t figure out how to break free.

They don’t have a clue as to where they lost the path, where they lost their way.

For the young violinist, it was the moment he walked off the stage.

Because he had the wrong map.

In a recent article, Dick Bolles, career guru and author of the ten million copy best seller What Color Is Your Parachute says that following your dreams still matters; love still matters; love of what you do.

Benjamin Bloom at the University of Chicago studied 120 athletes, artists and scholars in order to determine the ingredients of greatness. He controlled for intelligence and family background and all sorts of variables… and what he discovered was that there was only one common denominator for greatness: extraordinary drive.

Extraordinary drive fueled by passion.

“A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself,” said Abraham Maslow.

I asked a coaching client today how he ended up a lawyer rather then pursuing the graduate studies in philosophy that he so loved.

“People told me that I needed to be realistic,” he said.

Too many parents, following a well-worn map and pressured by cultural expectations, push their young adults into a college paradigm that is economically broken, into hollow, empty fields that masquerade as ‘real’ jobs , only to end up seeing them unemployed, in debt and living in their basements. Or worse, to see them on my doorstep – after the years have dulled their eyes and sucked their souls – empty, sad and lifeless.

Despite our best intentions, it is a map that leads to nowhere good.

Those who read me often know that I am passionate about life-long learning and about success.

But if you’re going to climb that ladder of success, you better make pretty damn sure it’s against the right wall.

And the only way to do that is to start from a place of love.

Deep love.

Me Talk Dirty Sometimes

by Walt | Aug 18, 2016 | Success | 0 Comments

I was working this past week with a private client of mine, a very talented and prosperous wealth manager. She’s been working through an extremely complicated tax matter for a client of hers. She began telling me how “horrible” she’s been at certain aspects of the project, how she’s “screwed up” certain parts of the file, and how “overwhelmed” she’s been with all the “problems” that she’s been faced with.

In my most sonorous coaching voice, I said, “Well that’s a pretty dramatic story.”

Which, thankfully, stopped her dead in her tracks.

“What would it be like to tell a different story, a more empowering story, a story that casts you as a more resourceful professional?” I asked.

“Well, I’d feel much better,” she answered.

Of course she would. And she’d be more effective too.

What’s interesting is that, as entrepreneurs and professionals, we are often harder on ourselves than we are on anyone else. We hold ourselves to incredibly high standards; even higher than those we hold for our people. We demand of ourselves sustained, uninterrupted peak performance. We are highly intolerant of our own weaknesses; and unforgiving of our shortcomings. We drive ourselves longer, harder and faster than we would ever reasonably expect of others.

We tell stories about ourselves, and use language to describe ourselves that we would rarely say out loud.

We focus on what’s not working rather than on what’s working.

We focus on our weaknesses rather than our our strengths.

Yes, we talk dirty sometimes. About ourselves.

Stop it. Stop it now.

The two primary questions that confront every single one of us are: “Am I enough?” and “Will I be loved?”

No one escapes. No one. Not presidents; not prime ministers; not kings.

And at one time or another, every single one of us wonders whether we’re just a fraud in the world, playing some imaginary role; and we worry that it will just be a matter of time before someone finds us out.

But knowing that these feelings of inadequacy are universal; knowing we’re not alone; we have a choice.

We can focus on the good.

We can focus on what’s working well.

We can use more powerful, more resourceful language.

We can choose not to talk dirty about ourselves.

In the Book Yourself Solid® community, Michael Port has banished the words “struggle” and “overwhelm” because the words themselves create a negative story.

Perhaps:

Problems are challenges.

Mistakes are lessons.

Dangers are opportunities.

So how do we become more resourceful with our language?

We practice. Just like with anything else. Like strengthening a muscle. Like playing an instrument. Like learning Spanish.

We practice. We catch ourselves in the act. (Or your coach catches you!)

We practice. We fail. We start again.

We tell better stories. We use better language.

It’s a (life-long) work in process.

Me talk dirty sometimes. You do too.

Let’s stop it.

Now.

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When you’re ready to create a new story, email me: [email protected]

Why You Need White Space

by Walt | Aug 11, 2016 | Success | 0 Comments

He was overwhelmed. Stressed out. “Slammed,” he said.

Of course, my client, a young lawyer, is not alone. The Economist reports that, in a recent study, 45% of executives cite lack of time as their biggest challenge in achieving their career goals.

I looked at a screenshot of his Google Calendar: A sea of colors; back-to-back appointments all week long.

No breaks; no respite.

No white space.

White space is the key to creating a saner life.

In my weekly planning, I deliberately create lots of white space on my calendar.

I create white space because sometimes things take longer than I think they will.

I create white space because unexpected interruptions crop up.

I always leave a big block of white space on either side of a coaching appointment. Beforehand, I want to have time to review my notes and think about my client; what we worked on in the last call; and where we want to go. Afterwards, I want time to finish up my notes, reflect on the work we’ve done, and consider where we need to go next.

White space allows us the time to:

Think

Reflect

Create

Read

Listen to music

Hydrate

Enjoy some quiet

Breathe

White space is a powerful time management secret.

With white space, we’re not as frenetic. We slow down. We’re more mindful. We’re more aware of the beauty and the majesty that surrounds us. We’re able to connect more deeply with others. We’re able to recognize what’s merely urgent; and what’s truly important. We’re more resilient and resourceful. And happier too.

If you really want a life that is rich and full and deeply satisfying; if you really want to serve the people you’re meant to serve; if you really want to make an impact in the world, then create more white space!

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AND if you’d like help with this, I have a powerful system. Email me today! [email protected]