SigmaU Blog

Much of our success is contingent on the relationship we have with our self-talk. Often, we can be much harder on ourselves than others ever would be and, when it’s destructive, it will derail our goals and dreams!

There are four ways that you can mitigate this…

1. Set Intentions

The highest performers start each day with intention. They know what their high value tasks are, what their interactions will look like, and they predetermine how they will show up. They typically choose one word or three words that would describe their best selves. They think through what the day has in store, and they are deliberate about focusing on those three words.  My three words are disciplined, joyful and kind. I will make sure I think about the meetings, coaching sessions, and personal interactions I have coming up that day and ask myself how I can align with those words.  Choose a word today that would describe the best of who you could be. How would showing up that way...

Did you know that the most successful people in the world are firm and vigilant about boundaries? They set boundaries with friends and family members. They set boundaries with team members, and they set boundaries with themselves. They know that boundaries are critical to their focus and success. They have heightened levels of clarity as they approach each day and anything that is a distraction needs to be eliminated. 

High performers think long-term vs. instant gratification. That means they can say no to what's in front of them right now if they know it will not impact them positively for their future long-term success.

Boundaries with Family and Friends

We all have that friend or family member who seems to be consistently operating in crisis mode. They need you and often call during work hours. They have a difficult time regulating emotion so often those phone calls are tear-filled or even manic. High performers must protect themselves from taking on that energy,...

I love studying people, watching people, being curious about how they act and react. When I first started studying Brendon Burchard’s work I was fascinated with the data and science behind what makes a High Performer… well a high performer!

I had some previous misconceptions about success. Let’s see if any of this holds true for you.

I thought that success was for people other than me. 

I believed that there was an elite group of pre-determined people that had access to success while the rest of us didn’t. I have since learned that success is not reserved for the elite. We can all be successful if we’re working towards a goal. We can all be high achievers if we’re disciplined enough to focus on the habits that support success. 

I thought that successful people had mentors in their corner cheering them on and building them up. 

What I have learned is that the most successful and resilient people do not need or look for approval...

When I first started my career, I was told a lie. I was told that “no one does business in the summer!”. I bought in to that lie and I rested on my laurels during July and August while I thought that everyone was presumably away at their cottages or not interested in doing business.

It wasn’t until my business was barely able to cover payroll one summer that I decided to smarten up and change the narrative. It’s so interesting that when we change our lens on something, how drastically our world opens up!

Summer months are now typically the busiest of the year because we’re proactive with sales and marketing efforts. This got me thinking about personal development and our growth journeys. Are there certain times of the year where you’re fired up about your goals like New Years and then other times, not so much? Perhaps summer is that time for you? If that’s the case, I hope that this serves you and you see things from a new perspective.

Here...

Life can be challenging and throw curveballs to the best of us.  We have big dreams, goals and plans and then something outside of our control derails those plans, and we get stuck in the struggle.  Today I want to encourage you to honour the process and struggle so that you don’t miss the hidden gifts along the way.

This isn’t about being a Pollyanna, this is about accepting the struggle, seeing it as a process and learning and celebrating what the process is developing in you. 

Let me explain…

Having a driving WHY, knowing the importance of remaining consistent in our pursuit towards our goals will keep us focused.  Reflecting on the benefits of sticking with it, the sense of pride you will feel on the other side and picturing yourself in that moment of victory is key to staying the course.

When we lose sight of the end game, we can get trapped in the victim mentality. I did this recently.  There’s a situation that is physically...

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...

Confession

I have a confession! I’m an internal optimist, which means that I tend to see the good and block out the bad.  It has served me well through most of my life until COVID.

See, if I’m honest, I never really spent any time thinking about what could possibly go wrong. I was always reinforcing my goals and dreams and had a deep sense of gratitude for all of the good in my life. While this is incredibly important, the biggest lesson that I’ve learned during COVID has been the importance of planning for the worst but remaining in hopeful anticipation of the best!

Knock Out!

During one of our team huddles, the speaker (I cannot remember which one) said these powerful words and it knocked me on the chin!

“It's not the thing that broke you that broke you. It's that you never even thought about the fact that you could be broken.”

Hot damn! It’s true! I never considered failing. Failing was never an option. Going backwards was a foreign idea...

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...

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 just finished an amazing one-on-one with a firecracker on my team! She was asking me if it was reasonable to transition to full-time sales within the next twelve months.

To back things up, it’s important to paint a picture of where this team member started. This individual has been in an administrative support role for the past six years.  She is by definition an introvert and does not like being the centre of attention. She’s the type of person who appreciates being celebrated privately vs. in front of people.  She’s also been super-committed to our personal development program and is unrecognizable to the girl who walked through our doors in 2015! In fact, if you had asked her back then if she would ever do sales she would have laughed followed by a “Hell NO never!”

About six months ago, she rolled up her sleeves and started dabbling in sales. It wasn’t out of a new desire but out of her commitment to help the team because sales were...