SigmaU Blog

A mentor recently said something that made me scream “Yes!” because it is completely true. He said “Most people assume that the 1% have the secret to success. The reality is that the 99% just don’t want to believe that it comes down to hard work, discipline and grit.” WOW! Agreed. I have to admit, I hoped that there was a secret to success, a shortcut or a secret sauce, but he’s right. At the end of the day, success requires a lot of hard work and most often we underestimate the effort required on our part.

So how do we build grit?

G – Give

The reality is that you’ll most likely give a lot more than you receive, especially at the beginning. If you’re building a business, you’ll give a ton of value, information, free advice and extraordinary service with little returns. That’s just the reality. It’s a grind and requires inputs at a high level to achieve results. If it’s with your health, you’ll give...

Purpose is a topic that comes up a lot when I’m coaching with clients.  Often people will start coaching because a lack of purpose has stirred something inside them and they are seeking more.

During the pandemic most of us went through significant changes professionally and personally.  Pandemic aside, we’re often met with change that can leave us feeling purposeless.  Perhaps the kids have moved out and moved on and there’s a void.  Perhaps you were once entrenched in the day-to-day operations of your business, but you’ve hired a president and feel like your purpose has been diminished.  We all need to feel a sense of purpose to lead a fulfilled and charged life!

The highest achievers in the world have clarity and high levels of purpose. So how do these high performers have purpose while others don’t? 

They intentionally seek and develop purpose. Here’s how…

1. They evaluate how they’re living!

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Influence is something that we’re constantly participating in. We’re either influencing others or we’re being influenced by others. Recently, my colleague Lindsay shared some insights from one of her favourite books “Captivate” by Vanessa Van Edwards.

She shared that the reality is that we’re influenced all the time by other people’s energy.  We also influence others in the room by our energy.  What kind of energy do you want to be remembered for?

We know people who make us feel alive, excited, and refreshed. We also dread visits with those who make us feel edgy, irritable, and somehow like we’ve just run a marathon!  Energy influences relationships but there are some other factors when you consider positive influence.

In High Performance Coaching ™ we look at three key areas of influence and they are based on how positive influencers impact us.

They teach us how to think

There’s a very important distinction...

Do you do your best work when you fly by the seat of your pants? Not me! I’m a planner, in fact I don’t wing ANYTHING!

In order to show up as a strong leader and role model, I have to be intentional about it. It doesn’t come naturally but when I make it a priority it positively impacts the team.

Here are 4 ways you can be more intentional as a leader today!

1.  Map it Out!

Start your day off thinking about and writing down who you want to show up as that day. Perhaps it’s thinking about your phone calls, interactions, coaching with employees or meetings. How would your best self show up? Decide early in the day while you’re fresh how you can be most effective as a leader. You can also check out our super popular Intentional Journals here: https://www.growwithsigmau.com/books.

2.  Set Intentions before Interactions

Oprah famously starts each meeting asking, “What are the intentions of this meeting?” This is a great way to gain clarity...