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I’m talking to you today about those things that are not getting done on your list that you tell yourself it’s simply about time – where you say things like: “I just need to take the time and do it, I just need to find the time and finish that.”

I have also told myself the same thing in the past, but you need to know that it’s not about the time. I have taken this frame of mind with certain projects that I wanted to get done. I thought, “I just need to grab a couple hours and finish that.” But then the time comes when I have taken a week off work, or we have a long weekend, and strangely enough when “more time” was available the thing still doesn't get done.

It's not about just magically finding the time. If it was about just the time, we would have finished it. I'm also not going to tell you that it's about priorities either. Usually, that's the next thing discussed – you hear, “it's not the time, it's just...

At some point, we all grapple with those BIG questions…Questions like: Should I leave my job? Am I really happy? What am I really leaving as a legacy?

Today we’re talking about what to do when they come up.

I've seen this true across the board with people I have come into contact with through Certified High Performance Coaching – these are questions we ponder. We think about whether we are really fulfilled, or if the different parts of our lives are really working. But we don't tend to talk openly about these things with others.

In coaching sessions, these are exactly the types of things that we talk about. But since everybody is not experiencing coaching on a regular basis, I wanted to take a minute to talk about what to do when you have one of these big life questions.

In coaching sessions with my clients, we always start with clarity when we talk about big life questions. A common mistake in this area is that when we are thinking about big life changes, we...

I want to give you a recalibration today of “me time.”

Inevitably, this topic will come up in conversation with the high performers that I coach.

Typically, it's things like, “Well, I don't get enough sleep, I usually spend a lot of time on my phone before I fall asleep in bed.” Or, “I know I could work on that major goal that I have for my personal life in the evenings, but after dinner I just want to sit and chill. I just want to watch TV.”

When I ask more questions about why they are engaging in those particular activities instead of the things that they say they want – like more sleep and time for those personal goals – usually the answer I get is something along the lines of, “I just feel like it's the only time I have ‘me time.’”

Upon reflection, the high performers I talk to know deep down that this is not exactly what we mean by “me time.” I want to bring that topic forward to really think...

I want to talk about a topic that you might not think about very often – imagination.

I was prompted to speak on this topic because of something I overheard at the salon, and I realized that it's something we need to talk about more. I heard a client talking to her stylist about engaging with her nieces and nephews and how they like to play characters. She explained that when she comes to play with them, she’s at a loss at imaginary play. She talked about the elaborate stories she would engage in when she was young, but now she freezes when she has to use that imagination.

What I realized is that we all need to be reminded – we are always using our imagination, we just might not be using it well or intentionally. I say this because we all spend significant time thinking about how things might turn out. What we may not have consciously realized is that this is your imagination, right?!?

If something hasn't happened yet, and you are predicting outcomes, you are using...

Today we are talking about time management versus energy management. So often, my conversation with high performers is about time – having enough time to do it all. But where I re-orient that conversation is toward energy management.

Time is a finite resource, but energy is a renewable one. When we speak about “managing,” we must think about managing our energy. Time management is a piece of the puzzle, but a separate conversation. How you manage your energy determines how much you get out of your time.

The energy that you bring to your time defines how you progress forward. Think back to your college days when you had that paper due – when you had enthusiasm and freshness from a good night’s rest versus the times you “crammed.” I can remember staying up all night, and the difficulty of still trying to put my thoughts together.

In both cases, we may have spent the same amount of time, but the energy that we had available for the project was...

We’re talking today about productivity. It's a big topic for us logical thinkers. We really thrive when we feel productive – so it's very important to understand what we mean by that.

There's a differentiator between how high performers think about productivity and how others think about productivity.

Something I usually find for myself is that when I'm looking at my list of things to do for the day, I look at the things that I know I can finish and finish more quickly. And usually, I tend to go for those first – or at least I feel that desire to go do those first, so I can cross them off and feel productive! I have this relationship with productivity that's more about volume than it is about quality. Instead, those things that are actually more important to me sit on that list day after day.

But the way that high performers look at productivity is asking themselves: Are the things that are important to me moving forward at a pace that I'm happy with? That's a much...

Today, I want to take an idea that's talked about often – but I want to look at it through a high performance lens. This idea is that of strengths versus weaknesses.

Instead of seeing these as two different things – strengths and weaknesses – I challenge you to think about it in terms of QUALITIES. We all have qualities about ourselves, ways that we show up. When that quality shows up to the degree that's appropriate for the moment, we call that a strength. But when that quality is used either too excessively or too sparingly than is appropriate for the outcome we're seeking, then that's a weakness.

When you look at your “strengths” and “weaknesses” instead through this lens of qualities that need to be used to the right degree, then your approach to reaching your goals can really transform. Instead of trying to change who we are, we are simply adjusting our qualities to be appropriate for the moment and for the results that we're seeking....

To be a high performer, you don’t want to leave your emotions to chance.

Emotions are extremely fleeting, right? I invite you even to just notice right now how you're feeling, and what you attach that feeling to around “why” you're feeling that way. Emotions become the fuel for our actions and our thoughts – they create momentum in certain directions.

If you are seeking to be a high performer in your life, to get the results you're looking for, to experience great relationships and well-being, then you're going to want to be more deliberate with your emotions. I'm going to give you three ways to do that today.

I know it's a challenge – I have many roles in my life, but probably the most difficult one from an emotional perspective is parenting! I have a four and a half year old and this has definitely brought me many emotional challenges. So I speak to myself, as I speak to you today, on this item – don't leave your emotions to chance!

Here are...

Grind, guilt, or gratitude – which is fueling you? This is an important question to ponder.

You can reach some levels of success with any of these, but many find that they eventually get stuck if they are not deliberate about where they get their fuel.

When we look at high performance, there are some key behaviors and habits that need to be in place so that you get your fuel from the best source.

When you're fueled by grind, what does that look like? Well, it looks like that To Do list-oriented life, that To Do List-oriented day. It's about getting done, getting done, getting done. It feels like the grind – that's why they have the phrase, the daily grind, because we're just working at something that's about the future. It's about just putting our heads down and doing the work. In many cases, working long hours in order to get to some future idea of success. So when it comes to grind, we're typically fueled by the idea of some future success. This doesn't always lead to...

Which do you think is more important, your lab grade or your lecture grade?

I tend to work primarily with engineers, so I wonder if this question brought you back to your engineering school days. It certainly does to me – very vividly! One semester, I had a class in electrical engineering that always comes to mind when I think about this difference between lab and lecture.

In the lecture class, I had a difficult time. I would study; I would pay attention; I would read through the book. I would think – I got it. And then I would take the test…and the results showed that I had not got it! This also happened in my homework – I would feel like I understood, I would do the problem, and my answer would be wrong.

I couldn't understand why I getting it intellectually, but then not able to put it on paper. Now, this class also had an associated lab. I had zero problems with the lab and earned solid As in that lab class. My lecture class grade never even close to...