Worrying about the world isn’t fixing anything and it’s certainly hazardous to your emotional well-being. So redirect your thoughts and activities
“The night is dark and full of terrors.” This phrase has been stuck in my head since I began binge-watching the series Game of Thrones. It’s a bit like getting a song stuck in your thoughts that just won’t go away. You find yourself humming it regardless of the tasks you’re attempting to do. This…
Identify the fear, consider its possible outcomes and their impact on your business, then develop a plan to tackle each outcome
Like most people, I’ve been really scared a few times in my life. You know the feeling – the adrenaline rush that hits when you believe you’re about to lose something. It increases your heart rate, tightens your muscles, shortens your breath, and narrows your focus on the moment and your surroundings. If you think…
How do you deal with stress?
"Every day is a new day." At no time in recent memory has this phrase been more poignant. The situation has gone from one of sudden, unexpected crisis to that of chronic, daily stress. It is emotionally and psychologically exhausting. In the workplace, the pressure to make good decisions and produce good results has never…
Understanding how you feel about tears and having a plan to deal with them will make crying less awkward and intimidating
I don’t know if I have an innate ability to make people cry but it seems in the last week, I faced lots of tears. I had clients crying, members of a company where I was working crying and members of the basketball team I coach bawling their eyes out. In 30 years of business…
Entrepreneurs are especially susceptible to burnout and depression. Here's how to conquer those issues, for the betterment of yourself and your business
When winter seems to drag on with dark clouds, snow and short days, I start to feel in the doldrums. I lack energy, enthusiasm, I don’t want to be around people, my projects seem to drag on and I get a sense of dread at the thought of more work. I’m especially cynical of news…
Operating a business while your brain and body are worn down and in a suppressed state will affect your ability to make sound decisions
Big ideas and small pockets, long to-do lists and short of help. It’s a recipe that can take 12 to 18 hours a day on full-throttle as you juggle the demands of human resources, accounting and budgeting, sales, customer service, webmaster and marketing. If you’re one of those small business entrepreneurs who feels the pressure…
Your brain has a funny way of making dreams come true. Be careful what you wish for
I frequently ask my clients: What would happen if you got hit by a bus? I mean it hypothetically. I want to know if they have plans for their business, how they would take care of their family, what would be the result if they couldn’t work for a while? Often when I ask this,…
The pre-Christmas preparation can turn the jolliest of elves into Scrooges
I have a holiday cocktail napkin that reminds me to keep a sense of humour during the busy weeks leading up to Christmas Day. The napkin depicts a spotless 1950’s kitchen where a mother and daughter are preparing to take Christmas dinner out of the oven. The little girl looks excited about the feast ahead,…
We don’t recognize that times and technology have changed, we’ve been holding the organization back or we’re just exhausted by our years of leadership
It wasn’t the several times I almost died on the job. It wasn’t when I fell off roofs or rolled heavy equipment. But I can remember the day and time I knew I had to get out of construction. It was -35C and I was demolishing a gas station for my employer. As I went…
And how to help them overcome it
Something quite remarkable is happening across Canada today: suddenly everyone is talking about self-regulation. They’re not always sure they know what it means, let alone what to do about it, but there is a widespread awareness that self-regulation is one of those scientific breakthroughs that heralds a turning point in how we see and help…