What are the 6 Pillars for Success and why do I need them? Put another way, did you accomplish your business goals in 2020? Did you:
- Get a promotion at work
- Crush your projects
- Create better relationships
Last year was a doozy, to be sure, if you accomplished any of the above, then you may already be applying my 6 Pillars for Success! If not, why not? Looking at all the choices we had last year, it was a difficult one to navigate, to be sure. I had a long list of goals at the beginning of 2020, that by March I was ready to toss out the window, but I didn’t. I used the time at home, since I no longer had to commute, to build my skill sets.
What I found was, while I love what I do in my 9-5, I missed the connections with the people I get to work with. And I wasn’t exactly sure how to move ahead with my projects, how to create better relationships much less get that promotion I had been working so hard for the last 3 years! So, I started reading, studying and experimenting.
My hypothesis for all of this new learning was: perhaps there is a way to be both efficient (working from home) and personable (connecting with my workmates) while still crushing my projects. So, I started quantifying all the things I was doing, what I believed, what I was reading, listening to on podcasts and talking about on Zoom/Teams. I came up with these 6 Pillars of Success, you can apply them to just about any situation you are trying to succeed in whether its a relationship or a big hairy goal.
Here they are:
Pillar 1: Purpose and Leadership – do you know what your purpose is and how to show up as a leader even without authority?
Pillar 2: Productivity and High Performance – are you super productive and considered a high performer in life?
Pillar 3: Community and Relationships – are you in a close knit community and in a few relationships that bring you joy?
Pillar 4: Self-Care, Energy & Image – making time for self-care breeds more energy which boosts your self-image.
Pillar 5: Courage and Grit – if you survived last year, you have this already!
Pillar 6: Influence and Persuasion – can you influence the outcome of any situation you believe in?
Over the next few blog posts, I will expound on each of these, and answer any questions you may have. Today, I will cover a little bit about Pillar 4: Self-Care, Energy & Image, what I have learned is to make time for self-care is actually front-loading a time savings. Does that make sense at all?! Not really! But, here’s what I mean, I’m pretty sure I had the Covid last year, I was sicker than sick for 3 weeks, with all the symptoms, then lost my sense of smell, which is my hallmark! We didn’t realize at the time that was a marker of the virus!
After surviving that, I super focused on all the health hacks I could get my hands on. I started taking vitamins from this great online company called Natures Sunshine, I picked up a Kick-Ass Immune Activator off of Amazon, I went to see a naturopathic, holistic doctor and got my allergies tested. Turns out I’m allergic to wheat gluten and most dairy and sadly coffee. I quickly pivoted to the Whole 30 and never looked back!
My hypothesis was, if I could find a few health hacks, maybe I could at least maintain my health while all this crazy virus was circulating. I also tried a few brain hacks, so I could stay engaged during hours sitting at my home office desk on zoom/teams calls. I settled into a regular meditation practice with my girlfriend and an official teacher, which helped a lot. I tested a few Neuro-nutraceuticals to support my brain health, like beet root powder & rhodiola from Brendon Burchard’s Boost powder, Lion’s Mane in the form of Four Sigmatic tea, and a great pro-biotic from Nature’s Sunshine.
I had my annual exam at the end of last year, and as I stepped up on the scale, the nurse said, “Oh! You weigh the same!” I looked at her, and she said, “Most people who come in here have gained on average 20 pounds this past year!” That was enough for me to gratefully thank all the work I had done on my self-care, energy and image! Plus, I did not get sick at all after that initial virus in February.
So, I encourage you to form your own self-care hypothesis, what might you improve this year by paying a little more attention to your own health? How might having a regular self-care practice improve your outlook, which in turn can affect how you take care of your body? Are you on track to maintain your weight this year? Do you have a plan to end the year with more energy? Now is the time to make the plans and micro-changes you need to achieve your very best health this year.
As always, believe in yourself, trust the process and if you need a bit of accountability, I’m here for you!
and see where you are and how to get to where you want to be:)
Take time to go hiking, have high tea with a girlfriend or just read a book on the beach, something that will make you say later: Wow, I’m sure glad I did that!
