Becoming Fully Engaged: Managing Energy, Not Time
A note from Patsi…
Every once in a while I run across a book I wish had been written years ago. And I wonder why no one studied or wrote about this important concept before and in such a genial way: It’s not about lack of time, it’s lack of energy! Two of my favorite authors, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, have teamed up to tell us how to manage energy so that we can become more fully engaged in our lives and work.
Jim Loehr is a sports psychologist who has trained some of the best professional athletes (Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Dan Jensen, Ernie Els, Grant Hill to name only a few). His focus is in mental toughness for high performance. Along with his partner Jack Groppel, also a Ph.D., they eventually expanded their high performance training techniques to corporate executives and CEOs. Tony Schwartz is an excellent journalist who has also authored many articles for Fast Company and other journals. He co-authored with Donald Trump The Art of the Deal, and authored What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America.
As some of you know, I am an avid tennis player, playing daily and in local tournaments. The physical part of the game is a factor relatively easy to learn and to train. But competing at any level, whether for fun or for pride, challenges your mental and emotional capacities to the max. I have learned that managing negative emotions on the tennis courts is a great training ground for life and work. You can’t get mad at your doubles partner without interfering with both of your performances. It’s a waste of precious energy. And that’s just as true at home as it is in business! Nothing matters if your energy is depleted.
I have found both of these books fascinating to read, and I have already applied several of their training techniques into my life. Within a few short weeks, my focus and energy has improved. I have been able to increase my productivity in both my marketing and writing efforts. To read these books and learn the secret energy tools of star athletes and CEOs, click on the graph next to each book title and order them through Amazon.com.
We have already created a 2000-word and a 1000-word article on this topic, “Managing Energy: the Key to Sustaining High Performance.” To read a brief synopsis click here:
Purchase the article and use it as your own in your newsletters, ezines, or marketing materials; order it on line and it will be downloaded to your computer immediately with full reprint rights. Or if you would like, we can format an attractive PDF or HTML file with your photo, company name and logo, and marketing message embedded into the four-color graphic ezine file.
Here are a few notes and quotes for busy folks:
1. The Power of Full Engagement: Making Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. NY: Free Press: Simon & Schuster 2003.
The Dilemma:
Everyone has more ideas and creativity than they can execute because in today’s multi-tasking, multi-media life, our energy gets used up – not to mention that there is little juice left at the end of the day for creating quality moments with our loved ones. This book offers practical tools for conserving your energy reserves and expanding capacities. Read this book and you will learn:
a. How to mobilize four key sources of energy: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
b. Balance energy expenditure with intermittent energy renewal
c. Expand capacity in the same systematic way that elite athletes do
d. Create highly specific positive energy renewing rituals
This is a definite must-read for anyone interested in sustaining high performance and still having quality of life.
2. The Corporate Athlete: How to Achieve Maximal Performance in Business and Life by Jack Groppel, Ph.D. NY: John Wiley & Sons Inc. 2000.
Elite athletes train 90 percent of the time and only actual perform a few hours every week. Corporate executives have little time for training and are expected to perform at their best under high stress during 12 to 14 hours a day. Executives may take a few weeks off each year, while athletes have off seasons lasting several months. Even then 47 percent of workers report taking their laptops with them to answer email.
Nuggets
Based on scientific research and observations of professional athletes and CEOs, Groppel reveals the integral roles that nutrition, fitness and self improvement play in sustaining the winning edge. His 21-day training program incorporates 5 keys to success:
a. Motivate yourself and others – what works for you will work for those around you.
b. Train yourself mentally and physically – concentrate on growing 1 percent better each day.
c. Hone your performance skills – savor the moment and love the battle.
d. Observe recovery time – development throughout life depends on the amount of recovery you get.
e. Cultivate spirituality – value every second of the day.
This is a sample from BizBook Nuggets, a monthly ezine I created for coaches. To subscriber, email dr.patsi-57738@autocontactor.com, and get some nice reports on executive coaching.
I hope you enjoy reading these two books, and I’d really like to hear from you, your thoughts on the
subject, other books that you have found helpful, etc. Just click on the ‘comments’ word below.
Email me anytime, or visit www.customizednewsletters.com.
Take care,
Patsi Krakoff
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