How to Get Clear on Your Work-Life Counterbalance Plan

Have you ever tried to balance your work, personal wellness and family... and felt like you are coming up short?

Work-life balance, based on what I’ve experienced and heard from thousands of ambitious women, is a myth that only makes those who chase it feel frustrated and mediocre. Our lives are not perfectly balanced all the time, and sometimes we must swing one way or the other. There are times when our relationships or personal wellness require more of us, and times when we need to allot more time to work. Let’s decide AND give ourselves permission to make shifts, so we can achieve that next level of ambition and joy that you want and deserve... both at work and at home. The idea behind work-life counterbalance is to get more intentional about what matters most and then get clear on how to create a counterbalance that works for you. 

Here are a few tips:

1. First Assess How You Define Your Best Self.
   
   ...

Time for an Internal or External Pivot?

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If you can tell by the sheer horror on my face (see this blog article's photo) hearing from the amazing Emma Tommory what was expected of me prior to opening the Women of Silicon Valley 2019 conference this past May, I've definitely been afraid to pivot, to serve at a higher level and have the impact my heart was telling me to go after.

I imagine you’re already successful, but you’re feeling like there is more (impact, joy, contribution…), it may be time to pivot. Whether it’s an internal pivot in your company or your current career, or an external pivot toward something totally different, this typically takes a great deal of personal influence.

Here are 3 tips to get started with an even more influential mindset, so you can start taking more action towards what your heart is telling you:

• Believe in yourself, your ideas, your worth, and your contribution.
  If you don’t believe you...

Need to Perform Under Pressure?

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Tiffany has a very important meeting coming that will determine funding for an impactful project. Last quarter when she was presenting her data and making an argument for buy-in, she was challenged. Tiffany was told that her numbers didn’t add up, and there was no clear argument for receiving funding. She was angry that she had no support in the meeting and also fearful that she was losing credibility. This anger and fear disabled her ability to pause, regroup and then better influence her colleagues.

The result? 

No funding, and a lot of frustration and disappointment.

With coaching, here’s how Tiffany learned to prepare her mind and make sure emotions didn’t get in the way of her expertise the next time she had to show up and deliver.

1. Acknowledge and Validate Emotions: 
   For example, “I’m worried about an upcoming important meeting, and it’s ok.”...

The #1 Progress Trap
(and How to Beat It)

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I was on a call with one of my mentors, Brendon Burchard, and he was coaching the High Performance Habit "Productivity."

I felt like such an imposter, dragging my feet on a project and NOT being productive, at all. I finally said to him, "Honestly, I think there is something wrong with me cognitively. I coach this material. I am a supposed expert, but I just can’t seem to make the progress I want and that I know I deserve."

Brendon's response:

"Sheryl, do you believe in what you are doing, and are you all in?"

Ouch. The answer was no and no.

Total transparency, I was not 100% certain I could pull off what I was working towards at the time, AND I was not 100% committed to it either.

No brain injury or cognitive disability (that I know of:). Just lack of belief and commitment. So, after some soul searching, I re-evaluated and recommitted.

That’s when everything changed (... for the much better)....

It’s YOUR Independence Day... Learn How to Surrender to It

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What on earth is a surrender practice, and how can it help you bring your dreams to life?

Here’s what I practice personally every morning as do my advanced 1:1 clients.

I’ve received countless emails and DM’s with requests how have I been able to get on major (and a lot of very minor) stages, open conferences and fill up my coaching calendar to have the level of impact and influence that I once only dreamed about. It's also something that my advanced one on one clients do, the members of my monthly mastery and my workshop clients during workshops at Fortune 500 companies. teach this to companies.

1. Drink 12 oz. of water right when you wake up. Your brain is mostly water, so let’s give it a chance to function properly in the morning!
2. Stretch and move around in a way that is safe for you. Now that you’re hydrated, let’s get your blood flowing so you can...

Don't Let This Happen to You

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Success never seems to happen in solitude.

Great business leaders and world-class athletes all ask for and receive help. A lot. They have a personal board of directors that helps them climb, and so should you!

Before we can request help however, we must acknowledge where we are struggling. After spending the first quarter of 2019 speaking and training more than I have ever done before, I had a new problem. Actually, I had two problems.

Problem #1:
I was not saying "no", enough. I was so excited and honored to have these speaking opportunities that I was speaking many more times than I planned into my calendar.

Problem #2:
I was tired. Really tired. This wasn’t just rough on me, just ask my husband Scott what I’m like to be around when I’m tired. No bueno.

Are you too guilty of being a "yes" girl or guy?

Sometimes, even us coaches are not masters of Mental Toughness and Sustainable High Performance :)....

3 Easy Ways to Accelerate Progress and Get Better Quicker

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I know that you're ambitious, but sometimes our progress isn't as quick as we would like, or we feel like we're working really hard and we're not seeing the results that we want and deserve.

So I'm going to share one, what I called "tiny triumph" today. It's one little thing that you can start doing differently, and it is a tool that elite athletes use. I've been teaching this tool over the last 25 years to business leaders and other world-class performers so they can accelerate their progress and get better quicker.

I also use it myself... often!

Imagery Training

We're going to be talking about Imagery Training, which we just covered in my "live" monthly online roundtable group. Imagery Training is about creating short movie clips that help champion your results. We went deep into this topic, so members could get a really good idea how world-class performers bring what they...

Working Hard But NOT Making Enough Progress?

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Do you ever feel like you are working EXTREMELY hard and...

1.)  not making the progress you want and deserve 
2.)  not feeling acknowledged 
3.)  not able to sustain the pace

If so, you are 100% not alone.

In an effort to disrupt this cycle and make progress towards you achieving your potential in a holistic and sustainable way, we are going to kick off International Women's Day a little early. Let’s all be inspired and learn from the amazing stories, impact and courage from women past and present, so we can be our best and rise, together.

For a moment, step into the shoes of Wilma Rudolph who was one of 21 children (yes, 21!) in her family, and born 1940 in St. Bethlehem, TN. Because Wilma was born premature and inflicted with many childhood illnesses (including polio), she was told by her doctor that she would never walk again.

Her mother...

Ever Regretted NOT Speaking Up?

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Have you ever had a birthday come and go when you received nothing? No recognition, no card, no special dinner. Nothin'! That happened to me a while back, and it felt like I was invisible and no one cared. The reality was that the most important people in my life cared, but it somehow slipped their busy minds.

See, it’s a human drive to be acknowledged and validated. For example, "Happy birthday!" "Can we spend some time together?" "I made you a card that has a heartfelt note." etc.

When it comes to work, we can have greater influence on ourselves and our teams if we acknowledge our/their milestones... great and small. If we celebrate the process and not just the outcomes, such as making those follow-up calls, the trips to the gym, or trying that new recipe... rather than just the closed deals, weight loss or delicious meals prepared.

If we are not receiving what we need from our colleagues, management, family or...

Tired of NOT Being Heard?

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Four years ago I got asked by a dear friend to sit on a panel for a Google Ventures sponsored event which was hosted by Autodesk. The topic was "Mental Toughness for Women in Tech."

I thanked my friend, and politely declined.

At the time and for the past 25 years, my clients were world-class athletes typically ages 16-22... not the best, brightest and most successful women in technology residing in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and beyond.

Full transparency, I was scared.

Why would they listen to me? I essentially helped the top 1% teens and young adults to be their best, consistently and under highly important or high stakes situations.

Thankfully my friend at Autodesk was persistent, and fortunately I decided that my voice deserved to be heard. I prepared extensively (and then even prepared a lot more), showed up, delivered, and my business was forever changed... especially after I heard this from one of the...