Hello, hope you are having a great day! 
I am back on the blogosphere and planning to post on a few great lifestyle and health topics over the next few months. The last little while has been challenging and some great research and material erupted from this turmoil. I first started working with a wonderful “success coach” I had met at a conference . The weekly phone sessions woke me up on many levels and certainly pushed me beyond my comfort zone; topics covered were as varied as the issues we face on a daily basis when managing a growing business, how to balance professional and other personal goals, and as a business owner this was the hardest, learning to delegate, automate or eliminate tasks. It was amazing to discover how much busy work actually clutters productivity in a typical week. Now I can actually take a whole day off away from checking in, usually Saturday, which had not occurred in many years. Bingo. Work smarter, get better results, enjoy life more. Next step was revisiting the gym, so I enrolled in a few months of bi-weekly intense private training in a small studio downtown with nowhere to hide, and kept a journal of other workouts on alternate days such as hiking with the dogs and biking. Things were looking up! Then by end of July, the ultimate A-ha moment hit: life does not always go as planned and no level of planning can prevent you from experiencing hardship – whether it is on the health front or in your loved ones’ lives. However, I found with the right support network of coaches, specialists, true friends, and unshakable belief that everything will be all right, getting trough each day in a calm serene state became easier and easier, until full acceptance settled in. This challenge had come to teach me patience. The power to adapt has proven to be the most essential tool in the shed. Knowing when to shift the ship’s original course to ensure everyone is secure on-board and not be so stubborn to stick to an original plan and pace at all cost, that lesson is truly crucial when navigating through life. Here we are now right back on track, wiser, stronger, with so much respect for life and for everyone who shows resilience in the face of adversity. Strategic improvements to our work-life balance were made, and focus on quality of life is no longer wishful thinking – it is life saving. Learning to go with the flow, never settling for less than what you stand for, without getting so carried away that your core is shattered by blinding light. Learn to turn this new energy to power up the rest of your journey, remaining grateful for this second chance and letting it enlighten you as you reach out to others going through similar life changes, paying it forward. That’s what life is all about.
Just like starting over…
Work less… for more success!
The irony of this blogpost title versus keeping your nose to the grindstone may cause a few to scratch their head and tilt it ever so gently sideways… Most of our generation was brought up to believe in the “Rise early, work hard, strike gold…” mentality. Yet the unsung key to entrepreneurial success is growing your core business and focusing on delivering high quality products and services, on time, every time. Business owners who know the traps of growing pains too well will tell you it is quite dangerous to reach the breaking point where essential tasks are delegated to less experienced personnel and expecting them to keep up with the mad pace; all it takes is one error, one bad day, and your customer can be hard to recover. We have seen this many times in the service sector, and it ain’t pretty at the customer service counter. That is why from many successful entrepreneurs’ experience I would highly recommend slowing down and ensuring quality control at every step, even if it means affecting the bottom line in the short term and turning away a percentage of business. What you will end up with is your top clients or the cream out of the 80/20 rule, which you can focus on and meet the needs consistently or at the very least, make that your ultimate goal and corporate culture. Then, as your capacity to handle higher volume develops, this core will refer you quality business with similar expectations, an elastic demand based on reliability willing to ensure your profitability and sustainability. Establish win-win relationships and never drop the ball or stop caring. Even when business is good and lined up at the door, in this day of consumer feedback blogs and surveys you will always be rewarded for honouring your promises and staying true to your original business values. In the end, what we leave behind is more important than a checkbook; the gold is a spotless name.
A few quotes you may also appreciate on this topic:
-A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him. – David Brinkley.
-I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. -Bill Cosby.
-Pray that success will not come any faster than you are able to endure it. -Elbert Hubbard
- The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year. – John Foster Dulles
Another year over…
Eckart Tolle once wrote: ” Time is an illusion. The more you are focused on time – past and future- the more you miss the Now. The eternal present is the space within which your whole life unfolds. Life is now.” There’s something about the approaching year-end that makes me ponder if my time was used wisely this year. Did I get closer to my goals set 12 months ago? Were there unforeseen challenges thrown on the course? Definitely. But 10 days until Christmas, 2 weeks until we ring in the New Year, I like to take stock of the wonderful moments and events that shaped this past year, including the Winter Olympics on home soil and the hot summer we finally got to enjoy. New friends we made and opened our worlds to new perspective, old friends that appeared on our doorsteps and made us laugh, life lessons learned, meaningful work and charitable causes, efforts worth their weight in gold, going the extra mile to then look back with pride. Now it’s time to set new goals, reevaluate our resolutions. Certainly for many of us, technological revolutions are de rigueur. Spending more time working smarter, focused, with heart, without multitasking with 8 tabs going at once on the screen. Spending less time worrying about the future, knowing that each day fully lived counts for 100 spent aimlessly at the wheel. Each hour counts. Life is happening as we speak. The mind always adheres to what we know, what is known. The unknown is dangerous because it has no control over it. That’s why our mind dislikes the present moment, yet our conscious can only manifest if fully present. The beginning of freedom is the realization that you are not your mind. Step out of your own shadow and let the light you were meant to seek find you. Effortlessly. Be here now. WISHING YOU THE MOST WONDERFUL, MEANINGFUL AND JOYFUL HOLIDAY SEASON. Make it count.
Congratulations also to everyone who took part in the 24 hours of Tremblant, skiing non stop relay-style from noon Saturday Dec 11 to noon Sunday Dec. 12th (and those on the bikes), to raise funds and awareness to those less fortunate. The most memorable quote of the event came from a very young girl with leukemia who spoke to the crowd, reminding participants that as their bodies grow tired and they feel alone on the hill in the middle of the night, picture carrying a sick child on your shoulders to give you the strength and motivation to carry on… wonderful motivation to accomplish what a moment ago seemed impossible.
Let’s talk about stress, baby
Most entrepreneurs and professionals downplay the effect of the various demands on their bodies. We seem to thrive on short deadlines, fulfilling last minute requests, and challenging assignments. Stress? Glorified fuel of the high achievers, is in constant supply thanks to permanent wireless access to the matrix. We deny, deny, pushing our limits until our body shuts down to its most elemental form, rendered childlike pounding our fists on the desk asking why, why and crying to the Gods to give us a break from our ambitious state and pleasing personalities… A growing body of evidence suggests that we on average experience over 14 stressful events per week. Chronic stress caused by taking on too much has been linked to serious health issues such as depression, chocolate cravings, diabetes, heart disease even Alzheimer… so the bottom line is this, each person must find a way to reduce sources of stress on an ongoing basis, which can no longer be “cured” by a soothing massage or a few days off on a mountain top. Hence it should be accepted as a public health issue, not just a yuppie state of mind. Scientists studying work-life balance can measure the amount of stress-related hormones, cortisol and adrenalin, released following a situation we feel is out of our control. These released in high amounts over a long period of time can affect all of our systems, including nervous, circulatory, digestive, muscular and skeletal, shortening our lifespan, not to mention our moods. McGill University research teams recently published their findings about the impact of daily stressors on our health, clearly showing how stress could become the key reason we seek medical attention. On that note, I am off for a few days working on solutions for my series of articles on work-life balance at evancarmichael.com so I’d like to thank my precious clients and collaborators for providing good grounds for this study and reminding me to appreciate every day of this lifelong journey… Here’s to reaching the ideal balance of productive action and proactive rest, of living to striving and enjoying the beauty of everyday life and relationship 
along the way. Some daily stress management techniques to try include enjoyable exercise, yoga, meditation, healthy alkaline foods, water, and my personal favourite, hugging your pet and your loved ones for a minimum of 20 seconds.
Harvesting loyalty by planting integrity
Recently we had the chance to visit one of our favourite places in the US, the beautiful town of Stowe, Vermont. What keeps us coming back for almost 18 years now is the heart warming welcome from the innkeepers, and the time they invest in catching up with us year after year about their family, sharing their town’s progress and latest must-sees. We love the quaint village’s authenticity, its unique shops (no chains), Austrian architecture, mountain scenery and multicultural restaurants with impeccable service. (Thank you Jean Drolet and team from the Innsbruck Inn).
In a former job, I was asked to help tourism businesses harvest this “loyalty” seed, a smart focus since retaining guests and clients is more efficient and profitable from a marketing standpoint than attracting new ones year after year. The key is to foster your Word of Mouth from satisfied clients.
Which led me to think about all these “loyalty cards” in my wallet… Is offering a free goodie after the 10th one really keeping us loyal for the right reasons or just creating habits everyone else can also offer? Considering the membership points, rewards, air miles and so on in many industries; what if the quality of the service or work and sense of recognition was enough to harvest customer satisfaction without the gimmicks?
A happy customer who feels he or she has been treated not only fairly but with extra care will be your very best ally in your sustainable growth. Going the extra mile and creating a sense of belonging will be your very best time investment, as long as it is planted from integrity. The easiest way to ensure long term viability for any business is to genuinely look after your loyal customers and also value your strong partners or suppliers who allow you to perform at your very best. A little show of appeciation (even a bottle of wine!) can then crown your partnerships!
Oh the good life…
What I watched on my summer vacation instead of TV every night
In life, there are only two choices… Either you make progress, or you make excuses. These words stare at me daily from my office wall, gently haunting me every time I want to delay an action or decision. I am reminded that if today did not bring anything new, it will have been for a lack of focus on my goals and objectives, since you can ALWAYS make progress by at least learning and searching new solutions. Progress does not have to involve major accomplishments but rather simple steps in the right direction: certain days I give myself a break and let my body heal or find a solution on its own time with some “meaningful” rest. As in rest like you mean it, to quote author Martha Beck, referring to a snoring lion pride after an unsuccessful hunt. Not every day can lead to breakthroughs, yet every day can bring enlightment and wisdom. There is beauty and joy to look for, and there is life to appreciate. Buddha himself has said “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” Although this may have been written in year 500 B.C., the sense of purpose (and sense of humour and irony!) was ever present in our lives. Inspiration is all around us, in each other, in nature, and determination to get it right is our own choosing.
So which will it be today?
Let it be progress for the planet, your happiness, your health… and wishing you blessings as you (and we all) fall and learn even more valuable lessons!For me lately it has been about new goals for work (new writing assignments! better organization and decluttering!) health and fitness (overcoming periodic energy slumps! scheduling more workout time in my day!) and balance (more play and down time this summer for the cottage life, sunsets, concerts, yet improved productivity!)
One more quote I came across this week was from author Lawrence Bixby: “Each handicap is like a hurdle in a steeplechase. When you ride up to it, if you throw your heart over, the horse will go along, too.
Salutations and a personal word of thanks to you for taking the time to drop by (& to Ginger Sprinkle for quoting me) and wishing you all the best until next time! Never give up.
Gratefulness leads to shared success
Look up for inspiration
Good morning, just a quick note to express my gratitude to my regular client base for the great projects I had recently the honour to collaborate on: Umbro soccer (or FOOTbaaalll!), Teva beach sandals, Gentek building products, Brandsparks, Tommy & Lefebvre website, 360 athletics 2010 catalog, Tre Stelle cheese ad campaigns, Head skis and Tyrolia bindings certification updates and brand new websites, Brooks running shoes and the Rock N’ Roll marathon series, the Bauer Hockey Skills Challenge, Outaouais Tourism press releases, a special feature section for Le Droit newspaper and so on. Thank you for these fun (and sometimes challenging) mandates, I love to expand my area of expertise with each new assignment. Looking forward to new projects later this summer, and getting back to writing assignments for various magazines and complete another chapter on the “book project”.
Stay healthy and well, thanks for your support and interest.
Attempting the ridiculous leads to the miraculous
Businessman and pro triathlete Brendan Brazier in Ottawa
Save the ocean efforts lead by Christie Brinkley
If not miracles, I believe thinking out of the box often leads to unforeseen decent results. This is what the world needs now to solve the oil spill which is really a global problem, not just one company’s failure but an entire industry’s and eco-system we are all a part of. May the curious, odd student (or lovable nerds, geeks) come up with a solution to a billion dollar problem and turn into heroes! Go underdogs! Supermodel turned activist Christie Brinkley’s online profile is filled with new ideas to save the beaches and our oceans with a growing fan base, with everyone from kids to Kevin Costner getting in on the brainstorming.
After a glitch, I had to rework my blog which led me astray for a few months attending to other priorities and urgent writing assignments. But I realized I missed this! I met and spoke to a few amazing entrepreneurs in the last few months, including Canadian triathlete turned mogul Brendan Brazier who was in Ottawa launching his new power protein Vega and his latest book Thrive Fitness at Market Organics. The CTV camera crew was on him and I also had the chance to ask him what made him start a supplement business in such a fierce global market. Shy yet very well spoken, he explained “Well when I was training I could never find the right plant-based totally vegan blend so I started making it at home myself, which then led me to meet with a team of people involved with distribution of Maca and we developed a new formula with all the right nutrients for endurance athletes.” Ambitious to say the least, Brendan’s formulas have won many innovation awards and are now sold throughout many countries, his books are best sellers, and he became an in-demand speaker to environmental groups as well as health and wellness seekers. The Thrive Diet book is based mainly on clean vegan eating with organic ingredients and simple recipes, not solely store-bought supplements. Our interview was very informative and inspiring to mix your passions with your business or career goals, and we wish him much success on his journey to help others achieve peak state with sustainable, allergen-free products. Win-win!
On a personal note, I will be “off the grid” recharging and writing on the beach with a pencil and notepad (remember those?) in the next few weeks. To my beloved clients and partners, you know the dates and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can; in the meantime you can reach my colleagues for urgent requests. Cue the steel drum holiday music
Great tips to work less, achieve more… and live a little in 2010!
Happy New Year everyone, it has been a very busy productive start already at 5 Star Communications. Who wouldn’t change a thing or two to make life easier? I thought I’d share the latest article I just published to an entrepreneurial website* as a preview on this blog:
If only we had more time, our resolutions would materialize sooner…right? If results are based on actions and resolutions are mere words with hopes and a prayer, then we all need to find efficient ways to put more actions in our days…and communicate a little less – (I love Elvis’ A little less conversation, a little more action song when I work out for this exact reason).
Aim to accomplish 1 thing per day. Pick your top project, closest deadline, task that has been staring at you in the face and just complete it. No interruptions, no email notifications, no meetings. Ask yourself constantly – Is what I’m doing just busy work, or am I getting closer to my goal? Then reward yourself for a job well–done and enjoy a guiltless hour of relaxation or exercise. It makes it easier if you work for yourself but even the most conservative of bosses value results over attendance these days. You are also worth more healthy and well rested than overtired and sick any day.
Learn to love leftovers, for lunch and dinner. We discovered this simple tip has profound benefits such as time-saving, money-saving, environment-saving and calorie-saving… what’s not to love? When preparing a meal, cook double the recipe and cut back on your meat portions for that evening. You will instantly have delicious food to pack for next day’s lunch and tomorrow’s dinner will take a few minutes to prepare with some fresh veggies and salad. My husband who is in sales and on the road most of the time realized packing his lunch saved him at least 30 minutes a day of not running around and waiting in line, and over $300 a month. Plus, his pants are now a size smaller and he never complains about how tasty his lunches are! He chooses to use that found time doing things he loves and funding them with his extra cash. No need for special diet foods!
Apply the 80∕20 rule. The Pareto efficiency model was a prominent part of the bestseller The 4 hour workweek by Tim Ferriss. Much of our work days are wasted on the token few customers who represents the least profitable part of our business. His book recommended focusing one’s attention on the 20% that contribute to 80% of the income and none of the headaches to save considerable time, going as far as firing the rest to create more quality time for yourself and get better results (read profits). Similarly, Parkinson Law states that Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. In other words, it’s good to create a feeling of shorter deadlines in order to free up time for the things that matter. Accomplish more in less time and you will relax more!
Cut back your sources of information. Do you really need to be aware of all your acquaintances status on Facebook? Have you ever really felt out of the loop if you skipped a few days away for these networks? This “social not-working” habit needs to be drastically cut to the bare minimum, assuming you are in your prime working years of course. Same goes for surfing the Net and television; how many ways can you hear the same story, when most reporters and networks access the exact same source? Pick 30-minute information and entertainment time slots in your day and stick to them with a timer if you have to.
Reading noteworthy blogs can be informative of course… this coming from a person who makes her living in the communication field… Tips to be applied with a grain of salt, of course!
*For more on this topic, and other articles see www.evancarmichael.com
Energize your networking
Office parties, Client appreciation days, professional association holiday cocktails, … ‘Tis the season for networking and getting a leg up securing next year’s contracts and being ready for opportunities. Cheers!
I just mailed my Christmas cards and sent a few token gifts to cherished clients and partners, without whom I wouldn’t be here. Much gratefulness to you all, and to all a very healthy and happy Holiday Season!!! New goals and resolutions for 2010, we made it this far, don’t give up now.
Somehow when I get those corporate cards with barely a live person’s signature at the bottom (Like the one today I received from my bank!), I wonder why they even bother at all. Many will choose to send a nice Holiday email and that’s OK to save on time, even good for the environment and your finances when you have thousands to account for. But a generic wish won’t deliver a very good response… Keep your heart in the right place and go the extra mile for those select few who mean a lot to you and tell them in your own words why you care about keeping their business and value their loyalty! And of course this goes for every service provider you take for granted. A sincere Thank you is often the best gift!
Hopefully things will slow down a bit next week and the next, so far contracts are piled up high for the next 10 days and new writing assignments are coming in… In a world of deadlines, most of us would like not to feel dead at the end of the line 
Please feel free to share your own life balance tips, rituals and how you keep your energy flowing! Namaste!
