What Works: Tired? Choose your energy

Last Friday, I was enjoying Open Mic Night at A to Zen and sipping on a cup of tea, when my heart and mind was captured by a ukulele and the voice of Carson City newcomer Kelsey Kelly. It came at a time when the Kavanaugh circus was really getting to me as was a sense of slight business overwhelm. Seeking refuge, I found it in her song “Tired” which I gave its worldwide radio debut on Drive Time: Your Motivational Drive in the Morning.

You can listen here. How does a song about being tired end up on a motivational morning show? Because, it’s what we DO with our tired that matters. Especially as business owners, we get tired. Our businesses end up owning us versus the other way around.

So, how can we safe guard our most precious asset — our energy?

Treat your energy reserves like your money. If your bank account was low, would you spend it into the red and just pray it wouldn’t stay that way? No? Then why do you treat your body this way? If you treat your energy like money, your energy will make you money! You will have more get up and go to follow your heart and vision. Fill your own cup first or put on your own oxygen mask is a good metaphor. But when you start treating your energy like money, you will see a tangible difference in your bank statements.

Allow yourself to be bored. I’m going to quote myself here. “It is only when we stop uploading that we are free to download anything important.” We busy ourselves giving and sending data all day long. We tie ourselves to social media like a leash. What would happen if you just sat, for a day, in a quiet place with a journal? What if you didn’t use that journal to plan? What if you just wrote down the thoughts that came and sorted them out later? If Internet bandwidth won’t handle your kid playing Fortnight and you on a video conference call, what makes you think your brain can handle what you do to it and still get inspired the way you did when you were younger? Try it.

Be mindful of energy vampires. There are people, places, and tasks that give you energy and those that suck the life out of you. Are you aware of what feeds you and what feeds ON you? Use this scale. 1 = More energy sucking than Dracula sucks blood to 5 = Wow, it this the best energy drink in the world? Rate your people, places, and tasks. You can even rate items in your home or office and use this scale to clear your space. Who needs coffee when you can surround yourself with 5s. #5 ALIVE!

Allow your inner gypsy to come out. Have you ever done a geographic? How about a vacation? Have you taken one of those? When you allow yourself to leave and then come back home, to center, you see if that center serves you. If you are self-employed, try on a different work space. I have a few free co-working passes to Adams Hub for Innovation to hand out. If you want one, email me at diane@whatworksconsultants.com – Try on something new! You don’t have to leave town to roam. Do something different. Take a hike on your lunch break. Roam on over to a new coffee shop. Ask your inner gypsy what it wants to do and try one new thing a week.

Volunteer to fill by giving. “It is by self-forgetting that one finds.” – The Prayer of St. Francis – When you get out of yourself, you find so much more. I had the opportunity to meet the owner of Rounds Bakery at a business education event called Success GPS. He relayed that his business was built by volunteering. When you give, you get. Here are some volunteer statistics, found on VolunterHub.com: 1) It makes you strong, decreases stress, and improves mood, 2) 60 percent of hiring managers see it as an asset. And according to Inc magazine millionaires volunteer to do things they feel good about and to help them learn.

Put some tools in your kit. Finally, find your favorite ways to choose your energy. Discovering and using your shifters is like making sure your car has a fine-tuned transmission. Shifting easily comes from proper maintenance. You can find your shifters through that scoring exercise I just gave you. The same way you find the vampires (the 1s and 2s), your shifters are your 4s and 5s. It all starts with awareness. But awareness is nothing without action. So get into action and SHIFT!

Are you inspired for the week? I know I am! Oh, by the way, if you want to see me, I will be signing by new book “Reno Rising” during Carson City Wine Walk at Comma Coffee. I will be there from 1 pm to 5 pm. I will be bringing a limited number of books to autograph on site. However, if you want to be sure you have a book. You can order that now and have it by Saturday on Amazon.com – So there you have it! The floor is yours, Carson City.

Say Hello and Let's Get Innovative Together
Reno Rising Book Signing and Wine Walk Appearance: Saturday, October 6 from 1 pm to 5 pm. Books for sale on site in limited quantity or go to Amazon to get your copy in advance. Comma Coffee in Carson City.

Listen On Your Radio or Streaming: Start your week off right by listening to “Drive Time” with Diane Dye Hansen on KNVC 95.1 from 6 am to 8 am on Monday mornings. Happy, motivational music, positive spins on negative news, interviews with people in the community who can bring joy into your life. Email diane@whatworksconsultants.com if you would like to be featured as a guest and have GREAT inspiration to share on non-commercial public radio. Stream past episodes or listen live at www.knvc.org

Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs: Spring into action on your business! Entrepreneur’s Assembly, Carson City chapter meets Wednesday, October 10, 2018 in The Studio at Adams Hub for Innovation and every second Wednesday of each month. Free mastermind group. The Carson City chapter was voted Entrepreneur’s Assembly Chapter of the Year 2017. 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Need Guidance? Get it Free: Did you know I meet with anyone for 30 minutes over the phone at no cost? You can book a complimentary session with me now at www.whatworksconsultants.com

ABOUT DIANE DYE HANSEN
Diane Dye Hansen has more than 20 years of experience in communication and change management gained in the sectors of government, non-profit, healthcare, publishing, advertising, entertainment, and technology. Her Critical Opportunity Theory helps organizations turn challenge into opportunity.

She is the president and founder of What Works Consultants, Inc., a consulting firm which helps business leaders and those who lead government and non-profit organizations understand the people who matter most and communicate to them in a strategic and meaningful way. This is done through research, strategic communication planning, change management consulting, human resources recruitment and training. She is the host of Drive Time – Your Motivational Drive in the Morning on KNVC 95.1 FM, Carson City Community Radio and a regular columnist on CarsonNow.org. To meet her and learn how she and her team can help your company, visit What Works Consultants, Inc. online at www.whatworksconsultants.com