Why You Can Do Anything!

Editor's Note: This is a guest post from fellow Atlantan Kyle Crooke. It speaks to a section in my latest executive briefing  The Human Quotient - The Most Potent Force for Your Business Success, regarding leadership bandwidth and capacity, as well as our thinking impacts our outcomes.

An Argument For Why You CAN Do Everything

Imagine a stovetop. 

Four burners.

The first burner represents your health.

The second burner represents your work.

The third burner represents your family.

The fourth burner represents your friends.

And the Four Burners Theory tells us that you have to cut off one of your burners to be successful.  If you want to be extraordinarily successful, you have to cut off two of your burners.

What do Iwant to tell you about the Four Burners Theory? 

It’s only true if you believe it to be true.

In other words, this theory is a limiting belief.  A limiting mindset.

I may not be much of a chef myself, but I’m pretty sure we can use all four burners, simultaneously, when preparing meals.

There’s nothing stopping us from living an integrated, engaged, successful life full of health, achievement, and relationships.

Sure, sometimes our priorities conflict.  And we have to make choices.

But that’s life.

And it doesn’t mean we have to cut off a burner entirely.

Burners have heat levels, typically from Low/1 all the way to 9/High.

For some foods, like eggs, it’s more appropriate to cook at a higher setting and let the pan warm up before placing your eggs on the pan.

For other foods, like chili, it’s more appropriate to cook at a moderate temperature, for a longer time.

For multi-step preparation foods, like macaroni, it’s more appropriate to cook the prep materials (i.e. water) on high, and then leave the burner on low as you mix the butter, milk, and cheese into the macaroni pasta.

Life isn’t binary.  It’s not as simple as turning a burner off or on.

Obviously we can’t do EVERYTHING, but we CAN do way more than we think we’re capable of.

All four burners don’t have to be on high all the time.  In fact, they shouldn’t be.

They should be turned on to an appropriate level at the appropriate time.  So that whatever is cooking on the burner will cook properly and taste the way it’s supposed to.

It doesn’t make sense to cook eggs at a low temperature if you want to scramble them. Likewise, it doesn’t make sense to start cooking bacon at a high temperature if you’re looking for an even crisp.  The way you want to prepare your meal also impacts how you use your burners.

Just like your intentional approach to your different burners will impact how you use them.  How you view your burners will directly impact your level of engagement with each burner.

On those nights where you miss your child’s baseball practice because you’re on a work deadline … don’t feel guilty about missing that practice.  Your work is simply on a higher heat level than that particular practice at that particular moment in time.  During the upcoming weekend baseball tournament, your work won’t need as much heat.  In turn, you’ll turn your work’s burner on low, and you’ll be able to turn your family’s burner on high.

But let’s add another dimension to our stovetop – instead of four separate, disjointed burners on our stovetop, we can actually integrate and holistically engage multiple burners at once.

Why can’t you mix the health burner and family burner?  Something as simple as a family walk or a group exercise class will reinforce good health habits and increase your family bond through group activity.

For those of you who may be starting businesses, partnering with friends, and leveraging family investments for start-up capital … aren’t you mixing the work, family, and friends burners?

The message behind this article is simple – don’t trap yourself by limiting your goals and undermining your ability to live an engaged, holistic life.

What isn’t as simple is your process of integrating your four burners into your daily priorities and activities.

But it’s something you can do!  I may have been a little overzealous by categorizing my argument as a way to do EVERYTHING, but I know that you can do MUCH more than you think you’re currently capable of.

Start thinking about how you can integrate and engage different parts of your life.  Based on your needs for a given day, you can work with the heat levels, foods, and pan sizes as needed.

Your health, work, family, and friends burners are under your control.  They’re all burners on your stovetop.

Take ownership of your stovetop, hold yourself accountable, and manage your burners in alignment with your goals.  

It’s okay if a couple of the burners aren’t as large as the others.  Just like a normal stovetop, some of the burners are small and some are large.  And some people simply prioritize their lives toward one or two burners – it all depends on the chef’s preferences.

The burners are as large as you want them to be.  You control the size, mix, and heat of your burners.

You’re the chef of your kitchen.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you have to give up parts of your life to accommodate other parts.

Your life is dynamic – it’s all about give AND take (not just the “give” or “give up”).  The only thing that’s stopping you from lighting up ALL of your burners … is you.

You may not be able to do everything, but you can do as much as you allow yourself to do.

STOP limiting your potential and START lighting up your burners the way that YOU want to.

You’re the chef of your life, after all.

What are you cooking today?

*Thank you to James Clear for inspiring my reflection on the Four Burners Theory.  You can read James’ article here.

// Known as Mister Motivator, Kyle Crooke is a personal development consultant, and motivation coach. He helps his clients lead a more purposeful, passionate, and persistent life.  If you're interested in working with him, take a look at his portfolio. You can reach out to him at: https://kylecrooke.com/offerings/  | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleocrooke/  Instagram: @claim_your_purpose

// JCS Business Advisors is a strategic business management consultancy via our expertise in human behavior, we partner with forward-thinking senior leaders, entrepreneurs and their HR counterparts to bridge the knowledge & execution gap of connecting people, performance, and profits, resulting in high-performance leadership teams and organizations. // email: joann@jcsbusinessadvisors.com // Ph: 888.388.0565 // Schedule a complimentary advisory call and receive a copy of our latest executive briefing. Learn about our "all-in-one" system that develops competent leaders and managers, effectively manages operations, people & talent.

Anything In Life -- Begins Here!

Introduction

I believe every human being has a life force that is the source that guides, influences every area of their life.

I wrote a simple handbook to explain this belief and lay the foundation for living from and leading from this force. This is no "woo woo" book.  It’s practical information for individual contributors and corporate leaders.

Make no mistake about it; anything that is accomplished personally and professionally, individually and with a group requires a force of some kind. Some call it energy, motivation or passion. It is my firm belief that seeing and understanding this is essential to getting more of the outcomes we want in all area of our lives.

It’s also necessary if companies want to be and stay competitive.  In my view force equals profits and the source of profits begins with the force of each individual employee.

So many leaders have limited knowledge if any of how to access or leverage this force. In fact I’ve witnessed many who squander, sabotage, and suppress this force, contributing to the very problems they wish they did not have.

Yep this force has a lot of power – the power to make or break a company, to make or break a life, a family, a community.

The best news ever is the force is with you – more specifically the force is within you - what will you do with it? What have you done with it?

The Force Within

I remember during my childhood becoming aware of a powerful force within me - let’s call it energy. This energy would surge up in me in undeniable ways in which it was hard to control - it would drive me, compel me to say or do something! 

As I matured and became involved in personal development I came to see that force as my authentic personal power. That surge of energy I came to see as my spirit, my voice demanding to burst out onto the stage of life and from an early age that's exactly what it did!

That inner force continued to compel me to initiate first, act when others wouldn't or hesitated...and there I was - out in front.

That resulted in not only being compelled to lead from the inside-out but being appointed or asked to lead. I learned that once you're out there, folks just keep asking you to stay there.

I remember I was teaching swimming (had my own classes) at the age of 14, writing very opinionated letters to the congregation as one of the youngest ministry leaders in my church at the age of 15. It was clear early - leading wasn't what I did, it was who I was.

I soon learned through college and into my early working years that leading, that is the willingness to initiate and put myself out there would serve me well and I must say was a lot of fun! It was easier to build relationships, get cool assignments, and stay employed. Certainly, there were periodic employment gaps, but luckily not for very long.  

When I finally launched my own company in 1998, acquiring clients like many companies was a challenge, but in retrospect not nearly as hard as it would have been had I not been an "out in front” kind of person during my career.

All along, every step of the way - that force - that surge of energy was ever present, unwilling to be denied.  The force continually pushed me to be out in front. My force was voiced through the behavior of leadership.

Oh yes there were times I tried to suppress it. Sometimes it was just darn annoying.  I wanted it to be quiet - to allow me some rest.  But it wouldn't!  

There were also times it didn't match what was going on around me. When expressed I appeared odd or going against the grain and even invited ridicule causing much heartache. And yet, it was ever relenting.  I could only hold it in, modify it's authenticity, ignore it for logical reasons for only so long. It would have none of it!

To this day it keeps asking to be acknowledged and expressed. The result of which has been service in ministry, coaching, speaking, writing and other roles.

What I've finally learned and come to peace with is to let my inner force be the leader. I am surrendered to let that inner force and voice lead me so that I can lead others; to let it speak as loud and unique as it needs to for my full purpose to be holistically and completely expressed. 

Ever heard of the quote, "Don't die with your music still inside you"?  It's like that - don't continue to exist with your voice not heard. It was given to you for a reason!

I remember seeing the singer Pink interviewed. Here's a quote I'll never forget.  She said, "I don't let anyone speak for me, I have too much to say."

Imagine for a moment if our many heroes and heroines, inventors and thought leaders allowed their force and voice to be modified or suppressed...where would we and our society as a whole be? Consider: Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Gloria Steinem, Joan of Arc, Madam Currie, Thomas Edison, Harriett Tubman, Elizabeth Stanton, Shirley Chisholm, Steve Jobs, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, my mom Marquerite Robinson, just to name a few.

Though this list includes both men and women, how are women fairing in the expression of their unique voices? Well, according to her latest best seller, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg expressed from her perspective, women are still tempering, modifying, undermining and even discounting their voices.

This suggests that in every era there has and will be (particularly for women) a fight to express their authentic voice. Maybe that reflects a DNA conditioning of sorts as women and/or a continued socialization of voice modification or suppression.

I wonder for women is it harder or easier now than our mothers and sisters before us? I don't know - perhaps just different. No matter - our success and happiness is dependent on our collective social growth in this area. Honoring all voices is a continuing 21^st century human imperative worldwide.

Ultimately it begins with the Individual – for each individual to know, acknowledge, respect and allow the inner force to become the outer voice and to not expect it to be like anyone else’s; to protect it rather than compare it to others or temper it to be acceptable to fit in, instead to champion it and allow it's full authenticity to be present and fully expressed, so that it can continually reverberate throughout the precious, short time you’ll be here on earth.

“There is vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.”

-Martha Graham

Want to read more of the story and how to translate your force into a practical voice? For a limted time, the Kindle version of The Force Within is only .99 cents. Click this link to grab your download 

==============================================================================================The Human Sphere™ is a holistic talent management-organizational develoment consultancy that partners with forward-thinking senior leaders to bridge the gap between people, performance, and profits. We focus on business growth through human-focused, results based leadership. // email: joann@thehumansphere.com // Ph: 888.388.0565