Are You Your Job?

Monday, June 16th 2008 by Shanel Yang         Email this article to a friend

“You’re going to be pushed very hard,” the new trainees are warned from the start. “If you do not get uncomfortable, we have failed you.”

That’s what already top-performing executives hear on their first day of a 3-day training seminar in Orlando, Florida, called The Corporate Athlete.

The program is the brainchild of Dr. Jim Loehr, a sports psychologist who developed his theory of peak performance over 25 years of working with professional athletes (mostly tennis players, but also golfer Nick Falco, speed skater Dan Jansen and NBA star Grant Hill). Because, just like star athletes, even the most successful executives need to constantly improve their game. So, what do they get for their money ($3,000 per person in 2002!)?

If you are expecting shock-value, bottom-line-driven motivational speeches like the infamous (yet utterly mesmerizing) “A-B-C: Always Be Closing!” speech delivered by Alec Baldwin’s character in “Glengarry Glen Ross,” you might be disappointed.

TESTS, TESTS, AND MORE TESTS

A. PHYSICAL HEALTH

First, they’re asked to change into bathing suits to measure their body fat using state-of-the art equipment. Their blood is drawn for testing. They have to run on treadmills to test their cardiovascular system, touch their toes to test their flexibility, and bench press till their muscles ache to test their overall strength.

B. WORK RELATIONSHIPS

Next, they learn what their colleagues back home really think about them. They filled out anonymous questionnaires about the program participants, rating them on whether they’re open or defensive, accepting or critical, and trustworthy or not.

C. EMOTIONAL HEALTH

Finally, they all sit quietly and answer pointed questions about their deepest values. Most of them list their family, friends, health, and community. But, as further questioning reveals, most of them don’t live their lives that way.

All of that is just the first day! For the rest of the weekend, there’s a nutrition lesson, a hotel room strength and conditioning workout, and a yoga class with instruction on how to breath to stimulate creativity through one nostril and logic through the other. Then, the participants write down the vision of who they really want to be. A psychologist meets with each of them, one-on-one, to help refine their vision and map out their action plan to bring about the desired changes.

MENTAL, PHYSICAL, AND EMOTIONAL ENERGY

What does exercise, good nutrition, and staying true to your core values have to do with peak performance in high-stress jobs? According to Loehr, everything. Because to perform at your best at anything, you must draw full power not only from your mental energy (intelligence), but also from your physical energy (body strength, stamina, and flexibility) and emotional energy (satisfying your values).

You already know how to exercise and eat right. If you don’t, check out the mountain of internet articles on these subjects, including my own, “5 Simple Ways to Lose Weight and Keep It Off” and “7 Quick Daily Nutrition Tips,” for starters.

But, how do you stay true to your own core values? First you have to find out what they are. The participants of the Corporate Athlete program have to answer these five questions as a homework assignment after their first day of training:

1. “If you were on your deathbed and you wanted to tell your children—or the young people to whom you are close—the three most important things that you’ve learned in your life, what would they be?” This and the other questions below are excellent for your diary or journal. My answer to this type of question have certainly changed over the years. As of now, my three most important lessons I’ve learned in my life are: (1) your thoughts create your destiny; (2) your family and friends can be your biggest assets in life or your worst enemies; and (3) having a lot of money is 100% more important than having a lot of things.

2. “What gives you the greatest joy, satisfaction, and renewal in your life, and how could you do more of it?” Teaching and writing about how to be happier with oneself and more successful in life. I am already doing a lot of it by working on this blog. However, I can do more of it by substitute teaching in the local junior high and high schools as well as making videos for YouTube for my other dream target audience of underprivileged teens, immigrants, and minorities.

3. “Who are you without your job, your money? Describe in detail.” This one’s not as tough for me to answer since I quit law last August. Now, I’m exactly the same person whether I’m blogging or not. Of course, almost all my waking hours are spent doing something for the blog, even if it’s just discussing ideas about it with my boyfriend. Even when I go to bed, I take a Moleskine and a lighted pen with me to catch all those really creative gems that float toward me as I’m about to drift off to sleep. As for money, I left a 6-figure salary to start blogging. Money is very tight. I am learning how to be ultra-frugal without moving into a trailer somewhere. (The thought has crossed my mind, though.) But, so far, so good.

4. “What activities could you add to your life that would be a source of richness and joy?” I’m already doing it. I expect to do more with the substitute teaching and YouTube instructional videos as I mentioned in answer to question No. 2 above.

5. “Think of someone you admire deeply—and explain why.” Hmm. Much harder. Not because I don’t admire anyone, but because I admire so many. It’s hard to limit it to just one. It would have to be between Oprah Winfrey and J.K. Rowling. Oprah Rowling? Okay, I’ll choose … Oprah. I admire her deeply because she came from an extremely disadvantaged background and is not beautiful by traditional standards, yet she made it on TV, probably the toughest medium there is! Over the years, she revolutionized the TV talk show genre and made it more fun and interesting for everyone, but, especially, for women and minorities, without sacrificing important, newsworthy content. I consider her the original daytime TV self-help guru. She doesn’t dispense the self-help advice herself, she hosts experts whose advice she finds useful and share their information with the rest of us while asking all the questions we would ask if we could for us. That’s great reporting and interviewing!

I also admire Oprah and J.K. because they are self-made female billionaires. There just aren’t too many of those out there! In fact, I think they’re the only two so far. That’s beyond admirable. That’s almost unbelievable. But, thanks to them, I at least know it’s possible and, thus, can teach that to every child who dares to dream.

CONCLUSION

What about you? How would you answer these five questions? You can record your answers in your diary or share them with us in the comments. I’d love to see them!

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[For “10 Reasons to Keep a Diary,” click here.]

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[For “Fan Your Inner Flame Till It Burns Bright,” click here.]

[For “Change Your Mindset to Change Your Life,” click here.]

[For “What Would You Do If You Couldn’t Fail?,” click here.]

[For “Do You Want to Fly Like Superman?,” click here.]

[For “How to Set and Achieve Goals in 5 Simple Steps,” click here.]

[For “30 Statements for Great Relationships,” click here.]

[For “25 Statements for Happiness,” click here.]

[For “200 Happiness Quotes,” click here.]

[For “300 Friendship Quotes,” click here.]

[For “100 Health Quotes,” click here.]

[For “200 Existence Quotes,” click here.]

[For “25 Inspiring Work Quotes,” click here.]

[For all posts about different QUOTES, click here.]

[For “Laughter Is Great Medicine: 100 Funny Movies,” click here.]

[For “100 Strong Women Movies,” click here.]

[For “Why Do ‘The Matrix’ Heroes Dress So Cool?,” click here.]

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