Ever feel like you are directing a non-stop flow of mental traffic coming at you at the speed of light?? What are some simple ways to get to the other side of complexity??

Don Sardella – Dealing with Unintended Consequences (1 min, 44 secs)

Greetings again, to all our highly valued clients and respected colleagues:

Many people have suggested to me that they are dealing with more pain and confusion these days than they know what to do with. Whether it’s related to their health, their finances, their relationships or even the larger questions of life, in terms of purpose and meaning, it seems that this is our lot as humans, across the board in our rapidly changing and evolving world.

Getting our stress levels down, in a world plagued with uncertainty and anxiety, is a top priority for most of us. Clarifying our important priorities and chipping away at them with a steady hand helps to stay our course in life.

Life is better with support. We may benefit from upgrading our reference groups (of coaches, mentors, learning communities, teachers). Pick your systems and communities and become a poster child in your new world.

Forewarned is forearmed. In life, some say it’s always something. We may experience a sudden shattering of our ideals. How can we build a buoyant ark of support that can weather almost any storm, beyond circumstances?

I’ve heard people talking about wanting to see where “this” is all going. Wanting to be in “The New Era”. Wanting to be a part of what’s going on. Wanting to stay in the conversation. To move from monologue to dialogue.

Many want to experience new levels of freedom with other capacities for innovation, knowing that nothing moves in a monologue-type conversation in their own head just talking to themselves. They yearn to see things that they’ve never seen before. They talk about “the magic” that comes alive in collaborative dialogues with fresh learnings. That that Way of Being makes everything better, and they can discover the contributions they can make.

Altering our starting point (context) can alter everything. We can be fulfilled with how everything is going now and still take initiative to invent the new. That kind of life never gets old and just keeps getting deeper and deeper.

Our context is decisive. The context defines how things show up and how they occur. There are no miracles if we are indulging in disempowering contexts. For example, we can be right, or we can have miracles. Not both.

It’s powerful to relate to people and circumstances as they are versus as we thought they were or should be. Staying curious, in a state of wonder, can give us power with the unexpected. It’s our life and we get to choose.

In entrepreneurship, one of my biggest lessons has been that if I don’t learn the lessons that are coming at me now, I will have a chance to learn again.

In March, I had the privilege of participating in a Specialized Dojo for Financial Professionals, led by the superb business coach, Bill Bachrach.

(A dōjō is a place for immersive learning, experiential learning, or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development.)

Some key success fundamentals and take-aways from Bill. (paraphrased)

If you want it bad enough, you’ll do the work. Get ‘er done. Do it now.
Ideal Clients, Ideal Business, Ideal Life. Wealth is Discretionary Time.
In the era of simplification, do much less much better – minimalization.
Everything affects everything. There are no little things. Do less, better.
Consistency is much more important than perfection. Everything counts.
Thinking about exercise is not exercise. Many have a problem with this.
If you lose your appetite for practice, you’ll lose your appetite for growth.
None of this was created with comfort in mind. Practice as you will play.
If your comfort is your biggest priority, then success is not in your future.
The more you do, the better you’ll get. Execute details beyond the norm.
Make a habit of keeping things simple. Become a brilliant communicator!
MUST become a better implementor. Become a Super Implementor!!!!

A lot may sound like reminders and refreshers to get/keep ourselves sharp.

Here’s more about Value Promises and the Power of Accountability.

When clients/prospects might ask about your Value Promise and what they receive in return for their fees, this may help your thinking and verbiage as you further shape and craft versions of it that work best for you and them.

Possible script to adopt/adapt, when asked about your role and work.

(Can be used to set up meetings for these purposes. Please simplify)

“We are the 100% Trusted Financial Advisors for our top clients & couples.

We provide our clients with all the financial advice they need. They have entrusted and delegated their financial life to us, as their CFO Fiduciaries.

We help them get their entire financial life in order and keep it that way forever, so they have total confidence that no matter what happens in the market, the economy, or the world, they’ll achieve their financial goals.

This allows our clients to have more discretionary time and freedom to be with their other most important priorities that are likely to best enrich the quality of their lives and meet their needs. Would you like to know more?”

On The Power of Accountability.

“We believe that the first step to true effectiveness is to put systems in place, execute them, and then continuously revise the systems to make them better. We say that having someone to answer toon a regular basis about your progress is a powerful motivator. Our team believes that personal accountability is the single most powerful tool to help professionals improve their businesses and overall quality of life. To set up and follow a proven business-success system, you will make more money, work less, and enjoy creating and having your ideal business and ideal life.”

What is a leader’s measure of success according to Stephen R. Covey?

Pro-activity is the first characteristic of effective leadership according to Covey. And with good reason. The most fundamental characteristic of a successful and effective person is pro-activity. It is crucial not to blame others, or circumstances, for things that go wrong, in Covey’s view.

Here are a series of some final ideas, for your consideration:

A friend of mine recently sent me this video, out of the blue, having grown up in the same town as Jimmy V. and said we sounded similar.

(46 seconds)

‘Don’t give up … Don’t ever give up!’ Speech at 1993 ESPYS (10 mins)

I thought you would also like to see this book if you haven’t seen it already.

You Are Worth It: Building a Life Worth Fighting For

Kyle Carpenter’s heart flatlined three times while being evacuated off the battlefield in Afghanistan. Yet his spirit was unbroken. Severely wounded from head to toe, Kyle lost his right eye as well as most of his jaw. It would take dozens of surgeries and almost three years in and out of the hospital to reconstruct his body. From there, he began the process of rebuilding his life. What he has accomplished in the last nine years is extraordinary: he’s come back a stronger, better, wiser person.

Talk about overcoming an incredibly huge set of obstacles and massive challenges and still coming out on top. The book encourages us to become our best selves in the time we’ve been given on earth. Above all, it’s about finding purpose, regardless of the hurdles that may block our way. Moving and unforgettable, You Are Worth It is an astonishing memoir from one of our most extraordinary young leaders.

In honor of the late Carl Weathers (a professional NFL football player, an award-winning actor and a San Diego State University alumnus who remained close to his university) who offered this interview advice in 2021.

“More than anything, I would say this: Be courageous. Open yourself up to possibilities, open yourself up to an awakening that says, ‘I don’t know what I don’t know, so let me expand awareness of that. Let me increase my inquisitive nature. Let me open a corner of me that craves discovery. Let me trust that there is so much, much more than I can imagine, that is just waiting for me to walk through the door. Trusting it will be helpful to me, maybe not today or even tomorrow but at some point, it will be as valuable as anything I can imagine.’”

On a final note, given all that you have been through so far, personally, and professionally, you can probably now empathize with and develop rapport, perspective, and trust with other people who have similar versions of crazy going on their lives that they (we?) never saw coming and probably was not their original intent, especially in the lives of many high achievers. I think that that can serve as a tremendous asset in your life and your public work.

Hence, you have even more value to offer people, clients, and prospects with your humanity, as well as your value promises, which are also win-win.

From a recent coaching call, I was reminded that “all accomplishments result from resolving a series of breakdowns, one after another after another, which leads to ever-increasing momentum and long-term stability.”

Your best is on the way – personal, physical, business and otherwise.

Here’s to you having an Energizing and Momentous 2^nd Quarter.

Let’s keep connecting, communicating, and collaborating.

Don,