"Let the water boil..." By Darren Saul

OK I borrowed that phrase from Chin-Ning Chu who is another one of my favourite writers. Why? Because I love her very unique blend (or "balance") of busines savvy and spirituality.

Cost of living is rising, competition is more aggressive, patience is thinning (as is my hair) and it's real easy to lose sight of perspective in our lives. We come to work each day with more to achieve in less time and that can be a very dangerous carrot to chase - from a health, happiness and results point of view.

Sometimes you just have to know when to ease your grip and "let the water boil". Sometimes the more you push forward the more your customers and results push back!

What are the consequences of pushing too hard?

• You ruin the quality of relationships you have worked SO hard to build
• You don't create that all important "buying environment" so important to selling anything in this new world
• You don't recognise buying signals when they are hitting you over the head with a sledgehammer
• You don't recognise NEW opportunities
• You don't get the results you desire
• You inhibit your ability to process what's going on around you and hence you don't LEARN anything
• You suffocate all the enjoyment out of what you do!

So let's remember to take a step back every now and then, take a lesson out of Chin's philosophy and "let the water boil".

Here are some easy strategies for keeping you "in balance" -

• Read a couple of pages from your favourite self-development author/mentor (don't have one? maybe it's time to find one...)
• Take a break every now and then to put things back into perspective - coffee, lunch, take a walk/drive, laugh, sing, dance, meditate, did I already say eat?
• Keep your desks, files and brains as lean as possible - the more order you have in your world the calmer you will feel and the more efficient you will be!
• Try to really get to know your customers/colleagues - the rest will flow naturally from there
• Work smarter - there is always an improvement to be be made/bad habit to replace
• Systemise as much as you can to save you re-inventing the wheel and prevent things from falling through the cracks
• Try and focus on one thing at a time and be in that moment
• Listen with the intent to understand rather than be formulating what you want to say next
• Direct your attention to another valuable task that might not be directly related to the specific outcome you are waiting for
• Expressing creativity in any form that will bring forth inspiration is always advantageous!

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant" - Robert Louis Stevenson