Sometimes you need to get a little perspective and inspiration.  One of my favorite ways of doing this is motivational videos.  Here are 5 awesome motivational videos under 5 minutes to help motivate you, give you perspective, and help you succeed.

The Time You Have (in JellyBeans)

​Never, Ever Give Up

Entrepreneurs Can Change the World

A Pep Talk from Kid President to You

​Sacrifice

We are all always looking for ways to succeed at higher levels and be more productive.  But, what if I told you the best way to do this every day was to stop working.

What?

That's right.  The best way to reach higher levels of success and productivity every day is to STOP working - for a short while.

 Most people work continuously through the day and many times don't have that much to show for it.  The reason this happens is because we can only focus and work for so long at a time.  We need to take breaks to let ourselves recharge and be able to re-focus.  Otherwise, we get what is called the "Law of diminishing returns."   It is an old economic principle that states that after an optimal level of capacity is reached, every added unit of production results in a smaller increase in output.  Basically, once you are performing at an optimum level, the longer you continue to less productive you will get.  

This is why we need to take "re-charge breaks" throughout the day.  For me, this is 10-20 minutes where I get away from my desk and office and do something non-work related.  Sometimes, its a short guided Yoga or meditation session.  Many times, it is taking the dog for a walk or just playing with him throwing his stick or ball for a little bit.  It really doesn't matter what it is that you as long as every couple of hours, you take a re-charge break.

Putting this into practice daily will make a tremendous difference in your success and productivity.  A re-charge break helps you to get energy and oxygen in your system, clear your mind so that you can focus better when you come back, and be at your best.

Try working 1-2 of these into your day where you step away and forget about work for 10-20 mins and see the difference it makes for you!

The pace of business today is fast.  There is no way around it.  Things move at a blistering pace and entrepreneurs need to be able to move fast, react quickly, and seize opportunity.  

This also lends to multi-tasking and moving quickly from one thing to the next.  I am as guilty of this as anyone.  But when people depend on you to not only be fast, but to be right, it is important to make sure you don't move too fast.

What do I mean?

You have to move fast in today's world, but you also need to keep your attention to detail and make sure that your work and what you are delivering is solid and good.  Moving too fast can lead to sloppiness, especially when multi-tasking.  This happens because our mind gets stretched across all of the things we are moving through and doing.  We tend to move too fast and forget critical, important items or miss details that are important.  This hurts us down the line.

So, how do we combat this?

First, we must understand that we need to move fast, but recognize when we are moving too fast and slow ourselves.  Second, we have to be careful not to multi-task, or at least focus on no more than 2 things at a time.  And when we are doing a task, we need to be present and focused and not be thinking about the other tasks or items we need to do next. 

One trick I've learned to center myself during these fast paced periods of work and day to day needs, is to just stop and take a deep breath.  Then take a moment just to think through the task and how to deliver the best outcome.  After doing that, block out distractions for just a few minutes and concentrate on what it is you need to do.  This little 30 second exercise will help you to still be efficient, but better focused, and give you the ability to achieve better results in your work.  Try it today!

I was on a call the other day with a large client.  It was a big group of people discussing solutions for the future for the client.  I know for many that selling and servicing clients via Zoom or virtually is newer to them during these times, but over a decade ago, I took my companies virtual and have been selling and servicing clients that way for a long time.

During the meeting, as the client spoke and talked about the future and their needs, I immediately could "sense" the way the meeting should go and how we could further help them.  While others on the call were asking questions that really repeated what the client had just said, I listened and felt the client's needs and the beginning or their frustration as they repeated some things.  Working virtually is hard, even if you can see people.  It is not the same as sitting across the table.  And, if people are just on audio, it is even harder.  This is why you have to hone your skills in how you actively listen to voice inflection, tone, things like a sigh here or there, even a deep breath.  

After a couple of minutes of back and forth with the group, I spoke up and simply and clearly articulated what I thought, based on their feedback was the best solution.  And I brought in other people on the call, that hadn't seem to get what they client was saying yet, and helped them to understand how their skill and what they do could help accomplish the goal for the client.  After another 10 mins of discussion and having some fun thinking about bigger possibilities, everyone was on the same page and excited about what we could do together,

One of the most important skillsets anyone can develop, for business and life, is the ability to "sense" others in the moment.  This means sensing their feelings, quickly understanding voice tone and inflection, body language - and then being able to empathize where needed and find understanding.  I wish I could say there was a magic formula on how to do this, but it really comes from experience.  To get good, you have to actively listen and be on high alert to sense the different ways of communication and then figure out find the "sweet spot" in which all parties can succeed.  As you do this more and more, you will be able to almost intuit what is needed and work across multiple parties simultaneously to reach the best outcome.  

Learning to "sense" others and in business, "sense the customer" may be the most important skillset you can build and foster in your company.