Daily SPARK Minute with Simon T. Bailey

“Commit. That’s right. Commit. Commit to what? Just commit. The moment you commit, everything else goes outside the window. Commit. You’re probably saying ‘Simon, commit to what?’ Commit to doing one thing today. Just one thing today that moves you forward. The moment you commit, everything else falls in line, and it creates momentum to make the commitment the next day, and the next day, and the next day. Commit! That’s right. I’m inviting you to commit now.”

“I want to invite you to take control of the steering wheel of the day, of the week, by going back to that intention of nurturing. How do I intend to nurture? How do I intend to be compassionate? How do I intend whatever you wrote down and shared with O’ Brilliant One? You’re probably saying, ‘Simon, why is that important?’ When you take control of the steering wheel of the future, you’re saying to the backseat passengers of fear, stress, and worry, ‘I got this, and I am not going to allow whatever happens that day to derail me.’ Setting intentions.”

“So, when we talk about caring, and we talk about being a human-centric leader, it’s really understanding how do we start with self in our being? I start here because it’s not just about doing. How many of you, by show of hands, have days when you have been pulled in a million directions? How many of you have days when everyone wants a piece of you? So, here’s a question. On a scale of one to ten, how are you doing right now? Let’s take it a step further. On a scale of one to ten, how are you doing professionally? On a scale of one to ten, how are you doing personally? Why is that important? For years we focused on time management, but for leaders of the future, it’s about energy management. How do I start with self, by slowing down to the speed of the moment and understanding that I must connect with myself and focus on

“When I talk about edit word choice before you hit send before you send the text before you send the email, how do I think about is there a better way because behind content is intent? Words carry energy. So, what is the outcome that I want on the other side of how people receive this? Detect readiness to grow. How are you ensuring and who are you thinking about right now that you can mentor, you can help take to the next level? Giving them a hand-up, not a handout. And then finally, how do you engage others in self-discovery? One of my mentors said to me years ago, ‘Simon, you come to me looking for the answer, and it is not my responsibility to tell you the answer, it’s to invite you to self-discover the answer that’s in you.”

“How do I, from a belonging standpoint, create better relationships? How many of you have virtual meetings with your team members? So, here’s a quick little exercise. The next time you’re with the team virtually, say ‘Hey, before we get into the heart of the meeting, I want you to find a personal object, that’s there in your home object, your house, and I want you to bring it on screen and give us the backstory of what this means. A piece of art, artifact, whatever that is.’ Why? Because we want that person just to lower their defenses just for a moment and tell us their once upon a time. Tell us that backstory. What does that do? It takes them out of the blocking, and the tackling, and the KPIs, and the measurements, and the customer satisfaction, and all those things that we focus on to say you see me as a person because I am sharing something that is near and dear to me.”

“So, in a moment, I am going to invite you to take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. We’re going to do it 3 times, and then I will explain why centering is important. *After the centering exercise* Getting centered is creating internal alignment that creates external execution. Rabbi Harold Kushner, who wrote the book What Matters the Most in Life, teaches a concept called emotional congruence. Rabbi says when you are operating in emotional congruence, everything you say, think and feel is in alignment.”

“Be you. For many years I have struggled listening to a lot of voices, a lot of people that I admire and respect. I think at some level, I thought I had to be them on stage, in books, in interviews, in coaching, and what I’ve come to realize is when you understand how to be you, nobody can be you, but you. When you give yourself permission to own your voice, your story, your confidence, and your belief, the entire world opens up to you, all because you made the choice to be you.”

“Simplicity is the new black. Today, I want to invite you to think about whatever you need to accomplish. Break it down into simple steps. When you make it simple for yourself, as you are in conversation with others, you are transferring information that allows them to quickly ascertain what you are conveying because of simplicity. Years ago, I was in Australia, and Terry, one of the guys that was traveling with us on this tour, said simplicity and being easy to do business with is the edge. When he said it, I was like ‘Wow, that’s profound!’ Keep it simple. Simplicity is the new black.”

“I was interviewing Rachel Druckenmiller, my good friend, the other day, and she said something so profound. What is meant for you, won’t miss you. I booked a flight to Atlanta to take my bride on a date to a concert. A friend had connected us with great seats on the floor. We were all jazzed about going to the concert, and our flight got canceled, which also meant I needed to cancel the hotel. I needed to cancel the reserved Uber that I booked, and I decided to put the tickets on sale on Ticketmaster. They sold within an hour and 15 minutes, and someone was happy. That happened last night, and I woke up this morning at 3 a.m., started my walk, and here I am.”

“So, here’s a question. How are you doing? Awesome. I asked that question because you know all of the research, everyone has been triggered at some level, but one of the things that I want us to think about is when we start with ourselves first, we can take care of others. So here’s your first practical takeaway. Make the note. Everybody says ‘Simon says, take your M.E.D.S.’ M.E.D.S is an acronym that stands for meditate, exercise, diet, sleep.”