Ever Better Today

Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in! Notes from this episode are below.

Do you have a tendency to self-sabotage? Here are some signs to be aware of.

When does sabotage occur?

1. When you get overwhelmed by life's changes and challenges.
2. When you start to feel imposter syndrome after a promotion or when taking on a new responsibility.
3. When you indulge in escaping reality and dwell on unproductive activities that might include drugs, alcohol, or escaping into video games, movies, and other dramas.

What can you do to avoid sabotaging yourself?

1. Be aware of it. Are you feeling anxious about changes happening in your life even when you know those changes will lead you to success?
2. Use your guardrails. Ask for help from someone you can rely on. This could be a coach, a therapist, or a wise, trusted friend.
3. Engage in physical activity. Take a walk, ride your bike, go to the gym! Do something healthy to change your state of mind.
4. Journal to better understand what is happening in your life and the associated emotions.

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here.

Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in! Notes from this episode are below.

Are you aware of the four stages of competence and how they relate to leadership skills? What stage are you in?

Do you practice active telling or are you highly skilled at active listening?

Here are the four stages of competence:

Unconscious Incompetence

In this first stage of competence, you are set to do something new, however you are not aware of what is happening or you don't know where to start. That is called unconscious incompetence.

Conscious Incompetence

In this second level of competence, you are aware of what you are supposed to be doing but you also acknowledge that you are not skillful or knowledgeable enough to do that activity or task. So, this is called Conscious Incompetence.

Conscious Competence

In this third level of competence, you know what you are supposed to be doing, but you are very cautious of your thoughts and your actions. You have started doing things with diligence.

Unconscious Competence

In this final level of competence, you are already doing things as if they are a second nature to you. Through practice, you get to perform these activities or tasks or whatever you are supposed to effortlessly. It is also at this stage, that you are able to teach this skill to somebody else.

Active Telling versus Active Listening:

Active Telling

Related to the four stages of competence, as a leader, you can practice active telling or active listening. When you are active telling you don't attempt to understand another perspective. You don't ask questions like "What are their thoughts? What's happening? What's the context? What's the background that they might not be familiar with."

Active Listening

You are a leader who is actively listening if you ask questions first, then listen before you talk. Try first at least five questions or prompts before you discuss next steps. Through this approach you want them to draw conclusions on their own and think through their responses. This takes a lot of practice. Through constant practice anyone can create unconscious competence for active listening.

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here.

Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

Notes from this episode are below.

In this episode I share what it means to work with me as an Executive Coach!

I am Lisa Conners Vogt, a results-oriented Executive Coach who helps senior executives and entrepreneurs achieve greater results in their business and personal lives. In other words, my specialty is helping you reach your goals. As we work together, I keep an eye on where you are now, what is working well for you, and how to make you overall life even better! Listen to the podcast to learn more!

To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here.

Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

Notes from this episode are below.

If you're not mindfully focusing your brain - every alert, email, person, or thought could become a distraction. If you can decrease these distractions, your productivity will go through the roof!

Yesterday I discussed how to find a quiet space with fewer interruptions. Once you've found that space, here are seven ways to focus your brain.

Ways to Focus your Brain

1) Control Your Phone

Take a look at the alerts that are set up on your phone. Are you getting alerts that relate to work? Your personal life? Are you getting them for social media? Breaking news?

Do you really need this information immediately?!

If not, turn them off!

2) Block Time for Strategic Thinking

Build strategic thinking time blocks into your calendar once a week or every day. Spend the time thinking about a challenge, the future, or your vision, and stay focused!

3) Use Paper

Step away from the computer, put down the phone, and just use paper! It's been proven to enhance creativity!

4) Use a Meditation App

There are lots of meditation apps out there, but I use Insight Timer.

Whenever I need a stretch of time to work on a specific project, I turn on my favorite track that instantly allows me to focus. It's a signal to my brain that it's time to work.

5) Use YouTube Study Music

Similar to Insight Timer, YouTube has a wide variety of instrumental music options. Just search "study music" or "instrumental music for studying" or anything along those lines.

6) Use Earbuds

As you listen to Insight Timer or YouTube, you can block out external sounds with your earbuds! Earbuds signal to your brain that it's your focus time. Sometimes I even put in my earbuds and forget to turn on music!

7) Use a Subtle Distraction

Listen to a webinar or podcast. I love listening to people who inspire me. I find their voices very soothing. By putting something on in the background, I get subliminal encouragement while working on a task.

Tara Mohr, the author of Playing Big, has some great webinars! I love hearing her voice, and she constantly inspires me. I can still work while listening because her words are not distracting enough to take me away from my tasks.

So try these out for yourself! If you've got other ways to focus your brain, please send me an email at [email protected].

Learn more about Ever Better Coaching and Consulting at https://www.everbetteru.com/

Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

Notes from this episode are below.

When you have time to think without interruption, you can create more strategic solutions and creative ideas. When you have enough quiet space, you're able to boost your overall productivity.

FIVE WAYS TO CREATE MORE QUIET IN YOUR LIFE

1 Coworking Spaces

Boost your productivity with Coworking Spaces without your usual distractions at home.

2 Another space in the office

Look for the no interruption, somehow 'hiding' spots in your office ~ unassigned cubicle or an open meeting room maybe?

3 Your local library

Reserve those free & spacious collaboration spaces and meeting rooms just perfect for your client meetings.

4 A Hotel Lobby

Check out that big hotel you frequently check out, that might just be your next meeting venue.

5 A Community Building

Community buildings such as your church, temples, synagogues or other religious architecture might be your perfect quiet room that comes with a Wi-Fi for a focused work time you deserve.

Learn more about Ever Better Coaching and Consulting at https://www.everbetteru.com/

Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

Notes from this episode are below.

Ask yourself: if you could only accomplish one thing today, what would it be? What one thing is most important to you?

Set your one daily priority, and then fill gaps in your plans with the tasks that aren't as important.

If your daily priorities are set realistically and intentionally, they will add up to an impressive lifetime of accomplishments!

How do you set your daily priority?

A simple analogy of setting your daily priority and time management.

• Start with the Big Rock
• Then Add the Pebbles
• And Fill in the Sand
• After That, Let Go...And Enjoy Life
• Bonus Tip - Make it a Lifelong Habit

The big rock represents your daily priority which happens to be in alignment with your lifelong priorities.

The mason jar represents your day. The pebbles and the sand represent the things in your life that are not nearly as important as that big rock.

The lesson here?

Accomplish that big thing for the day. You'd feel accomplished. Note that your priorities might change wherein your pebbles and sand today might be your big rock tomorrow.

Remember to set your daily priority and make it consistent with your lifelong priorities. And when you do that each day, you'll be amazed at what you accomplish!

Learn more about Ever Better Coaching and Consulting at https://www.everbetteru.com/

Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

Notes from this episode are below.

You create your legacy when you make decisions throughout the day about how to prioritize your time and focus your energy. What are your priorities?

To identify them, ask yourself:

• In the past year, what decisions would I go back and change?
• Considering the cumulative effect of every decision in my life, what would I go back and change?
• Ten years from now, what might I regret not spending more time doing?

Right now, my top five priorities are:

• Physical and mental health
• Family relationships
• Developing my business
• Friendships
• Reimagining my home

Physical and Mental Health

When I work out, it elevates my mental health. I can really feel the difference mentally.

I also spend a good amount of time listening to positive podcasts or guided meditations. When I get home, I often play uplifting music in the background.

My coach is a huge resource for me as well, and I will work with a therapist when needed.

Family Relationships

I will make decisions based on whether they allow me to spend time with my son, Conner. I also regularly plan trips to visit and help out my parents.

My three brothers are also very important to me, and again, I'll make decisions based on whether they allow me to consistently spend time with my brothers and their families.

Developing my Business

Developing my Executive and Leadership Coaching business is a significant priority in my life.

I often consider how I can work my top three priorities into each day. For example:

Recently I went to visit my parents and knew I had a firm meeting with a client in the morning. To ensure I'd have both quality time with my parents and a quiet environment to speak to the client, I arranged a workspace where I could set up a Zoom call.

I finished my work with plenty of time for a walk, and spent the rest of the day with my parents. I was able to hit all three of my top priorities in one morning!

Friendships

Over the last ten years, my friends have helped me navigate significant challenges and I've come to value my friendships now more than ever!

I've learned that I can really rely on my friends. They are willing to both celebrate my wins and support me when things aren't great. Whatever I need, they are here for me.

Reimagining my Home

Two years ago, this wouldn't have appeared on my priority list. Things might shift as your life evolves, and that's okay!

I am now a true empty nester. My son has launched into his career and I am no longer married. I am free to reimagine my home completely for myself.

I'm painting furniture, learning how to decoupage, and doing all sorts of experimental things around the house. This is all a very long-term project, but I'm taking it piece by piece.

Ultimately, my goal is to do a home swap. There are websites where you can find someone to temporarily exchange houses with. Perhaps I would go live in Palo Alto or Paris for a few weeks while someone lives in my house!

That's it for today; now go set your lifelong priorities!

Learn more about Ever Better Coaching and Consulting at https://www.everbetteru.com/

For a complete episode transcript, click here.

Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

Notes from this episode are below.

My clients achieve their goals through:

• Articulating their long-term vision, goals and milestones
• Identifying what might be holding them back
• Approach their work as a leader of leaders
• Addressing mental and physical health, relationships, communication, and more!

How I Started the Ever Better Podcast

Seven years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I went into research mode. I spoke to many doctors, survivors, and others affected by breast cancer diagnoses. As I weighed my treatment options I listened to lots of podcasts about the topic.

Podcasts helped me learn about breast cancer and its treatments. The stories and experiences of others inspired me. They were really a lifeline at times.

Over and over again I would listen to a podcast episode and come away with a different mindset. So I started thinking about creating a podcast of my own.

The following year, I went to a camp for adults called Camp Good Life Project, which is no longer offered. It was a one-of-a-kind experience created by Jonathan Fields who produces the Good Life Project Podcast.

I expressed my interest in podcasting to others at the camp, and many were podcasters themselves. I shared that I wanted to create a podcast to inspire people the way I had been inspired.

Another podcaster asked for my notebook while in mid-conversation. He wrote, "buy this microphone… sign up for this service… do this thing… do this thing..." He gave me the specific action items I needed to start a podcast. He demystified the process and encouraged me to get started!

Fast forward several years and I finished the first "season" of the Ever Better Podcast with ninety episodes!

Coach Lisa

While creating the Ever Better Podcast, my guests would regularly say, "I feel like I've been through a really good coaching session."

I reflected on this and realized that I had always taken a coaching approach to my work.

When I was 23 years old and managing software developers, I had no idea of how to code. I didn't understand the technical details but I was able to help my team mesh and become very high-performing. Through applying curiosity, listening fully and applying my business knowledge I was able to bring out the best in each person.

What started out as encouragement from my podcast guests, became a side gig, and in 2017, I left my marketing and public relations job to become a full-time executive coach.

Ever Better Today

What began in 2015 as the Ever Better Podcast, has become Ever Better Today beginning in 2022.

So what will I be sharing this season? Some topics I'll cover are:

• Creating and maintaining a billion-dollar mindset.
• Growing your business to the next level.
• Reframing events, messages, and circumstances.
• How to better communicate with your friends, family, and co-workers.
• Executive presence.
• Playing bigger.
• And many more!

I won't be interviewing guests as I did in Season 1. Each episode, you'll hear my thoughts on a specific topic - distilled down into 10 minutes or less.

Clients often work with me on a long-term basis and the greatest thing about coaching is witnessing their success, growth and progress! Learn more about me and my work here!

If you'd like to request that I cover a specific topic or to set up a consultation, send me an email at [email protected].

References

For the creative soul, entrepreneur and change-maker in you, check out these resources.

For Camp Good Life Project - https://www.goodlifeproject.com/camp-glp/

For Jonathan Fields - https://www.jonathanfields.com/

For a complete episode transcript, please click here

My guest today owns a business that I refer to as "My Happy Place." Her name is Janine Narayadu and her business is The Bethesda Salt Cave. In addition to housing a relaxing and healing salt cave, customers can benefit from massages, yoga classes, and sound bowl concerts. And…as an extra bonus…they have a unique store filled with salt lamps, jewelry, and natural products that Janine creates. In this podcast Janine shares her story of discovering salt caves and their healing properties, and how she turned a solo massage practice into a rapidly expanding business.

Janine has led a unique international life. Born in South Africa, Janine became a police officer. From there she moved to Vienna, Austria and was married to a professional French horn player. It's there that Max, her son and now business partner, was born. Janine eventually divorced and moved to the U.S. and now lives in Maryland with her husband who works for the World Bank.

You might be wondering – What's a salt cave?! Well…it's a room that's literally filled with salt. In the case of the Bethesda Salt Cave, there are 30 tons of Himalayan salt on the walls, and 6.5 tons on the floor, and salt is pumped into the air with a Halo Generator. Think about walking on a sandy beach, but instead, you're walking on grains of salt. You relax in an anti-gravity chair, listening to soothing spa music and just breathe! The salty environment is healing and relaxing.

Find out more about the Bethesda Salt Cave at bethesdasaltcave.com.

Do you ever feel like you need a little guidance in your career or personal life? As a life coach, I am here to assist you in making and meeting the goals you have set for yourself on both business and personal levels. To get more information, email me at [email protected] or click here.

Margaret Ruff is an educator at heart and lifelong learner who coaches executives and school administrators using the Immunity to Change model. During this podcast we talk about Margaret's career transitions, drawing on multiple intelligences, and how children and adults are similar.

Margaret says: "I believe success is the ability to change when change is needed; to be flexible and adaptable through change; to be yourself when your ideas are questioned; to not create excuses that keep you in the same rut day after day; and to keep it fresh and fun by being in focus through the process on your way to your desired result." Show Notes:

• Margaret followed her passion for music before becoming a teacher (3:01)
• Deciding to be a teacher (4:13)
• Realizing finance wasn't the right career choice and making a change (6:50)
• The conflict and interactions between parents and teachers (9:00)
• Becoming assistant principal and the challenges of transitioning from teaching (11:15)
• Motherhood and the benefits of PTSA leadership (13:15)
• Going back to school for executive leadership (14:20)
• Becoming an executive coach (15:20)
• Coaching leaders (18:26)
• The power of internships (20:04)
• Looking at what people want to improve and becoming conscious of what is stopping them from change (21:25)
• The power of incremental change (24:48)
• Being comfortable with uncertainty (30:47)
• Why it's so difficult to change (31:26)
• Margaret's plans for 2018 using incremental development (35:50)

Connect with Margaret

http://www.margaretruff.com https://www.facebook.com/margaretruffcoach

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