Ever Better Today

How has your life changed in the past year?

Have you made progress towards achieving your goals? How have you dealt with setbacks?

What are you working towards achieving a year from now?

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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!

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What Was Different About Your Life a Year ago? Consider:

1. Your average level of happiness now vs then
2. How you've coped with setbacks. Do you consider yourself more resilient than you were a year ago?
3. How you're spending leisure time now vs then
4. Your goals now vs then.

My life changed significantly in the past year. And that's a good thing!

1. Happiness. I'm happily building a new life for myself after having a divorce.
2. Leisure time. I'm using my leisure time to re-create my home with new furniture, painting, and adding colorful items that spark joy. I'm spending time with friends and family.
3. Business. I'm creating a business that I love, working with people who inspire me!
4. Goals: I'm getting more fit than I've ever been in my adult life and enjoying a new sport-Pickleball!

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How has your life changed? What do you want to be different a year from now?

Episode 66, is about being an owner versus being a victim. Listen to that episode for more inspiration!

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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

Everyone has interests. But are you committed to becoming more skilled?

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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!

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Interested

To use a sports analogy…some people are interested in soccer and stream games or watch them on television if it's convenient. They aren't deeply engaged or committed to learning more about the sport.

When it comes to business…some people talk about starting a business and never take action.

Committed

Some people play soccer, coach a team, and schedule time to watch and study games. They know the players and follow the schedules. These individuals are committed!

Some people create business plans, create a product or service, raise money, and generate revenue. They are committed!

Real-life examples of being COMMITTED…

1. Podcast- I become interested in podcasting after listening to many different podcasts. I sought advice, built a team, and made my own podcast. Now I am committed to releasing a minimum of 250 episodes for this daily podcast- Ever Better Today!.

1. Traveling- If you're committed to going on an adventure, you'll need to dedicate time to planning. You'll need to check out travel possibilities which could include figuring out your driving route, booking a hotel, and planning who you'll meet along the way. I'm committed to traveling to Fargo, North Dakota in the summer of 2022 and am making plans to ensure that it happens!

1. Charity work- I have a friend who's committed to helping Ukrainians. She creates and sends weekly emails about the war with Russia and stories of the victims. She's also helping non-profit organizations with fundraising.

1. Starting a new career- I have a 71-year-old client who is committed to a new career as a realtor. He considered what it would take to start this new journey, studied hard to pass his exam, interviewed with several agencies, and selected the one that worked best for him. After only one month, he's already got his first clients!

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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

How do you deal with uncertainties? Do you act like an OWNER or a VICTIM?

It's not that our lives are perfect—it's just that we have to adapt to the imperfections and keep going.

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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!

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Difference between OWNERS and VICTIMS…

Owners

An owner addresses and manages situations. They turn challenges into opportunities and build their skills along the way. The ownership mentality can become a habit that creates an upward trend.

Victims

Victim complains about their circumstances and doesn't use their resources to overcome challenges. They tend to give up and let others deal with the fallout. The victim mentality can become a habit that creates a downward spiral.

How do differentiate OWNERS from VICTIMS?

1. At work, an owner tends to pinpoint the problem, think of a solution, and implement it. The victim blames the failure on bad circumstances and other people.
2. In hosting a party, an owner thinks of a way to make the plan happen even if there is a scarcity of resources while a victim has excuses about why they can't accomplish things.
3. From a business perspective, an owner mentality is more likely to create a successful business. A business owner with a victim mentality is less likely to build a successful company because they won't own challenges and identify creative solutions.

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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

You can develop leadership skills in any situation. Model great leadership regardless of your role and you'll find yourself developing other leaders as a result.

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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!

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Tips on how to develop great leaders…

1. Coach them up! Tailor your mentorship approach to fit each person you're working with.
2. Use assessments. The DISC assessment and Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team are two types of assessments that help individuals understand themselves and those around them. As they become more emotionally intelligent, their effectiveness as leaders will increase.
3. Involve your team in leadership discussions. Involve everyone on the team in discussions to ensure that each person contributes and practices articulating their thoughts.

Resources for developing your leadership skills and those of your team members.

"Five Levels of Leadership" by John Maxwell

Josh Christy, CEO, and Founder of Codelation, used this book to help elevate his leadership team.

"Co-Active Leadership" by Karen and Henry Kimsey-House

This book teaches that anyone who has a team reporting to them is in a position to exercise leadership.

It doesn't matter what your position in the company is—you're responsible for your behavior. If you're an individual contributor, you can take initiative and develop your leadership skills.

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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.

How do you use patterns in your life? Do you use them to your advantage or do they hold you back?

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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!

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How patterns can make an impact in our life…

1. Produce amazing things. When you instinctively combine different patterns you've previously practiced, you can create amazing things! This is how musicians and software engineers are able to perform at the highest levels.
2. Patterns are guides. In playing games like Bridge or Mahjong, patterns can help you to determine what moves to make.
3. Elevate someone else's thinking and behaviors. Some people repeatedly narrate their negative experiences and don't choose to move forward. By pointing out their patterns and alternative options, you can help them live a fuller life. You cannot control someone else's choices, but if they are open to it, you can coach and educate them on alternatives.

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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

Do you tend to over-function? Or under-function? Or do you tend to function at the right level?

If you're over or under-functioning, stop and think about how you can break your cycle.

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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!

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What does it mean to over-function or under-function?

Over-functioning

When a person tends to perform a task, solve a problem and exert excessive effort to do things that are not their responsibility.

This often happens when a manager jumps in to do work for their team, rather than letting them figure out how to complete it. This limits the team's ability to grow their skills and problem-solving abilities.

Under-functioning

When a person is unproductive and avoids doing the work that they should be responsible for. This can happen as a result of being teamed with an over-functioning person.

It can be learned behavior or someone's natural state.

Over-functioning from a parenting perspective. You are a "Helicopter Parent" if…

• You directly confront your child's teacher about bad grades or reprimands.
• You accompany your child on their job interview
• You sit next to your child and give them notes while they interview for a job over Zoom.

Consequences of over-functioning from the book Resilient Leadership 2.0.

1. Failure to scale. Companies won't scale because teams can't develop needed skills. Employees won't learn how to move through risk and uncertainty and create solutions on their own.

1. Burnout. People who over-function tend to wear themselves out, which can lead to poor health. Under-functioning people who feel that their jobs are threatened as a result of working with an over-functioned may become ill, too.

1. Under-developed sense of responsibility. When a parent is always there to bail out their children, they never learn to take responsibility for their actions—a consequence that is damaging to our society.

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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

The choices that you make about how to spend your minutes create your hours which create your days, weeks, months, and years.

Are you creating the legacy that you want to be remembered for or are you indulging in continuous escapism?

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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!

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"The most important choice we make is what we choose to make important." - Michael Neill

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To create your positive legacy, choose:

1. Self-investment - create time to learn new things and meet new people.
2. Creative growth - make time to improve your creativity, and create things that will make an impact on yourself and others.

Continuous escapism looks like this:

1. Obsessing about others - being consumed with rumors and celebrity-watching.
2. Spending a significant amount of your life engaged in unproductive activities without creating a healthy balance.

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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

As we mature into adults, we often get messages, directly and indirectly, that we are not creative.

But you are! Everyone is creative! It's a skill and a way of being that can be cultivated.

Think about how to recover your creativity and live your life more creatively!

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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!

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From The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

"Many of us find that we have squandered our own creative energies by investing disproportionately in the lives, hopes, dreams, and plans of others. Their lives have obscured and detoured our own. As we consolidate a core through our withdrawal process, we become abler to articulate our own boundaries, dreams, and authentic goals. Our personal flexibility increases while our malleability to the whims of others decreases. We experience a heightened sense of autonomy and possibility."

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Live more creatively by…

1. Thinking about how you can create options for your life each day. Be aware of how routine can help and hinder your creativity.
2. Doing something creative every day. This can include writing, painting, singing, playing an instrument, creating a garden, sewing, or anything else that gets your brain working in a free-flowing way.
3. Identifying and executing solutions that are outside the norm.
4. Actually executing your ideas rather than just talking about them. This becomes a habit and your creativity will build!

Tips on how you can live more creatively from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron…

1. Write morning pages every single day. After you wake up in the morning, get your notebook, and a pen then allow yourself to write about anything for at least three pages.
2. The more you create, the more you can create. At first, I was afraid of doing a podcast because I might run out of things to say but now I am on Episode 61 with a catalog of ideas that keeps growing!

My friend Noelle Van Vlierbergen wrote the book, Sober Moxie. As she incorporated writing and creativity into her daily schedule, she created a journal for recovery, called the Day by Day Book. And then she created multiple versions of the journal, including one for teens. Check out her books at noellevan.com

Another example is Pradeepa Narayanaswamy, the author of Loving Myself and You - Embracing your Perfect Imperfection. Pradeepa didn't view herself as a writer before but now she is known as one! And, she continues to write on a regular basis!

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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

Working with people who have similar styles offers validation.

Working with those who have different styles is an opportunity to create awareness of how team members process and share information, and interact.

Each opportunity is valuable!

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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!

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Different people have different work styles: DISC Assessment Perspective…

The DISC assessment gives insights into your work style and how you relate to others. A summary of how each style brainstorms and presents their ideas is below. To learn more, listen to Ever Better Today Episode 23.

Dominant (D)

D's are result-oriented and fast-paced decision-makers.

Working as a group, they tend to get the job done very fast! They brainstorm, reach a conclusion as a consensus, or one person will take the lead, and then they take action!

Influence (I)

I's are known for being enthusiastic and outgoing!!! (They love using !!! and smiley faces in emails!) 😊😄😂😍😇

When I's are together in a group, they often have a good time. They can do great work together but can get sidetracked from the task at hand because they enjoy getting to know each other before jumping into the work.

Steadiness (S)

S's are accommodating, patient, humble, and tactful.

Because of their desire to keep everyone's ideas involved and avoid hurting anyone, a group of S's can have a hard time reaching a decision.

Conscientiousness (C)

C's are analytical and detail-oriented.

They tend to be very straightforward in their communications. When working together, they take time to brainstorm, get input from all of their teammates, and look at their work from different perspectives before finalizing it. They draft their solution and review it carefully before committing to a solution.

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So what's your work style?

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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

Have you heard of NSVs?

That's an abbreviation for non-scale victories—a term that focuses on weight loss and fitness "wins" not measured by the scale.

This is a term I learned from the Bright Line Eating community.

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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!

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Here are examples of non-scale victories…

1. Fitting into close in a smaller size. I recently was able to fit into size 6 jeans that didn't fit when I bought them! I haven't been weighing myself but noticed that my clothes fit more loosely and decided to try on those pants. And they fit!
2. Achieving a cardio or endurance goal. I gave myself a goal on the rowing machine to do 1000 meters in five minutes or less. I'm now rowing 2,000 meters in 10 minutes or less and challenging myself to see how far I can row in 25 minutes.
3. Recognizing that your joints are moving more freely. I follow the Bright Line Eating framework fairly closely. This involves no flour, no sugar, and three meals a day with no snacking in-between. My body detoxed for two weeks after cutting out flour and sugar. After that, I realized that my knees were no longer creaking when I got into and out of the car!

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We'd love to hear about your non-scale victories - NSVs! Share them here!

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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