Ever Better Today

In your business and personal life, I urge you to reframe expenditures as investments in your future.

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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 the things you could do to have a significant return on investment:

1. Find ways to enhance your culture by bringing together your team members to create shared experiences. You could do this by conducting a meeting through Zoom or bringing them together for an energizing, in-person meeting.

1. Some companies pay for laptop upgrades and chair upgrades so that employees have good ergonomic equipment at home and in the office. While this may appear as an expense on your financial statements, it's an investment in your employees' well-being and job satisfaction.

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My investments in fitness

1. I belong to a gym with excellent amenities. This is an investment in my long-term fitness, not an unnecessary expense.

1. When I injured my ankle this year, I had been going to Club Pilates classes three or four times a week so my flexibility and strength were great. This helped me tremendously with getting around on crutches and being able to stretch to reach things at home. In addition, I made new friends who have greatly enriched my life. My investment in fitness has already paid off tremendously in 2022!

1. After I broke my ankle, I put Club Pilates on pause, I put Equinox on pause, and I hired a trainer to work with one-on-one so that I could keep working on strength and flexibility. This investment in fitness allowed me to keep developing my strength, even with limited mobility.

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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

Are you creating complications in your life by getting involved with activities or individuals that are not consistent with the values that you'd like to live by? If so, it's time to make some changes.

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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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If you are involved with any of the following situations below, you are not acting with integrity and living up to your values.

1. You're spending a great deal of time and energy on logistics so that you can consume alcohol, tobacco, or porn without the most important people in your life catching on.

2. You're devoting your time at work to finding another job or working a second job.

3. You're in a committed relationship, yet you're cultivating another relationship without your partner's knowledge.

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If any of these situations resonate with you, make time to reflect on your actions and motivations. Then consider the changes you need to make and who might be in a position to help you.

Sometimes, the complications in our lives can be resolved by taking a step back to see how we've gotten to where we are.

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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 experiences challenging times involving setbacks, uncertainty, and difficulties. Sometimes you don't realize that you're in the middle of something until you come through it and see life from a new perspective. Megan Katarina perfectly captures the feeling of being in "The Middle" with her poem below. Megan is an inspiring performer, singer, songwriter, artist, and creative individual.

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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 Middle by Megan Katarina

There is a place where no one stays But everyone must go A place everyone learns what they wish They did not have to know

At the end of oblivion And the start of change There's a place we call "The Middle" That is best known for its pain

I know I'm not the only one Who's tried to skip this spot Who could blame me? It's the longest and the hardest of the lot

My first vain idea Was to avoid it altogether But staying at the start Just left me feeling bored and tethered

Then I thought I'd venture on But I'd run and do it fast Until I tripped and fell upon My pride, my guilt, my past

Afraid, I turned around To find a shortcut through the weeds But avoiding the laborious hike Just forced me deeper in between

With open cuts and bruises I decided to surrender And though the climb was daunting I did not deny its splendor

I began to learn myself Inside the stillness of the dark And heal a little quicker With each scar that left its mark

Until one day when it'd been long Since I let my life be ruled by fear I wasn't even looking anymore But I was here

That's the thing about the middle, It's quite maddening you see It will not deem you "ready" Until you stop pretending to be

And though it'd be lovely to bypass The place where hurt occurs Where every statement is just a question Of who you are and who you were

I wish not to regret the times When life made me feel brittle Cause how would I have made it here If I had skipped the middle?

Yes, how would I be who I am If I had skipped the middle?

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Have you come through the middle of a life or business transition and realized that it made you stronger and wiser?

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Check out Megan Katarina's work and social media below:

Patreon

Youtube

Instagram

Website

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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.

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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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1. Doing this daily podcast for me is an exercise in simplification.

When I started out with podcasting about seven years ago, we published very detailed show notes with timestamps.

I've seen that followers are more focused on the audio than written content, so I took the opportunity to simplify.

1. I realized that I say "and" a lot.

I'm calling myself out on that, and I'm going to try to decrease the number of times I say "and."

1. Create a great team.

I can't do a daily podcast on my own while still having a coaching practice.

Thanks to the help of my team - Ryan Higgs, my podcast editor, and Eloisa Gesmundo, my marketing assistant, we have been able to produce the daily show.

Build a great team that you can rely on and trust to do the work for you when you are otherwise engaged.

1. Consistency

I'm challenging myself to put out one episode per day. I've accomplished 10% of my goal of releasing 250 episodes this year.

I know that my podcasts will continue to improve by sitting down and doing the work! Through consistency, repetition, and focus I'm getting even better every day!

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Now that we are within 10% of my goal, I hope that I'm producing great content all the time. I hope that you, as a listener, get even better every day when you listen to the podcast and that it leads you to create more fun and fulfilling life!

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To learn more about Ever Better Coaching, Consulting, or Podcasts: Email

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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.

Knowing your triggers - what makes you angry, quiet, or upset is powerful information! When you and your team are aware of your tendencies you can thoughtfully change behaviors and reactions. As a result, teams become higher-performing and work environments are more fulfilling.

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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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Conflict happens in all relationships. This assessment helps you to better understand yourself and others so that you don't just react. You consider what's happening at the moment. You step back and reframe the situation. And then you create a more effective response.

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Learn more about DiSC profiles in Ever Better Today Episode 23.

To learn about a DiSC assessment for yourself or your team, contact Lisa.

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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.

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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's your DISC profile?

D for Dominance

You're direct, firm, strong-willed, forceful, and results-oriented.

I for Influence

You're outgoing, enthusiastic, optimistic, high spirited, and lively.

S for Steadiness

You're even-tempered, accommodating, patient, humble, and tactful

C for Conscientiousness

You're analytical, reserved, precise, private, and systematic.

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Whether you want to be a better manager, colleague, friend, or parent - a DiSC assessment will give you a detailed report of your personality style and help you to understand your motivations and those of the people around you. This will surely elevate your emotional intelligence!

To learn about a DiSC assessment for yourself or your team, contact Lisa.

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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 ever felt on top of the world? Like things couldn't get any better? And then…it all started to fall apart. Maybe you became sick, you overslept and missed a meeting, you messed up what should have been an easy presentation, or you started a fight.

This is what happens when individuals reach their Upper Limit as described by Gay Hendricks in The Big Leap.

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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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You've likely heard about the Academy Awards debacle where Chris Rock made an inappropriate joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair. This led to her husband, Will Smith, walking on stage and slapping Chris Rock across the face.

It was literally the slap heard around the world and was a poor reflection on both of them.

I consider these examples of upper limiting by Rock and Smith. Both were highly successful at that time and will continue to be. However, their actions represented questionable judgment and integrity.

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How can you avoid an upper limiting incident when you're at the top of your game?

Here's how…

1. Be aware.

Create a team of advisors with whom you can share the truth about how you're feeling.

This might include friends, professional advisors, a coach, a therapist, and family members. Be aware of the people you're turning to for advice to ensure that they have the same values and level of integrity that you do.

1. Tune into how you're feeling.

Make time in your day to decompress. Figure out what works for you. It might be meditating, listening to music, reading, taking a walk, or doing a Pilates class.

If you're in a meeting, practice deep breathing. Breathe in for three counts, hold it for three, and then breathe out. Practice doing this without drawing attention to yourself so that you can calm and center yourself anytime or anyplace.

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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 the power to make change by elevating their voice. Here are ten ideas for doing that!

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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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10 ways to elevate your voice:

1. Write in a journal.

Make a habit of spending about 15- or 20-minutes per day writing in your journal. This can be a spiral notebook, a journal made for this purpose, or a pad of paper. It doesn't need to be fancy!

Practice getting clear on your perspective by writing about literally anything! Write about something fun that you did, an activity you're looking forward to, an event that didn't go as well as you would have liked, or an issue that's pissing you off! The less formal the better. Just be yourself and get started!

1. Write a blog.

Your blogs don't need to be published until and unless you're ready.

Write blogs to practice crystallizing and organizing your thoughts. Use an outline of an introductory statement, a body with three main points, and a summary conclusion.

If you're ready to publish your blogs, create your own simple website using Wix or Squarespace. Or, post on Medium.

1. Post about a topic on social media.

Facebook Groups and LinkedIn are perfect for longer posts.

If you share someone else's post, include your perspective. What's important to you about the post? What do you want people to learn from it?

1. Live broadcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, or YouTube.

This is an easy way to practice sharing your perspective in a "live" format. Join in with a friend who's interested in the same topic so you're not going it alone. Don't be concerned with the number of people who tune in. You're doing this to practice elevating your voice. When you stick with it, others will start to notice.

1. Write a short story about your perspective.

Writing fiction will make you think more broadly and imaginatively! It doesn't need to be shared with anyone else or published unless you'd like to do that!

1. Answer a question in Quora.

Quora is a platform where people post questions about anything you can imagine and others jump in to answer and offer their perspectives.

Search for the topic that most interests you, jump into the conversation, and answer a question confidently. This is a great way to help someone out!

1. Get involved with local legislation.

Start by writing an email to your elected official, or attend a public hearing and share your opinion. Get your thoughts into the public record!

1. Run for office!

We always need more thoughtful, articulate individuals to actively participate in our democracy. Running for office will put you in the position of constantly answering questions and engaging in spirited conversations on a wide variety of topics.

1. Join a Toastmasters club.

Toastmasters is a safe and inviting space to practice public speaking. Your first task will be to stand up and introduce yourself and you'll only need to take it a step further when you're ready.

1. Be a podcast guest.

Research who's doing a podcast about a particular topic you like. Reach out to them and offer to be their guest.

1. Bonus Tip: Start Your Own Podcast!

Creating your own podcast can be time-consuming but well worth it!

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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.

Be like a metal detector!

In an episode of the Not-So-Serious Life with Jason Goldberg and Steve Chandler, Jason said that he likes to think of discovering like a metal detector! I'm fortunate to know many people who connect with others like they're on a treasure hunt. Listen in to learn more!

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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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Be like a metal detector. OK, but how do you do that in real life?

1. Look at what's already visible and consider what might be underneath.

My friend, Elise, whom I met on the Metro, noticed me reading a digital fundraising report which led to her asking questions about why that information interested me.

2. When you detect a signal, a response that indicates there's more to the story, ask deeper questions to learn more. Listen carefully to responses with an open mind.

Seeing that the report was about fundraising for non-profits, and that I was eager to discuss the topic, Elise asked deeper questions about my work and background and listened carefully to what I had to say.

3. When the metal detector pings to let you know something is there under the surface, take out a shovel and start digging! Elise kept asking me questions leading to us discovering many commonalities. This led to lunch and a long friendship!

Practicing the skill of being a metal detector allows you to connect to other people. Be curious, be connecting, be present in discussion with anyone!

Who knows, you might meet someone who can change your life, someone who needs your help, or a new friend!

Episode References:

The Not-So-Serious Life with Jason Goldberg & Steve Chandler

Elise Ravenscroft, Lisa's friend from the Metro!

Saba Bando, Extraordinary Coach!

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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.

My son, Conner, just turned 23!

In honor of all he does for me and what I've learned from him, here is an episode dedicated to his wisdom.

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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 five lessons that I've learned from my son:

1. Read the room

Be aware of your natural response to what's happening in the room. Observe dynamics and when you're comfortable, join in!

Conner has naturally done this from a very young age and was able to articulate this wisdom in response to joining in with the bigger kids at Kids' Club.

2. Articulate your value

Conner grew up doing lawn work and shoveling snow in our neighborhood. He was always able to ask for what he believed his work was worth. And he still practices that skill today!

Know your worth and articulate it!

3. Embrace experiences

Go with the flow! If everything doesn't go according to plan, make an adventure out of it!

4. Family Loyalty

Embrace every opportunity to spend time with family.

5. The show South Park, makes me laugh.

Conner knew that this show - especially the Covid specials - would make me laugh! I wouldn't have watched it without his recommendation.

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So far, these are just five of the many, many things I have learned from Conner. I am still looking forward to learning more things in life from him, and hopefully, he's learning from me too!

I love you Conner!

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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.