Next Peak Podcast

What leadership and life lessons can you learn from one of the most astonishing feats of exploration and human courage ever recorded? In today's episode, Dr. Parker Houston and Clint Herndonbreak down the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton, who attempted to be the first expedition to cross the continent of Antarctica in 1914. If you want to know what to do when you face challenges and ongoing crises over a long period of time, and very dark circumstances, take some leadership principles from Shackleton:

• Fight To Stay Optimistic
• Keep Hope Alive
• Be Decisive In Decisions
• Adopt Radical Acceptance 
• Celebrate No Matter What 

“Often the leader sees the vision more clearly and long before the team does” -John Maxwell

How to maintain optimism:

1. Feed your mind positive things
2. Look for what the gifts are

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

If you got something out of today's episode, please subscribe, share it with a friend and leave us a review. You can find us on www.nextpeakpodcast.com. If you want to connect with Dr. Parker Houston, you can find him at www.leadyoufirst.com. Sign up for his weekly blog to receive some research-based tools that will help you transform your work and your life.

Dijana LLugolli, or “D” for short, is a Success & Business Coach,  Podcaster & Speaker, 3C Addict, and 3X Mama. On today’s podcast, she and Clint talk about overcoming fear, building a support group around you, and overcoming adversity. Growth happens outside of your comfort zone; to grow, you have to face your fears. Coming as an underdog with a tough childhood from a migrant family, D had to endure and grow from a lot of adversity and setbacks. During her journey, she set out to help others launch their own businesses and overcome their fears. 

Connect with Dijana on her Podcast, Website, or Instagram 

Dijana’s favorite books:

• The Big Leap by  Gay Hendricks
• Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty
• Now Is Your Chance by Niyc Pidgeon  

If you got something out of today's episode, please subscribe, share it with a friend and leave us a review. You can find us on www.nextpeakpodcast.com. If you want to connect with Dr. Parker Houston, you can find him at www.leadyoufirst.com. Sign up for his weekly blog to receive some research-based tools that will help you transform your work and your life.

Wes knew in the 8th grade that he wanted to fly a fighter jet. Now he's spent eight years in the airforce as an F15 fighter pilot. He's learned a lot about leadership on the way and just how valuable our attention is. It's easy to lead when things are going well. But in a crisis, the actual colors of leadership start to come out. Leaders lose when they don't steward their attention and focus on the people they're leading. 

Time is the resource you'll never get back, but attention is the resource you can scale.

Wes's Book Recommendations 

1. The Bible
2. Atomic Habits 
3. Mindset 

Action Item:

• At the beginning of every morning, ask yourself: "What do I need to pay attention to today, specifically?"

Connect with Wes on his website or LinkedIn

If you got something out of today's episode, please subscribe, share it with a friend and leave us a review. You can find us on www.nextpeakpodcast.com. If you want to connect with Dr. Parker Houston, you can find him at www.leadyoufirst.com. Sign up for his weekly blog to receive some research-based tools that will help you transform your work and your life.

Practicing gratitude regularly helps leaders to grow themselves, their team, their productivity, and their profit. But there are two main opponents of gratitude blocking most people, and those are laziness and perfectionism. 

We all know that people who feel unappreciated leave their job, and leaders who don’t express gratitude experience high turnover and premature burnout. So it should be obvious why gratitude is so important not only for ourselves but also for our leadership because: 

1. Leaders who express gratitude towards their team members can produce 50% better results.  
2. Employee appreciation is one of the nine factors in making it into the top 100 best places to work in the nation.  
3. Employee recognition is one of the top five factors for a psychologically healthy workplace.

One of the biggest blockers to gratitude is going too fast, hurrying, having too much to do, and never slowing down. If we can change our mindset, slow down, and regularly practice gratitude in our leadership, we could:

• Increase employee productivity 
• Increase employee wellbeing
• Multiply and spread gratitude in our organization 
• Increase job satisfaction and engagement
• Decrease burnout and exhaustion
• Reduce absences and turnover
• Eliminate gossip and cynicism

Action Steps:

1. Make it a daily practice to thank someone for something specific.
2. Create the longest gratitude list you possibly can.
3. Start your day by focusing on three things you are grateful for.
4. Choose to focus on the best attributes in your spouse.

Resources Mentioned:
Personality Isn't Permanent
Evidence-based best practices for writing a gratitude journal 

If you got something out of today's episode, please subscribe, share it with a friend and leave us a review. You can find us on www.nextpeakpodcast.com. If you want to connect with Dr. Parker Houston, you can find him at www.leadyoufirst.com. Sign up for his weekly blog to receive some research-based tools that will help you transform your work and your life.

Rachel Cruze is a two-time #1 national best-selling author, financial expert, and host of The Rachel Cruze Show. She has appeared on Good Morning America, TODAY Show, and Live! With Kelly & Ryan, among others. Since 2010, Rachel has served at Ramsey Solutions, where she teaches people to avoid debt, save money, budget, and how to win with money at any stage in life. Growing up as Dave Ramsey's daughter, Rachel hated budgeting for years until she experienced the freedom of budgeting for herself. Rachel now shares fun, practical ways to take control of your money and create a life you love.

In this episode, Clint interviews Rachel Cruze. They talk about careers, life, marriage and finance, and daily habits. There is value in being intentional with your life, whether it's your early mornings, the work you're doing, parenting, marriage, or money. When you do stuff with a plan and purpose, your life creates so much better value than just floating through. We all have seasons where we can kind of float. But when you have something that you're working towards, there's a greater value in life when you're intentional with it. 

Rachels Book Recommendations:

• Voice of the Heart by Dr. Chip Dodd
• Ideal Team Player by Patrick M. Lencioni  
• Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer 

Follow Rachel on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube or online at rachelcruze.com.

If you got something out of today's episode, please subscribe, share it with a friend and leave us a review. You can find us on www.nextpeakpodcast.com. If you want to connect with Dr. Parker Houston, you can find him at www.leadyoufirst.com. Sign up for his weekly blog to receive some research-based tools that will help you transform your work and your life.