pw.jpgI was reminded about these rudimentary principles last week by Wayne Cordeiro in his talk he gave at the Leadership Summit.

Wayne is a highly successful leader who one day went jogging and found himself sitting on a curb crying uncontrollably. He did
not recognize himself. He felt he was a dead leader running. What followed, was a big storm in his life that turned his life around. What follows are my notes from his talk.

We will teach what we know, but we will reproduce what we are. There must be a genuine integrity inside. It is vital for you to learn from the “storms” of your life.

One of the common “storm” in life of highly active and productive people in the modern world is burn out.

What are some symptoms of this upcoming storm in your life?

  • What you do (work, hobbies, family, volunteering) is not fun anymore. It does not give you joy
  • Decisions are not easy to make anymore
  • Your creativity begins to diminish
  • You may experience physical symptoms such as: difficulty breathing, erratic heartbeat, sleeplessness, eye twitching, uncontrollable crying, etc.
  • You may be diagnosed with a low serotonin level

If you don’t take of the causes of the symptoms as soon as possible you may not be able to return to your original state.

Suffering changes you but not always for better.

The road to success and the road to a nervous breakdown are often the same road.

Take a look at your life differently:

  • Take time to reevaluate what is important in your life and what isn’t.
  • Sometimes the only way radical change happens is through radical pain.
  • During difficult times, you are open to God’s valuable lessons.
  • Take time away to decompress and evaluate your life.
  • You may need to be “dismantled” before you can be put together again.

Principles for sustainable living:
Know what fills your tank. There are some things in your life that drain your tank. Everyone has them. The trick is to do things that replenish your tank. Things that are enjoyable, fun, and recreational. The word “recreational” – says it all, re-create what was depleted in you. Ask yourself:

  • Who am I with?
  • What am I doing?
  • Where am I doing this?

Things that may drain your tank: a wrong job, stressful situations, unresolved conflict (at home, work, family), etc.

Thinks that fill you tank: sailing, reading books, sports, fishing, physical activities, outdoors, etc.

Understand balance in life. Balance is not dividing your life in equal halves. Balance is applying your heart toward where the pressure. Your heart is like a fulcrum. In any 50-50 balanced situation the fulcrum is in the dead center. But when some pressure is applied to one side the 50-50 model does not work. The life tips to the side where the pressure is applied. When that happens, move the fulcrum (your heart) a little to that side for a while, until you regain balance. This picture may look like 40-60 or 30-70 model where the fulcrum is.

Lead out of rest:

  • Schedule your rest points and build your calendar around them.
  • Activity was created to come out of rest.
  • Your day begins when you go to sleep the night before.
  • If you need to sleep in, do it on the “right side” on the clock – the evening before.

Find a lightning rod and ground it in your life.

  • Find someone you can talk to who will “ground your charge.” When you need to vent, off-load, or just talk about stuff, find a buddy you can use, who will become your lightning rod to ground your stuff without spreading it all around. Make sure that person is a safe, trusty friend who can “handle” your issues.
  • If you don’t, you will “fry” the people around you and your family.
  • Your spouse should not be a lightning rod; share with her/him from the victory side, when you have resolved the issue.

Be disciplined in your daily quite time, reflection, meditation, prayer – or whatever causes you to slow down and recharge. Use a journal and write.

Conclusion:The goal is to run in a manner that protects the flame. When that Olympic torch is carried throughout the country, the runner makes sure it protects the original flame from extinguishing.

Running fast will not help.

Keep the flame!

More about Wayne Cordeiro
More about The Leadership Summit.
Interview with Wayne Cordeiro.