by Patti Moore

High performance; everyone talks about it, but what does it really look like in practice?

            To me, high performance can’t just be an on again/off again thing where I hit that mark, then settle back down to where I was. I need to sustain that high-functioning vibrancy over time. It doesn’t come naturally – at least, not to most people, myself included – but it can be learned, in the same way Olympic athletes build high performance habits that sustain them through grueling competition. How do High Performers train to bring their best all day, every day, to whatever they’re doing? In other words, how do they stay in the zone?

            My training with my coach Brendon Burchard taught me there are five keys to creating and maintaining high performance. In this piece, I’ll dig into the first two: Clarity and Energy.

            Clarity: When I think of clarity, the image that comes to mind is of a sparkling crystal glass of pure, fresh water sitting on a table with sunlight beaming through it. No ice, no fizz, no lemon, no contaminates; just perfectly pristine. Oh, to be able to access that level of lucidity in our thinking and decision making every day! What if we could bring absolute clarity to every important thing in life; from knowing who we are, to how we treat others, to what it means to be a success?

            In my work with hospice, I think of my patient Anita, a sweet 17-year-old girl with cancer.  When you know that your life will be cut short, clarity is your friend; clarity around what you want to achieve, and the urgency to see it through.  Anita wanted to walk across the stage to graduate with her class...done.  She wanted to learn how to drive...done. She wanted to marry her boyfriend so she could feel what it was to be a wife...done.  Anita had clarity in her short life and she achieved her dreams - all within two years of her diagnosis.  What do you want to achieve in life and what type of clarity will it take for you to get there?

            Energy:   When we look around us, it seems we’re surrounded by people practically exploding with energy; rushing, multitasking, with too much to do and complaining (or bragging?!) about it.  But what is the truth about energy?

            Each of us has the same amount of time in a day - the same 24 hours - but we obviously do not have the same amount of energy!  High Performers take charge of their physical state so they can bring vibrancy to everything they do.  To have the level of energy you need to run a company or a household, to be a parent and/or a partner or a friend, and to juggle all the things you want to or have to do, takes inner energy.  When people face serious illness and death, their energy becomes compromised.  Hospice recommends that dying people laser-focus on doing only those things that are essential to them - the things that bring them joy - and simply drop the rest in order to conserve their precious energy.  The rest of us can learn from this advice.

            To maintain high performance Energy, focus on adding only the “high test” fuel for our bodies.  What are we eating that slows us down (when we are in the drive-through at the fast food restaurant!)? Are we gifting our bodies with essential exercise?  Are we walking, deep breathing, meditating, sleeping that required eight hours a night, and saying “no” to soda and “yes” to water - all the things that preserve and enhance our energy?  If not, why not? If you were offered the choice between a glass of water and a glass of poison, wouldn’t common sense along with your sense of self-preservation make you choose the thing that would sustain you, not the thing that would make you sick? We must drop the habits that do not serve us and embrace the ones that sustain us. That’s what High Performers do, consistently over the long haul.  See you at the water fountain!

Patti Moore at the Certified High Performance Coaching event 

Nathan Adelson Hospice of Las Vegas is growing:

            “Nathan Adelson Hospice, the largest non-profit hospice in Nevada, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Kindred Hospice, an end-of-life health care organization in Southern Nevada, owned by Kindred Healthcare. Nathan Adelson Hospice and Kindred Hospice Care are finalizing the details of the transaction and expect the acquisition to close by March 1, 2018.”

Tidewell Hospice’s exciting and brilliantly-thought-out new hospice facility is winning raves:         

            “The brand-new hospice house between State Roads 64 and 70, the eighth in our region to be built by Tidewell Hospice, reflects the aesthetics of its new neighborhood but also a deep institutional experience of the tiny details that are needed to facilitate “a good death.” It covers a sprawling 22,000 square feet, with expansive rooms and corridors that should feel homelike to Lakewood Ranchers.   The six bedrooms have a generous 330 square feet apiece, with pullout sofa beds for caregivers. And there’s space in the $5 million building for 18 more rooms just like them -- all with huge windows designed to let the Florida daylight stream in.

            “What people are looking for today is something more open, brighter, cheerier than what was in the past,” said Gerry Radford, Tidewell president and CEO. “So I think we’re going to take this kind of design and try to replicate it in the existing homes going forward. With the windows, the spirit will be more uplifted, and that’s very important.”

Spring is (almost) here, and bringing some fun and creative fundraisers with it, like this one at Joliet Area Community Hospice:

            “Riddle me this! What is “U” shaped, a symbol of luck and usually found on an animal’s hoof? If you said a horseshoe, you are correct. You also are good at solving clues and should register for the Joliet Area Community Hospice (JACH) Derby Day Horseshoe Hunt Saturday, May 5, 2018.”

Last week I conducted a Leadership Retreat with a wonderful group where the main topic was: How to Have Courageous Conversations.  It is important for all of us to understand how to have honest, open, non-judgmental, blameless conversations with each other.  It is not always easy, and takes courage, often times it takes moral courage to step up and confront the elephant in the room.  Courage comes in many forms.  We in hospice have the courage each day to confront life’s most difficult challenge…death.  And yet, we often find it nearly impossible to be open, honest, straightforward and kind in the same breath with one another.

It’s time we learn to apply this courage every day to our teammates, friends and family.  Who do you need to have a Courageous Conversation with today?  Take a deep breath, summon your courage and begin.

To learn more about my VIP High Performance Group Coaching program click HERE!