W.I.N. - The Power of Awareness

I have been very cautious since starting the W.I.N. Newsletter about using this platform to promote products. In fact, I can only remember one time where I did that and it was over a decade ago. I am going to make an exception now with The Power of Awareness program. I have known Randy Watt, one of the developers of this training program, for over 20 years. Randy is a great trainer, a high respected leader, a man of integrity and a quality human being. A few years ago he introduced me to Dan Schilling, the other creator of this training, at an NTOA conference where Dan was the opening keynote speaker and I had the opportunity to spend some time talking to Dan about training philosophies. I had purchased Dan's book The Power of Awareness prior to the conference and read it shortly after. I have since gone through the online Power of Awareness Training Program. Both Randy and Dan have a wealth of real world experience and are committed to helping people navigate today's world more safely through The Power of Awareness. 

I want to state up front that I am an affiliate of the POA program and get a small commission from every purchase using the Winning Mind Training link. These funds will help with the ongoing financial recovery from the COVID years and to help sustain my websites and blogs as I move towards semi retirement once my current US work visa expires June 1, 2025. I became an affiliate because I believe in what Randy and Dan are doing, and in the value of the training. For the police officers reading this there may not be anything new for you in this course, but there likely is for family and friends. 

I will not be continually bombarding you with sales e-mails about this course. I will send out a couple of more e-mails before the end of January as there is a discount available using the code #TacticalAwareness2024 until January 31. After that I will send out the occasional e-mail about the program. Below is information on the online training program, which includes a copy of the book. 

For more details, visit https://mypoa.org/winningmind

"Winning Mind Training is pleased to team up with The Power of Awareness Institute to bring you an online course where you will learn:

• Skills to enhance situational awareness in your daily life.

• Proven methodologies to make awareness a sustained practice, keeping you attuned to your surroundings.

• Strategies to minimize distractions and bolster your confidence in your own awareness levels.

• Techniques for connecting with and strengthening your intuition. 

• Ways to fortify your personal safety and freedom through a combination of awareness, preparedness and taking action. 

Don't miss this 90-minute course, tailored for all. Avail yourself or a loved one of a special discount by using the code #TacticalAwareness2024 at checkout.

Discount Code Expires January 31, 2024.

For more details, visit https://mypoa.org/winningmind

W.I.N. Wednesday: Learn to accept and celebrate yourself in your present condition.

This is the time of year when many people get caught up in the whole mess of New Year’s resolutions. I have written before about my concerns with New Year’s resolutions and will not rehash that here.

I am concerned about the concept of creating a “New You in the New Year.”, which I have seen a lot in the past few weeks. That phrase implies there is something significantly wrong with the current you. Now, I am all about small, incremental, daily improvement, but that is to build on the current you, not replace the current you, which is why I wanted to share the following from Thema Bryant that I recently came across.  

"Often we are so busy trying to get somewhere, trying to become someone, that we miss the beauty of right now. While it is valuable to have goals and dreams, I wonder if you're able to accept yourself in your present condition. I wonder if you can celebrate yourself in your present condition, beyond the striving of what and who you shall be, but who you are right now. With the beauty of simplicity in the present moment, you can start to reconnect with who you are on the inside."

Dr. Thema Bryant

It is ok to strive to continually improve upon the current you while simultaneously accepting and celebrating your present condition and how far you have come in the journey of life. That journey has had some ups and downs, some peaks and valleys, successes and struggles, wins and losses, and still you persist. Celebrate that. Celebrate you.

What’s Important Now? Remember to love yourself and accept and celebrate yourself in your present condition. Enjoy the beauty and simplicity of the present moment and reconnect with who you are on the inside.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

W.I.N. Wednesday: Jealousy - You can't just cherry-pick.

"When I was young, I had a lot of jealousy in me... I learned to get rid of it. It still crops up every now and then. It's such a poisonous emotion because, at the end of the day, you're no better off, you're unhappier, and the person you're jealous of is still successful or good-looking, or whatever they are.
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I realized that all these people that I was jealous of, I couldn't just cherry-pick and choose little aspects of their life. I couldn't say I want his body; I want her money; I want his personality. 
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You have to be that person. Do you want to actually be that person with all of their reactions, their desires, their family, their happiness level, their outlook on life, their self-image? If you're not willing to do a wholesale, 24/7, 100% swap with who that person is, then there is no point in being jealous."

Naval Ravikant

Jealousy is an emotion we likely all experience at times. I know I do. But as Naval Ravikant points out in the above quote it is a poisonous emotion. In fact, the second part of the word jealousy describes how it generally makes us feel – lousy. The sad part is that what we are actually jealous of may be an illusion created by social media. You see a snapshot of a person’s life. You see the façade of happiness on the social media account. Not a lot of people post about all the bad, ugly shit in their life. And, if they do, you are probably not jealous of that crap.

The best advice I have come across to snap me out of that feeling of jealousy is the above quote from Ravikant. When I step back and ask myself, “Would I want to be that person? Would I want all of their life, not just this one small sliver?” The answer is generally “Hell no.” Ok then. Time to follow the lead from my dog and kick some grass over that shit and move on.

What’s Important Now? Next time you feel those pangs of jealousy remember you can’t just cherry-pick and choose little aspects of a person’s life so let it go and get back to work on your life.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Ultimately you make things happen through your actions.

As you head into 2024 remember this important message from Nick Cave on the power of small actions: 

"The everyday human gesture is always a heartbeat away from the miraculous. 

Remember that ultimately, we make things happen through our actions, way beyond our understanding or intention; that our seemingly small ordinary human acts have untold consequences; that what we do in this world means something; that we are not nothing; and that our most quotidian (everyday; commonplace)  human actions by their nature burst the seams of our intent and spill meaningfully and radically through time and space, changing everything. 

Our deeds, no matter how insignificant they may feel, are replete with meaning, and of vast consequence, and that they constantly impact upon the unfolding story of the world, whether we know it or not." 

What’s Important Now? Keep making things happen through your actions and continue to impact the unfolding story of the world.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Give yourself permission.

In today’s world there is a lot of pressure on people to somehow be able to constantly perform at superhuman levels. Social media and commercials would have us believe we are all supposed to have the perfect body, the perfect marriage, and the perfect life. We are supposed to be the perfect spouse or partner, the perfect parent, and the perfect friend. We are supposed to be the perfect leader, perfect employee, perfect trainer, and coach. We are supposed to have the perfect Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year.

Not only is this unrealistic, but it is also dangerous to your physical, mental, and emotional health.

Give yourself permission to be human. Humans are flawed. Humans struggle. Humans have ups and downs. Humans have good days and bad days. No one except you knows everything that is going on in your head, your body, and your life.

“You’re allowed to have off days. You're allowed to feel completely drained from all that is going on in your life and has been for a while. You're allowed to take a break from responsibilities to take care of yourself. You're allowed to express your feelings how you need to. You should not feel guilty for not feeling like or acting like yourself. It is in these times you discover yourself, your strength, you discover meaning and resiliency and all you need to live a good life. You will look back on these times and be proud of the person you fought for ― you will be proud of you.”

Jacqueline Whitney

Allow yourself to be human. Allowing yourself to be human does not mean we stop striving to learn and grow. It simply means that we accept that some days that is going to be easier than others. And sometimes we just need to take the day off.

What’s Important Now? Give yourself permission to be human.

What's Important Now? I am writing this for me and sharing with you. Thank you for allowing me to share it. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: I realized I am ok being aggressively average.

In the past few months, I had the opportunity to interview Jay Dawes PhD twice for The Excellence in Training Academy. Jay is an Associate Professor of Applied Exercise Science at Oklahoma State University. While discussing fitness for Tactical Athletes / First Responders Jay talked about the concept of being “aggressively average”. This references the need to develop all aspects of fitness (speed, power, strength, mobility, aerobic capacity, anerobic capacity) and not just focusing on being really good at one element so that as a first responder you can best meet the demands of the profession.

I began to reflect on this in relation to my fitness and realized this is my goal as I age. I am never going to be the fittest, the fastest, the strongest, the most powerful, have the best Max VO2, or the greatest aerobic base, but I can strive to be aggressively average in all those areas for functionality in life and for health span. As a result, I have adopted this mindset for my fitness regime.

The more I thought about the concept of “aggressively average” the more I have come to realize that I am ok with this mindset in all aspects of my life. Now some of you might be thinking, “What about embracing the pursuit of excellence and Dare to Be Great that you always talk about Willis?” I don’t think they are mutually exclusive. The key for me is the word ‘aggressively’ in aggressively average. Aggressively means that I am continually striving for small incremental gains. It means that I am striving to be ‘my best’, not ‘the best’. As I reflected on this concept of being aggressively average, I came to the realization that this has been the theme of my life.

I have never been the strongest, fittest, fattest, fastest, best looking, most educated, or smartest. I have never been the best leader, trainer, speaker, interviewer, or writer. When I was awarded the Law Officer Trainer of The Year Award, it was not for being the best trainer. It was for being aggressively average as a trainer and being committed to helping and supporting some worthy causes. I will never be in a Hall of Fame or on a “Top 40” list. And I am fine with that.

When I was the Sergeant of the Skills and Procedures Unit with the Calgary Police Service, I was never the most skilled in control tactics, officer safety tactics, firearms, driving or any of the areas we taught. I surrounded myself with people who were more skilled and more knowledgeable in all those areas, and they made me look good as the supervisor. I never sought promotion past the rank of Sergeant because I found my niche in training and that was the area where I felt I could have the greatest impact for the men and women of the Calgary Police Service.

I have the privilege of knowing some really smart people who have helped me figure stuff out so I can continue to get better. I have the privilege to interview a lot of really smart people for The Excellence in Training Academy. In order not to waste their time in the interviews I generally do between 2 and 12 hours research before every one of those interviews. That preparation along with the insights I gain from the interviews allows me to continually learn and grow. To me, that is what being ‘aggressively average’ is about.

I hear people get asked in interviews, “What is your superpower?” If I was ever asked that question my answer would have to be, “I don’t have any.” I have some strengths, but I certainly don’t have any superpowers. And I am ok with that.

What’s Important Now? It is ok to be ”aggressively average”. Just remember the importance of the word “aggressively”.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Three guiding habits to demonstrate respect.

Respect is listed as a Core Value for many organizations. We often talk about the importance of demonstrating respect and treating people with respect. What we do often talk about is how to actually do that. In his book Stop Talking, Start Communicating Geoffrey Tumlin writes about ‘Three Guiding Habits’. I believe that we can use and share these guiding habits as a framework for demonstrating respect, and for treating people with respect.

Three Guiding Habits:

1.    Listen like every sentence matters.

2.    Talk like every word counts.

3.    Act like every interaction is important.

These three habits apply to in person interactions, Zoom meetings and phone conversations. Living them demonstrates respect. Violating them demonstrates a lack of respect. Most people will never say anything at the time, but they will walk away from that interaction feeling frustrated, resentful, and disrespected.

This means you put away your phone, close your laptop, put down your papers, turn off your computer monitor and give the other person your full attention. If you need to be on your computer because it is a virtual meeting then close out your e-mail and text apps, put away your phone and other devices and give the other person or people your undivided attention. The same rules apply to a phone conversation and yes, the person on the other end of the call knows if your attention is not fully focused on the conversation.

In today’s episode of The Daily Coach titled The Leadership Journey of Presence, the author writes, “Suppose we don’t intentionally slow down and lean into being more present. In that case, we risk the most important and valuable moments that shape our life and leadership journeys – the real conversations with our partner, children, loved ones, team members, and the unexpected opportunities that arise or the simple joys that unfold in our daily lives. The decisions we make, the relationships we foster, and the impact we cultivate all stem from our ability to be fully engaged and aware in the present.”

Are the Three Guiding Habits simple? Yes. Are they easy? No. Why? Because attention is a limited commodity, and your attention is continually being pulled in multiple directions and following the guiding habits framework requires you to be intentional and deliberate about being present and living those guiding habits.

What’s Important Now? Be intentional with your attention and be deliberate about being present and demonstrating respect.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Forgive. Believe. Create.

One of the newsletters I subscribe to is The Daily Coach. An element of the Daily Coach is “Notes” of An Elder. "Notes" of An Elder is described as “a depository of pertinent information, knowledge, and wisdom. Available weekly will be an elder's "thinking menu" for your use.” One of the items on the thinking menu of a recent post was, “Forgive your younger self. Believe in your current self. Create your future self.”

For me this was a timely reminder as I had recently been reflecting on a few moments in time from the past that I still beat myself up over my actions or inactions in that moment. I believe we all have those moments. Some from our recent past and some from years ago. None of us can roll back the clock and get a ‘do over’. The best we can hope for is that at some point we reflected on that moment, learned from it, and moved forward as a slightly better version of ourselves.

We can get caught up living our lives looking in the rear-view mirror of life and dwelling on the woulda, coulda, shoulda moments, but there is little value in that. I heard somewhere, likely in a country and western song, that the windshield is significantly bigger than the rear-view mirror for a reason. The rear-view mirror is there so we can see what is behind us. The windshield allows us to see where we are and where we are going.

We all need to forgive our younger self. We were likely doing the best we could with the tools we had at that moment. You also need to believe in your current self. Believe in the skills and strengths you have developed so far throughout your life. Believe in your capacity and ability to learn and grow. None of us are stuck where we are at unless we choose to be. This is a critical piece of this journey because from this moment on you will always be your “current self”. The key is to engage in daily actions that will result in in small incremental improvement as part of your journey to be continually creating your future self. This will result in your current self always being a little better than yesterday’s version of you.

What’s Important Now? Forgive. Believe. Create.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Go beyond the headline.

Theoretically the headline of the article, or title of the story, book or research paper is designed to grab your attention, pique your interest, make you go, “Huh. That is interesting.” and inspire you to read the rest of the document. The problem is that too many people stop at the headline or title. After reading that small snippet they assume they know what information is contained in the article, story or paper and then take that assumption as fact.

Before you share an article on social media, take the time to read the entire article, then decide if it is still worth sharing. You may just save yourself some embarrassment.

Before you take the title of the research paper as gospel, take the time to read the paper in its entirety. Having read over 100 research papers so far this year, I can tell you that titles can be deceiving, and claims inferred from the titles can be misleading. Research papers can be hard to read so if you do not understand it then find a source you trust in that field and look at their interpretation. Personally, if I am not certain about the validity of claims related to health or nutrition made in research papers with catchy titles, I will look to Peter Attia MD, or one of the other sources I trust and wait until they review and breakdown the paper.  

Before you recommend a book to someone else, read the book. Just because someone else liked it does not mean you will. I have some people I respect who have recommended books that I would never recommend. Books, like movies, are personal preference. Some authors, bloggers, podcast hosts, or ‘influencers’ do not resonate with me, just like my writing and interviewing style does not resonate with everyone. If someone is looking for a book recommendation in a specific genre, and there is a book that gets great reviews, but you have not read it, just tell the person that and let them make up their own mind.

In a world where we are continually bombarded with articles, stories, blog posts, books and reach papers with catchy tittles it is impossible to do a deep dive into everything. Be selective about what you read and who you listen to. If it is important to you, then make the time to do a deeper dive. Before you share, be sure to read and critically examine what you are sharing.

What’s Important Now? Go beyond the headline.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Dropping the ball does not mean you are out of the game.

The last few months I have dropped the ball on a few projects, writing this blog every week is one of them. There are several factors such as work travel, fatigue, the flu, mental blocks when I sit down to write and others. Ultimately, they are all excuses, resulting in feelings of guilt for dropping the ball. I decided to practice what I preach and focus on What’s Important Now. That meant practicing some self-compassion, picking the ball back up and going in search for an idea to inspire today’s blog. That search led me to the following quote from Lisa Buscomb:

“Every morning you have the opportunity to change your life. To start something new. To end something that no longer feels right. To love your self a little more. To love others more and show more kindness. To say yes or to say no. To take a small step or a giant leap. Life doesn't have to stand still. And the truth is it never will. So why not make the changes you want to see. Take the chances. Each day you have the opportunity to change the path you are on. To move closer to living the life you want to live. Everything you dream of is possible, it's never too late.”

Reading this reminded me that just because I dropped the ball, there is nothing stopping me from picking it up and getting back in the game except for me. In addition to preaching W.I.N. and self-compassion, I also talk about striving for small incremental daily improvements every day. I have grown fond of the word ‘striving’. For me striving embraces the Challenge Mindset and encourages approach behaviors. Striving to me is all about the journey in pursuit of excellence and the understanding that this is not a linear path forward. There are ups and downs and setbacks and steps forward. As Marianne Davies would say, it is about “learning in the ugly zone”.

It is easy to focus on what I have not done, and neglect what I have accomplished. While I dropped the ball on this blog, some e-mails and one or two other projects, there are many areas of my life where I have maintained my commitment to the pursuit of excellence and maintained alignment with my personal and professional values. Even though I stay off social media outside of LinkedIn, I continually remind myself to avoid falling into the “comparison trap” and comparing my productivity to the apparent productivity of others.

When Lisa Buscomb writes, “Every morning you have the opportunity to change your life.”, understand that that change can be one small thing. You pick up just one ball that you dropped, start something new or end one thing that no longer feels right. Reading her words helped me to reframe and reset my mindset, I hope it will do the same for you.

What’s Important Now?  Have some self-compassion and understand that every day you have the opportunity to change your life.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: In search of the “right answer”.

We learned in school that there was always a “right answer” to the test question. You either got the answer right, or you did not. If you got it wrong, you lost marks. Those of us who were prone to want to debate the “right answer”, usually learned that that was a lost cause and therefore learned to provide the “right answer” the teacher was looking for.

Once we get out of school, we learn that in life the “right answer” is generally not as cut and dry. There is often a lot of nuance and complexity to the answer. Many have heard me respond questions about the “right answer” with, “It depends.”, followed by a series of questions to determine the context and even with that information the reality is likely that there is multiple “right answers’. I like the way that Michell C. Clark frames this reality of life in the following quote.  

“There’s no “right answer”— only endless possibilities, unanswered questions, and an inability to satisfy everyone. Every day, we have to make nuanced decisions and snap judgements about how we’re going to use our time, energy, and resources. And sometimes, we have to choose between self-preservation and showing up for the people we love. We have to choose between vulnerability and self-protection. We have to choose between taking care of ourselves and taking care of the people we love. I don’t know if these decisions ever get easier. I don’t know if life ever starts to make more sense. What I do know is that we owe it to ourselves to keep learning ourselves, our needs, and our boundaries so that we can better understand how to show up for ourselves, the people we love, and the world.” Michell C. Clark

While there may not be a singular “right answer” you still must make choices, decide on a course of action and act. Life’s Most Powerful Question – What’s Important Now? can help you make those decisions.

What’s Important Now? Life is full of choices. Choose well, assess, iterate, and keep moving forward.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Stay curious and read on.

This week I just want to share two quotes for you to reflect on.

The first I got from Andrew Huberman in one of his podcasts

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."

Dorothy Parker

The second was from one of James Clear’s 3-2-1 Thursday newsletters.

"I consider reading the greatest bargain in the world. A shelf of books is a shelf of many lives and ideas and imaginations which the reader can enjoy whenever he wishes and as often as he wishes. Instead of experiencing just one life, the book-lover can experience hundreds or even thousands of lives. He can live any kind of adventure in the world. Books are his time machine into the past and also into the future. Books are his "transporter" by which he can beam instantly to any part of the universe and explore what he finds there. Books are an instrument by which he can become any person for a while—a man, a woman, a child, a general, a farmer, a detective, a king, a doctor, anyone. 

Great books are especially valuable because a great book often contains within its covers the wisdom of a man or woman's whole lifetime. But the true lover of books enjoys all kinds of books, even some nonsense now and then, because enjoying nonsense from others can teach us to also laugh at ourselves. A person who does not learn to laugh at his own problems and weaknesses and foolishness can never be a truly educated or a truly happy person. Also, probably the same thing could be said of a person who does not enjoy learning and growing all his life."

Gene Roddenberry, television screenwriter and creator of Star Trek

What’s Important Now? Stay curious and read on.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Life is full of choices. Choose well.

You can make excuses, or you can make changes.

You can blame or you can learn.

You can whine or you can do the work.

You can say “someone should” or you can step up and be that someone.

You can step forward into progress, or backwards into fear.

You can complain or you can act.

You can allow yourself to be overwhelmed by your Circle of Concern, or you can focus on your Circles of Control and Influence 

You can develop a Fixed Mindset or a Growth Mindset.

You can view stress as debilitating and bad or as facilitating and enhancing.

You can embrace the Threat Mindset and avoidance behaviours, or the Challenge Mindset and approach behaviours.

What’s Important Now? Life is full of choices. Choose well.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: One Man’s Powerful Journey from Paralysis to Purpose

I normally do not publicly share interviews I do for The Excellence in Training Academy where it is a membership site. Today I am making an exception. I just relistened to an interview I did with Phil Carlson about his journey of recovery from a significant spinal cord injury. In this interview Phil talks about W.I.N., mindset, imagery, the critical role his wife and son played in his journey, the power of awareness, the importance of gratitude and many other takeaways from his journey.

You can listen to or watch the interview with Phil by clicking on one of the links below. Feel free to share this interview with all those you feel may benefit from the message.

Phil Carlson – A Journey from Paralysis to Purpose MP3 Audio File

Phil Carlson – A Journey from Paralysis to Purpose MP4 Video file

What’s Important Now? Take Phil’s lessons and apply them to your journey.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Head up. Phone down. Eyes up.

I get that people like to listen to music and podcasts while they are outside walking and running, but is it worth compromising your personal safety for?

I understand that people are being encouraged to walk during phone calls to increase their daily activity levels, but is it worth compromising your personal safety for?

I don’t understand walking outside, through an airport or anywhere else while looking down at your phone scrolling, texting, and e-mailing. If it is really that important, then stop and step off to the side in a safe area where you will not impede anyone else, deal with the text, then put your phone away.

When you have earbuds in or headphones on it limits, and possibly eliminates, your ability to hear people, bikes or cars approaching you from the side or behind. I have passed people from behind on pathways and they had no idea I was there until I was right beside, or slightly in front of them. While I had no ill intent and was simply passing them, that is not the case with everyone.

If your head is down and focused on your phone you have very little to no awareness of who is approaching, what is going on around you and any potential hazards in your path. Attention is a limited commodity, and you need to get your head and eyes up and free up your hearing. Doing so will increase your awareness of your environment. If you are outside walking it will also increase your enjoyment of the surroundings.

I had to shake my head the other day when I saw someone post a video on LinkedIn on how to avoid being the victim of a street robbery. They were making the video while walking down a sidewalk with their earbuds in and the phone out front of them. Their attention was on the phone in front of them to make sure they stayed in frame during the video. It would seem to me that if you want to avoid being a victim of a street robbery you would put your phone away, take your earbuds out, get your eyes up, and pay attention to where you are going and who is around in the environment.

Criminals are looking for certain traits in their potential victims. Being distracted and demonstrating a lack of awareness of their environments are two of those traits.

If you want to listen to music or podcasts while getting in your steps for the day or getting in your daily run or bike ride, then do it on a treadmill or stationary bike where you are not jeopardizing your personal safety to improve your health. If you like to get outdoors, which is a great addition to physical activity, then leave your phone at home and enjoy the many benefits of being physically active outdoors.

What’s Important Now? Head up. Phone down. Buds out.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Start, assess, iterate, access, iterate, repeat.

It is easy to get overwhelmed by all the information on exercise, nutrition, and other elements of health and get stuck doing nothing. None of the “experts” can seem to agree on specifics other than to say that exercise (including resistance training) is critical to both brain health and physical health as well as health span. They also agree that “healthy nutritional habits” are important. They just do not agree on what that consists of.

It is easy to get stuck trying to figure out how to work in all the recommendations for Zone 2 cardio, resistance training, interval training, mobility training, flexibility training, walking, speed, power, and strength work, and the list seems to go on. Then we need to find time to do breath work, meditation, and other mindfulness practices. Once we work through all that we then need to decide are we exercising in a fasted state or a fed state, for how long, how many times a week and are we going to exercise in the morning, mid-day, late afternoon, or evening.

In addition to the activity piece, we need to decide what nutritional strategies to follow. Do we do omnivore, carnivore, vegetarian, vegan, low carb, slow carb, no carb, high carb, low fat, high fat, what types of fat, low protein, moderate protein, high protein, or any of the other styles of eating currently being marketed as “The Way”. Once we figure that out we need to decide how many times a day are we going to eat and are we going to eat in a specific eating window (8, 10, or 12 hours) or just eat whenever we feel like it.

Then there is the whole discussion around alcohol. Is it good for you or bad for you or is the volume (how many drinks per day / week) and the regularity (how often are you consuming alcohol) the biggest issue.

My advice is to figure out what works for you and start there. That may take some experimentation over time. Examine where you are at currently in your life and will work best for you. At 66 my considerations are very different than when we had young children and my wife and I were both working fulltime and for stretches both working shiftwork.

Personally, one of my main considerations is, “What can I do for activity, nutrition and sleep rituals that works both at home and when I am on the road?”. Last year I was on the road for 33 weeks and this year it will be about 22 weeks. I get up very early in the morning and workout in the morning in a fasted state. In order to give myself the opportunity for 8 hours of sleep I go to bed very early. Because I am on the road so often and some hotels have sparce fitness facilities and for some reason many do not open until after 6:00 a.m., I travel with resistance bands and an X3 bar so I can work out in my room. At home I do resistance training with resistance bands, my X3 system 3 to 4 times a week and add in some kettlebell work with the 3 kettlebells I have. We have a good gym in our condo building and when I am home, I will go down first thing in the morning 2 or 3 days a week and do my Zone 2 cardio (incline walking on the treadmill). I also have a Concept 2 SkiERG machine I use for Zone 2 cardio and interval training and an infrared sauna in the den in our condo. I also strive for at least 30 minutes of walking outside on the days I am home.

As far as nutrition goes, I consume two protein shakes and two meals a day and I strive to get 50 grams of protein in each of those feedings. I do that within a 9-to-10-hour window leaving 3 to 4 hours between my last meal and when I go to bed. When I travel, I pack meal replacement bars, protein powder and grass-fed beef sticks so I can have a measure of control with my eating. Depending on how long I will be at a specific location I will usually go to the grocery store and get food I can store in my hotel room to offer better control over what and when I eat. I follow three rules I learned from Ben Bikman PhD, a professor at BYU and author of the great book Why We Get Sick.

1.    Prioritize Protein

2.    Control Carbs

3.    Fill With Fat

That is me. That is what I have discovered over time through a lot of trial and error what works best for me, at this stage of my life. What works for me likely will not work for you, so figure out what works with your life, your schedule, your likes and dislikes, and your current level of health. What works now will likely change over time. Ask yourself two key questions:

1.    What’s Important Now?

2.    What is the smallest change that will make the biggest difference?

The first question will help you decide whether to start with focusing on dialing in your sleep, activity levels or nutrition. The second question is designed to get you focused on the changes that will provide you with the biggest return on investment. This is a long-term project. You are not looking for quick fixes, hacks, or shortcuts. You are playing the long game.

The key is to start. Start with one thing that will move the needle on your health and then keep moving forward. It is too easy to tell yourself that you just need to listen to one more podcast, read one more blog post, research study or book. No. You need to just start. You can continue to read and listen as you go, but you need to start.

What’s Important Now? Start, assess, iterate, access, iterate, repeat.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

W.I.N. Wednesday: The purpose of life is not to be happy.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ahh, the ever elusive “happiness” so many people are seeking.

How often have you been told, “Do what makes you happy.”? Did it? For how long?

Some people are told money will make them happy, so they spend their lives chasing money and live a miserable existence.

Some people accumulate great wealth and are still unhappy.

Some people try to convince themselves that once they get that promotion or get a nicer car or a bigger house or get into the right college or university then they will be happy.

Some convince themselves that once they get to retirement age and don’t have to go to work anymore, then they will be happy only to discover they are no happier in retirement than they were before.

What if, instead of chasing happiness, we followed Emerson’s advice and sought to be useful, honorable, compassionate and to make a difference in a small part of the world and in the lives of others? What if we sought significance instead of success? What if we sought to make a positive impact in the world? What if we stopped worrying about who knows of us and sought to be worth knowing? What if we learned self-compassion as part of being compassionate? What if we learned to love ourselves for who we are instead of always seeking the approval of others? What if we allowed ourselves to be human, to be flawed, to screw up and make mistakes?

What’s Important Now? Reflect on the purpose of life for you, and live accordingly.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Are you keeping the fire kindled?

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled."

Plutarch

Stay curious.

Make it a ritual of committing at least 1% of every day (14 minutes and 24 seconds) to personal development and learning.

Do what works best for you, whether that is reading, listening, taking online courses or webinars, or attending in person courses. Do something that challenges you and that you enjoy so you will keep doing it.

Seek ways to discuss and debate what you are learning.

Be curious about what other people are learning.

Ask more questions, better questions, deeper questions.

Be challenged, not threatened, by opposing points of view.

Beware of the comparison trap. It does not matter how many books or research papers someone else has read. Stay the course, do what works for you and do a little, a lot.

It is ok to move on from a book or podcast that you are not enjoying and learning from. This is not to suggest that you walk away from everything that challenges the way you think. It means that your time is too valuable to invest in a book or podcast you are not enjoying as you are likely not learning from it anyways. Sometimes it is just not the right time, and you may find you go back to that book later and finish reading it. You also do not have to listen to every episode of your favorite podcasts. It is ok to pick and choose which ones you listen to.

It is ok to be reading multiple books and move between them based on how you are feeling at that moment.

The research is very clear that learning and neuroplasticity can happen throughout our entire life.

The research is also very clear on the benefits of an active mind and an active body.

What’s Important Now? Stay curious and keep the fire kindled.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

W.I.N. Wednesday: What if you did this instead?

What if instead of “Heh look at me!” posts on social media, you posted “Heh look at the great work (fill in the name of someone else) is doing.”

What if instead of running down others to sell your program or product, you sold your program on its merits.

What if instead of looking for what is wrong, you looked for what is good.

What if instead of looking for the differences between us, we looked for similarities and common ground.

What if instead of recording videos on your phone while you are driving, you focused on your driving and stopped putting lives at risk to make a video for social media.

What if instead of being so worried about holding the police accountable people started holding criminals, politicians, and the media accountable.

What if instead of trying to make themselves look good by bragging about what they are doing, people in leadership positions focused on making their people look good.

What if instead of spending hours on social media, you read more non-fiction books.

What if instead of making youth sports about parents and coaches, we made it about the kids.

What if instead of walking through the world with your head down looking at your phone, you had your head up taking in the world and the people around you.

What if we listened to our own advice.

What if we closed the ‘Knowing – Doing Gap’ between what we know we should do and what we actually do.

What’s Important Now? Life is full of choices. Choose well. The world will be a better place for it.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Make youth sports about the young people, not the adults.

When my two sons were growing up and I coached youth basketball, indoor and outdoor soccer, and bantam football I was always of the opinion that youth sports could be a lot of fun if it was not for some of the adults. It would be appropriate to adopt either the New Zealand All Blacks “No Dickheads” rule, or Professor Robert Sutton’s “No Assholes Rule” for coaches and parents.

If you have children in sports make it about them, not you. Make it about the love of the game. Make it about respect for the game, their teammates, the officials, and their opponents. Make if about developing adaptive problems solving skills, movement skills, as well as skills in communication, teamwork, empathy, and emotional intelligence. Make it about the love of physical activity. Make it about striving to be their best, not the best.

I am writing this in a hotel room in St. Louis while I am at the ILEETA conference. I had ESPN Sportscenter on a few days ago in my hotel room and was disturbed by one of the stories they shared. They showed an upset in college wrestling where a young man who had won 58 consecutive matches over 3 or 4 years and was the favorite to win his fourth national title was pinned and defeated by a lesser ranked opponent. What bothered me was the footage of this young man’s mother who had a meltdown in the stands. She ripped off her glasses and broke them into pieces before throwing them to the floor as part of her tantrum. Obviously, I do not know this woman and am judging based on the brief footage they showed. This response however, was not the response of a mother who felt bad for her son. This was not a mother celebrating the massive effort and accomplishments of her son throughout his wrestling career. This was not an empathetic response to her son’s loss in what may have been his final competition of his college career. This was a tantrum by a woman who appeared that it was all about her, not her son. It was a sad display.

I have heard some athletic trainers I respect talk about having conversations with parents about “their athlete”. We need to shift these conversations from “your athlete” to “you son or daughter”. These are children, adolescents, and young men and women who happen to be competing in athletic endeavors. At those ages they should be viewed and embraced as young people “playing sports” not commodities having to perform to keep their coach and parents from yelling at them. There are still too many young people who dread the car right home with mom or dad after the game, especially if they lost.

A small percentage of the young people who participate in sports at the high school level will ever play at the college or university level, and only a small percentage of them will get a full ride scholarship to a Division 1 school. Of those who do play sports at the collegiate level very few will every play at the professional level or every become an Olympic athlete. Very few people who earn the right to participate in the Olympics will ever get on a podium and win a medal.

There are some valuable life lessons that can be learned by participating in youth sports, if the young people playing those sports have the right teachers (parents and coaches). Sadly, there are still children learning the wrong lessons and having the fun taken out of the game by adults who forget the true purpose of youth sports. If you have a child in sports, or you coach youth sports, remember that it is not about you.

What’s Important Now? Make youth sports about the young people, not the adults.

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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