Avoid common pitfalls and grow your business faster

Being a successful leader and entrepreneur of a business - be it small start-up or large international in scope - requires a series of specific, inner-personality skills, the majority of which are not commonly taught in our standard education system, or even through direct business experience in a company.

These skills include resiliency, the ability to work consciously with courage and fear, high emotional intelligence, boundary setting that respects all people involved, assertiveness, communication, vulnerability, morality, authenticity – and the list goes on. Since these types of skills aren’t often readily available, we see many upstart and small businesses fail, primarily due to founder conflict – conflicts that could’ve been successfully resolved (or avoided all together) had those business leaders possessed the inner-skills required to do so.

Our foundational belief at The Passion Institute is that in order to do this successfully, leaders need to embrace the continued growth process of awakening both their inner and outer business skills – some of which are mentioned above.

           

In order to be a successful business leader and maintain continued growth and prosperity for your business, focusing on and expanding your understanding of a 5 P bottom line – Passion, People, Purpose, Planet, and Profit – is of the utmost importance. This is especially true when it comes to running a financially sustainable business in a global economy where customers are placing increased importance on a business’ attitude towards both people and the planet.        

What sets The Passion Institute apart from other leadership training programs – and why you should care

1. The Passion Institute is focused on building and leading businesses with a focus on the 5 P bottom line – Passion, People, Purpose, Planet, and Profit

We support and guide leadership in a multi-pronged, world-view context, where success is measured on a few distinct levels:

• The individual’s inner-passion and purpose and how this connects to the overall purpose of the company
• How people who come into contact with the business – employees, subcontractors, freelancers, customers – are treated, and how they each connect on a values and purpose level
• And how the company makes decisions regarding the sustainability of the planet overall including near and far community, materials usage, transportation and energy usage and so forth.
• Of course, none of this is possible if a healthy, sustainable and profitable business isn’t present, so this is always a healthy focal point of our work.

Doing all of the above AND finding a healthy balance in all facets of their life (both inside and outside of work) is a big task to take on for any leader. This is why, at The Passion Institute, we work with visionary leaders from the inside out – supporting them on their path to building their conscious leadership process, and helping ensure the best possible outcome, according to each leader’s unique vision of success.

2. Unlike the general perspective on millennials (which is quite doomsday-like if you ask me), I believe Gen Y’s approach to work and business is the perfect storm

The vast majority of the millennial workforce 77% (according to a recent Deloitte Survey) wants to work for a company with a sense of purpose, where people matter, and where products and profits are not the only end goal. This pressure will force old school, profit-driven businesses to change, simply due to workforce and consumer demand. In life we tend to either learn by free will or through pain. I think a lot of traditional business leaders need to get themselves into gear and learn the skills of conscious business and leadership before their financial bottom line is forcing them to rethink it all.

3. The Passion Institute has a wide international business scope

We serves business leaders in the United States, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, Japan, India, Sweden, Ghana, Vietnam, Colombia and Cambodia.

4. We are international lifestyle and conscious business trend spotters

We are often hired to speak, write and inspire at leading lifestyle and business magazines, business and lifestyle conferences, as well as internally at companies.

5. We work with the whole person and see ourselves as part of the movement that’s bringing humanity back into business

We believe business happens at the person-to-person level, and this requires embracing your passion, creativity and emotions.  Each person has a unique set of skills, feelings, needs, passions and so forth, and we believe it is each person’s birthright to claim themselves as whole, full beings – and take ownership of the kind of business life that will best suit who they are and the goals and dreams they have for themselves.

We feel tremendous gratitude and privileged to support others who see business as something that has an incredible power to be a force for good in the world. Those are the people we support.

6. The Passion Institute is action-focused 

There is a time to learn new skills, and this period is often an introspective process that takes time. Only after this important period can you effectively implement these newly-learned skills and create a new outcome. Or as we like to say in one of our ten key principles, ‘Don’t wish for it more than you are willing to work for it.’ 

The Passion Institute is a conscious leadership training and advisory to global executives and entrepreneurs, and a sister co to Refresh Agency. 

Enrollment for the Passion Warrior Conscious Leadership training is open through Feb 8, 2016. For more information visit The Passion Institute.

Be A Goal Digger

Using archery as a metaphor for a goal digging business process, what is your target? You'll understand this metaphor better once you watch the video of the week.





How is your inner state? Your mental strength, body strength and control, muscle strength? Good archers both cardio and strength train several times per week. My secret sauce was to use visualization and mental training techniques prior to a big competition. The team would withdraw to a quiet place, and our coach, who was the Danish National Team Coach and my dad Gynther Brügmann, would guide us through a visualization, where we worked through the perfect shot; the prefect hitting our goal - from mental inner states, to which muscles we used to pull the string on the bow, our focused eye on the target, how we released the string - the full movement is highly important from start to finish, how you move and hold your arm and hand after the release as a movement is in context and can play a huge role in the direction of your arrow. Following the arrow with your eye all the way to the target as you see the arrow plant itself at the absolute center. Every single movement and mental state is of high importance for an overall successful result. I still use both visualization and mental training techniques for performance and business. It works. Try it out if you haven't.

How are your energy management skills? An archery competition takes an entire weekend divide over 2 days of 6 hours each. You need to manage your energy over time. Observe yourself. Are you wasting your energy on small talk with draining people between shoots? Are you ensuring good mental practices, good food and hydration practises between rounds of shooting? Are you using food as both body and brain fuel throughout the competition? Did you get rest and good sleep the night before? What did you eat the days leading up to the competition? How is your psychological and emotional states? What are you doing to manage these to set yourself up for success? Developing good habits everyday ensures good practices when it counts.

If we switch archery out with business - which inner and outer factors play important roles in you reaching your desired business goal? Identify those. Write them down. Be aware of them. What is your skill level regarding each of these areas that can stand in your way of reaching your goal? Where do you need to grow? Set yourself up for the most successful outcome to reach your goal.

Be a goal digger. Take responsibility for the process. Small steps. Not perfection. Go big!

2015 Take Flight Plan

How do you plan on taking flight in 2015? 

'And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom'~ Anais Nin

As a culture, we love to set New Year’s intentions at the marking of a new year. I think this is a wonderful tradition, and the truth is every moment is an opportunity for us to set new intentions and new standards for ourselves. Giving us the opportunity to create the lives we want to live.

But for a moment, let’s play along with the New Year’s intention…

Take inventory of 2014 

Taking a quick inventory of the year past can work wonders and bring awareness to both what we do not want more of in our lives, and therefore can leave behind in 2014, as well as what we do want more of.

What do you want to leave behind in 2014? 

Take out pen and paper, and make a list. This can be specific projects, or tasks in a project, which drain you, rather than uplift you. It can be people, who you are feeling drained by, or who brings conflict rather than creation and good energy. It can be less than self-caring eating habits. A needed change or fine-tuning of exercise routines, or trying a new and more self-nurturing way to stay fit. Psychological ways of being that is no longer serving you. States of mind that self-sabotage. Decisions you make, which do not bring you happiness.

2015 Intentions

Make a list of what you want more of in 2015. What worked for you in 2014? This can be the kind of people, who really make a difference in your life – what are the concrete personality traits that make these people so desirable to you? (Ex. visionary, kind, creative, open-minded, supportive, stable, reliable, positive and so forth). Which activities make you feel expanded and automatically drawn to? Which projects do you really like working on, and what are the concrete tasks and responsibilities you thrive on? What wasn’t present at all for you in 2014 that you really want in your life this year?

Once you have created your two lists. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and then visualize that with your exhale you release all the items you want to leave behind. Let them disintegrate. Make the choice to not let these things take any more of your thoughts and time. It can truly be this simple.

Then, read over your list of 2015 Intentions again. The key to your successful 2015 is to place all your focus, energy and time on all the great, desirable, passionate, kind and loving things you want to bring more into life in 2015. Schedule these priorities into your day. Place high importance on these items, so you can create them in your life. It will only happen if you take new action.

Under each point on your 2015 intentions list, write the concrete action you will take to give yourself the life you want in 2015! 

Happy creating.

Eco Fashion Editor Loves

As the days get darker, nothing brightens your spirit like beautiful things that are fairly made and good for you.  Thanks Johanna Bjõrk for including Refresh Agency's client Nisolo in this fabulous Fashion Editor Loves in Coco Eco Magazine. 

5. NISOLO LORI COLOR BLOCK TOTE
No matter how many bags I have in my closet, I always reach for a tote bag. Nisolo’s Lori tote is one of those ultimate carry-alls. Handmade in Peru from caramel and navy leather that is soft yet sturdy, it will only grow more beautiful with time and wear. $178, nisolo.com 

 To read the full digital version of the magazine