Tag: career test

Fitness, My Drug of Choice & Morning Workouts

Scott Asai7 Comments

I’ve always been fascinated with how great athletes perform consistently over time.

Did you know if you workout vigorously in the morning, it gives you an added boost in energy and mood for the next 12 hours?

mens fitness, personal trainer, morning routine, mens health, corporate athlete

I’ve applied this to my professional life. I workout 5 times a week varying between the gym, playing basketball and golf (Ok, golf doesn’t really count, but it’s a change of pace).

Even when I’m tired from not getting enough sleep the night before, it’s better to workout tired than skip it. I actually feel more energized after working out on a bad night’s sleep than if I rested an extra 30 – 60 minutes instead. Doesn’t sound logical, but it works.

Furthermore “waking up on the wrong side of the bed” actually dissipates after working out. Endorphins flow rapidly and somehow your frown turns upside down.

Some people drink coffee, 5 hour energy or juice in the morning. 
For me, I workout. All of the mentioned are considered drugs, so fitness is my drug of choice. 
I’ll take it further. If I don’t workout at least every other day, my body feigns for it. I have conditioned my body (and mind) to NEED the workouts.

Back to my example of athletes. Performance has more to do with sleep, nutrition, fitness and focus than anything taught on productivity. It’s more about eliminating distractions, than overemphasizing peak performance. 

As a professional, I consider fitness a part of my job. If I don’t do it, my performance suffers.  

Work-Life Crisis Mode (Part 2)

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Last week’s post was about “work sucks” when you’ve reached your 30’s and realized you’re not where you want to be in your career.

Today I’ll talk about why “my life sucks” when it comes to your personal life.

Not everyone’s dream is to be married and have kids, but a very large majority is. 

work life balance, life stage, time is running out, mid life crisis

It’s like a conversation I had a while back with my one my best friends, “You know you’re getting older when Crate and Barrel all of a sudden becomes cool.”

I wasn’t married at the time, but I was close. That life stage makes you think about who you want to spend the majority of your time with outside of work. You’re not in college anymore, so there aren’t a ton of single, available people on the market. You’re probably head deep in work also, which doesn’t help your dating life. 

All these factors may be stacked against you, but my question is, “What are you going to do about it?“

Easier said than done, but just because something is harder doesn’t mean you don’t try. If you are looking to settle down your best bet is a reference (same as work) to put in a good word for you to their friends. Start looking where your interests/values lie. It won’t come overnight, but it’s worth the effort.

On the other side, maybe you are married and do have kids. That’s doesn’t guarantee you’re happy (although I would have to say happiness is pretty elusive so stop chasing it). Maybe it’s not “who” you’re spending time with (family) that’s getting you down, but “how” you spend it with them. 

Who knows, maybe you’re married to your job? That could be the problem for your mid-life depression. Speaking for myself, I want my career to support the lifestyle I choose. Therefore freedom/flexibility of schedule is what I desire (here’s a link to a great article “Flexibility: the New Definition of Success“).  

You have to decide what work-life balance looks like for you. Sometimes when you’re so focused on one aspect in your life, everything else falls by the wayside. Figure out what you value most, prioritize your time and go towards that. 

When your personal life isn’t right, it doesn’t matter what you do at work. You’re just delaying the inevitable. Deal with it. Resolve it. Move on. 

If you’re having trouble and feel “stuck,” contact me.  

Work-Life Crisis Mode (Part 1)

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Everyone has an opinion about the 20 somethings and once you hit 40, you’re over the hill, but little is said about the stage in between: your 30’s. Why is that?


Maybe because once you hit your 30’s it’s “gut check” time.

It’s either “work sucks” or “my life sucks.”

Translation: I’ve been working this job for while now. I know it’s not the best fit for me, but I have no idea how to transition into something else plus I’m not willing to risk quitting my job if nothing better opens up. 
lonnie millsap, work life balance, my job sucks, comicon
Have you been there? Are you there right now?

I’ll actually cover “my life sucks” in part 2 of this post next week. 

So you’re at a crossroads where you look back at your 20’s and ask yourself, “Where did time go?” “Why didn’t I plan more?” “Is this really what work is supposed to be like?“

This is post-dreaming…it’s reality. I’ve seen this stage in a lot of my clients who want to get into a new industry, but have no idea of how to do it. It’s too much of a risk starting over, but you’re also rotting away from the inside-out if you continue to stay where you are. 

Try this perspective: do you want to look back on your life and regret not taking a chance? I don’t.

Landing a new career is not an extremely fast process, but it can happen if you’re willing to do the right things.

What are your strengths? How strong is your network? How willing are you to go through the “back door?” 

These are challenging, but necessary questions to answer in order to move forward. Everyone’s situation is different, but I believe the same process works across every industry.

If you’re at a point in your career where you need a change, but just don’t know how to make it happen, let’s talk. 

Once you have a game plan and are committed to execute it, it’s only a matter of time before things change.  

What is a Lifestyle Entrepreneur?

Scott Asai6 Comments

Someone who creates a business around what they are passionate about with the intent of earning enough income to support their lifestyle. 

In simpler terms: doing something you love, getting paid for it and living off it.

Basically there are 3 types of Entrepreneurs (based on motivations):

1. Wealth Creation
2. Lifestyle
3. Social

Number 1 is focused on making money. Build it, scale it, sell it, cash in and repeat.

Number 3 is determined to create a solution for an existing social problem.

None are better than the other. It comes down to what category you fall into.

lifestyle entrepreneur business passion before profit scaling a business

Personally, I’m motivated by (#2) freedom and flexibility of schedule so I can spend more time with my family and friends. I appreciate all entrepreneurs, but I resonate with lifestyle entrepreneurs the most.

I never dream of managing hundreds of employees or leading a multi-million dollar company. That’s not my style. I prefer to be involved with my business on a daily basis and do what I love around my family’s schedule. Being a lifestyle entrepreneur means I see my business as a means to an end, not an end in itself. 

That’s what has lead me to pursue coaching lifestyle entrepreneurs, because we share similar motivation and values. I can’t stress how important the “why” you do what you do is. 

Making money is important, but not the most important to a lifestyle entrepreneur. Most LE’s love to travel. Others want set days off. Time is finite and in this economy, time as a currency is extremely valuable. If you’re driven by relationships like I am, you’ll sacrifice your personal ambitions for loved ones. I don’t want to spend several years of my life grinding away and look back at my career and feel I missed out on important life experiences. 

By no means am I knocking the wealth creation or social entrepreneur. In fact they do a much better job making money than most lifestyle entrepreneurs. Most of my business mentors are a hybrid of the wealth and social entrepreneur. I learn so much from them especially in the areas where I’m not wired the same way as they are. 

After reading this post, if you consider yourself a lifestyle entrepreneur, let’s talk!

Why Habits are Better than Goals

Scott Asai3 Comments

By this point you’ve probably already failed at keeping your New Year’s Resolution. Why is that?

You had the best of intentions, plus you were highly motivated when you made them.

no goals new years resolutions lose weight

Besides your goals not always being S.M.A.R.T…

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

The main culprit is ONCE you fail to complete a goal, RARELY will you continue to pursue it. 

Let me explain further. Most goals can’t fully be controlled by you. For example, if you’re a salesperson, your goal may be to make $5,000 a month. That’s a good number, but there are too many factors that are out of your control. A better HABIT would be to make 50 cold calls a day and base your results around that.

The reason why HABITS are better than GOALS is because they are only controlled by you. That means it’s 100% dependent upon your efforts.

In my line of work as a career coach, most of my clients come to me with the goal of finding a new job. One of the first things I tell them is I can’t promise to find you a job. What I can do is share what I’ve seen as successful habits and hold you accountable to completing those tasks. If you maintain good HABITS, you’ll eventually reach your GOALS.

Goals are about the RESULT.
Habits are about the PROCESS.

Once you change your focus from setting goals to creating good habits (and having someone/something keep you accountable for them) you’re on the right path. In this world of instant gratification, everyone wants to be the quick rabbit when in fact it’s the slow and steady turtle that wins the race.

Form good HABITS and you’ll eventually get the RESULTS you want!