Everyday Mindfulness Show: Impact Interrupted Or Inspired? With Mike Skrypnek

People are feeling robbed right now. Kids aren’t getting graduations, contracts are being vaporized. The world stopped just as we were gearing up for the end of the first quarter. This is an invitation to recommit to our passions. We have to make the best impact personally and professionally from this place. Coaching is a process of bringing the best out of people. One of the most important things to understand is how coachable a person is and are they going to have the humility to be coached.

Transcript

Welcome to the Everyday Mindfulness Show where we educate and inspire people to live fuller lives through mindful practices.

Let's get started with your host,

New York Times contributor,

Leadership advisor,

Sought after keynote speaker,

The author of the Amazon hot new release,

Everyday Mindfulness from chaos to calm in a crazy world,

She's smart,

Strong,

Sassy,

And a trendsetter in the field of mindful leadership.

Your host,

Holly Duckworth.

Welcome to another episode of the Everyday Mindfulness Show.

We have a very timely show planned for you today.

We are going to talk about your personal business impact and we're calling the show Impact Interrupted because our special guest is really bringing his gifts of growing,

Getting and giving.

He is a 20 year business and finance expert,

30 years as a coach.

More importantly,

He is a father of two beautiful children.

He lives in one of the most beautiful places on the planet,

BC in Canada.

This is my friend Mike Skripnek.

Mike,

Welcome to the show.

Hi,

Holly.

I'm ecstatic to be here.

I'm looking forward to our conversation.

You know,

You got a little bonus because most of my guests,

We don't get to pregame the show,

But I was so excited that we did.

We know each other from big zoom calls and conversations,

Which is what a lot of people are doing right now.

But you can only get to know somebody so well on a zoom call with a lot of folks.

We took some time yesterday to just kind of get to know each other.

And you said something that really resonated and I think it's going to resonate with our listeners.

It's this idea of people are feeling robbed right now.

You know,

Kids aren't getting the graduations.

People you know,

That contract,

That big contract they sign now is vaporized.

You know,

How can we talk about them renewing their impact and restoring their passion?

Yeah,

It's funny because you led off.

I mean,

I know that was the epiphany from our conversation was impact interrupted,

Right?

And that sense of feeling like something was taken from people.

I think there's a big emotion on that.

I guess we don't want to get too far off because Ellen's a generous and saying people got robbed.

Like this is not from a timely standpoint.

But nevertheless,

From an impact interruption,

People truly are feeling that in a lot of people that like think about the timing of the year as well.

People work really hard in January,

February and March and they start to look forward to their March break and their spring breaks.

And they've worked to get real momentum in their businesses or their lives.

And not all and then they are usually rewarded with this kind of this timing.

And yet we all have had to deal with this tremendous impact of this virus and this crisis.

And so suddenly people's plans for personal relaxation,

Rejuvenation,

Combined with the business momentum they had built all got interrupted,

Got stalled.

And I think there's a big sense of that.

Then people are just confused as to,

You know,

Should I be just relaxing and,

You know,

Enjoying my life and just going about it as if it were a break in the action or should I really take advantage of it?

But there's just the sense of it's just something was removed or taken away.

You know,

I haven't really thought about it that way,

But it is it is interesting.

We do use that first quarter to get to get the ball going so we can take take summer break.

And that may look different this year.

That's and it didn't start today.

Like our summer break didn't start because we've had this isolation.

So,

You know,

People are a bit confused.

It's perplexing.

We were talking yesterday about this being an invitation to recommit to our passion.

And that,

You know,

In mindfulness we talk about,

You know,

It can't be you can't be anticipating grief in the future.

You can't be mourning grief in the past.

But we really we have to make the best impact personally and professionally right now from that love and that passion,

Restoring that passion.

So as a business coach,

I'd be curious,

What are your thoughts right now about helping folks look into what lights them up?

Well this these type of times are really revealing.

You know,

A dozen years ago and when the financial crisis hit my life,

The life I had built,

The business I had grown and I was working in tirelessly.

It was revealed to me that I wasn't living my passion every day.

I wasn't connecting with what was important to me.

I wasn't attending to my values that I espoused on the weekends and evenings during my weekdays.

And for me it was it was like the tide went out and my business underwear was revealed.

Yeah.

And here I was looking down going,

This is not the life I wanted.

And so it took a big goal for me at that time,

You know,

To kind of reset and give myself something that connected in the line with who I was,

What I was really about and the impact I was hoping to have in the world.

And mine was,

You know,

Give a million dollars to charity every year.

I tried to,

I didn't have a million dollars and I didn't know how to do it.

I was in the hoarding industry and not in the giving industry.

So I had a lot to do.

But for me at the moment when I did that,

It brought everything that mattered to me in my life.

It brought it all together and made my passion not just a weekends and evenings thing,

But a seven day a week.

And that purposeful existence allowed me to go forward and drive and build a big business and have a tremendous impact that far outreached my million dollar goal.

For people now,

This is the exact,

These are the opportunities.

These are the times.

And sometimes they don't feel much like an opportunity because you're really struggling with all kinds of pressures and all kinds of things being revealed to you about what you thought was your life and what normal really was for you.

But it's a great opportunity because everybody's in it to wipe that slate clean and realign it and become focused on what motivates you,

What drives you,

What wakes you up every day and make that a priority and set goals around it so that you can begin to chip away at building a life that is more aligned with that.

It doesn't mean going off and,

It might mean for some people going off and living in Bali and not doing anything,

But for others it may be the business or the orientation of your daily routine might have more purpose.

And you're given permission to do that now.

We could think about it as either impact interrupted or is this impact inspired?

And I always like to break that word down,

In spirit.

This time of quiet can be that opportunity to reconnect to that spirit,

That energy,

That essence that we are in and set that goal that seems impossible.

I was speaking with another coaching client this morning about our 2020 vision boards.

And is this that time that you're going to shred the board and start over or do you just recommit to it in a new way?

What's your take on that?

Well I have these things called WOWs.

When people go to my events,

Instead of the aha,

I say the wow.

And it was always because I would sit in audiences going,

Wow,

I could do that or wow,

That's not so impressive.

And I have a way of working through that and I put the wow I could dos in a big column.

And so think of our vision boards and what we may have thought were our priorities might just be a list of things we could do.

And then I move those across and shorten the list to a should do list and then move the last and most important thing into a will do list.

So I think what may happen is we may be revealing to ourselves that our vision boards or our big goals or our big ideas,

A lot of the things just aren't as important as we thought they were at the time when we put them together.

And there may be in fact more clarity as to what really matters to us in our lives,

In our business.

I talked at the beginning of the year,

One of my word phrases was do less better.

I love it.

Let your book grow,

Get,

Give life,

Grow your business,

Get more freedom,

Give back.

I love that because there's a simplicity about it in a process.

Talk to us.

I know there's 91 strategies.

If I can't do all nine and I'm going to do less better,

What's some way we could honor this work and still find impact in these times?

Well,

It's funny because there is a logical sequence to this and when I work with people,

I find that people are,

I can't either grow and that was usually make in business,

I can't make enough money.

In other words,

My message isn't connecting with my customers in a way that it should.

And then there's the get more freedom,

Which is I'm finally busy enough,

But I work on Sunday nights at 11 at night.

I need to take time away,

So I need more freedom.

And the interesting part is these things all might,

When you get them all working well,

People begin to step away from their business.

When you make enough money,

Make the money that you're choosing and you're having the success you want and you have the freedom and the time,

The mental time,

You are able to step back and wonder,

Well,

I always wanted to make an impact in a certain way and how will I give?

How will I give to myself?

And I used to talk philanthropically only,

Like only about giving to charity.

And then over time it evolved like anybody.

And I thought,

Boy,

It's really also about if we're not well,

Other people around us aren't well.

So how do you give back to yourself?

When you're in a position where you have that opportunity to consider it,

How are you giving back to yourself so that you're giving more to your family and you can give to the community and give to the world around us,

The world at large?

And it all boils down to that.

And so growing and getting are all about relieving the busyness in your brain and relieving the urgency in what you sense as an entrepreneur or business owner to give yourself some room so that you're allowed to think and consider those things about giving back to yourself,

Your community,

Your family,

And the causes.

So it's so intertwined and everybody that I work with are in very different places.

It's like a bunch of levers,

Right?

You either pull on your grow lever harder or you pull on your get lever or push up your give lever,

Whatever it is.

They're kind of like levers and wherever the opportunity lies is what we address first.

So what's one way you relieve your busy brain?

We live in one of the most amazing places and biking is one of the most incredible biking trails on the planet are really here.

And I love mountain biking but it's a little extreme out here.

It's more than the average bear.

And what it does for me and this is a book called Flow.

There's all kinds but finding that flow for me when you find those moments where you're concentrating on nothing else but the task at hand and sometimes it can be work,

Right?

That's for me where I get that mindfulness,

That break from my brain.

And the good thing about a danger sport like downhill riding bikes is you do have nothing else to focus on other than getting through the moment which is self-preservation but also being in that flow at the speed.

So it's just one of those things.

Whenever I can find a place where my mind is solely focused on one thing,

I feel free.

I feel rested.

It's an interesting paradox I think.

That's the impact zone.

That's the impact zone.

We can't be everything to everyone all the time no matter how much our human giving nature wants to.

I think that's part of the growing up cycle of human nature is finding that little niche that we can't be everything to everyone but we can be everything to that one person.

I spoke to a woman yesterday who's just in this pandemic.

She's starting a foundation and she just broke my heart open.

She's starting a foundation for folks who have had thoughts of suicide.

This has come to find out as she unpacked this whole thing.

She had had that experience a few years ago and she had to move through her process with it but now it's her opportunity to she's going to grow a business.

She's going to have a new sense of expansion in her life and she'll be able to give back an impact.

So it really is so much good is coming out of this pandemic even if we don't want to see it that way.

Yeah I mean I helped a lady write her book a number of years ago and her specialty is working in the human design space.

Her real skill is she was a businesswoman before her own personal medical issues.

As she rose back out and became healthy and well and functioning again she looked around and realized that she's still driven to be in business and run businesses.

For her she helps others who kind of have go through this and this is one of those periods of time where people are going to go through a lot of stuff.

If you have other challenges that are amplified by this or exacerbated by this you really will be seeking what your identity is on the other end of this.

But as we all understand that once you get to the other end of a crisis in any way we look up and we go well we have a life to live.

I have a good friend who had brain cancer and then lived and then spent all his money traveling the world because he thought he was going to die and then for 11 years he had to figure out how to rebuild his life.

Then he had the problem again or another tumor removed it and he's been fine for the last 16 years and it was one of those oh darn I lived now I have to bring myself back into functioning.

I have to pay the bills.

I have things to do.

I have to excel.

And so it's just an interesting time and we get to do this maybe without all of us being ill.

Maybe without all of us struggling.

We just happen to be suppressed for a moment you know that interruption that we're talking about.

Yeah yesterday we talked about deconstructing to reconstruct and we didn't get a choice in the deconstruction phase of this.

You're coming at us from Canada.

I'm coming from the US.

We've interviewed a lot of folks and you and I both been on various shows touching the globe so we didn't have control of the deconstruct but I hope that we use our impact and our inspiration in the reconstruction.

I'm curious what do you see as high possibility industries going forward?

I got this question on that interview.

What industries do you think are going to thrive coming out of this?

Oh my gosh.

I think I mean I shared with you because I think it's really other than maybe how we communicate what I I'll tell you right now Holly I looked into holograms because I want to understand how I can put myself in the living room or a group of people from a remote location but it's prohibitively expensive right now.

It's about 50,

000 bucks per unit but that's probably one really cool evolutionary step in speaking and training and being present even in performances.

I know that there have been entire concerts in Japan that were holograms only and there weren't even actual real people on the stage so that industry of putting oneself into a group setting without actually physically being there that technology is here.

It's just not affordable yet so maybe that's a huge advance.

The other area I see that is probably is just getting battered and I will continue to have some challenges and that's retail.

You and I had this chat yesterday.

We had a chance to talk about it.

I think the face of retail if you think of clothing stores,

Other types of retail stores,

Let's say non-essential retail,

The storefront,

The idea of smart glass,

The idea of technology and being able to shop without immersing yourself in a crowded store will be the revolution of the retail industry and that storefronts will still exist but they'll be custom to you.

They'll recognize what you need and if you really want to you can go in and try things on and have that physical experience but they won't cater to it.

They'll cater to your access and your immediate needs and then indulge you if you need that sensation.

I think retail is just going to be completely blown out of the water by this and it's great to see in a good way the evolutions and technological advances that can really help us.

I think maybe this is just my spin as the host of the Everyday Mindfulness show.

I think it's going to dissolve some of the human to human interaction but it's going to elevate when we are in human-human contact.

We used to think virtual meetings were going to do away with face-to-face.

That certainly never happened but it made face-to-face meetings more important.

I think grocery stores,

I think that this shopping online thing,

A lot of us wanted to try it but we never did.

Now we have.

Maybe that retail experience in groceries is going to change but it's going to give us more time for more personal interaction because we're no longer spending that hour at the grocery store.

Yeah,

I mean Amazon looks pretty smart,

Don't they,

In their stores.

The other interesting thing,

Think about this,

Holly.

You said this and it really hit me just now.

Remember,

Like old work environments and even a lot now,

The cube farm,

Cubicle farms,

They existed and sales organizations and big organizations had all everyone located in their cube farm.

Then there was a massive pushback by the millennials on this,

Which is really an interesting thing,

Which then after they got tired of working at home and in coffee shops and the instability and lack of human connection,

They started working in coworking environments,

Which really were glorified cube farms.

It was that whole need to get back in touch with humanity.

The social requirements we have as human beings are so powerful and how that.

.

.

Even listening to Howard Schultz about Starbucks,

His opinions about the coffee being the third place,

Being coffee shop,

How is that going to change in terms of this physical distancing and our reluctance to be in great big crowds for at least the foreseeable future?

It's really going to be interesting to find out if we can.

.

.

Because people after doing this for two months,

What you and I are doing across North America and the world,

They're going to want to get out and see other humans.

I'm really curious to see how this will go.

I have no idea.

I have no predictions on it.

We talked a little bit about mid-career folks.

Really I think it's really any one career folks right now.

I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that we're going to get to ask ourselves that question,

Am I going back to the job that I left?

I tend to think the 80-20 rule applies in all things.

I haven't decided if the 80% are going back to the same job or 20% are and 80% are changing.

But either way,

It opens us up to an opportunity to consider a business coach.

You've been a coach for 30 years.

Give us your thoughts.

How can we support the audience if they've never had a coach?

What are the questions that they should start asking if they want to hire you or a coach in their area?

Yeah,

30 years between being a sports coach,

Coaching people and families on their wealth and now strictly a business owner coach,

I've covered a lot of the spectrum as well.

What you have to understand is that coaching is a process of getting the best out of you,

But not a cheerleader process.

It's not the simple accountability that's built into your calendar.

It's the insight that comes if you're seeking a coach that may or may not be a fit for you and how I determine it with one,

We have to share the value.

In my case,

It's the value of impact.

We have a desire or an innate need to have a bigger impact in this world.

That's how we connect first and foremost.

But then it's,

What do you need?

I provide very deep experience in the financial markets and the business world,

But I have this sports and this performance coaching side as well.

I bring a lot to the table with our coaching relationships,

But there's amazing coaches.

I didn't become a great coach because I learned how on my own I was coached.

I think one of the biggest things in coaching is understanding how coachable you are.

While you might be seeking the highest quality coach that you can find and fit with,

Your fit also has to be that you're willing to be coached and you're willing to have the humility that it takes to be coached.

To understand and admit there are things that you don't know or maybe someone knows or are more objective about than you are at this moment.

That can really help.

If you're in that place and you can admit it and you have the humility to move forward and become very coachable,

Then a lot of coaches will actually fit really well for you.

Then just finding the ones who.

.

.

I'm not particular specific to any niche business because over 22 years in the financial services industry,

I've analyzed every single type of company there could possibly be.

So I have a knowledge of that.

It's more I'm about mid-career.

People who were like me 12 years ago before I discovered how important it was to be guided to the next level.

I don't know.

Some people need Yoda.

Some people need Mr.

Miyagi.

And right now,

I hope the listeners of the show recognize that this is their time to keep a momentum mindset.

It sounds a little cliche to say we're all in this together,

But on some level,

The carpet has been pulled out from under us.

But a coach like you or like me or some of our colleagues in the C-suite network can be that parachute,

That famous book,

What Color Is Your Parachute?

It's a book where you go through career planning or entrepreneur planning.

But we have to be willing.

I love your work choice.

They're willing to be humble and to admit and to grow.

The words that came through for me was surrender to your next level of success.

That's great.

You talked about mountain biking being such an aggressive thing.

I live in Denver,

Home of the Rocky Mountains.

A couple of years ago,

I set a vision to,

Well,

When I moved here,

I said I was going to do a 14er.

In mountain speak,

That's climbed to the top of a 14,

000-foot mountain.

Now I joke that this is just another mountain to climb.

Whether it's a 14er or a 20er,

We get that opportunity now to start looking at what's that next mountain we're going to climb.

For some,

It'll be going back to that same job,

But it's going to be a new mountain because we can't go back.

But this may also be your chance to throw out a dart of that next highest plateau.

Yeah,

It really is.

It's gotten me wondering,

And I'm wondering out loud,

And I keep writing in the chicken scratch I have,

What's my next million-dollar charity goal?

What is that?

What is my next big,

Audacious,

What's my mountaintop?

I'm even seeking that.

I have written so many different things down and scratched them and said,

Well,

That's not it.

There's something more.

I think we all have that opportunity.

It's something I really enjoy.

I enjoy the process of doing that.

People when they go to growgetgive.

Com,

They find me.

They're going to be able to ask me some of those questions.

I've been giving myself for the last months straight every single day free.

Giving myself,

Giving time to any entrepreneur,

Any business owner who has questions,

Concerns,

Challenges,

Or wants to see the opportunities in today's circumstance,

I've just been,

You know,

Messaged me and will arrange a call.

It's that simple.

It's not normally how I work,

But at times like this,

As I knew in the financial services world,

To be available,

To be a voice of calm and reason and a sounding board with a little bit of knowledge and maybe some wisdom,

That goes a long way for people.

I'm just giving these days.

That was growgetgive.

Com.

Is that where we would go to get your book?

Yeah,

Growgetgive.

Com to get me,

My book,

All my coaching information,

Anything you want to learn about me to reach out.

You can just go to Amazon and find Entrepreneur Secrets to a Grow,

Get,

Give Life.

That would be great.

You can get the e-book there.

You can get the paperback.

Yeah,

It's fantastic.

Simple.

Awesome.

Mike,

Thank you so much for your yes to living a mindful life,

To exploring the possibilities of being in this present moment and really truly understanding that maybe our impact was interrupted,

But it can also be a time for our impact to be inspired.

And I am so inspired by you and your story of that big million dollar goal and you broke it down and you got to it.

And I hope that other listeners of the show will find a big goal that inspires them and they'll go after it as well.

Holly,

It's been an absolute pleasure.

Thank you so much for having me today.

You're welcome.

I hope you'll come back on to another episode,

Mike.

I know we have more to talk about.

For sure.

I want to invite the listeners to remember mindful matters and so do you.

Make sure you listen to past episodes and share this message with your friends.

Mindful matters and so do you.

Thank you for joining us for today's show.

For more mindfulness every day,

Visit everydaymindfulnessshow.

Com and download the three day challenge and experience the ABCs of mindfulness.