Ever Wondered How to Unlock Your Flow State? Uncover Secrets to Deep Focus and Productivity!

by Carmen Ohling | Mar 28, 2024 | Uncategorized

Have you ever been, “in the zone?”

Or, as referred to in positive psychology, in a flow state. Similarly, to being mindful, flow comes from a deep sense of focus in the present moment. However, flow is often used to reference situations in which people are being productive.

An April 2021 study linked flow states to:

Better performance
Fewer distractions
Less self-judgment
Greater motivation to complete tasks
The ability to spend a longer time on a task
More practice, allowing someone to gain skill and competence

Moreover, in positive psychology, it is believed that flow is also important for cognitive health and well-being. You might be asking yourself; how do I access this flow state more often and what is keeping me from accessing it?

Steven Covey, the godfather of using high-performance habits to build your character in business said this about focus:

“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, unapologetically – to say no to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside.”

Let’s first tackle what is keeping us from accessing a flow state more often. A few years ago Jim Kwik, who is a best-selling author and leading brain coach shared the top four flow killers that he uncovered in his years of research and coaching:

1. Multi-tasking: We all think we can multitask, and perhaps in some areas of our lives we can. But the simple truth is this: we cannot multitask our way to flow. It’s demanding and that constant alertness comes at a price.
2. Stress: Stress is a killer to many areas of productivity, but it’s particularly deadly to achieving a state of flow. The problem with stress is that it creeps into your thoughts, disrupting your focus and concentration when you least expect it.
3. Fear of Failure: The fear of not succeeding will keep us out of flow. And that fear can take many shapes. I know for me it looks like doing “busy work” to check something off the list, but it’s not the work that will move the needle in my life or business.
4. Indecisiveness: Nothing will prevent us from finding our flow faster than doubt. And nothing breeds more doubt and anxiety than indecisiveness.

Finding our flow state is not always easy, and no matter how much we practice things like fear, stress, doubt, and distractions will always be there, trying to hold us back. Four signs to know if you are in a flow state, which often happens after you’ve completed your task:

You’re focused and not thinking about anything else except the present moment and task at hand.
You are not self-critical or worried about how others perceive you.
You feel a sense of enjoyment, challenge, or excitement with the task at hand.
You are committed and persistent to completing the task; nothing else matters.

Lastly, I want to share my 5 favorite tips and tools I like to use to get myself into a flow state.

Eisenhower Matrix:

This tool works very well for key leaders who are dealing with decision-making daily.

Divide your work into four quadrants.
Decide what is important and what is not important.
Decide what is urgent and what is not urgent.
Then break it down visually:

Seinfeld Strategy:

Set a goal and then create a visual calendar of this goal you review daily.
Mark off each day you do it and keep the streak going as long as you can.
Never miss two days in a row.

Pomodoro Technique:

List your top 1-2 needle-moving tasks for the day.
Set a 25-minute timer and focus on work for that entire time.
Take a 5-minute break.
Repeat 4 times, then take an hour break, and if needed repeat once more.

3/3/3 Method:

Spend 3 hours working on an important project.
Complete 3 shorter urgent tasks or meetings.
Do 3 maintenance tasks to keep life and business running smoothly.

The 2 Minute Rule:

If a task takes less than 2 minutes, do it right away and do it until completion.

Click HERE to download a PDF tip sheet of these tools.

With commitment, reflection, and practice you’ll be able to find your flow and once you do, you can use it as a fundamental tool in unlocking your limitless potential.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The Amplified Life Company loves FLOW so much that
we even made a corporate culture acronym about it:

FLOW = Faith, Leadership, Opportunity, Wealth

Find out more on our website HERE.

Is “Good Enough” Really Good Enough? Find Out Why I Disagree…

by Carmen Ohling | Mar 21, 2024 | Uncategorized

How many times have you said, “It’s good enough!”

Reflecting on this statement in my life, I can tell you that I have used this statement WAY more than I would like to admit. So, I asked myself, is “good enough” really good enough?

What are the facts that I contemplated:

I have never been disappointed when working hard.
‘Good enough’ feels like settling for less than my best.
When I tell myself I can stop at less than my best, it feels like losing.
Telling myself ‘It is good enough’ reinforces an old inner dialogue of not being good enough.
When I go beyond what is required, I learn and grow – even if the outcome is unfavorable.
Doing the bare minimum or even less than that gives the perception that I don’t care or that I am not fully present in life.

Then, I proceeded to answer my question: Is ‘good enough’ really good enough? My answer was unequivocally NO – ‘Good enough’ is not sufficient for anything in my life.

For many of us, we are team “hustle” or team “slow down and do less.” Which team do you find yourself on today? My opinion, which may be unpopular, is this: I AM TEAM BOTH. The bar for the standard of excellence today is so LOW, that frankly I am embarrassed by it. And this is a standard we are measuring ourselves against!

Getting back to this idea of releasing and operating at the very low bar of “good enough” has me thinking about my personal blueprint for what makes a good day. A series of good days will always lead to a great life, and I would venture to say we all want to live great lives.

In its simplest form, this is my blueprint for a good day:

I worked hard.
took care of my body, mind, and spirit.
I spent time with people I love.

This blueprint is essential to my life and if I choose to do any of these things just “good enough” it feels like I am only living half of the life I know I am capable of living and making a sliver of the impact I am meant to have in the world.

By embracing the season of life we are presently in, we can navigate the times of hustle and the times of slowing down with alignment, faith, and flow. Understanding that most things are significantly easier than we think they are, it just takes trying hard. The harder we try the easier it gets. When we try hard, we are significantly raising the bar from “good enough” to give our best in everything each day. Give my blueprint a try and watch what happens…

It will become unreasonable that you can’t win.

A Proven Method to Overcome Public Speaking Fear and Thrive on Stage

by Carmen Ohling | Mar 7, 2024 | Uncategorized

The first time I was on stage with a mic, I was six years old.

I was wearing a beautiful dress, and my hair was done. It was my turn to shine, and the host asked me a simple question and handed me the mic… and I froze. Zero words came out of my mouth in front of hundreds of people.

I was pretty much a straight-A student in middle school and high school.

I knew the answer, yet I never raised my hand. I had something to say and questions to ask, but I stayed silent. I was worried that I would be incorrect, look stupid, or say something that would reveal my insecurities, so instead of building my confidence by being courageous, I stayed silent.

In college, I did everything I could to avoid public speaking.

For my communications credits, I took interpersonal communications and a death and dying class. Yes, that was a real class, and we did things like touring a funeral home and writing our own obituaries.

I was destined to maintain my status of being just like the other 75% of humans who fear public speaking.

The interesting thing about destiny is that many times we fail to recognize that we are being changed from the inside out. Therefore, the destiny we once believed was ours for a lifetime has shifted because we are beginning to walk out a new destiny formed by our choices rather than our circumstances.

For me, this destiny shift was activated in my corporate career, and I started to begin to find and use my voice as I developed confidence in my leadership. Fast forward to today, and I am a well-paid keynote speaker, corporate leadership training facilitator, podcaster, and coach.

It didn’t happen overnight, but I know for sure that if you follow my proven method it will happen for you just like it did for me. Remember I was the “shy kid.” I was the one who never raised their hand. I was the one who always found myself lost in the middle but dreamt of being in the front. Too afraid to speak up or put myself out there, always hiding in plain sight.

If that is you too, I am writing this today to give you hope and a plan. Let me share with you the method…

As I began writing this, I made a note of the 5 very specific things I did to get started with speaking publicly and then moving into getting paid to speak. In a very specific order, here is the proven method you can follow to begin to speak publicly:

1. Identify your message and your audience. Your life experience is your best resume here. Have the courage to have something to say and that you have an opinion about. This would be that thing that you can talk about for hours when someone asks you a question about it at a dinner party. Talk about something that you know and care about. Don’t try to piggyback on someone else’s message. Then, determine who you can help by talking about this topic. Now you have your message and your audience, this is step #1. Don’t overcomplicate it, make it ONE TOPIC.

2. Start talking about it- to EVERYONE. Speakers who speak get booked to speak more. This is the first rule of thumb about speaking. Start by telling your family and friends, get even more comfortable with your messages. Hold an information stand up meeting at work, with the intention to serve. Join a local community group and offer to give a presentation. Keep talking about your key message, own it. And when you think that you shared enough, share more. Believe me, you’ll not only build so much confidence and charisma but you’ll also build in opportunities to speak. People will start asking you to speak for them.

3. Remember these two rules of thumb once you start building a little traction:

#1- Build relationships everywhere you go vs speaking transactionally. I’ve seen this so many times: a speaker flies in, speaks, and leaves. Usually they are the speaker that everyone is looking forward to hearing from. But you know what, they are not the most impactful. The most impactful speakers are the ones that build relationships within the group and allow each person to feel seen. See people. Connect with them. Build relationships.

#2- ALWAYS remember that it is not about you. Anytime you start overthinking or being overly critical about yourself, remind yourself it is not about you. It is, however, about the IMPACT you are making in the lives of others. Prior to giving your talk practice and prepare. I highly encourage you to borrow this prayer from me that I say prior to any talk, keynote, workshop, call, or presentation: “Thank you for this opportunity to use my unique gifts and make an impact in the lives of others. Use me, speak through me, guide me.” And with that you are ready to show up and serve to make an IMPACT!

4. When you first start speaking, focus on COLLABORATIONS. Otherwise known as OPS. OPS= Other people’s stages. This will get you practice, feedback, and confidence all in one. You will most likely speak for free when you start speaking, and this is totally fine. Remember speakers who are speaking get booked to speak. Once you get the confidence and practice then you’ll be energetically aligned to begin to charge and the opportunities will be presented to you. Remember, you have to be visible for this to happen. Have someone come with you to each of these opportunities and take videos and pictures. Take pictures with groups and with the audience. Use this to create credibility and if you’re asked for a video, you’ll have one ready.

5. Pitch yourself, on the one topic that you have been owning and refining. Don’t worry, you can update this later and speak on other things in the future, but get known and become the expert on this one thing. Google this: Call for Speakers (insert year) (insert location) and see what comes up. You’ll most likely find a list of speaking opportunities for groups and associations. Set a goal to apply for these. Whatever that goal was that you just set, times it by 10. Yes, you heard me. If you set a goal of 3, your new goal will be 30. Speaking is about playing the long game, but you can speed that game up with volume!

That’s the proven method that has worked for me, my team, and my clients and now it will work for you too… All you have to do is start with the courage to have something to say!

If you’d like more guidance around speaking, reach out to us at the Amplify Your Life Company and we’ll set up an Idea to Stage Mentor Session with Carmen. Text us the word: SPEAK to 503-386-2981 or email us your interest at hello@carmenohling.com and we’ll take care of the rest.

What if we stopped sprinting through our lives?

by Carmen Ohling | Feb 25, 2024 | Uncategorized

Have you ever said…

“I have a hard time staying focused.”

“I start working on one thing but then I begin thinking about the other million things I have to get done.”

“Once I get started, there are so many other things vying for my attention I get distracted fairly often.”

“I plan my work and my day but everyone else needs me and my help, so I don’t always get it done when I have planned.”

Which one of these do you relate to the most?

I know I can relate to all of them at some point in my life!

The truth is…

We are actively choosing each day to give away our attention, energy, and time to things that won’t even matter a year from now – or maybe even tomorrow – and exchanging that for our most precious moments- the moments of joy, connection, creativity, and aliveness that are only found in the present.

These precious moments slip through the cracks of our rushed, distracted lives.

And we are allowing it.

Did you catch that?

Isn’t time we stopped sprinting to a finish line that each time we feel like we’ve reached it, the finish line moves further and further away?

What if we stopped sprinting through our lives?

I started with setting this one intention years ago and it still holds today as a guidepost to my daily life:

I will not rush.

Plus, I do everything in my power to set up my schedule and life in a way that supports this intention.

Making this shift and simple daily intention has created more focused and productive work sessions, built more meaningful relationships, allowed my health to go from good to optimal and thriving (keeping my MS in remission), and allowed me to feel so much more creativity, freedom, and joy.

I’ve done it – and you can too!

I want that for you. Do you want that for you?

This one simple principle can change everything for you in your life and business if you implement it

by Carmen Ohling | Feb 22, 2024 | Uncategorized

The Pareto Principle

This one simple principle can change everything for you in your life and business if you implement it. Here’s the principle…

The Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) is the observation that most things in life are not distributed equally. Based on this principle, it has been observed that roughly 80% of consequences, or outcomes, come from 20% of causes, or actions. This concept is important to understand because it can help you identify which initiatives to prioritize so you can make the most impact.

Let’s break this down further for better understanding:

The 80/20 rule is not a formal mathematical equation, but more a generalized phenomenon that can be observed in economics, business, time management, and even sports.

High level examples of the Pareto principle:

20% of a plant contains 80% of the fruit
80% of a company’s profits come from 20% of customers
20% of players result in 80% of points scored
20% of workers contribute to 80% of results

Real life example of the Pareto’s principle:

I own 28 pairs of shoes and often grab only the top 20% that I love

Here in Miami Beach, there are many routes I can walk to get to one place, but I only walk on 20% of the available routes.

On my smartphone, I have 48 different mobile apps organized in tiles on my home screen, but 80% of the time I’m only using the eight on my home screen (which is about 20%).

By now I think you get it. Now, how to implement this so that it can be a catalyst to next level growth and success in your life and business….

First, let me share with you why this is so simple yet so hard to implement.

The implementation I am referring to applies to where you are focusing your efforts to maximize your output. Because, as the principle reveals, 80% of our outcomes come from only 20% of our most important actions. So why wouldn’t we do only those actions that make up our 20% every day?

This is difficult for most people because…

Your current level of success is keeping you from your next level of success.

As humans we are conditioned for routine and comfort, not challenge and disruption. Even though we tell ourselves we want to work on the big needle moving project, we somehow get stuck in the busyness of everyday life and business that include things like, email, planning, organizing, and consuming other people’s content.

If you want to begin to use the Pareto Principle to your advantage, here’s how you can get started:

1. Identify your 20%: Identify the tasks and activities that contribute most significantly to your success. This could involve reviewing past performance, your energetic capacity while doing certain activities (AKA how you feel), customer feedback, and financial data to pinpoint the activities with the highest impact.

2. Plan and prioritize: Once you’ve identified the key activities, prioritize them based on their potential impact on your business goals. Focus on activities that align most closely with your objectives and have the highest potential for delivering results. Also, identifying the activities that you will no longer be doing is extremely helpful as well. This way you can delegate and make a list for yourself because we are human, our mind will try to get us to do “what we’ve always done.” I keep this list of “NOT to-do’s” near my desk and review it daily. My current 20% consists of only two things: creating or connecting. If it does not meet those two standards, I delegate or simply do not do the task.

3. Evaluate your 20% each month: Continuously monitor and evaluate your progress to ensure that you’re focusing on the right activities and achieving the desired results. Regularly review your priorities and adjust your approach as needed to stay aligned with your dreams and goals.

The biggest advantage of using the Pareto Principle is that you can create the maximum amount of impact with the least amount of work. Less burnout, more team clarity, increased strategic focus, enhanced daily productivity and personal fulfillment!

Lastly, give yourself some grace when implementing this principle in your life – it takes time, effort and adjustment. But, when you get it, you get it and results will begin to happen quickly!

Once you stop believing something is impossible, it becomes possible.

by Carmen Ohling | Feb 15, 2024 | Uncategorized

There was a young man in 1940 that dreamed of attending a prestigious university and becoming a doctor. Growing up in a working-class family, he knew that his family could never afford to send him for this type of education. At age 12, he discovered that he had a talent for running, and decided to devote himself to the craft so that he could obtain a scholarship. In 1946 he obtained a full scholarship for his running skills to study medicine at Oxford University.

Even more exciting for him, he made it to the 1948 Olympics running the 1500-meter event and was highly favored to win. He came in 4th. He was discouraged – so much so that he spent the next two months deciding if he was going to quit running. Instead of quitting, he recommitted. He raised his standards and stepped up his training. Specifically, performing intense daily speed workouts that allowed him to trim his overall pace off his run. Getting so close to even beating the world record holder for running the mile. This was literally impossible, in fact it had been stated time and time again even by the best runners that it was impossible.

On May 6, 1954, he stepped onto the Iffley Road Track at Oxford University after finishing his shift at the local teaching hospital where he was working on his studies. The wind was strong, and it was raining. Not ideal for a race. Six men total entered the race, and as this one young man crossed the finish line he collapsed- exhausted. And then the announcement came over the loudspeaker: “Bannister wins the race and breaks the world record running the mile in 3:59.4!” On that day he did it. Roger Bannister broke the mile record, which was previously set at 4 minutes.

He was an ordinary young man. There was no reason why he should have done anything great. Yet Roger decided to change things and he refused to settle for anything less than beating the 4-minute mile. He made history. He’d done what so many believed was impossible.

Over the next few years, more and more runners attempted and broke the 4-minute mile mark, reframing their reference point of success and realizing it was possible. Once Roger Bannister proved to himself and the world that it was possible to run a mile in under 4 minutes, suddenly so many other runners were able to do it as well.

Proving this: Once you stop believing something is impossible, it becomes possible.

So how does something go from impossible to possible?

By shifting the reference point of success.

A reference point of success can be defined as: a baseline value that individuals use as a benchmark for evaluating and comparing potential outcomes, gains, and losses.

When Roger broke the 4-minute mile record, he didn’t break it by much. He squeaked by with less than a second to spare.

3:59.4

0.6 seconds. Not much, but enough to make a dent in the reference point of success.

Over the last 50 years, the mile record has dropped 17 seconds – each record getting slightly faster than the last.

This only continues to happen because the new runners have a reference point that it is possible.

Over the years I’ve shifted my reference points multiple times, resulting in many previously “impossible” tasks to be made possible in my life:

Quiet and shy (super scared of speaking publicly) >>> Keynote speaker

Believing “I am not a runner” >>> to running 3 miles with ease

Making $88k per year, year after year (believing $100k+ was unrealistic) >>> making multiple 6 figures

Dreaming of being fit like the women in fitness magazines >>> Achieving 1st place in a bodybuilding show

Over time, I’ve developed the following system to push bast these reference points and achieve the seemingly impossible:

STEP #1: Listen to that still small voice in your that says, “hey… I want you to do this…”

STEP #2: Prepare to take action. Start small. And tell people about it- believe me accountability is needed to push your limits!

STEP #3: Be disciplined. Celebrate all of your wins, no matter the size- speak them out loud.

STEP #4: When you get stuck, yes, it’s going to happen… ask for help.

STEP #5: Achieve the impossible. Reframe your reference point of success and begin again.

Most people give up, but I know that’s not you. Oh, and one final note: your previous “impossible”…. It has nothing to do with anyone else. Life is always improving you. I will leave you with this quote:

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” – Ernest Hemmingway

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Next Entries »

Ever Wondered How to Unlock Your Flow State? Uncover Secrets to Deep Focus and Productivity!

Is “Good Enough” Really Good Enough? Find Out Why I Disagree…

A Proven Method to Overcome Public Speaking Fear and Thrive on Stage

What if we stopped sprinting through our lives?

This one simple principle can change everything for you in your life and business if you implement it

The Pareto Principle

Once you stop believing something is impossible, it becomes possible.

He was an ordinary young man. There was no reason why he should have done anything great. Yet Roger decided to change things and he refused to settle for anything less than beating the 4-minute mile. He made history. He’d done what so many believed was impossible.

Proving this: Once you stop believing something is impossible, it becomes possible.

So how does something go from impossible to possible?

By shifting the reference point of success.

A reference point of success can be defined as: a baseline value that individuals use as a benchmark for evaluating and comparing potential outcomes, gains, and losses.

When Roger broke the 4-minute mile record, he didn’t break it by much. He squeaked by with less than a second to spare.

3:59.4

0.6 seconds. Not much, but enough to make a dent in the reference point of success.

Over the last 50 years, the mile record has dropped 17 seconds – each record getting slightly faster than the last.

This only continues to happen because the new runners have a reference point that it is possible.

Over the years I’ve shifted my reference points multiple times, resulting in many previously “impossible” tasks to be made possible in my life:

Quiet and shy (super scared of speaking publicly) >>> Keynote speaker

Believing “I am not a runner” >>> to running 3 miles with ease

Making $88k per year, year after year (believing $100k+ was unrealistic) >>> making multiple 6 figures

Dreaming of being fit like the women in fitness magazines >>> Achieving 1st place in a bodybuilding show

Over time, I’ve developed the following system to push bast these reference points and achieve the seemingly impossible:

STEP #1: Listen to that still small voice in your that says, “hey… I want you to do this…”

STEP #2: Prepare to take action. Start small. And tell people about it- believe me accountability is needed to push your limits!

STEP #3: Be disciplined. Celebrate all of your wins, no matter the size- speak them out loud.

STEP #4: When you get stuck, yes, it’s going to happen… ask for help.

STEP #5: Achieve the impossible. Reframe your reference point of success and begin again.

Most people give up, but I know that’s not you. Oh, and one final note: your previous “impossible”…. It has nothing to do with anyone else. Life is always improving you. I will leave you with this quote:

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” – Ernest Hemmingway

STOP TRYING TO DO IT ALL AND BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE!