What fuels me (and how you can do it too)

I used to think extended “thinking time” was a “luxury”, accessible for people without intense schedules like mine.

I’ve now got to the point in my business and my life where it’s like oxygen.

These days I literally can’t function at my best (or in a way that feels energising) without it.

And for anyone who’s building their business around a personal brand, or who’s showing up as the “face” of their business, it’s an underutilised power source that will fuel all that you do.

If you’ve been in my world recently you’ll know that a lot has happened in the last few months.

Things are ramping up on the business front faster than I expected – book in progress, award & recognitions, speaking, mentoring, travel and opportunities galore.

Much gratitude for all of it. 

Yet of course, as life would have it, activity on the family front ramps up at the same time, and can be pretty relentless sometimes.

Last week was a super huge week for me professionally.

Both exciting and a massive “uplevel” at the same time.

I had a lot to process, and a lot of fresh insights coming through me.

So I did what I do when I start to feel like things edge towards the cusp of being “a lot” – scheduled a breather to recalibrate.

24 hours away -  in solitude – no writing, no listening, no tech, no doing – just thinking and “being”.

Sounds divine, I hear you say….

….and yes, it was.

.    

But…..the timing of it all was pretty interesting.

And I want to share what happened immediately before and after.

As it wasn’t exactly a piece of cake for me to get away.

I had booked accommodation, put in place meticulous family arrangements, and right at the time I was about to leave, bag packed, my daughter had a roller-skating accident, and couldn’t move her arm.

So my plans got shelved and I spent the day in Emergency at the Children’s hospital instead of the beachside AirBnB I’d booked.

Thankfully no serious damage to my daughter, turned out to be an elbow sprain, with rest and TLC required.

The next morning she was significantly better, so I felt ok about resuming my plan, put the necessary arrangements in place, with “nurse grandma” (my wonderful mum)  to support  – and booked again.

And yes, this time I did I had the most glorious time of rest and recalibration.

Just what I needed.

To process all of what happened in the last month.

Especially as I’m about to deliver my final round of delivery and mentoring for the year.

The insights, clarity and rejuvenation I experienced was off the charts.

     

These are always life-changing days for me.

Seriously.

The creativity, the vision, the passion the clarity that comes from being alone with your thoughts for 24 hours (especially when in nature), with zero inputs (that's the key!) are amazing.

Then transitioning back to home life, as usual, wasn’t what I expected.

I most definitely didn’t come home to rainbows and unicorns and candles on the beach :-) 

As I drove back into my suburb literally 5 minutes before I reached home, we had a massive downpour that resulted in flash flooding, so I was greeted by a flooded garage that I needed to sweep the water out of and dry out wet carpet and boxes.

Part of my backyard turned into an ankle-deep swimming pool, all within about 15 minutes.

Shortly before that, my son had a nasty accident on his bike and had to be carried home by a kind stranger, and a few days later he’s still hobbling, bleeding and recovering.

We are all good now – kids are fine, the house is fine, and thanks to my decision to take the space that I needed, I am fine too, and my professional potency is so much sharper for it.

The classic oxygen mask example.

And I felt it.

I showed up to a special session with some of my Marketing Me Accelerator students yesterday and unleashed a deluge of practical and fresh marketing insights into what the new ballgame of modern marketing looks like.

The new rules of engagement.

The new locations.

The new players.

...and how we are tweaking what we’ve been doing over the last few years to not just keep up, but be ahead of where things are going.

As a marketing futurist I “see” things emerging very clearly, usually 1-2 years before they get on most people’s radar, and usually 3-4 years before they are mainstream.

Then I overlay all of this with nearly 30 years of marketing strategy, along with a massive amount of pragmatism…

…..because as you probably know, with five kids I’m all about leverage and efficiency, and focusing our precious energy on things that are going to make a difference!

This week I received clarity on where I’ll be focusing my efforts between now and the end of the year.

Stay tuned because early next week I will have a very, very exciting announcement to share.

Helping amazing people get their message to more, so they create more impact in the world is what I do best.

It’s my highest form of leverage.

Because the ripple effect of the work is huge, globally.

And one I’m deeply committed to.

And when you’re showing up and creating an impact in the world, it’s vital that you are deeply connected with your true identity –

....not the labels people have put on you, or what you think the world wants to see…..

….but the “you” that “is”

....and the "you" that you know is emerging....

And for that to happen, we need to intentionally create space just to “be” as “that you”.

So I’d encourage you to think about what time you build into your week/month.

Because if you do it regularly, it will change everything for you.

So for good measure (and to inspire you to your own version of what lights you up), here is one more glorious image of my "thinking time retreat".



No filter, no special effects, nothing but me, alone, sitting on an empty beach, feeling like this sunset was created especially for me :-) 

******

Would you like insights like this in your inbox each week? I publish the best stuff to my email list first of all, and then eventually it finds its way onto the blog. So if you want in on the action and the best stuff ahead of the pack, click here now. 


******

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nina Christian is a Marketing Futurist & Global Marketing Mentor who helps people do their marketing in a more human way. 

She is a Certified Practicing Marketer (CPM), Life Member and Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute & AMI State Chair (Vic) and for 20 years was director of Braveda (Winner, Best Marketing Agency, Australian Marketing Excellence Awards).

Several years ago Nina saw the world of marketing shifting – this time as people became their own brands.  With this, she created a new business as a thought leader, combining her expertise in brand building with personal positioning, resulting in a breakthrough praxis known as Marketing Me™.

She has a knack for simplifying the complex which comes from being a hands-on mum to five children, and uses this to turn time-sucking activities into easy-to-follow systems and processes that make a lot of sense and get outcomes fast.

There are different ways to work with Nina based on your situation and organisation size - with all of them you'll see rapid transformation and tangible outcomes fast. Book a chat with Nina here.