How High Performing Leaders Win Summer
The smell of lilac sets off feelings for me of excitement, anticipation, and longing for summer downtime. I think of being OOO and waking up slowly on a summer day to the smell of beach air and the sounds of seagulls.
I started publishing Sunday Sunshine as an antidote to the 'Sunday Scaries.' But, there’s also the Summer Scaries: that pre-disappointment ahead of summer where a fight ensues between wanting time off and thinking we can’t, don’t have time, must keep hustling, or things will fall apart.
Many people take the time but never really check out completely, so their brains don’t fully rest to recharge. This is one of many reasons leading to a rise in burnout and depression.
For me, rest softens the noises of expectation and acts as a catalyst for becoming.
You cannot become without letting the pleasures of rest make way for your purposeful path. When we stay in a place of exhaustive productivity, it builds plaque that prevents the flow of becoming.
Gary Vaynerchuk, influencer, author, and owner of 4 companies, is famous for saying that the best time to grow your business is while others are on vacation.
For years, I thought this as well … to my detriment. Today, I have a new thought.
I have about 30 summers left to live.
This summer, I will take more time off, rest more, and have more fun while I make a massive impact in pursuing the next leap in my business.
Let's make it the summer to remember with these six levers to success.
#1 Be Ruthless with Your Time and How You Use it
Ruthless = intentional, deliberate, and consistent with how you spend your time.
Ruthless is a tough word, but the most successful people review their summer months ahead of time through the filters of their goals and decide what they will say no to and what they will put off until the Fall.
They know their goals and are willing to front-end work before the summer and back-end the year to ensure they stay on pace while giving themselves time off.
#2 Invest in Your Growth
I believe that to help others grow, I must grow. Martha Stewart once told me to learn something new every day, and it’s become my personal mantra.
Learning includes investing in myself with new experiences. What new experience will you have this summer?
Successful people know that the fountain of growth and achievement comes from learning, growing, and investing in themselves.
Summer is a great time to read to open new doors of thinking that will allow you to leverage, adopt, and implement, which, when applied, might be your 2024 game-changer. At the end of this post are a few of my summer reading recommendations.
#3 Reflect
My brain is most thoughtful and creative when it's at rest.
Summer is a great time to reflect on how the year and this chapter of life are going. Are you where you want to be? If not, how big is the gap? Are you surrounded by people who support and energize you?
Reflection is a powerful engine for my business and my mind. It helps me to refocus, reframe, and make the needed edits. Setting goals is important, but the ability to reflect on them and frequently adjust them is more powerful.
#4 Reverse Engineer Success
For many summers, I scrambled to make plans too late in the game because I didn’t feel safe taking time off. I didn’t think I deserved it. I thought I’d lose my edge or someone would take over my job. These crazy thoughts led to my never really enjoying that one week that I’d worked so hard to earn.
Plan ahead—not just for the time away but also for the weeks before and after to ensure that one week away, consistent Summer Fridays, or even a month of R&R as they do in Europe, can be taken with ease, knowing you’ve done the work and planned ahead.
This may sound like more work, but the most successful people value their time off so much that they put in the work to give them back their time.
#5 Use Summer as a Tool
What if you gave yourself a new goal this summer? What new goal could you dedicate time to that would bring new momentum to your business?
The most successful people double down on summer. One goal. Three months. Summer is a time when some industries slow down. Use the time to set new standards inside your business or start that project that’s been on the back burner.
Summer is the perfect time to break the rules and stop doing work as you’ve always done.
#6 Connection
Connection is fundamental to success. Use this summer to reconnect with old friends and deepen relationships. Connection is a key component to whole-life success. When we feel connected, we are happier. When we are happier, we bring it to our work and the impact we can make.
This is a great journal prompt to help you build your summer-to-remember plan.
From this thought:
I will have the most amazing, restful summer.
Ask yourself this question based on that thought:
What would need to be true for that to happen?
Now, from this thought:
I can have both an amazing summer and achieve my goals.
Ask yourself again:
What would need to be true for this to happen?
What will you commit to this summer that looks different?
Don’t let the day’s default hold you from making plans to slow down, rest, experience summer, and even set new goals to achieve more than you could hope for in 2024.
