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Is it possible to be emotionally relaxed and joyful, yet highly productive?

Think of a master in martial arts … they aren’t fretting, tense, worried, or stressed out. They have a relaxed focus, a calm strength, a powerful composure.

Their face might appear emotionless, yet their body expresses a wide range of motion, able to accomplish a great deal with both precision and flexibility.

Inside, they are experiencing clarity, confidence, and a calm joy.

​I’m n…

​I see a lot of aspiring business owners doing this:

You’re waiting until you’re “ready” before you take the leap.

A dear client asked me about the “thin line between readiness and procrastination.”

​After coaching hundreds of business owners, I can tell you this: ​

Chances are, you are being fooled by your own brilliant mind. Feeling of “lack of readiness” is usually procrastination.

Here’s the truth:
I rarely feel “ready”.

When I started writing this article, I felt maybe I woul…

The mainstream perspective about being consistent and disciplined can be summarized as “hustle and grind”… a state of busy activity that suggests an underlying layer of struggle and suffering.

Many of us have grown up with such teachings:

• Be “hard” working — to work with diligence, hardship and strife
• Delayed gratification — to reward yourself *later* after you struggle with the “important” stuff
• “Eat the frog” — get the hard thing out of the way by swallowing (doing) the highly unpl…

​As a kind-hearted person, you love helping others. You never want to disappoint people. As a result, you’re probably exhausted, or in danger of burnout.

I used to be so scared of people’s disapproval. This is in part from my Asian heritage, in part being an immigrant and trying to fit into the mainstream culture, and in part being predisposed towards kindness, as you are.

A trait that I’ve had to develop, in order to operate a joyfully productive an…

​An ambitious client was giving herself pressure. She felt that the end of the year was closing in so quickly, and there was an important project she hadn’t yet launched. Maybe you can relate.

The thing is -- she has been working diligently much of the year, launching various things. The feeling of pressure and time-squeeze now was due to making plans that were simply too ambitious.

“Why not just do those projects next year? There will be time!” I sugg…