When determining how to get better results in business, it is important to remember the way people think and feel determines the actions they will take, and therefore what they will accomplish. As a Leader, you must always remember that people feel the happiest, the most confident, the most effective and fulfilled, when they feel their actions are consistent with their own highest values and beliefs.

Rather than starting with a vision of what you want to achieve, and getting yourself and other people all excited about a whole bunch of crazy goals, it is best to start with a clear idea of what’s truly most important to you in each area of your business. And then share that with your team. Purpose is more inspiring and sustainable than hype.

For example, what is the ultimate purpose of your Marketing or IT department? Where is that purpose clearly stated? How is it being measured and improved? How does that department’s primary role or function align, compliment and even challenge the objectives of other departments in your organization? And what are the measurable systems and strategies that you have put in place, to keep your people happy and effective each and every day?
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Your values are the Organizing Principles for yourself and for your company. They promote an internal dialogue with yourself, and an external dialogue with others, that asks “Based on what is most important, how do we handle the specific challenge or opportunity in front of us.”

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When your values are in complete alignment with your vision for your company, and the objectives you’ve defined, it helps everyone at every level answer that big, old scary question “How do we proceed?”

And whether you are a sole proprietor starting your very first home-based business, or whether you are the CEO of a massive corporation with thousands of employees, many of the questions remain the same. As a Business Consultant, maybe I can help. Here are my areas of expertise:
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• Sales
• Marketing
• Strategic Planning
• Organizational Development
• Performance Optimization

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And here are some general recommendations we might start working on together:
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• Refine and re-align the vision, values and objectives you have for yourself and for your business.
• Clearly identify the constraints or challenges that are causing friction and getting in your way.
• Ask better questions of yourself and other people to figure out solutions.
• Separate fact from fantasy to quickly get the answers you require in every area.
• Put knowledge into action in ways that can be measured and improved.
• Devise “Elegant Systems” to achieve more with less all across the board.
• Set up accountability strategies for yourself and for your team.
• Define true Key Performance Indicators to make data driven decisions.
• Empower others so that you can do more of what you enjoy, and less of what you don’t.
• Set up your CEO dashboard to run your business by the numbers, without losing sight of the true measures of your success.
• Keep everything managed, balanced and totally in perspective to ensure you are always happy and living the way you want, while taking care of business.

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If you are looking for Business Coaching or Consulting, send me an email describing your current challenges and I will help you assess your options. You can also call and leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

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Email: mhighstead@gmail.com

Phone: (720) 222-1333

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• Sales
• Marketing
• Strategic Planning
• Organizational Development
• Performance Optimization

If you would like to discuss how I can help you build your business, here’s a quick video to begin the conversation…

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To learn more about Business Coaching or Consulting, send me an email describing your current challenges and I will help you assess your options. You can also call and leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Email: mhighstead@gmail.com

Phone: (720) 222-1333

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Or,

If you are ready to get started click “Buy Now” to receive your first consultation and business planning template at a special discount rate.

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But to start getting better results in every possible area, you must also remember that the quality of your results, depends on the quality of your questions.

Our questions determine our focus. Whatever we focus on, we inevitably see more of and attract into our lives. For example, the path that led you to this page started with a question.

You found or attracted this information because of something you were asking, either consciously or unconsciously. So here’s a quick tip to help you get more focused and effective. See if you can isolate what that question was. If you can, I promise you’ll be one step closer to finding whatever it is you’re looking for.

As your personal Life Coach, part of my job is to help you get answers to your questions, and to help you find your way from wherever it is you are now, to wherever it is you want to be. But as you and I both know, there is no single answer to your problems. In fact, solving all your problems isn’t even possible, because as soon as you take care of one thing, it creates others things for you to deal with.

For example, if a guy without a penny suddenly wins a million dollars, it doesn’t solve all his problems. It just gives him a whole different set of problems he has to face! For example, he must now figure out what to do with all that money, and deal with whatever other drama it happens to stir up.

So while knowing what you want is essential to your success, the most reliable place to start, both for individuals and organizations, lies not in the identification of goals, but in the clarification of values. I define success as “the attainment of purpose without compromising core values.” That requires not only knowing what you want, but even more importantly, knowing why you really want it.
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A goal is simply a mark you have set out to accomplish. A specific destination or objective you have chosen, as a measurable indication of achievement. Why? For personal satisfaction, as a means to develop your skills, or as a step towards yet another goal at some other point in the future.

A value is a question we ask ourselves to help us make distinctions based on a personal preference. They help us compare one thing to another, given a predetermined stance or position.

And your purpose is the reason for doing something in the first place.

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Goals ask: “Where do I want to go, and what do I have to do get there?” Values ask: “Based on what’s most important, what do I do next?”

Goals look towards a possible future and can inspire you to act. Values deal with your present reality and determine how you will act.

In evaluating any coaching program, rather than starting with a vision of what you want to achieve, it is best to start with a clear idea of what is truly most important to you. This way your thoughts and feelings will be congruent with the way you want to live, and your actions will lead to the fulfillment of your desires. Your chosen goals will be in alignment with your values, rather than you always feeling forced to compromise your standards, in order to achieve your goals.
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No matter where you’re at, part of the challenge is learning how to make better use of your own personal resources. While there is no promise of what you will accomplish working with a coach, in my private programs I give all my clients the same money back guarantee: Either you will be happy with your results, or your money will be refunded.

Mike Highstead

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If you are looking for a Life Coach, or if you have any questions about Life Coaching, send me an email describing your current goals or challenges and I will help you assess your options. You can also call and leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

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Email: mhighstead@gmail.com

Phone: (720) 222-1333

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1. You and I both know you want to have more money.

2. We also know that whatever it is you want, it is up to you to make it happen.

3. If it is up to you, then you’re gonna have to find a way that actually works for you.

If we can agree on that much, then watch this 5 minute video and I’ll show you how to take it one step further.
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Let me give it to you straight. There is one choice you have to make before anything else will work. You must decide if you will be the master of your mind, or if you would rather be a slave to your own mental impulses. If you don’t, you will always be caught up in the drama of your life, and a victim of external influences.

The good news is, you already have everything you need to get where you need to be. You have a mind that thinks, a body that feels, and a soul that knows the way. The challenge is getting them all to agree, especially when your mind keeps trying to control the show.

So who is really in charge of your life? Is it you, or is it your mind? Are you the master of your thoughts and behavior? Or are you a slave to your own mental impulses? Consider your actions in life. Everything you do can be attributed to one of two things: Your need to avoid pain, or your desire to gain pleasure. Test this out for yourself. Think of anything you might do today, and see if it can’t be reduced to one of these primary motivations. Here’s a few examples:

Read a book? Gain pleasure.
Pay a bill? Avoid pain.
Go for a walk? Gain pleasure.
Lie to your boss? Avoid pain.
Sleep in? Watch a movie? Answer the phone? Maybe a little of both.

The point is, all your actions, even the actions you really don’t like, originate from either a positive or negative impulse. And every impulse is nothing more than a suggestion that your mind has served up for you to do with as you will. The problem is, being unaware of the essential relationship between yourself and your mind, you react to every thought as if it were a command.

Consider your thoughts for a moment. You have both negative and positive thoughts to choose from. You have negative thoughts to protect you from danger, and you have positive thoughts to bring you delight. The best way to think of this is having a negative mind that wants to avoid pain, and a positive mind that wants to experience pleasure.

But then you have a conflict. To your negative mind, all the potential pleasures in life involve some kind of risk, so it doesn’t want you to go there. And to your positive way of thinking, you can’t fully experience the pleasures in life while you keep holding yourself back, so you disregard the danger.

Imagine an overweight woman standing in front of her refrigerator. On the outside she appears quite calm. But inside, there’s a battle raging over whether or not she’s going to reach in there and grab that slice of chocolate cake. Her positive mind is saying “MMMMM! YES! That cake is gonna taste YUMMY!” While her negative mind keeps saying “NO! Don’t do it! You’re already big as a whale!”
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Can you think of a similar example for yourself? A time when you were torn between two possible courses of action? In that situation, what was the pleasurable experience you wanted, and what was the pain or danger you perceived?

Personal response ability means the ability to respond. It is the ability to see various points of view, decide what serves your purpose, and take effective action. It means having the confidence and maturity to figure things out for your self. This way, you can actually move forward instead of feeling stuck or trapped.
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The Challenge is…

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If you only have two options – pain or pleasure – then it’s not really a choice. It’s a dilemma. So that’s when you have to be clear. Sometimes it is good to think in negative terms, carefully considering the potential threats. Sometimes it is good to think in positive terms, focusing on the potential opportunities. And your third option is to simply stop and be neutral for a moment. To look at both sides equally and objectively before deciding what serves you best.

The reason you struggle is because you have not yet learned how to effectively direct your mind. You are bouncing back and forth between extremes, with no stability in between. Because you have no neutral way to assess your situation, you can’t see all your options. Because you can’t see any options, you remain a victim of your fears and desires.

But there is a path with your name on it. One that takes into consideration both the positive and negative points of view, and enables you to make decisions according to your vision, values and objectives. To find that path, there is one decision that must be made before any other decision will matter:
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Is your mind going to serve you?
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Or are you going to serve your mind?

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Either you are going to find a way to master your thoughts, or you will always be a victim of your own mental impulses. Either you are going to learn how to control your thoughts, or your thoughts will always be in control of you. There is no way to succeed without addressing this simple truth. There is no way to be free, until you take command.
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If you are looking for Life or Business Coaching, send me an email describing your current challenges and I will help you assess your options. You can also call and leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

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Email Mike: mhighstead@gmail.com

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And then I started wondering. I started worrying. I thought “Man this isn’t fair. For me this is really easy. There is no doubt I can reach the summit and then ski down as well as those smiling Buddhas. But it isn’t fair that for me it should be so easy, while so many other people could never do it.” Suddenly, a rope appeared coiled around my shoulder. I thought “Ah. All I have to do is lay down guidelines for people to uplift themselves. This way I don’t have to worry about whether or not other people can do it, because then I will have done my part to help them. Then I am free to go up and down the mountain as I choose.”

Feeling satisfied, me and my dramatic mind took that to be our latest mission: “To lay down guidelines for people to uplift themselves.” Man that felt good. To have such a kick-ass mission that once my work was done, I wouldn’t even have to deal with anyone anymore!

But I guess there was something else to learn, because a few weeks later, when I told an actual yogi about this vision, he said I was missing the point. He said the monks uplifted me without even trying to. Indeed, without even knowing I was there. They were just being themselves and having fun.

Damn. Now I had even more to think about!

Couple of years later, I had prescribed a meditation for myself to become a better manager. It was really challenging. Required a certain state of mind where I could gracefully balance many different things at once. Was having a really hard time doing it, so once again I asked the yogi.

“Hey. How do I do this meditation? I keep on getting all tripped up.”

“Yes” He responded. “You must cultivate a sense of being, not doing. It requires presence. Relaxation. Flow.”

Being. Not doing.

Yes. That was it exactly. That’s what it takes to manage many things at once.

To make sure you really get the picture, let me color it in with quotes. I once worked with a precocious young marketer who said “In order to get results like you have never seen before, you must become something you have never been before. So what must you become?”

Or as Thomas Leonard wrote: “Orient exclusively around your values.”

Or Jim Rohn: “It’s character that counts.”

Which opens the door for telling you about a young woman I recently met online. A woman who…well…let’s just say the only reason I would kick her out of bed…would be to do her on the floor. So it seems this hot young Harvard philosophy student had seen one of my videos somewhere. She wrote to me and said “Take it as a compliment that a 21 year old would do you.” Now being 46, I did indeed take that as a compliment, and for a moment, let go of the reigns and let my creative mind run wild. All kinds of pleasure-seeking thoughts ran amok throughout my brain, with total disregard for all the potential pain.

Fortunately, that story had a happy ending as my values won the day. But the reason I bring it up is because of something she said that I’m not sure I agree with. She said “All is play. No more. No less.”

Yeah, easy for a hot young philosopher to say. And hell, maybe even easy for some transcendent yogi or smiling monk to demonstrate. But what about all my lousy bills? What about all the work I have to do? What about all the rules and responsibilities of daily living? All is play? No freakin’ way! What kind of view is that?

And then I remembered quoting Ayn Rand in another recent conversation. I had referenced the scene where Dagny crashes her plane and then says to her lover “We never had to take any of it seriously, did we.”

And then there is Stephen Covey’s stance: “While values are internal and subjective, principles are external natural laws that ultimately determine consequence.”

Or what about Richard Bach’s line from Illusions where he wrote. “What if God commanded you to be happy?”

Hell even on this website, I have previously written that “When your work becomes your play, everything is okay.”

And here I am right now visiting my younger brother in Iowa. His name is Grant and he’s an emergency-room doctor. Always the hardest worker, Grant really loves his job, has a beautiful home and family, great health, great friends, all the toys and travel he desires, is passionate about life in general…in short the lad is really living well, while managing so many different things…and yet it seems like he is always smiling and having fun!

But here’s the thing. Today Grant came home from work and he was telling me about a 7 year old little girl who tripped and put a screwdriver through her eye. I’ll spare you the details, but the screwdriver was lodged deep inside the child’s brain, and my brother’s job was to pull that damn thing out with minimal damage.

Now I don’t know about you, but to me that doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun for anyone concerned. So here is Grant’s philosophy: “Sometimes life just sucks. Deal with it.”

The happiest, healthiest, most successful people I know, are those who are congruent. My definition of “congruence” is when what you are saying and doing on the outside matches what you are thinking and feeling on the inside.

That is attractive and powerful beyond measure.

For many years, I was in a committed relationship with a woman and I felt completely trapped. Now, for many years I have been in a committed relationship with a different woman, and I feel completely free.

Mike and Leesa

So what has made the difference? While some would say it was because of my choice in partners, I believe it has more to do with the conditions that each of my partners and I set up.

In the first relationship, I allowed my standards to be compromised. Out of fear and co-dependency, my partner and I kept on lowering the bar for what we would put up with. In the second relationship, my partner and I continually raise the bar for how we treat each other.

One thing that surprises me is how people in relationships set themselves up to lose. Especially in marriage. Vows and promises are made, often without a lot of thought, and then the vows are broken or forgotten, and people wonder went wrong. What went wrong is the rules of the relationship were violated, and rather than working through the problem, someone decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Gradually, trust was eroded, resentment started building up, bad feelings began to escalate, and then it became a free-for-all where neither person was really free.

So my first question is, if you are currently married, when was the last time you and your spouse discussed your vows? Do you even remember what they are? And are your vows still relevant and applicable? Are they current? How often do you refine them? And most importantly are they YOURS? Are they promises that YOU own and fully intend to keep?

Same goes for any committed relationship. If YOU have made promises to your partner, then it is up to YOU to hold the standards for yourself. To define what is and is not acceptable FOR YOU! Then and only then will you get the love and respect that you desire. Knowing what you value, and knowing where you stand, you can then relate to your partner from a stable place. Being clear about your rules, and being willing to back them up, will make it a whole lot easier to define the conditions of how you relate to one another. And when both of you are firm and clear about the standards, woo hoo! Life just keeps on getting better.

I encourage you to discuss this with your partner. See how he or she feels about revisiting your vows and updated them at least once every year or quarter. And if your partner isn’t willing to set and hold some standards that for you are vitally important, then by staying with that person you have got what you deserve. You will have sold out for security, but your security will be false.

On the flip side, when you personally have regained the confidence of keeping your promises to yourself, and once you and your partner are once again feeling secure and confident in your promises to each other, then you will feel free to be yourselves. In other words, once the rules of your relating have been clearly set for both of you, then you can find infinite freedom within the constraints of finite boundaries. You can have the freedom you desire, and you can have the certainty you require!

So here’s a little exercise to help you on your way. And if you’d like some extra help, I’d be happy to show you and your partner how to improve your vows or come up with some rules and promises that will help each of you feel happier and more fulfilled in your relationship.

1. Brainstorm a list of things that are essential to you in your relationship. Do this on your own.
2. Have your partner make a list on their own.
3. Now merge your lists. Whatever is the same or both of you agree upon, put it on your combined list. Anything that’s different, leave it off the list for now.
4. Now each of you pick something from the list to start working on together.
5. Use your combined list to refine your vows or develop your promises to each other.

Here’s an example of some things that Leesa and I agreed upon, before writing them in our vows. Our combined list included:

“Mom, if Adam and Eve were the first people on earth, does that mean Adam was a caveman?”

“Hey mom, it says here in this book that dinosaurs were around millions of years before people. What’s up with that?”

“Mom how come we only have one god but other people have lots of gods?

And then later…

“Mom I think you’ve been lying to me about God, just like you lied to me about Santa Claus!”

“In fact, I don’t believe there is a god, and I think you and many other people have been conned. I think the bible was written by a bunch of fearful men who made god in their own image and put themselves at the center of the universe because they were all really afraid and they wanted to be in control. Plus, it was a good way to make sure that men could be allowed to rule the women. I think all those priests and preachers were just trying to get laid!”

“And another thing! How come there is no gospel according to Jane? How come the word of god only comes from men?”

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My poor mom. Eventually she got it right, though. She finally gave me an answer I could run with: “How the hell should I know! Figure it out for yourself!”
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Years later, after traveling down more intellectual, philosophical, theological and physical roads than I can count, I came up with some things that work for me. Some things that set me free. Have no idea what any of this could mean to you, but one thing is for sure…
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The day I got really frustrated about being unable to tap into that same source of strength and courage that so many other people seemed to be able to access, that mysterious force or power that has helped so many amazing people achieve so many amazing things – athletes, musicians, artists, millionaires, billionaires, humanitarians, people with loving friends and families…so many people all thanking GOD every goddamn time something wonderful happened to them…well that was the day I decided to start changing my approach.
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That was the day I decided to figure out how to tap into MY own highest power. An idea of God that worked for me. However, being an atheist at the time, I really had no way of doing that. I had no way of finding any kind god I could actually embrace.
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As an entrepreneur I knew how to be resourceful. And yet I knew my overall strategy was lame, because it gave me no way of accessing any concept of a power greater than my challenges. And I needed that kind of power. I needed that kind of confidence. Desperately. So I decided to be more flexible. I started thinking in terms of powers I could believe in.
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For me the first door was nature. Being outside, being myself, being natural…I always felt Nature was something good and true and real. Being constantly outdoors, it was always very easy to find things I could believe in.
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My next real glimpse of God came through conscious breathing. A friend introduced me to the idea that slowing down my breathing was a good way to slow down my thoughts, and therefore “control my universe.” I definitely felt the effects of that, so I explored the idea of “conscious breathing” a little further.
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Then came a better understanding of the Creative power of words. How powerful it is to keep your word. The cause and effect of words. How sounds bring things into being. How words identify, label, contain, and ultimately manifest experience. A guy once said to me “You don’t believe in god, but you do believe in nature. So try this: G.O.D. = The Generating, Organizing, Delivering / Destroying principles of the universe.”
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That gave me a way of looking at the word “god” without having to personify it. This finally gave me the flexibility I required to consider other points of view. For example, I could apply my interpretation to the Gospel of Thomas: “The kingdom of heaven is within you and all around you. Turn over a stone and you will find me. Break a twig and I am there.” Where others might only be seeing “Him” there, I could now see Him, Her, It or Anything-Else-I-Needed there.
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My teacher Yogi Bhajan helped me clarify this. He said: “If you can’t see God in all, you can’t see God at all.”
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And then I realized that all these people fighting about religion, they all had one thing in common. They were all looking for certainty. They all needed to believe. But I already believed that “nothing has any meaning except the meaning we choose to give it.” And I had already surrendered to the fact that in a world of infinite possibilities, there are going to be some things I cannot understand. Things I cannot know for certain.
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Having learned that the mind’s primary functions are to record, label and assess information – to make sense of things in order for us to act – I simply accepted that my mind will always try to define, label, limit, categorize and know…everything! It will even try to know things that are boundless and unknowable. So I decided to put a leash on my mind’s incessant mental meandering, and allow my soul to take the helm.
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And suddenly there I was, feeling very much at peace, feeling happy and productive, and feeling better than ever with an understanding of God that worked for me. It was like somehow I had woken up, and was able to see things clearly. I was able to keep things in perspective. Eventually, my new-found awareness led me to become a Kundalini Yoga teacher, where I decided that part of my purpose in life is to “Help people tap into their own Highest Power.” Whatever that means to them.
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And because we haven’t spoken yet, I’m not sure what any of this means to you. But it has certainly reminded me that it is time to step away from this computer and go for a nice long walk in the park!
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Enjoy your day!
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If you can’t decide what being free and happy in your career truly means,
then how can you ever get there?

So let me offer you a clue by telling you what it means to me.
And if that gives you some ideas, then I encourage you to run with them.
Because when your work becomes your play, the fun just never seems to end.

To me, absolute freedom in my profession means the freedom to create, the freedom to explore, and the freedom to express “The truth of my identity.” It means having an unlimited field of opportunity to share and experience the very best within me, in any way I choose. It means being able to tap into my own highest power, my highest creative potential, at any given moment.

It means being solely and absolutely responsible for my own success and failure. It means having nobody else tell me what I can or cannot do. And it means having total mastery of my mind, and also a healthy body, so that I can accurately assess information, while feeling passionate and vital, and focus my daily efforts in ways that truly serve God, myself and others.

I believe everything must be relative in order to have meaning, so freedom never comes without opposition. I learn, I grow, I open doors for myself and other people by working against resistance. By facing my daily challenges, I develop super-hero powers! And as every super-hero knows, with great power comes great responsibly. Being subject to the laws of God and Nature keeps me in my place. It keeps me humble. It sets the conditions, parameters, and even the limitations which are necessary for me to grow and be the best that I can be.

Professional freedom means having infinite possibilities within the constraints of finite boundaries. An environment or arena where certain options have been removed, and a limited range of motion has been set. To feel totally free in my work, and for my efforts to have any value or meaning, there has to be some opposing force to work against. For the drama to unfold, there has to be a playing field with uncompromising rules and standards, where the stakes are really high.

Running my own business I already have all of that and more, and my life is simply wow. Great beyond description. But once upon a time, not that long ago, it began with a description. A clearly defined vision of how I wanted my professional life to be. And now I no longer have to work, because everyday I make money while I play.

So what does professional freedom mean to you? If the big picture is still too much to grasp, then start with a view of something smaller. What is your vision for an ideal day of work? Go ahead and write it down right now. I dare you. I double dare you.

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Once you have written down a dream or vision of your ideal job or day, send me an email. Tell me the biggest obstacle to making your dream come true,
and I will help you overcome it.

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Email: mhighstead@gmail.com

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