[00:00] Welcome back to the Focus B show. This is Katie Sudddhart here, aka The Focus B, and on this show, I interview high performers and leaders around the world to discover their secrets on peak performance, productivity, mindfulness, and leadership. So if you want to take your performance and your leadership to the next level, then you're in the right place. Listen up and connect with the magic.

[00:36] I can't quite believe that I've interviewed 100 people, almost 200 episodes, on my podcast and YouTube, and I feel that I've learned so much from all the people I interviewed. I feel incredibly grateful to have had the privilege to speak to so many people that know so much and to learn from them firsthand. So it's quite difficult to summarize all the learnings. I'd invite you to check out some of the episodes and interviews that inspire you. But I have found a few key things that I've learned that I've seen as a pattern for all these people that I've interviewed. One of the first ones is the fact that no matter how impressive someone comes across, or no matter how interesting and inspiring and smart someone is, they're always working on something and they're still improving and growing. This is something that's really interesting, where you get to speak to some people that maybe you put on a pedestal or you look up to and then you speak to them off air and you realize they're also struggling with balance or they're also struggling with their business. Or some people that I saw as extremely successful who said they weren't making ends meet and they didn't know how to have a financial business that was viable. And you think, oh, wow, these people have struggles just like everyone else, whether it's financial or balance or their relationship. And people asking me for advice on starting a podcast, people who I thought would already know all of these things. So this is the first super important lesson, is no matter who you're listening to, no matter anyone out there that comes across as having it all figured out, they haven't. No one has it all figured out. Everyone's a work in progress, everyone's constantly improving. And it's not because they speak in a knowledgeable way about certain topics that it means that they're an expert on everything in life. Again, sounds obvious, but when we put people on a pedestal, we can forget that they're also working on different things, different topics. They have their own struggles, and some of them were even going through very hard personal circumstances. And this isn't something that necessarily you can see or hear on a podcast. So that was one of my first lesson learned. And I feel it's absolutely essential to keep in mind, no matter who you're talking to, they also have stuff going on. They're also working on their own projects, on their own concepts, and they have their own struggles. And then there were a few key practices that came up time and time again with all these high performers and leaders, there were a few things that they were always very mindful of. One of them is the people I interviewed, at least, all had high energy. And higher energy is something that you cultivate. It's not just innate. Yes, there are some personalities that are more energetic than others, but it's something that you can actively train yourself on. This is why it's one of the High Performance Habits by Brendan bashard, because it's a habit that high performers work on continuously cultivate and improve. The way they did that for most part, was linked to exercising, or was linked to getting enough sleep, eating the right types of food. Nutrition came up quite often. But also being connected to this mission, this vision, and having a passion for what they're doing. This also translates you can hear when you're talking to someone that they're energized and passionate about what they do. If you feel that you want to work on your energy, that this is something that you're lacking. I've done lots of different episodes on this, but I'd invite you to do a brief overview in your life. What energizes you, what drains you, and what are some of your energizing practices around exercising or sleep or nutrition and looking at maybe how can you better connect with this vision, this mission, and your aspiration? Because this has a deep impact on how energized you will feel, especially on the days where you're tired or you can't be bothered or you come back from holiday, then having this passion, having this vision, will really help you to have great energy. One interesting topic that also came up was around peer groups. And I found that most high performers and leaders have a very strong peer group and have a very strong community that they're part of or that they've built. And this is because to get to the level that they are, to get to that next stage and level, it's absolutely fundamental to be surrounded by people who think in a similar way, who act in a similar way, who inspire you to become the best version of yourself. And I know that for me, a great part of this peer group was actually the people that I was interviewing. Having the privilege to interview people weekly, biweekly regularly on certain topics such as high performance habits and flying in your zone of genius and mindful self discipline. All of this has had a tremendous impact on my psyche, on my way of functioning, of looking at the world. On top of getting a huge energy boost and inspirational boost from these speakers. This is something that's important not to neglect when you're looking at how you can level up. Interestingly enough, those things aren't the only pillars or the only aspects that really matter, right? So it's great to have fantastic energy. It's great to have a peer group that supports you or community you're part of, but what matters most is to be working in your zone of genius. And this is an episode that I covered with Danielle McLeod, which is flying in your zone of genius. And this is something that came through in the different episodes, in the different interviews, is that most people were working in their zone of genius. And your zone of genius, for those of you who aren't familiar with the term, something that's covered also in the book the big leap this concept is around doing something you love and that you're really good at. So it's something you're excellent at doing, but you also love and you're passionate about it. In some ways, it's one of the blocks of the ikigai. So the ikigai is what you love, what you're really good at, what the world needs and what the world can pay you for. So that first part of what you're really good at and what you love, that's your zone of genius. From the people I interviewed, I could just tell that was their thing. They weren't just doing this job because why not? Or it's fun, or they get well paid for it. They were doing it because it was their zone of genius, because it was the ikigai. And this filled them not only with that energy, but also with that purpose and mission and meaning behind what they were doing. So I invite you, if you want to feel more fulfilled in your life, to look a bit closer at what could be your zone of genius and then how you can tie with ikigai, which is how you can contribute this to the world. So let's say your zone of genius is writing, and you just write some short stories on the side that you don't publish and don't show to anyone. And then during your day job, you're a data analyst, and you forget that your zone of genius is creative writing, then how can you tie creative writing and use it to contribute on a greater scale? Because this is where you're going to thrive. This is where you're going to get excellent. This is where you're going to get more paid for it. This is where you're going to feel more fulfilled and enjoy and be in flow, because it's aligned, and it's who you are, and it's your strength. So you're working on your strength and not just something you're quite good at and trying to improve. This is something I noticed with all the high performers and leaders that I interviewed. They were flying in their zone of genius. They were energized, they were working with purpose, and they had a peer group and community that also helped them and supported them to go to that next level. Those are some of the fundamental traits that I thought from the 100 people that I interviewed, and there's so many more. And I could go on probably all day around. How they manage their time and how they've learned to say no and have boundaries, how they're able to prioritize and shift their perspective. And also how they're great at leading themselves, leading their emotions. Being able to be fully present while they spoke and they exchange handling change and difficult transitions, being able to master complicated or challenging conversations. Those are all traits that I've found from all the high performers and leaders that I've interviewed and many, many more. I'd also be curious to hear, from the interviews that you've heard, what are some of the traits that you've picked up on that seem to show up in all these high performers and leaders? Very curious to hear your insights on this. Thank you so much for tuning in today. Hope you enjoyed the episode. Thank you.

[10:18] Thank you so much for tuning in today to the Focus Bees show. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback, so let me know in an Apple review or YouTube comment what was most valuable for you, and feel free to share this episode with a friend or a family member. Wishing you a wonderful, magical and focused day ahead.