Dave Lourdes

Low employee engagement isn't just a minor inconvenience. It actually derails entire teams and hinders productivity.
When people are disengaged, they are less likely to be productive, leading to a decrease in output and an increase in errors.
This negatively impacts the entire team's ability to meet deadlines and achieve goals.
If you're not paying attention to engagement, you're putting your team's success at risk.

Hi everyone, after dragging myself to the gym and back this morning, I was barely in the door and Leens was up and about with this TEDx video.

Just walked in, can’t say I was ready to jump into a video about chores and mental health but yes, YES, I was ready whether I knew it or not.

It is essentially about basic needs and survival through the heavy and dark periods of mental health BUT the perspective is freeing for all of us.

I love the the use of the words ‘morally neutral’, no right or wrong, it just is.

The pressure, of our own expectations of ourselves, those of others that are real or imagined, make us feel terrible about ourselves and feed that negative internalised script.

The New Year brings about it’s own demands around goal setting and how we must plan and set ourselves up…. more pressure!

There were two simple questions in this video I thought invaluable when stuck in a state of overwhelm or procrastination.

- What can I do with my current barriers?
- What am I trying to achieve, and how can I achieve it my way?

I don’t know about you, but just reading those questions and hearing them, helps me take a deep breath and think, ok this is doable.

Give them a go. Cheers, Dave

How to Do Laundry When You're Depressed | KC Davis | TED Have you ever had a hard time doing daily household tasks -- cooking, cleaning, laundry -- and felt like a terrible person for struggling in the first place?...

🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑🏼 Most people have a really strong desire to be successful at what they do.⁠⁠
🏆 I don’t know anyone that goes into a race says to themselves, “I really hope I come fourth.”⁠⁠
🛑 After coaching and mentoring people for more than 30 years I’ve seen two things stop people being successful.⁠⁠
🤏🏽 One, they get a small win or a solution to an immediate problem and then stop. They avoid the long game and delude themselves into thinking, “I can take it from here.”⁠⁠
⏩ The second, and more common one is, deep down they want a quick fix. They want the transformation and success overnight. Most people would NEVER say this out loud because they realise how ridiculous it is, BUT inside that’s what they want.⁠⁠
🪔 Of course, when this doesn’t happen, our motivation and commitment drops.⁠⁠
👉🏼 Pick your thing you want to win at (my suggestion is life 😉. ⁠⁠
🧑🏼‍🏭 Work hard... really hard.⁠⁠
🚧 Expect many setbacks. ⁠⁠
⛵ Stay the course.⁠⁠
🎂 Celebrate every incremental improvement or little step forward.⁠⁠
🙋🏽‍♂️ Get someone who knows what they’re doing to help you.⁠⁠
🚴🏽 Now get to work.⁠⁠
🏅 ⁠

🛑 STOP. ⁠⁠
‼️ I have an important message for you today.⁠⁠
😟 Before you start worrying about step 20 in your career, focus on getting to and nailing step one.⁠⁠
👀 It's human nature to compare ourselves to others and then feel sick about our own progress.⁠⁠
😨 As soon as self doubt creeps in, all our limiting beliefs are reinforced. Logic goes out the window and our thinking shifts very quickly to seeing ourselves as a failure.⁠⁠
🕸️ Obviously as a coach I help people crush self doubt and limiting beliefs every day, however I know from experience it’s important to guide people through this in a safe and steady way because it can be complex psychological web that’s been woven together over many years.⌛⁠⁠
🚶🏼 So go slow. Go easy on yourself. BUT most importantly, just go. Take some small and CONSCIOUS action consistently.⁠⁠
🔨 Get to work on nailing ONE step at a time.⁠⁠
⁠

❓ Are you really fearful of anything?⁠⁠
🗣️ Firstly, I’ll tell you my big fear was being paralysed just by the thought of public speaking.⁠⁠
👀 If you are paralysed by fear of some sort, I’ve got a question.⁠⁠
⏱️ How long would it take to completely change your life by conquering the fear?⁠⁠
🍬 The answer is different for everyone.⁠⁠
✌🏼 There are two camps. Those who CONSCIOUSLY want to eliminate their fear, and those who play the avoidance game 🔥. If you genuinely want to conquer any fear, just consciously wanting to conquer it means you will get there faster than the person who devotes their life to avoiding their fear 🤫.⁠⁠
🔎 Why? Because you will be actively looking for solutions, strategies, and hacks to overcome your fear.⁠⁠
📜 For me it took the 10 seconds to read this Dale Carnegie quote to set me on the path to eliminating my fear of public speaking. Of course, I’ve done a tonne of personal development work and professional training to help but, it was seeing this quote when I was 19 years old that transformed my life.⁠⁠
👂🏼 I recited this quote to myself at least twice a day, every day and it tattooed the message of stepping up and not hiding away onto my brain. 🧠⁠⁠
💥 I turned my fear into a career. You can too… and it can take just seconds.⁠⁠
👉🏼 What’s your fear? ⁠⁠
✅ Get to work on turning it into your superpower.⁠⁠
⁠

🤦🏽 Firstly, can we agree that the answer to this question is Yes?⁠⁠
🌑 Politics describes the dark side of culture. ⁠⁠
🏃🏼🏃🏼‍♂️ It won’t surprise you to know that research shows that when we perceive our workplace as more political, we are less engaged, less productive, and more likely to leave. ⁠⁠
📖 Political scientist, Harold Laswell, says office politics can be understood as the unwritten rules that determine who gets what, when, and how — a promotion, a budget for a project, a say in the boss’s decisions — and who doesn’t. ⁠⁠
📉 This is why we dislike politics so much: because our destiny depends on unwritten rules — and when they conflict with the stated rules and make the system seem rigged — things are bound to seem arbitrary and unfair (HBR Article).⁠⁠
🕳️ It also won’t surprise you to know that office politics are unavoidable. Whether you participate in them or not, politics have a big influence on what happens to you, your projects, and your team, so it’s hard to ignore to them.⁠⁠
🧑🏼‍🎓 So if you want to thrive at work, you better learn to decode, and speak, this unwritten language because it’s pivotal to your career survival and to achieving a position of meaning influential significance.⁠⁠
🤝 I’m not for minute saying you should be a game player, I am saying, spend MORE time markedly improving your social intelligence, interpersonal influence, your networking ability and reputation as an honest, open, and forthright person to deal with.⁠⁠
⁠

[ HOW YOU SHOW UP MATTERS! ]⁠⁠
💤 It’s the days when you CBF that are the most important!⁠⁠
👎🏽 If you feel like you’re getting overlooked at work or missing out on some of those great roles, it’s usually because you are not seen to be making an impact.⁠⁠
👥 Think about it. When you’re in a meeting, a sales call, delivering a presentation, participating in a workshop or at your team stand up… ⁠⁠
💎 HOW DO YOU SHOW UP?⁠⁠
❓Do you look like you want to go back to bed?⁠
❓Do you participate?⁠
❓Do you only really speak up to suck up to your boss?⁠
❓Do you talk to show how smart you are?⁠
❓Do you get off on pointing out mistakes?⁠
❓Are you really just taking up a seat?⁠⁠
🔥 Make a positive impact and you CAN’T go wrong.⁠⁠
⁠

[ WHICH ONE ARE YOU? ]⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠
👉🏽 I’d love to know where you stand. ⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠
🤔 Do like a sense of order so you have no surprises?⁠ ⁠
🤔 Are you more a fly by the seat of your pants type of person?⁠⁠
🤔 Do you review your calendar the night before so you're ready for the next day?⁠⁠
🤔 Do you just live your life 30 minutes in advance and work things out as they come up?⁠⁠ ⁠
🔄 I’ve changed MASSIVELY in the last few years! ⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠
👇🏽 Let me know your preference in the comments. ⁠⁠ ⁠
⁠ ⁠

[ SAVE THIS POST FOR YOUR REFERENCE]⁠⁠⁠
👉🏽 We ALL get stuck from time to time. It’s normal. No one I know has a continual upward trajectory in their or . ⁠⁠
☄️ In today’s world, the only currency that counts is IMPACT. ⁠⁠
If you’re not making an impact, you’re just making up the numbers.⁠⁠
‼️ The problem is, we don’t know where to start… until now. ⁠⁠ ⁠
👥 In my Game Changers Coaching program we have 84 specific modules that will get you off the hamster wheel, and making progress much faster, and getting recognised more often.⁠⁠
🏆 I’ve refined it down to the 2️⃣1️⃣ most effective.⁠⁠
✅ So the next time you want to level up your growth, progress, or impact, refer back to this list.⁠⁠
⁠ ⁠

[ DO YOU JUDGE A BOOK BY IT’S COVER? ]⁠ .⁠ ⁠⁠
👉🏽 We ALL do. It’s . Don’t believe the people who tell you their instant response is, “they used to” and now they look deeper.⁠⁠
😊☹️ It’s natural to be motivated, inspired or even feel jealous and envious about someone’s outward appearance, assets or lifestyle.⁠⁠
🎥 Remember you are usually seeing the end result, their highlights reel and the external show (with all the bits they want you to see only). ⁠⁠ ⁠
🏃🏼Feeling like you’re falling behind? Cut yourself some slack. OR get to work on yourself.⁠⁠
🤢Feeling jealous? Use it to motivate you. OR get to work on yourself.⁠⁠
😡Feeling pi**ed off? Cut them off, unfriend, ignore, etc. OR get to work on yourself.⁠⁠
😪Feeling some ? Distract your mind with . OR get to work on yourself.⁠⁠ ⁠
✅ The real message here is, you are the most important project you’ll ever work on, so just spend most of your energy on that. ⁠⁠ ⁠
❓Is it time to spend more effort and energy developing yourself, your goals and your future? ⁠⁠
👇🏽 Let me know in the comments if it’s a yeah, a hell yeah or a F[_]CK yeah! ⁠⁠⁠
⁠

[ STOP! Don’t Get Sucked In!]⁠⁠
☀️ It’s the first day of the month and you know what that means? Time to reset!⁠⁠
😔 We’re living in challenging times (really s**tty for some people) so it’s easy to get pi**ed off by the opinions, advice and arguments that are flying around… especially on social media.⁠⁠
👉🏽 Your job is to be a leader. A leader at your work. A leader in your business. A leader for your clients. A leader of your friends. A leader in your family.⁠⁠
⛵ It’s way too easy to get dragged off course by what someone else does or says. Don’t get distracted from your job AS A LEADER.⁠⁠
🤚🏽 So before you respond, just ask yourself:⁠⁠
❓Is what I want to do, going to amplify or alleviate the drama for me, my mission and those around me?⁠⁠
⁠

Good things DON'T come to those who wait.
Good things come to those who wake up, work hard and keep going no matter how tough it is.
No need to wait for approval.
No need to keep checking in with someone else.
No need to worry about the opinions of doubters.
Approve yourself.
🏁

Just one year out of your life.
☝
What do you want to take the next level?
Your career?
Your health?
Your relationships?
Your FUN?
Your confidence?

Go full arse.
Half arsing won't work.
Go full arse.
Make the sacrifices. Take the leap. Don't break the promises you make to yourself.

It happened.
It may have been s**t or felt s**t.
It's in the archives now.
Leave it there.
🎞📽🎬
No need to keep rewinding and watching the replay of how it didn't work out or go according to plan.
🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️🚶
What did you learn from it?
How can you use it?
When will you start?
👊👍💪

People use their burdens, inconveniences and struggles to connect. ❌
Using blessings, wins and gratitude to connect will rewire your brain, make you more appealing to others and increase the energy of your conversations. ✅
It's not easy, BUT it's worth it. 👥

Keep Improving yourself. 😉

"When you're grounded, you allow yourself to feel centered and balanced no matter what's going on around you.
If you aren't grounded, you're like a leaf in the wind: very vulnerable and thrown off balance very quickly. But when you are well grounded, you are like a big, strong tree. If something happens around you, it doesn't influence you so much and you are able to feel much more peaceful and balanced in your daily life."

Source: MindBodyGreen 🙏

Waiting until it "feels right."
Waiting until your "prepared."
Waiting for a "sign.".
Let's be honest, most people are really waiting till they pluck up the courage to leave their comfort zone.
Time to cross the line?.

We've all got self doubt.
AND
We've all got choices.
Go to work on crushing your self doubt OR let it crush you.
Your Choice.

The vision board.
Threatening to change.
The start on Monday mindset.
The New Years Resolution goals.
👇
They all work... as long as you DO the work.
⛏🔨

Sometimes it isn't easy to accept that you are responsible for your outcomes, BUT it's always valuable.
👇
No one is coming to save you. It's up to you. Responsibility is your friend.
🪞

Dedication at work is everything.
😉

We are infecting people with our attitude, body language, tonality, facial expressions, vibe, conversations and mindset ALL THE TIME.
🙂☹
You're always leaving or reinforcing an impression.
👣
Some people walk in and it's like the grim reaper turned up, others are cheerleaders and some people are almost invisible.
👿🎉🦱

Despite what most people think and espouse about being different and unique, they would actually rather follow the crowd and be like their peer group... with just a little twist to give the impression of uniqueness.
It takes guts to stand up, stand out and be different. I mean truly different, not manufactured quirkiness or engineered eccentricity.
.
P.S. you don't need to be different anyway but it seems to have become a status symbol for some reason.

Don't wait to say thank you.
Notice the people who support you.
Put your energy into your supporters.
STOP chasing people who ignore you.
Taking people for granted is the fastest way to lose them.

The ripple effect starts with how we think. What you fill your mind with matters.
Some people have the ability find something s**t no matter how great things are.