Zenful Business: 11 Models for Flow and Peak Performance at Work

by Debbie Pask

Overview

Energy should be your number one priority if youre a business owner, manager or entrepreneur.

After all, its our most powerful tool: Energy gets us out of bed every day, and it draws opportunities our way. It is also what keeps us charged up so we can perform at our best.

East meets West in this guide to bolstering your energy with these eleven models that will help you master work performance. Get the tools you need to:

integrate personal power with commercial intelligence;
stay connected to your work passion;
make intuitive decisions; and
triple the effectiveness of any business strategy.

This is much more than a series of ideasits a how-to manual and personal workbook you can use every day to enhance your performance at work.

Get the guidance you need to master your personal energy and bolster your success on the job with Zenful Business.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504301640
Publisher:	Balboa Press AU
Publication date:	04/28/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Debbie Pask is a holistic personal and business coach who helps people discover their life purpose and overcome obstacles. She has a background in board level advertising, a degree in philosophy, and has been trained in eastern philosophy, meditation, and mindfulness.

Read an Excerpt

Zenful Business

11 Models for Flow and Peak Performance at Work

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By Debbie Pask

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2016 Debbie Pask
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5043-0163-3

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CHAPTER 1

Master the Flow of Yin & Yang

Quote: 'Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.' Japanese Proverb

Key learning: Understanding of ebb and flow, cycles and seasons within your business life and your personal life.

Key words: Yin and Yang. Night and Day. Feminine and Masculine. Reflection and Action. Inner and Outer. Shadow and Light. Intuition and Logic.

The key to mastering your business life is to find that intricate oscillation between Yin and Yang, reflection and action.

In business if you are too 'Yin' – you are the cruisy, creative artist who is brilliant but never gets her exhibition up and running and slowly shrivels from hopelessness. Yet if you are too 'Yang' you are the ruthless executive running on that ridiculous little rat wheel in a tiny cage and cannot make a heartfelt and right decision to save his life. Life becomes wonky. An overload of either is imbalanced, yet I am guessing that if you are reading this book, you probably have the 'doing' or Yang bit cultivated (at least somewhat) and it's the Yin or 'X Factor'# bit you need to give you the leading edge.

The Yin is truly where brilliant innovation and life changing actions stem from. But without the Yang, it's useless.

How do we best explain Yin and Yang outside of the Chinese medicine association? After all, most people think Yin and Yang relate to the body and health, which they do of course, but there is so much more to this ancient concept.

What is the definition of Yin and Yang?

YIN

The moon relates to Yin energy as it is reflective and soothing, appearing in the dark of the night sky and it goes through cycles, just like the emotions. As a result, the moon does affect the emotions and moods of mankind.

Yin is more about sitting within and finding your inner sanctuary. Yin energy reflects inwardly to the body and senses emotions and feelings. It is sensitive and intuitive. Yin is very nurturing and is closely associated with feminine energy. Women who are very Yin-oriented can sometimes find Yang energy too dominant. On the other hand, men can find it difficult to approach someone with high Yin energy – as it feels 'weaker' or shadowy (challenging) to them and harder to interpret. Bold outward action is more comfortable for high Yang energy people. Yin energy does not feel practical or tangible or purposeful. Yin energy is highly creative and utilised best in problem-solving, design and culture. In a business world, however, both approaches are necessary and if you can understand and lead with both, you are way ahead of the game.

YANG

The sun relates to Yang energy as it is charged up, bright and outwardly reflective. A daytime event, the sun holds life force and active energy, illuminating all that it touches. The strength of the sun relates to outer expression and power.

Yang is masculine; it's more logical and rational and projects energy outwards. It is about extending outside of the body and it likes to Act/Do. This can feel dominating at times for someone with strong Yin energy. Men often project themselves in a Yang style as it feels natural. It's a driving, forceful and action-oriented energy. People with high Yang energy (and that can be either sex by the way) can sometimes fail to properly interpret more subtle or emotive messages that are expressed from high Yin people. They are not used to looking beneath the surface of any communication and body language. These high Yang people usually project their energy and body outwards, sometimes totally bypassing the deeper softer messages being conveyed. A typical (and very obvious) example is a strong and dominant male boss 'physically' standing too close to a gentle and more unconfident female co-worker in a conversation, who is obviously cringing underneath the force.

As a result of being outwards, the energy is always turned up and giving or projecting forward. Yang people always have a 'to do' list or a set of goals to achieve and can often crush people in their way.

Let's have a look at the key aspects of Yin and Yang in a simple comparative table, so that you truly understand the difference. Don't make the mistake of thinking men are all Yang and women are Yin. I know many Yang-oriented women who suppress their feminine instincts by trying to exist in the masculine world of business. I also know Yin-oriented men who cannot finish any projects to save their life! If both sexes can understand how positive and powerful it is to have both qualities in balance, business would be so much easier.

Read this list below from left to right so you can see the corresponding and opposite quality of Yin and Yang.

YIN
Yang
divine feminine aspects (silver) divine masculine aspects (gold)

Night
Day
Moon
Sun
Receiving energy
Giving energy
Inner
Outer
Reflective
Active
Creativity
Logic
Intuitive
Rational
Spirit
Mind
Shadow
Light
Death (of old)
Rebirth (of new)
Subconscious
Conscious
Quiet
Busy
Being
Doing
Dreams
Goals/Project plans
Internal
External
Back
Front
Water
Fire
Soft/moist
Hard/dry
Venus
Mars
Earth
Heaven

Spending time in 'Yin' mode is the key to filling up with energy and finding that deep place of Zenfulness. When you are Zenful, business and life flows, creativity and vision manifest and your time is more productive and effective. Whilst Yang can feel energising, it ultimately will take energy from you if you over-drive it. Most work burnouts can be pinned back to over-spinning Yang activities and failing to give value to mindfulness. That is absolutely what happened to me at the young age of 27 years when I was sitting on the board of directors in one of the largest advertising agencies in the world.

I have a much better balance between these two states now, but the Yang in me (the practical part) would like to directly apply these principles to business activity. Here goes:

Yin Activities in Business – listening to your intuition/spirit

1. Downtime – creative planning;

2. Silence – inward reflections and thoughts;

3. Problem-solving – thought and navigation;

4. Usually a quiet cycle in business to reflect (if you don't get one – make one!);

5. Intuition – what feels right in myself and tunes in to what makes me feel excited;

6. Less client meeting times – more alone time;

7. Taking time to nourish the mind, body and spirit to revitalise;

8. Understanding lessons/gifts – working out repeating patterns and blocks;

9. Slow movement and touch – completing tasks mindfully and with presence; and

10. Dreaming up new products and setting vision.

How many of these would you say you do regularly? Note down your answer ...

Yang Activities in Business – letting your body & brain execute plans and actions

1. Activity – meetings, presentations and executing creative thoughts;

2. Outwards actions – busy-ness and execution of plans (task-oriented & logical);

3. Meeting people, networking and taking your ideas out to the world;

4. Communication in many forms – marketing, PR, conversations, new business;

5. Juggling many tasks – making noise and broadcasting;

6. Picking up the phone – connecting outwardly;

7. Delivering work and projects – driving milestones and practical planning;

8. Product Launches/Events – meeting an end goal;

9. Accounting – tax, P&L, logical financial tasks; and

10. Pitching – new business.

How many of these would you say you do regularly? Note down your answer ...

What was your Yin result /10...... versus your Yang result /10 ...?

So, you can see that Yin and Yang energies both have a place in business and every business category (marketing, networking, logistics etc.) needs to consider both aspects to remain balanced and healthy. Any extreme of one or the other will be detrimental.

I like to call the delicate balance between Yin and Yang in business – 'intu-logic'. Yes, a made up word by me which means 'the practice of combining intuitive heart-led decisions with commercially savvy actions'. We use Yin to dream and Yang to bring the dream into physical reality.

Let's look at some examples of how Yin and Yang can go haywire if out of balance. I am going to start with 'Yang' examples as they are much more common in business.

YANG: Out of balance example - intense

Meet Jill Smith. She is too Yang in business and as a result she has major burnout going on. She has a low stress threshold now and she has dark circles under her eyes and aching calf muscles from adrenal fatigue. She's only just hit 40, but the long working hours and stress have taken its toll on her physically. Coffee has the ability to pick her up (just) and the tiring effort that she makes day in and day out means nothing much is left in the tank for added creativity and strategy, let alone a social life. She performs well at work and keeps it together, but the inner satisfaction she has is waning. Life feels hard and the Yang excess is rife. However, if she were to stop, all of the burden would just catch up and strangle her so she stays working at it, thinking that if she just works a bit harder and jumps a few more hurdles, life can become easier. Sorry Jill, it doesn't and you might get pretty sick.

Key words: Workaholism / Over-drive

I can actually identify with some of Jill's challenges above. I remember staying at home 16 Saturday nights (that's 4 months) in a row when I was too tired to make a fun Saturday night out – and I was only 27 years old.

What does serious stress (massive Yang spin) do to the body?

Pretty unpleasant hey?

Further to that, adrenal stress turns on the 'fight, flight or freeze' response in the body, which is fine in short doses, but in the case above, chronic long-term burnout means that your adrenals keep over-firing and then your body starts to break down in different ways as it does not feel safe to just 'be'. The only way to stop this?

Sort out your 'Yin' balance. Later on I refer to an article written by Harvard Business Review on peak performance and recovery and the value of rest.

If you want to really understand how stress (Yang spin) can affect you long-term, an interesting study was done several years back by Jost Sauer.

In his booked titled Higher & Higher; From Drugs and Destruction to Health and Happiness, Sauer compares two people with serious health problems. One has a seriously nasty drug (all sorts) addiction and the other person is a corporate stress junkie who has spent a long time in over-drive and Yang spin. They both wound up feeling suicidal and depressed, both having major organs depleted to a similar level and their energy and life force in serious jeopardy. One took drugs to get there and the other was a corporate stress junkie/ over-achiever.

The corporate stress junkie had an over-achieving personality. Sauer says in his book "In the West, we have become a society that ... chases external goals that are often work related. We want faster computers, more information, and quick responses. These desires all result from Yang 'advance and act' stimulus, but we have simultaneously lost the Yin ability to 'retreat and wait'. We can't even wait in traffic queues anymore without becoming frustrated and we are naturally attracted to the stimulant drugs such as cocaine, speed and caffeine – all of which make us go faster but naturally deplete the Yin." Well said.

When a medical test was completed, they both had a similar level of toxicity in their liver, organs and blood work. It seems that the drug 'heroin' and 'stress' can do the same level of damage internally (physically and mentally) and are both seriously destructive. Whether it is a drug you are using or a mind altering 'mood', it seems that your body will become sick if you cannot learn how to live in balance.

The interesting thing about stress is that you often don't think you are stressed until something knocks you over the edge. If you are a Personality a Type, you probably are in early stages or perhaps full Yang spin.

YANG: Out of balance example – medium

Meet John Smith. He is a smart sales guy that heads up a big team that is really hitting the numbers. Work is high pressure, but hey – he can handle it. There's not much time for health and wellbeing (and meditation doesn't even get a look in) due to having a young family at home. Plus, there is pressure to earn money for the new house and the leased BMW car. As a result of high stress, John can at times be an aggressive, confrontational manager who intimidates his staff if little things go wrong. Weakness is not tolerated and everyone needs to play to the same rules. There's not really much space to slip at work and he needs everyone on their game, regardless of what's going on in their personal life. After all, time is of the essence and time is money. He cannot understand why his sales team turnover so much though and leave the business. His team rapport is suffering and his management style is one dimensional. Plus, these new Generation Y'ers seem to be more lightweight than the older guys in the biz. Can't they handle a bit of tough love?

Key words: Low EQ (Emotional Intelligence) / Lack of compassion / Mild to medium irritation

YANG: Out of balance example – subtle

Meet Jane Smith. She enjoys her career and works hard as well as plays hard. Her social life and decent working hours means she is always on the go and planning, planning, planning. No time to sit still. There's just enough time for a fast and exhausting kick butt cycle class at the gym and a 10 km run every weekend to keep her body in shape. She looks great and keeps sparky. As a result, she keeps her life efficient and controlled so that she can fit everything in and keep the balls in the air. She is great at multi-tasking and can write a 'to do' list like a pro. Her friends love her because she is a natural troubleshooter and can tackle anything. Give a busy girl something to do and it will get done. Jane is pretty happy day-to-day but cannot figure out why she is still single and not starting a family like her other friends. There is no room, space, relaxation or sheer inner child fun in Jane's life to attract inwards (Yin) a lover or romantic experience because life is so damn full and action oriented ... Her Yang is stifling the Yin, which is the energy of connection, love and 'bringing in' people and opportunities. It's not that Jane needs to stay home waiting around for someone; more like she needs to have some 'inner' time to repair and receive. She really is not sure how to do this.

Key words: Control / Busy-ness / Over-achiever

What is True Yang (healthy) and False Yang (unhealthy)?

True Yang means that we utilise the healthy and positive qualities of the masculine energy which include action, strength, stability, life, drive, effort, courage, responsibility, will, generosity, articulation and firmness.

False Yang refers to the unhealthy and negative qualities of the masculine energy which include aggression, stubbornness, impetuosity, speed, domination, ego tripping, demanding, control, overly efficient, euphoria, greed, envy and judgement.

1. Try circling the Yang qualities above that you see in yourself at work – whether true or false Yang.

2. Think about where/when these false Yang qualities might surface?

Make a note

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Zenful Business by Debbie Pask. Copyright © 2016 Debbie Pask. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Intro My Story, xv,
1. Master the Flow of Yin & Yang, 1,
2. Become Conscious, 22,
3. Your Blueprint, 59,
4. Leverage – Leave your legacy, 81,
5. Soul Colleagues, 94,
6. Get In Touch With 'Naughty', 115,
7. Mindful Moments, 134,
8. Intuitive Problem Solving, 153,
9. The Art of Manifestation, 180,
10. Shadow Integration, 207,
11. HEART Entrainment, 225,
12. Rate Your Performance, 244,
13. Becoming Zenful, 246,
14. Practical Exercises, 248,