We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Spurgeon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lisa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

My short answer is begin…and don’t quit!

Highly successful people across a variety of realms agree on common principles and paradigms when it comes to how to achieve what you want in life. Below are a few I believe are primary keys to the life you want:

Begin…
…With the end in mind
Before we can get where we want to go and enjoy success, we first need to slow down and clarify where we want to go. What does “success” look like and feel like to YOU? This is crucial, because if we are not intentional about taking time to discover who we want to be and what really matters to us in life, it is all too easy to get sucked into who someone else (boss, spouse, friends, family, etc) wants you to be, and to focus on achieving what others want from you at the cost of your own dreams. You are uniquely created and you have the power and potential to create the life YOU want…and the first step is deciding what you want that life to be!

…As you intend to continue
Habits make up the majority of our days, weeks, months and years. Some of those habits are unconscious, so to achieve success we need to get intentional about reclaiming our time. That starts with cultivating habits that nourish our souls, and move our feet closer to our goals. Once we’ve done the soul-searching work of deciding what matters to us most, we need to become conscious of our habits and eliminate the ones that are holding us back, and cultivate habits we design to bring us closer to our goals and dreams.

…Right NOW
As soon as you decide what you want in life, take action RIGHT NOW. It does not need to be a big action – it can be as simple as putting your jogging shoes next to your bed to make your morning run 1 step easier. Motivation isn’t a lucky feeling some people are born with – motivation is the result of getting clear about what you want, choosing to believe in yourself, and taking action early and often. In other words, motivation is created and sustained through ACTION – take action toward your goals every day, and you will sustain your motivation over time, and achieve the success you want!

Don’t quit – 4 paradigms to keep you going:
1 – What are you willing to sacrifice?
Achievement and success in life costs something every time. You don’t need to give up joy today for joy tomorrow – but you do need to get clear with yourself. First decide what you are NOT willing to sacrifice, and then identify what you ARE willing to sacrifice to have the life you want.

2 – Don’t settle
It is tempting to reduce our dreams and diminish our definition of success to match where we are in order to sacrifice less in the short term, or because a challenge or obstacle appears too big to overcome. Don’t fall prey to this trap – you are worthy of the life you want – so don’t settle for less! Instead, narrow your focus to the things within your control, and take consistent action in those areas until you get the results you want.

3 – Refuse to fail
A leader I am blessed to learn from, (the owner of Genesis Health Clubs – Rodney Steven II), reminds our teams that no one fails who refuses to fail. The only way we can truly fail is if we decide to quit. If we refuse to quit, refuse to give up, then we refuse to fail. When we choose this mindset, setbacks become opportunities to reset, recalibrate, and keep trying. When all else fails, persistence prevails!

4 – Fill your tank
A successful life requires resilience, and resilience is made possible from within. So along your journey, make sure you prioritize filling your tank, nourishing your soul, and nurturing connections with others. Everyone is unique so find what works for you – some common practices shared by great achievers are:
○ Practice Gratitude (journal, reflection, meditation, etc).
○ Prioritize Positive Inputs (reading, audiobooks, podcasts, etc).
○ And Be Present (this nurtures connection…in other words, become great at single tasking, especially when it comes to people – NOT multitasking.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a lifelong learner, a student of leadership and still learning how to become my best self…I am a work in progress! My passions are leading and helping people. I want everyone to understand that life you want is out there waiting for you to take it!

I truly believe we all have the potential to live our best life. Although our dreams and our definitions of success may be different, there exist common paradigms, principles, and practices anyone can apply to unleash more of our potential to achieve the life you want.

Researchers, experts, and successful people from all walks of life echo common themes when it comes to how to create the life you want. My aim is to distill some of those common themes (paradigms, principles, and practices) into relatable and applicable content. The end goal is to help myself and others actually implement the lessons experts agree upon into our lives so we can manifest the life we really want and experience more joy along the way.

If the word manifest conjures up images of sitting around and letting your dream life come to you…you’ve come to the wrong place. I do believe there is some magic we unlock by implementing these principles and practices effectively. However, implementing the principles and practices in our lives requires hard work, discipline, and sacrifice. It is not easy, or accidental, but it is worth it…so I invite anyone who is ready to make changes and work to seize the life you want to join me on the journey! Life, struggle, and success are all sweeter shared, so let’s do it together!

The areas I am fascinated by most are unleashing our personal potential through intentional personal development, and unleashing the incredible power of a group of individuals through effective leadership and team building. I have a website with a blog, and courses/products/support focused on personal development, leadership development, and team building.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are definitely more books, videos, etc. than I could list who have influenced me and my leadership and entrepreneurial philosophies! Here are a few of my favorites:

Motivation Manifesto by Brendon Burchard (Book)
Motivation is not something we are born with, nor is it a feeling that only washes over us as chance would have. Motivation, and through it personal freedom, is something that can be taught, learned, and practiced as a mindset continuously. The idea that we can manifest motivation is key to unleashing our potential, and in this book Brendon uses a unique literary approach to help us all get and stay motivated!

Simon Sinek – Start with Why (Book/TedTalk)
Simon has a famous TedTalk about this topic (How Great Leaders Inspire Action) and this book expands on and enhances that core message. If we want to inspire action in ourselves and in our teams, we need to first get clear about WHY, and from that place of clarity we can communicate with others in a way that inspires their behaviors. “We are what we repeatedly do” so over time if we inspire consistent behavior we have the power to influence the attitude and mindset of those around us.

Dare to Lead by Brene Brown (Book)
Brene professes one of her personal values as courage, and this book is filled with actionable wisdom about how to lead with courage. Courage doesn’t exist without vulnerability, so digging into these principles helps me to be a more courageous leader for myself and others!

Road Trip by Matthew McCaugheghy (Course)
Matthew Mccaugheghy is a household name for his success in Hollywood, and lately he has gained renown for his book Greenlights, which I loved. So when I saw he was organizing a personal development event and course, I made time to learn from him. This course reinforced my belief in myself, and also has several fantastic tools for creating a road map that will get me where I want to go in life (not where someone else wants me to go). Because it’s Matthew Mccaugheghy the production value is incredible, and the course is not only enriching but also a highly entertaining and enjoyable experience.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Here are 4 pieces of advice you’ll find echoed in the teachings and behaviors of great leaders:

Love your people –
Great leaders love their people and understand that a leader’s responsibility is to care for the people in your charge, not just be in charge of the people in your care. These leaders communicate genuine love for their people with the understanding that leadership is a privilege, so at the same time they also embrace their responsibility to execute the mission and vision of their organization (even when it isn’t their own).

Clarity is kind –
Great leaders inspire their teams to act and bring vision to life. They get clear about what exactly is expected of their team members (and why), and then they communicate both the why and the specific expectations to their team, along with a vision of what the team is accomplishing. They repeat this as many times as it takes to ensure all team members clearly understand.

Accountability benefits everyone –
Great leaders take extreme ownership over outcomes by holding everyone accountable. This begins with crystal clear expectations, and is accomplished through consistently inspecting what we expect, and investing time, energy, and effort wherever expectations are not being met. It’s not enough to just look at the scoreboard…celebration of wins and kind coaching to improve outcomes are both key to effective accountability.

Meaningful Meetings –
Great leaders provide proactive support and communication to their teams though a medley of 1:1 meetings, team meetings, and ad hoc meetings as needed. They make clear distinctions about the purpose of meetings, for example separating decision meetings from debate meetings, and fostering commitment through the practice of mining for conflict in individual and group settings.

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