Got Green?

I speak at around 90 events each year, across a wide range of industries. This provides a fantastic vantage point from which to notice trends and common themes across the nation. Without question, the hottest topic today is “going green” or “sustainability.”

Increasingly, corporations and associations are recognizing the need to think, act, and promote in a manner that reflects environmental consciousness. This is an exciting and positive trend – one which is sure to escalate in the coming years.

Often, the enthusiasm to board the “green wagon” precedes understanding just what that means. After all, desire is a prerequisite for proactive change. In other situations, new policies or regulations mandate immediate action, and we are forced to adapt mid-step to new expectations.

But what does “sustainability” mean to you, personally?

I believe that in order for us to understand sustainable systems in a community, national, or global context, we must first approach the concept on our own turf – in day to day situations and life choices. You aren’t going to have a sustainable planet if you don’t have a sustainable life.

Is your Lifestyle Sustainable?

Is your current approach to life a sustainable proposition, or are you expending all of your resources without a plan to renew them? Simply put, “sustainable” means that your present day demands can be met and managed in a way that doesn’t compromise your future. Your day to day actions and activities should provide fuel for your continued growth, development, and progress.

Here are a few of the ways to consider sustainability in your daily life. You deserve:

Sustainable Health – What are you doing now to ensure you are healthy ten years from now? Here’s where your systems (habits are systems you have put into place) make or break you. This includes your purposeful approach to what you put in your body (food, alcohol, substances), how you move your body (exercise) and rest.

Sustainable Energy – Do you begin the day renewed and energized, or are you running on empty? Pursue sustainable health and you will have sustainable energy.

Sustainable Growth –Seek slow, steady improvement personally, professionally, spiritually, and physically.

Sustainable Relationships – Don’t “burn out” your friends, family, and colleagues. We want relationships that will last a lifetime.

Sustainable Interest – Is your head in the game? Are you interested in what you are doing now, and do you expect that to continue? If not, you need to change your approach … or your job.

Sustainable Cash Flow – It’s not what you make that sustains you. It’s what you keep.

Discipline is the key to sustainability. It takes concerted effort to utilize patterns of action that will allow you to have the life you desire NOW and for many years to come.Sustainability doesn’t happen overnight. It happens every night and every day.

Into Action – 6 Steps to a Sustainable Life

1. Balance exertion with recovery – expenditure with renewal. You require healthy amounts of both.
2. Feed the beast. You have a “beast” inside you, a hunger and purpose to create, learn and grow. Feed it by reading, learning, and surrounding yourself with exciting influences and people.
3. Payoff in the present. If you are postponing the rewards for “someday,” you are not going to be able to sustain the effort. Demand enjoyment, fun, and fulfillment as part of the package.
4. Shape your systems. Always seek to find more efficient and creative ways to streamline life. Be patient.
5. Conserve resources. Be thrifty, thoughtful, and thankful for what you have.
6. Form and preserve connections. It’s the relationships that sustain us most of all, so be friendly and encouraging to others, and expect the same from the people in your life.

I’m delighted to be one of your “renewable resources.” Expect to receive another Action Mail next month, and in the meantime, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you sustain your effort.

Keep looking up!

Dan