Who Are the Mentors in Your Life?

/0 Comments/in /by

One of the greatest values of mentors, renowned author and speaker John C. Maxwell says, “is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination.”

I’ve been fortunate to have had countless mentors in my life to help me navigate my course. I’ve learned and studied from brilliant individuals who have counseled and guided me personally and professionally.

One of my dearest friends and longtime mentors is Dr. Denis Waitley.

Over the past 25-plus years, we’ve spent hours talking about business, life, happiness, sadness, success, failure, and everything in between.

He’s mentored me as I’ve grown up in USANA.

Above all, he’s provided objectivity and honesty when I needed it most. I know I can count on Denis to offer wise counsel and to help me become a better version of myself—to get to where I want to be.

This notion of mentorship is something I’ve been thinking about lately, especially as I focus more on self-care. It’s so important to develop relationships with people who can help you grow.

Who Are Your Mentors?

For USANA Chief Sales Officer David Mulham, who talks about mentorship in some recent social media videos, Dr. Myron Wentz springs to mind (as he does for me, and as I’m sure as he does for many of you).

In a recent video, David asks: Who’s been significant in influencing the decisions in your life?

“It’s really important for people to know there are people out there, either directly or indirectly, that can really have an influence on you if you seek them out,” he says.

So who are the influential individuals in your life who have mentored you along the way? Please reply to this email to let me know.

A version of this article went to email subscribers on March 22, 2021. I invite you to subscribe here.

Catching Up with Kevin: Reflecting & Looking Ahead (March 2021)

/0 Comments/in /by

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk about a variety of topics that have been on my mind lately. This exercise of reflecting on the past and looking toward the future is something I like to do regularly.

If you subscribe to my YouTube channel or follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you likely saw the following video. However, if you haven’t yet seen it, I invite you to watch it.

In it, I share my thoughts on several topics, including…

????  Takeaways from 2020

Kevin GuestIn reflecting on 2020, I didn’t realize how much I needed to take care of myself. I’ve spent all these years taking care of others and 2020 for me was really a year that I was able to slow down. I was able to focus on myself. I was able to think about things that were causing me stress in my life and trying to manage them more effectively.

????  A Year of Acceleration

I really see 2020 as a year of acceleration, not disruption. What I mean by that is we were already on the path of being more user-friendly from a technology perspective. When all of a sudden we couldn’t have our in-person meetings, we couldn’t jump on a plane and travel and fly, we were forced to use technology and I’m so grateful that we were well down the path so that we could pivot when we had to.

????  USANA’s Five-Year Strategy

There are a few things I’m really looking forward to — the launch of some new products we’ve been working on for quite a long time. We’re also working on expanding into a new market. We won’t announce which one it is until we’re ready, but that’s well underway. The thought of expanding USANA’s global footprint is exciting to me in the future.

And then lastly, stay the course. The last several years have been outstanding and we’re going to have, in my opinion, an outstanding future as we continually do what we do best — which is make the best nutritional supplements in the world.

????  Social Responsibility (and the new Sustainability Committee at the board level)

The whole idea of social responsibility, social governance, sustainability is nothing new to USANA. Our buildings feature solar panels to help us with our carbon footprint. We xeriscape the property at our Home Office in Salt Lake. We’ve implemented recycling programs in other markets where consumers can bring empty supplement bottles in for us to recycle.

The Sustainability Committee on the board is a more formalized approach to many things we’ve already been doing from social governance and social responsibility perspective. We want to make sure USANA is a good global citizen at all levels as it relates to diversity, as it relates to the environment, and as it relates to social responsibility.

????  How I’m Adapting to the ‘New Normal’

I think part of being around USANA for 30 years and seeing many different changes in the marketplace come and go is you have to be agile. We are a large, global company and so we’re not as agile as I’d like us to be in many areas. But the way I stay grounded and focused is trying to remain agile and trying to do things here at USANA that can help us respond even quicker to changes.

Thank you for following along here, and I appreciate all the kind words and the interaction on my social sites.

Kevin Guest on How Self-Care is Needed During the Pandemic

/0 Comments/in , /by

Below are some thoughts on the importance of self-care during the pandemic. A version of this article originally appeared as part of an article I wrote for On Point Global News.

Kevin Guest, author, CEO, and musician, performs on stage pre-pandemic. He believes strongly in the importance of self-care, especially during the pandemic.

Kevin Guest, author, CEO, and musician, performs on stage pre-pandemic. He believes strongly in the importance of self-care, especially during the pandemic.

I’m a big believer in learning from past experiences. As I reflect on 2020, I came to the realization that prior to the pandemic I didn’t take care of myself nearly as much as I should have.

Self-care is critical to living a balanced life. But I didn’t do it.

After years spent taking care of others, 2020 became the year that I finally slowed down. I took time to focus on myself. I thought about things that caused me stress and I learned how to manage them more effectively.

Even more, I really dove into my own mental health, which is such a vital part to truly be healthy.

4 Practices for Better Self-Care

In a recent article for On Point Global News, I identified four self-care practices that I believe will greatly boost balance and energy.

1. Step Into Nature

I learned as a kid that spending time in nature rejuvenates a person. We are natural beings, and when we’re surrounded by nature, we feel ourselves uniting with nature. Time spent there will enrich our souls and help bring back balance and harmony.

2. Breathe and Notice

Close your eyes and name out loud the things you hear, whether it’s near or in the distance. As you continue for one minute, breathe in deeply, slowly and naturally. Realize how this simple practice brings you into the current moment. Breathing clears your mind of concerns in the past or future.

3. Slow the Roll

One benefit of adjusting to the pandemic is slowing down our schedules. Slowing down might even allow us to sleep a little longer. Make time for this important self-care practice and allow yourself to sleep fully each night. Set up a regular schedule for sleeping and stick to it.

4. Value Relationships

I say it often (because I believe it’s true!): Nothing is more important than relationships. I challenge you to reach out to others just to see how they’re doing. Listen to them. Ask questions. Show genuine interest in them. I learned that this value not only sets your day in order, but it also attracts team members who are ready to do the same.

When it comes to self-care, working from a place of harmony allows us to benefit all around us.

All the Right Reasons: 12 Timeless Principles for Living a Life in Harmony is available on Amazon. All proceeds feed hungry children, with each book purchase providing 40 meals. A version of this article originally appeared on the On Point Global News website.

Stretch Beyond Perceived Limitations to Reach New Heights

/0 Comments/in /by

Just a few months ago, we had the blessing to have a new grandson adopted into our family. It’s been interesting for me to watch him grow. He’s now on his stomach and recently he was trying to crawl. There was a dog sitting a few feet away and he so badly wanted to touch that dog. So, on his belly, he started moving a little bit at a time. Finally, he figured out that he could stretch his way to touch the dog.

It’s been interesting to watch him as he struggles. Sometimes he gets getting frustrated because he can’t get the things he knows he wants. But he’s learning how to find a way to scoot on his belly and move to get what he needs, even though it’s really hard.

So many times, for all of us, we see things we want — things we might even need — and they could be really difficult for us to reach.

Sometimes, we have to get outside our normal selves. We have to understand what we’re capable of accomplishing. But it’s oftentimes not easy. It requires effort, it requires energy.

And as I watched this little baby learning how to crawl, it reminded me: It wasn’t easy to learn how to walk. It’s not easy to learn things in life that we take for granted right now.

That’s the way it will be for other things in our lives. We need to make the effort to stretch, to get outside of ourselves. If we can push ourselves beyond our perceived limitations, it will help us learn and accomplish things we never thought we could have learned or accomplished before.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kevin Guest (@kevinguestusana)