Change is Necessary. Adapting to Change is Critical

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Adapting to Change

As I’ve written before, self-care became a priority for me over the last 18 months. I learned how important it is that we are kind to ourselves. It can be difficult, especially in times of change and uncertainty.

As I work to navigate through the pandemic, I continue to realize that change is necessary. And adapting to a changing world is critical.

Understanding and accepting these two concepts, while perhaps slightly uncomfortable at times, is so valuable. As we think about change, I reflect on a book I recently read. The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger, the former CEO of The Walt Disney Company, deals with change at a high-stakes level.

Part of Iger’s governing principles as a leader centered on curiosity. For me, as I think about adapting to the so-called “new normal,” I want to do so with a curious mind. Ask “what if?” questions. Approach change from an optimistic vantage point. Don’t make it bigger, scarier, or more ominous than it needs to be.

Change is not a negative thing. Very often, it’s the catalyst that helps us grow in ways that we couldn’t have otherwise.

Succeeding Through Change

For USANA as a company, this last year tested us — as it did many organizations around the world. But I don’t believe USANA would have grown in the ways it did had we not faced the challenges of the past 18 months.

It allowed us to take a closer look at who we are and how we’re positioned for the future. The company is nearing its 30th anniversary. Yet, USANA continues to innovate and excel. We’re able to do that, I believe, by embracing change. Surviving and thriving require an innate curiosity.

 

10 Ways to Build Resilience

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September is National Self-Improvement Month. For me, improving on oneself requires resilience.

Therefore, I’d like to offer 10 ways to build resilience.

Resilience is a topic that’s been top of mind for me. Throughout the year, as I’ve spoken to entrepreneurs and employees across the globe, I’ve aimed to make it a focus. I define resilience as the ability to bend in the face of a challenge. To bounce back and to continue moving no matter what life throws at you.

Resilience

Research shows more than 55% of employers see resilience as a key skill for workers. Most successful people are those with the most resilience. At USANA, we’ve seen that a resilient team of employees is more motivated, and they deal with change better.

Resilience: 6 Necessary Skills

Here are six skills that focus on the individual.

  1. Strengthen your relationship with yourself
  2. Exercise to reduce anxiety and stress
  3. Lean on adversity you’ve faced—and be reminded how strong you are
  4. Regularly give yourself mental breaks to recharge (watch a movie, read a book, take a walk)
  5. Get comfortable making mistakes, learn from them, and carry on
  6. Take excellent care of yourself.

4 Practices to Employ

  1. Socialize with resilient people and learn from them
  2. Stay in contact with others
  3. Build your community of colleagues
  4. Live in the present and do things you enjoy

All the Right Reasons Book CoverThroughout 2021, I’ve been speaking on the value of cultivating resiliency in your everyday life as we grapple with the ongoing pandemic.

In my book, All the Right Reasons, I speak to equivalent qualities of star athletes, such as Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps.

Even though Jordan and Phelps have innate talent, their achievements are a result of their unrelenting hard work and perseverance. No matter the countless obstacles they faced, they were resilient in facing and overcoming them. We can apply that same pattern.

Resilience allows us to build something stronger and long-lasting in the future. We are determined as teams, and we are resilient as individuals.

I shared these thoughts and more in a news release that went out on Aug. 31, 2021.

New Podcast: Let’s Go! with USANA

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When USANA launched its Active Nutrition line of products in 2021, we knew it would generate buzz. It’s a series of products that helps us in our mission to create The Healthiest Family on Earth. And, in striving toward that goal, we knew an accompanying podcast could drive home the importance of living an active lifestyle.

Thus, the Let’s Go! with USANA podcast began. So far, it’s a six-episode series hosted by Ben Raskin. Each episode features a special guest to discuss nutrition, self-care, fitness, and more. I invite you to download and listen to each casual conversation.

And after you do, please leave a comment or review on your platform of choice. That will help others find this valuable podcast series.

Below are a few notes about each episode currently available. You might have seen this information if you follow me on Instagram.

Episode 1: Be Your Own Bestie with Tessa Romero

Episode 1: Let's Go! with USANA

Episode 2: Fiber and Starting a New Diet with Shelli Baxter

Episode 2: Let's Go! with USANA

Episode 3: How Gut Health Helps an Active Life with Dr. Rachel Brewer

Episode 3: Let's Go! with USANA

Episode 4: Mindfulness and the Importance of Self-Reflection with Amy Zirneklis

Episode 4: Let's Go! with USANA

Episode 5: Eating for Success — Diet Tips to Support an Active Life with Shelli Baxter

Episode 5: Let's Go! with USANA

Episode 6: Overcoming Setbacks: The Strength to Pursue Your Dreams with Priscilla Loomis

Episode 6: Let's Go! with USANA

Listen on Apple Podcasts, and read full transcripts (opens a PDF) for each show.

AEVC21: Resilience, Mental Strength, & More

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Jay Shetty on Resilience & Mental Strength

On ongoing theme for 2021: Resilience. It’s reflected in the way I live my life personally and professionally. I believe it’s a critical factor in helping each of us to continue moving forward.

Mental strength is key to being resilient. Bending in the face of a challenge—and then bouncing back—requires a strong, focused mindset.

Perhaps no one is better suited to discuss mental strength than is Jay Shetty, a keynote presenter at the recent USANA Americas & Europe Virtual Convention. Jay is a best-selling author, a purpose coach, and a former monk. He is “on a mission to make wisdom go viral.”

The foundation for building mental strength, Jay says, is “realizing the tools that got us here may not be the tools that will get us there.” In other words, just because a strategy or a tactical approach worked in the past, it doesn’t mean the same approach will work in the future.

Put simply, new challenges require new habits.

Fortunately, Jay provided us with a four-step roadmap to build our mental strength. It’s all about T.I.M.E., and I’d like to share it with you here.

Here are four habits Jay says we need to invite into our lives to build mental strength:

  1. Thankfulness: When you’re present in gratitude, you can’t be anywhere else
  2. Inspiration: Start each day with a dose of inspiring content—an uplifting song, a favorite quote, a well-read passage from a book. Whatever it is, ensure it boosts your spirit.
  3. Meditation: Make time for yourself, eliminate distractions, and ask yourself “what do I need to do for myself today to make today a great day?”
  4. Exercise: Add movement into your life

In the end, Jay asks: What are you going to let go of in order to make space in your life for these habits?

Resilience: A Theme

The USANA Foundation team meeting planting garden towers in Mexico.

The above message went out earlier this week to subscribers to my monthly e-newsletter. If you’re not on the list, I invite you to join. The keynote from Jay Shetty proved to be only one of many outstanding presentations at the 2021 USANA Americas & Europe Virtual Convention.

Also during the event, I set an ambitious goal. I challenged the USANA Family to raise enough money to fund 30,000 garden towers around the world. And let’s do it by USANA’s 3oth-anniversary convention in 2022!

Garden towers are a low-cost, self-sustaining method of planting multiple food crops in a single source, suited for all areas of the world.

I’ve always been proud of the difference USANA makes when it comes to fighting food insecurity. These garden towers are the next step in eradicating world hunger.

A donation of $20 covers the entire cost of the fabric for the tower, the soil, the seeds, and the training on how to use them. $20 is all it takes to provide three to five years of sustainably sourced, nutritious food and a source of income for people who need it most.

To donate toward the garden tower project, and to learn more about USANA’s charitable efforts, please visit: usanafoundation.org.

Behind-the-Scenes

And finally, here are some behind-the-scenes moments from #AEVC21. Thank you to everyone who joined us for the virtual event!

Music is Medicine for My Soul

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Music is Medicine For My Soul Email

If it’s up to me, I’m never far from my bass guitar. It’s a constant, comforting presence that helps me find peace and harmony in my life. Music is medicine for my soul!

Recently, I had the opportunity to pick up that guitar and play music with country music superstar and close friend Collin Raye. It was a thrill to perform for 30,000 people at one of the nation’s premier Independence Day concerts!

As I’ve said many times, music is medicine for my soul. And that night, music gave me a healthy dose of happiness.

What is it in your life that provides you that burst of feel-goodness or a jolt of enthusiasm to live life to its fullest? I’d love to hear in the comments.

Performing on stage with Collin Raye as part of the Stadium of Fire concert on July 3, 2021.

Performing on stage with Collin Raye as part of the Stadium of Fire concert on July 3, 2021.

Collecting Memories

You might have seen this video on my social media recently. In it, I walk through a few items of music memorabilia that mean a lot to me.

Achieving Harmony Through Music

For the most-recent World Music Day, which falls on June 21 each year, I shared a few thoughts on how music has the power to bring people together, transcend borders, and break barriers. In a workplace environment, I believe music can lift moods and unify teams.

There’s nothing like live music to lift spirits, and when you are part of making music, it can boost your positive temperament even more. When you’re doing that with team members, I’ve seen it help people find common ground and form instant bonds.

Email subscribers received early access to a version of this article. I invite you to subscribe here to receive monthly emails from me on a range of topics. Please consider contributing to the USANA Foundation. Its mission is to ensure that impoverished children and families reach their fullest potential by providing food and nutrition.

Learn First, Then Teach — Kevin Guest in the Scotsman Guide

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Kevin Guest, USANA Chairman & CEO, wrote an article for the August issue of Scotsman Guide — Commercial Edition.

In the piece titled “Learn First, Then Teach,” Guest explains how mentorship can pay dividends for mortgage companies. He advises that employees who seek out mentors often become the company’s next generation of leaders.

Read the Full Article

Seeking out at least one mentor, Guest says, should be the first step for mortgage brokers looking to advance their careers. “All industries — and especially the real estate finance business — are relationship-based,” he says.

About Scotsman Guide

Scotsman Guide has provided commercial mortgage originators with invaluable resources that help them grow their financing networks and stay informed about market news, trends and data for more than 25 years.

10 Powerful Ideas to Post in Your Mind

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As many of you know, I’m always trying to expand my mind and learn from others. Over the years, I’ve encountered several key thoughts that I try to live by. I’m not always successful in living by them, and it’s definitely not always easy. But I think the following 10 Powerful Ideas to Post in Your Mind are worth pursuing.

What do you think? Are there two or three that especially resonate with you? Do you have additional strategies to help you down your path toward success? I’d love to start a conversation in the comments about the notion of self-awareness.

What are our limitations, and how can we overcome them to reach our full potential?

10 Powerful Ideas

1. There is no perfect life, perfect day, perfect performance, perfect vacation — these are myths that exist only in the mind. I will savor perfect moments as they come and realize they coexist with the messy, complex, and painful. Life is full of wonder and I will enjoy all that I can!

2. When I have a concern, I will do what is in my power and then let go of the rest, allowing myself a peaceful heart.

3. When my thoughts return again and again to upsetting events, images, conversations, or fears I can put up a stop sign in my mind. I choose where my mind goes and will replace paralyzing obsessing with ideas that comfort, inspire, and empower.

4. On a subconscious level, I expect all traffic lights to be short, grocery lines to go fast, children to be obedient and respectful all the time, holidays to go perfectly, friends to know just what to say, and the rain to always wait till after sundown….and then I am disappointed 100 times a day! Ask–What was I expecting? It’s a paradox; expect less and I’ll enjoy more.

5. The absolute truth is that there is always good along with the bad. We get tunnel vision so often and only see the failures, the frustrating, the disappointing…but reality is always brighter than that. There are weeds, yes, but there are also flowers! Don’t be fooled—see the whole picture and tell the truth.

6. I am not responsible for everything and I have limited control over things besides myself, especially others’ choices. I will bless and lift and help all that I can and realize that any influence I’m privileged to have is a gift.

7. Am I going to care about this in a year? Most things we get upset about can be categorized as inconveniences, challenges, or difficult moments. They are, literally, not the end of the world, and they will pass. Change mindset from panic to problem-solving and underreact.

8. If I make a mistake and someone discovers I am human, great—they’ll probably like me better for it! We assume everyone is thinking the worst, when people mostly aren’t thinking of us at all, they are busy worrying about their own lives. I am doing the best I can with my unique life. I will give myself the compassion and approval I need and throw away the chains of trying to please everyone else.

9. Carrying around future problems only exhausts and overwhelms me. I can trust my future self to handle things as they come. I have survived 100% of my challenges so far and I will keep doing it, one problem at a time.

10. Anxiety is simply the other side of the coin of a mind with great gifts. What if I took my ability to overthink, worry, and imagine the worst and used it instead to dream, plan, and create great things? I choose to focus my mental energies outward instead of destroying my own peace. I will use my superpowers for good.

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

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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 and looking ahead 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…

📌  World Service Week 2021

World Service Week 2021 - Thank YouIt’s always inspiring to me when I watch how people are willing to give of their time to serve others. World Service Week is always an inspiration to me. It’s gratifying to look at the pictures, see smiles on everyone’s faces, and realize how good they feel because they know they’re doing something that helps somebody else in need.

I don’t think there’s anything more important than we can do in our life than to help others in need.

📌  Active Nutrition & Let’s Go Podcast

With the launch of Active Nutrition, there’s really a strategic reason why we did this. It’s because of our vision of being The Healthiest Family on Earth. Active Nutrition lends itself to the whole notion of lifestyle. That’s why we have the podcast. And truly being healthy is the body, mind, and spirit.

Those things are really what true health is all about. Active Nutrition is one step closer to us creating The Healthiest Family on Earth.

📌  Adapting to a Post-Pandemic Life

As I return back to whatever normal is post-pandemic, I think the important part for me is what did I learn? I’m trying to not go back to everything I did before. But rather, to do things differently, to approach things differently from that perspective.

One thing I learned is the importance of face-to-face interaction. Over the last several months, we communicated primarily virtually. Sure, it would be easier for me just to do Zoom calls versus getting on an airplane and traveling around the world. But there’s nothing, I believe, that replaces face-to-face and in-person interaction.

📌  Living Life to the Fullest

Recently, I witnessed my youngest grandson take his first steps. It’s an interesting thing to look at a little child like this who’s so full of life and so happy and joyful. He brings so much love into our family.

It’s remarkable to watch him take his first steps and to remember what life’s all about. Between birth and death, it’s the middle part that’s so important. I think it’s important to take stock. To take time to think about the past, while also looking ahead. For me personally, how can I better myself and what can I do to make this little child’s life better?

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

National ‘Give Something Away Day’ Strengthens Relationships

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The following is excerpted from a news release sent on July 15, which is also “Give Something Away Day.”

Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “You make a living out of what you get. You make a life out of what you give.” Many people enter relationships for what they think they can get instead of what they can give. If we were to focus more on giving than getting, the return would be enormous.

Coming out of the pandemic is an excellent time to simplify our lives and to share with others who might not be as fortunate. I see no downside to giving something away to make a difference in the lives of others.

National Give Something Away Day

Giving Feels Good

Polling a group of 30,000 American households showed that givers were happier than non-givers, according to a Social Capital Community benchmark survey.

There’s no question that when you buy a homeless person a meal, donate clothing or give away something, you feel uplifted, and that’s what this is about — lifting others up, including yourself.

When my four children were smaller, my wife and I would find someone to serve on Christmas Eve. Some years we served food at a homeless shelter; other years we selected a needy family and bought gifts for the children.

People matter more than things. We all work hard to achieve success, to arrive at some pinnacle of achievement — to have the perfect house, perfect family, perfect body. In the process, we fill our lives with stuff. Most people have more food, faster cars, fancier clothes, better health, higher incomes, bigger houses, and more conveniences than their ancestors had a hundred years ago.

Yet according to the World Database of Happiness, we are not any happier than previous generations. Studies show once we have enough income to comfortably meet basic needs, additional wealth has little impact on our happiness. We are really searching for inner peace, yet many of us don’t know how to find it.

Give Something Away Day

This year, I urge you to give something away and find harmony, happiness, and peace.

Because I believe relationships are the most important things we have, I urge others to even give a little more time to those relationships that matter most. For me, that’s with my family, friends, and colleagues. Without a doubt, time with them will be some of the most treasured experiences.

Proceeds from All the Right Reasons benefit The USANA Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides food and nutrition to help ensure impoverished children and families reach their fullest potential. The book is available here.

Lessons From Music to Achieve Harmony at Work

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Living a life in harmony is critical to overall well-being. In honor of World Music Day, which took place on June 21, I shared three steps in which music can bring balance and harmony to teams reuniting at the workplace.

To run an effective workplace, companies need teams that work in harmony. With disharmony and discord, productivity stalls, and progress is hampered. That can cripple growth for the entire organization.

Lessons from music, however, can instantly remind workers about the value of harmonious efforts.

As I write in my book, All the Right Reasons, in music, harmony happens when notes blend in a way that is pleasing to the ear. When notes are out of harmony, their dissonant sounds are hard to listen to. Think of the last time you heard someone sing out of key or heard a jumble of incongruent notes. It’s horrible.

You’ve heard me say before that music is medicine for my soul. It’s such a powerful and important part of my life. It is for many others, as well. World Music Day, which got its start in Paris in 1982, celebrates music’s power to bring people together, transcend borders, and break barriers.

3 Steps to Harmony

With three simple steps, music can lift moods and unify teams.

  1. First, if you’re feeling down, play a song that brings happy memories, which may be something from high school or college.
  2. Next, sing your favorite songs out loud no matter who’s listening.
  3. Finally, get with your team to sing a song together.

There’s nothing like live music to lift spirits, and when you are part of making music, it can boost your positive temperament even more. When you’re doing that with team members, I’ve seen it help people find common ground and form instant bonds.

Achieving Harmony Takes Work

Harmony in music doesn’t happen without hours of practice and each individual musician’s commitment to getting the music right. The same commitment is required in the workplace.

Whether someone plays in a band, sings in a choir, or performs in an orchestra, nothing is quite as exhilarating as achieving perfect harmony with fellow musicians.

A life in harmony means a consistent and honest arrangement of your values and a solid commitment to living those values day in and day out.

Throughout the pandemic, most workers have been operating remotely. So coming back into an office setting might be a bit clumsy at first. Working toward harmony, which means understanding others, sharing your positivity, and making a difference for the better, will be one of the quickest paths to restoring productivity levels teams achieved before the pandemic.

 

A version of the above article was distributed as a news release on World Music Day 2021 with the headline World Music Day Calls for Harmony. All proceeds from All the Right Reasons are directed to feed two million meals to hungry children. Available on Amazon, the book provides 40 meals for every single purchase.