#60
Personal Leadership Through a Performance Mindset
Laura Piccardi
Laura Piccardi is the author of ‘Unfaked’ and the founder of Uppy. She is a professional speaker, international stress management expert and personal performance coach. Her mission is to improve the statistics of lifestyle-related diseases and levels of stress that are the result of the high-pressure busy lives that we live today.
Her own experience with burnout and losing her business inspired the work she does today. She now has her own methodology that she uses with her clients so they can take back control and live healthy, full lives. Her life philosophy is: “have fun and get sh*t done.”
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Summary
03:32 The start of Laura’s entrepreneurial journey
- Laura moved to Australia and ‘fell into’ the fitness industry
- She got sponsored to stay in the country from one of the gyms she worked at
- She decided to start her own gym by converting an old video store into a personal training studio
- Eight months after opening the gym, it caught on fire
- Laura experienced burnout whilst running her own gym, so she quit the business and set up her own personal coaching practice working with business owners
11:04 Some of the major signs of burnout
- The common physical signs are bloating, erratic energy levels throughout the day, issues with digestion, hormones or sleep
- Eating more or less, or drinking more alcohol
- The mental signs are feelings of hopelessness, “winging it”, or being more withdrawn
14:04 The gut’s link with stress
- When we are stressed, we are in fight or flight mode
- The body will take energy and blood flow from your gut, and send it to areas of the body that need it to ‘run away’
- When you are in this state of stress on a regular basis, it triggers more chronic symptoms such as Leaky Gut Syndrome or IBS
16:13 Why we live in a culture of not finding the root cause of health problems
- Society is generally more educated about health than previous generations
- The media is responsible for selling false ‘silver bullet’ solutions
- Real health and wellbeing come from our brains, which is the control centre of our body
18:49 Tuning into your ‘gut feeling’
- Become more present and connected with yourself, so you are clearer with your values and beliefs
- “We are ultimately striving to be our most authentic selves”
21:10 Why society is so fixated with productivity and being busy
- We are much more aware of competition over the internet, which sets us up for unrealistic expectations
- We work harder and longer due to our perceived ‘downfalls’
22:50 How to make real, sustainable lifestyle changes
- It’s easy to make the change, the challenge is being consistent
- Communicate ‘safety’ to your brain, to counteract the fight or flight response, by finding the little things that make you feel good
- What we give our attention to grows
29:58 What wellbeing looks like at a societal level
- We need to normalise that mental health and wellbeing is when you are at your optimum, and if it’s anything less than optimum, you should do something about it
31:43 Burnout across different cultures
- The top three cities that experience the most burnout are Tokyo, Mumbai and Seoul
- All cultures experience burnout, but it might be that they handle it differently
33:01 The mind-body connection to stress
- Our brain’s priority is to keep us safe
- Become more attune to our bodies so we can spot the warning signs earlier
39:52 The difference between cause and effect
- If you live by ‘effect’, you live by blame and excuses, whilst living by ‘cause’ means you make things happen
- Put yourself in the problem-solving frame of mind
41:45 Practicing meditation
- It puts the body in a calm state of mind
- The key is to keep the practice consistent
- Laura practises transcendental meditation
- Meditation apps are great to help you get started with meditation practice
46:40 Advice on body image and having a healthy diet
- “Stop trying to lose weight and just try to be healthy”
- If you are not healthy inside, you will not get the sustainable long-term results on the outside
- Consider seeing an integrative doctor, who takes account of the whole person, including all aspects of lifestyle
52:23 Laura’s experience of writing the book ‘Unfaked’
- She was on a business program that set a challenge to write a 30,000 word book
- It was a creative process that is a blend of fact and fiction
56:04 On journaling
- Laura mindmaps as she is a very visual person
- Journaling is a great way to get out of your own head
- It helps you to track and measure your progress
58:54 The impact of relationships on our health
- It is really important to communicate with your partner about what is going on
- Give people the opportunity to be there for you
- When it comes to family dynamics that are challenging, consider how you react and perceive a situation
- Build a ‘bank of safety’ in your brain so you are in a better position to handle potentially toxic people
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