HIGH LEVERAGE PRACTICES – THE TALISMANIC TEN
A talisman is thought to bring about good fortune, a path to initiate the mysterious. In our own lives, when we finally came to understand the mysteries of “us” and started practicing the Talismanic Ten, our ability to influence the world dramatically took off. But it took us too long, and we don’t want you to spend the same kind of time wandering around in the wilderness. We know that you can unlock the mysteries of you by unleashing your inner talisman. Our high-leverage practices can help you get there.
Why high-leverage practices? Think about what a lever does, providing the maximum output with least amount of effort. This is how it should be in a woman’s life — focused effort that leads to outcomes aligned with her, more time spent being in “flow,” and less time spent working so hard.
There is plenty of advice out there that provides a step-by-step checklist or recipe that purports to guarantee your success. Certainly, these sources can provide fragments of learning that you can take with you. But the truth is, there is no magic bullet. True influence is about developing a deeper practice, the scope of which only you can define. And if you want to accelerate your influence, you are going to need some help.
Our 10 high-leverage practices are an application of ideas that, when repeated, lead to accelerated influence. We’ve taken our 80 years of combined career wisdom and distilled it down to the most significant practices leading to a juicy life. Mastering the 10 HLPs can put you in a zone of optimal functioning and flow, resulting in crazy-good exceptional influence. And the outcome? A strong confident woman.
The Talismanic Ten
Self
Being completely who you are and living out your values
If we were to ask you the questions, “What is it like when you feel ‘in the groove’?” or “How do you feel when you are in the ‘not me’ zone?”, your answers are clues to your authentic self. Others around us are drawn to true authenticity, and when leveraged, can increase your influence.
What Is
An honest assessment, understanding and acceptance of your current reality.
Really taking a hard look at “what is” for you is absolutely not easy. Sure, naming all the things going great (and you should) reinforces your confidence. But it’s in peeling back the underbelly of what’s not great that ultimately builds strength for women. We know that to become wildly influential this “truth-slapping” is an absolute imperative.
Bio You
Knowing your innate biologic self
Inside every woman is a rhythm. One that is meant to be. One that is inherent because it makes a woman who she is – female. And yet this powerful, gorgeous hormonal force is not completely understood, much less honored, as a key to daily zest.
Connection
Building a respectful and meaningful relationship with yourself and others
Connection, networking, and relationship-building have been center stage in self-development and leadership advice for decades. So much so that it has almost reduced to “blah, blah, blah” background noise. Connection is, however, what we are meant to do. It’s about a much broader view that goes beyond passing out business cards or schmoozing. It’s about adding value to everyone in your network.
Voice
Developing individual power by using your voice to elicit thinking in others
Do you feel inundated with unlimited information sources and find it is difficult to have your voice heard above the rest? When thinking about power of voice, we see many resorting to be the loudest or most outrageous (using extreme viewpoints to cause a sensation) to have their opinions heard. True influencers are able to raise their words, not just their voices.
Doing
Moving on from stuckness
We can all own chairing the committee in our heads, with endless debate back and forth. Only thinking about doing doesn’t get you any closer to the answers. Face it, endless loop thinking without action is simply not influential. Learning to eliminate the internal negotiation process puts an influencer out front by showing tenacity to stick by choices aligned with core values.
As If
Proceeding until apprehended
Too many times we wait and wait and wait for permission – to speak, to act, to grow. Living this practice is the ability to act as if where you are headed has already been realized. Instead of sitting around waiting for success to come, you understand how to imagine and become the author of your destiny. You can cut through the static and envision what you want, determining a path of how to get there.
Possibility
Shaking up conventional wisdom to unleash imagination and innovation
Do you wonder what it means to follow your dreams? This is when you are living in possibility, believing in something bigger than yourself and conventional world views. And when you really believe in something, momentum happens.
Perspicaciousness
Embracing the unusual power to comprehend and act on that which is puzzling or hidden to others
First things first. You probably need to look up the pronunciation of perspicaciousness (we did)! Perspicaciousness is the ability to notice and understand things quickly. It’s being a perceptive observer of your own as well as other’s behavior. This leads to understanding the multifaceted trends and patterns that are emerging. And wowza – you’re able to connect the dots! Anticipating situations gives you the edge to be able to repare, adapt and tailor approaches based on the people and conditions around you.
Story
Developing common understanding and empathy thru shared experience
Everything starts with a story. Stories powerfully connect us to others. Stories have the power to trigger the human muscle of the imagination and empathy. People are more likely to remember your story than they are your bio – regardless of how impressive it is. Your stories not only humanize you but provide others a glimpse of your authentic self.
