The 3 Focuses of a Future Executive

Being an Executive comes with a whole lot of benefits. Eating at fancy restaurants, lounging by the pool at your spacious home, and traveling the world on a whim. Success seems so… fun. It makes total sense that you want access to these luxuries. I do too.

But in this era of get-rich-quick business models and flexing on Instagram, I can’t help but be suspicious of how effortless it all appears to be. 

Reverse Engineering Success

In 2016, Elaine Welteroth was named the editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, making her the second African-American in Condé Nast's 107-year history to hold such a title. In recent years, she’s served as a judge on Project Runway and has released a New York Times best seller. Oh yeah… and she now serves as the Cultural Ambassador for When We All Vote, a nonprofit founded by former First Lady Michelle Obama. 

That sounds like the life. Representing minorities and women from such a monumental platform, getting paid to judge other creatives, writing about your life story, and working with the Queen… sign me up, right? Well, maybe. You see, Elaine is currently reaping benefits from years of hard work. If you read her book, you’ll discover that she spent countless nights alone at the office, pushing past doubt and trying her best not to be overwhelmed by fear of the unknown. 

Sure, success has its benefits. But it certainly doesn’t come without one hell of a fight. My name is Lindsey, and I probably don’t know you (yet). But I can confidently tell you that you have everything it takes to achieve what you want to achieve. Whether that means you want to be the CMO of a culture-shifting brand, the CTO of a history-making product, or the CEO of a business that brings you true fulfillment… the possibility is honest-to-God very real.

Beneath all those insecurities that tell you you’re not good enough exists a version of you that wakes up inspired, feels secure in who you are, and seeks growth from a place of overflow. That version of you is eager to make its move, and one day it will. It’s just that you’ve got some work to do before that part of you can shine through. So what stands between that day and right now, in this very moment? A journey where you learn to take responsibility for your own growth. 

This journey won’t always be easy. In fact, many days you’ll feel unequipped to handle the challenge at hand. But without tension, there is no growth. The moments when we truly make progress are those when we push past our perceived limitations and prove to ourselves that we can do more than we thought we could. Remember when you finished the hard workout? Remember when you spent the extra 10 minutes reading that book? Remember when you got out of bed even though you didn’t want to? That was a step in your journey towards greatness. And you’re better today because you took that step. 

3 Focuses for Your Journey

In this pursuit towards the highest version of yourself, it’s important to orient your steps in the right direction. If you spend your limited energy on activities that drain you and reward lazy behavior, you’ll almost certainly find yourself unhappy and unfulfilled. But if you intentionally focus your energy on moments that push you to be better, those small actions will compound into a smart, strong, and powerful force to be reckoned with. Here are three things to focus your attention on as you move towards your best self.

1. Look for opportunities to learn and grow

What’s the last thing that you learned for fun? If it takes you a bit to answer that question, that’s okay, but it should also serve as a wake up call. Unfortunately, sitting stagnant doesn’t move the needle on your quality of life. But by learning, you increase your awareness about life and truth. With a greater sense of awareness, you can make more informed decisions. And because you’re making smarter decisions, you’ll start to see the results that you’ve been hoping for… whether that’s more mental clarity, a greater sense of self-confidence, or more money.

Thankfully, technology has made it incredibly easy to learn from the greats at a very low cost. You can find free and inexpensive online courses on just about any topic, podcasts seeping with applicable wisdom, and good old-fashioned books that will literally change your life. If you’re not sure where to start, I’ll recommend one podcast and one book, so that you can choose based on how you like to take in information. 

• Suggested Podcast: Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations (specifically the Your Life in Focus series)
• Suggested Book: Atomic Habits by James Clear

2. Build your willpower

A few weeks ago, I was telling my best friend about how I stood under freezing cold water in my shower for 60 seconds that morning. “You just have so much willpower, Lindsey. I don’t have that,” was her response. I proceeded to tell her why I do that and how I got to that point. You see, about a month ago, the cold water only ran for 40 seconds. And two months ago, I could barely last for even 5 seconds.

You see… willpower is not a trait. It’s a muscle. Just like your biceps, the more you work out your willpower, the stronger it becomes. Unfortunately, society is full of weak willpower muscles right now due to a massive increase in convenience products - think DoorDash for food, Netflix for movies, Twitter for news. The good news is that you can get stronger day-by-day… and the stronger you get, the less intimidating the competition becomes. 

If you can consistently put yourself in a scenario where you know you should do something even though you don’t want to, you’re putting in reps and getting stronger. When it comes time to use that muscle in the real world, you’ll have the endurance built up to mentally push through writing the extra blog post or doing the extra 5 push ups or choosing the veggies instead of the fries. Here are a few ways to build your willpower. At first, pick one and master it over time to avoid overwhelming yourself. And please pace yourself because Rome wasn’t built in a day. If you miss a day, that’s alright! Nobody is perfect, just try not to miss two days in a row because then it gets harder to jump back in.

• Cold Showers: At the very end of your normal shower, turn the dial to cold and stand under it. Start with 5 seconds and add 5 seconds each day until you get to 90 seconds. Then reward yourself with some ice cream. 
• Running: At the end of your day (or whenever you can fit it into your schedule), do a run with the Nike Run Club app. I used to hate running, but I swear this app made me actually enjoy it. Start with just half a mile, and work your way up day-by-day to 3 miles.
• Cutting Social Media: Grab your phone, find your favorite social media app, and delete it. You will survive! Keep it deleted for 14 days, and reward yourself once the time passes. 

3. Surround yourself with A players

When I was a sophomore in high school, I made the top travel team at one of the best volleyball clubs in the Midwest. I was decent at volleyball, but this news shook me because I certainly wasn’t skilled enough to keep up with the pace of play at the top. The first few months of playing were really tough because I was quite obviously the weakest link. But I showed up to 4-hour practices 4 times a week, and I worked really hard to earn my spot on that team. As time went by, my skill level increased at a pace that I didn’t know was possible. At the very end of the season while playing at the ESPN Center down in Orlando for Nationals, I even achieved a perfect passing game (meaning all of my passes were right on point). 

All season I focused on how I could improve and I pushed through stress and pain, even when I didn’t think I could continue. But I think the thing that kept me going was my team. My team helped me understand that I wasn’t alone in my fight to become better, but they also challenged me to not give up on myself simply by performing at a high level themselves. When I saw how they could slam that ball onto the other side of the court, it motivated me to work on my hand contact. 

Sports provided an incredible opportunity to surround yourself with likeminded people in high school and college. So how do we replicate that environment in the real world? In my opinion, social media has tons of potential, but it’s often used as a tool of comparison that actually creates a reverse effect, making us feel bad that our lives are in shambles while Becky from high school is wined and dined halfway across the world. I’m interested in something deeper. A community of people who want to become better versions of themselves and are willing to take small, consistent steps to get there. Those are the friends that I want on my team. And that’s why I’m creating the Future Executives group on LinkedIn.

Let’s Build Together

Whether you’re daydreaming about how to change the world, making an impact at your workplace, or building a business to provide for you and your family, I’d love to journey alongside you. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that we are better together. 

I want to invite you to join Future Executives, a community of learners that brings together passionate young professionals to invest in ourselves so that we can feel secure in who we are and seek growth from a place of overflow.

I’ll be active in the group by asking questions, sharing knowledge, and making introductions, and I would love if you would come contribute to this team. Don’t worry, you don’t have to know exactly what you want to do with your life in order to join. All I’m asking is that you come in with an open mind, share what you’ve learned with your new teammates, and have fun with it.

I want to get better and I want to facilitate an environment where you can get better too. If you’d like to be a part of this community, join the group and tell us a little bit about yourself! Share in a post:

• Where you’re from
• What you do
• Your dream job
• Your role model 
• One way you want to grow this year

I’m excited to see how you grow. I’m excited to see where this life takes you. And I’m excited to cheer you on along the way. Talk soon :)