Years ago, I read a book called “The Energy Bus.” It was given to me by a good friend and client, Pat McGrath. Pat was always great at giving little nuggets of motivational advice, and I always simply felt better when I was in his presence. After reading this book, things were no different. Even though I read it years ago, the most important lesson of the book came back to me this week.
Monday started like any normal Monday for me. Moving fast, a slight bit of tension about all that was about to happen in the week in front of me and several important things that I needed to get accomplished early.
That is when the glass broke. Like someone through a brick through my window. I got hit with some very disturbing news about several people who I have the utmost respect for and have devoted quite a bit of time to helping them develop their careers. The news wasn’t what one may deem as catastrophic like ill health or having a severe accident, but it was the kind of blow that just hits you in the stomach when you realize not only were people not sticking to their core values but also they were acting in a true sense of undermining me and my mission.
This ate at me for about 12 hours. Then, while flying from one city to another, I looked out the window and noticed how beautiful the mountains looked going up and down the East Coast and thought about a key topic from the book “The Energy Bus,” which was called Energy Vampires. Meaning you let all the problems suck out all your energy rather than focus on things and people that you can actually do something productive to make better.
I cracked a smile and thought back to what the book talked about and how you have to devise a plan to make it out of energy-sucking circumstances and focus your time and energy on things that you can actually do something about.
Now that my plane is starting to descend, I find myself eagerly ready to turn on my phone and call anyone but one of these energy vampires and get them off my mind and out of my life.