Maximizing Your Potential

As a Connecticut native, I am always excited when I get the chance to visit the tristate area, especially when the leaves are changing. I travel to NYC quite often, but back in September, I was invited to attend a “Live Healthy, Live Well” retreat with Johnson & Johnson (J&J). Intrigued, I boarded my flight and checked into ‘The One Hotel’, a boutique hotel with a nature theme designed with reclaimed materials, totally my cup of tea. The showers had an hourglass that allowed you to turn 180 degrees once you start your shower, in order to know how much time you’re taking to conserve water. It’s the little things that count.

Upon arrival, I wasted no time heading to the gym to get in a quick training session. Ironman training leaves no time for rest, even while traveling. I was nervous to meet the other influencers attending. I’ll be honest in saying that I never really feel like I connect with influencers on trips I attend, but this time was different. Most of the individuals attending this retreat had non-profits of their own, and/or had a strong vision in their businesses to achieve for the greater good. I loved that about our group specifically. From Mark Bustos who owns a non-profit organization focusing on providing free haircuts to the homeless and those in need, to Molly Burke, a motivational speaker and blind YouTuber, as a non-profit owner and motivational speaker myself, I really felt that I fit in with this particular “influencer” crowd.

The best ice breaker a group of enduring individuals could ask for is someone like Daymond John, Investor from Shark Tank. We traveled to Johnson & Johnson’s Jlabs the day we arrived and he gave us a talk, opening up about bullying and depression, and educating us on the importance of thinking like an Entrepreneur and building a community that focuses on addressing our worlds problems, and not waiting until tomorrow, but doing so, today. As a massive fan of Shark Tank and listener of NPR’s ‘How I Built This’, I resonated with what Daymond had to say, and saw quite a few similarities between the businesses I’ve built and how I managed to succeed.  Afterwards, we threw our lab coats and goggles on and proceeded to tour the J&J Innovation Labs, a sort of ‘WeWork’ type environment created by Johnson & Johnson in order to bring the big company advantage to entrepreneurs. Some of the space is regular office space but then there are labs where   scientists can  further their actual research. Fascinating.

*J&J is working with their Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Paul Stoffels on a cure for HIV/AIDS, and there’s some groundbreaking work that they’ve been able to make over the course of the past few years.

We were given the royal treatment of not only meeting Dr. Paul Stoffels, but meeting the Chairman of the Board and CEO of J&J, Alex Gorsky, who was really down to earth and honest about his story, which I really appreciated. You guys know I like to keep it real, and if there’s one thing I’ve never really been into, it’s museums. However, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised when walking around the J&J ‘Our Story Museum’ and seeing all of the nearly century old J&J healthcare products that our grandparents used to use. From little potions bottling things like moist gauze, Tylenol and mouth wash, to Band-Aid®‘tins’ and court plaster. Did you know J&J owns Band-Aid®, Tylenol and Listerine? I had no idea! When it comes to women and childbirth, J&J put together the first kits for sterile labor and delivery, and they work with the UN in Ethiopia to repair torn fistulas that occur during childbirth in order for mothers to not live as an outcast in their societies or moreover, debilitated.

Making our way over to the Human Performance Institute, we sat down with Dr. Raphaela O’Day, Senior Performance Coach & Innovation Catalyst of J&J’s Health & Wellness Solutions (HPI), where we were given what’s called the “HPI Energy Profile Quiz” to discover our full potential and energy utilization. As someone who’s traveled to every country in the world, wrote a book, survived naked in the Panamanian wilderness for 3 weeks, started their own business and non-profit, got accepted to travel to space with Virgin Galactic and is racing a full Ironman, I kind of thought I had it all figured out to a fruitful, purposeful and energetic life. And while, sure, I’ve done a lot, what the test proved to me was what I’d known all along. That one thing that has prevented me from unleashing my greatest potential is my emotion, the way I work with and communicate with people, or a lack thereof.

“Based on the work of Dr. Jim Loehr in The Power of Full Engagement and The Power of Story,the Free Energy Profile reflects the concepts used in the Human Performance Institute’s hugely successful Corporate Athlete® Course, which has helped thousands increase their energy and achieve their development goals. Developed to educate as well as motivate, the Human Performance Institute’s Assessment Tools offer an opportunity to enhance management training by assessing basic levels of engagement, as well as other key factors that may be affecting energy management and performance.”

My results were that I’m fully engaged in spiritual, mental and physical elements, but seriously disengaged with emotional. Makes sense, according to their descriptions.

• Fully Engaged (85% and above): This suggests that your energy management skills are excellent. Your level of engagement is sufficient to fully ignite your talent and skill.
• Engaged (70% to 84%): This suggests that your energy management skills are high, but not sufficient to fully ignite your talent and skill. You must work to expand your level of engagement.
• Disengaged (51% to 69%): This suggests that significant obstacles stand in the way of fully igniting your talent and skill. To become an extraordinary performer, you must build significantly stronger energy management skills.
• Seriously Disengaged (50% and below): Your level of disengagement not only significantly undermines your ability to fully ignite your talent and skill, but also prompts disengagement in others. When levels of disengagement such as this persist over time, your health, happiness and productivity can be seriously compromised.

I’m training for an Ironman, so of course my physical energies are strong, my mental energies are strong because I always focus on what matters most and I attribute that to being goal-oriented and observant in general, and I think my work with helping others to unleash their inner potential has been on the forefront my entire adult life, making my “spiritual” energies, fairly strong. However, I have a severe lack of people who surround me and do not work well in teams or group settings. I am inherently introverted and like to manage everything on my own, which oftentimes and more recently, has hindered further growth with my career and in regards to my own happiness. I thought I knew it all, but it looks like I have some work to do.

Perhaps you’ll discover some new ways on how to maximize your potential based on the J&J HPI Energy Profile Quiz. Let me know your results in the comments below!