I met my wife in a bar in 1983 in Colorado Springs. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, but there was a HUGE problem…She loved to dance!
Dancing was torture for me and anyone who had the misfortune to be watching. Looking back I can honestly say that getting up on the dance floor was the scariest thing I’ve ever done!
Not sure what happened at birth for me but someone forgot to give me rhythm or the ability to feel or move with the music.
The music moves me, but it moves me ugly!
So what do you do when you meet the most beautiful person in the world, and they want to dance? You find a way to get in the Zone!
Have you ever watched a sporting event and heard the announcer say “He’s in the Zone”? That means that player was able to block out ALL outside distractions and fears and play with his/her full capabilities.
Playing in the Zone does not happen by accident. You have to create the environment for this to happen.
I figured out a way to get into the Zone so I could dance, completely by accident, with my future wife. There was a rock song by Joan Jett that when it came on, I transformed.
This song made me feel like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. I danced like someone who had confidence and was not afraid to let it all hang out on the dance floor. The funny part was I still looked like a bull in a china shop, but I was fearless and having fun!
How do you get in the Zone at work every day since most people feel about their jobs the way I felt about getting up on a dance floor?
You create the environment that helps to limit all distractions and fears so you can become so focused and consumed with what you are doing that you forget about everything else.
Everyone has different ways to create the right atmosphere. For me, I come in 3 hours before anyone else does and tackle the hardest things first. There are no people distractions, my phone is not ringing, and no one is up sending me emails yet!
During the day, when people are in the office, I close my door when I have important projects to get done including the ones I hate to do. This way it protects me from interruptions – which are the enemy of getting into the Zone!
Find ways to protect yourself from daily distractions and ways that motivate you to do what you feel like you don’t want to do and you will create a “Zone” in your work like I did on the dance floor!
Find Your Passion and You Will Find Your Life!