Hello from New York City! This trip, I managed to fit in a couple of days ‘play’ before my week of coaching! Yay! I love this city – the energy is palpable, people walk fast, they talk fast, they live fast!

The pressure is high but so are the rewards. In fact – a 15 year old just won over 1 million dollars playing ‘Fortnite’. Yup, Fortnite!

Imagine the pressure that this kid was under. 40million players over 10 weeks!

Ok, so most of us don’t have a million dollars at stake but our pressures are real. Here’s the thing though – there are internal pressures and external pressures.

Watch the video to learn how to deal with both and if you want to hear about how those pressures play out for me, especially when I’m making these videos for you my friend!

How can you succeed without being overwhelmed by pressure?

Pressure is actually a good thing, it helps drive our performance but we need to keep it under control otherwise we become paralysed/burnt out/overwhelmed.

My challenge for you this week is: think about a situation where you are feeling pressure. A big client meeting coming up, a promotion that you’re going for, maybe you’ve got a big presentation….

Step 1: List your internal pressures and your external pressures

Step 2: Look at each of those lines and ask yourself, “What is within my control?”

For example, is it within my control to find a quiet location in New York to film? Yes!

Step 3: Ask yourself: How can I decrease the pressures within my control?

Answer: I need to spend more time in order to find a quiet location!

Same process for internal pressures. For me, one of my internal pressures is around wanting to make everything really unique and high quality in these videos for you! Eek! So, I practiced what I preach and asked myself – how can I decrease the pressure? And I waited for the answer, whilst sitting under a tree in Washington Square Park….and voila it comes: How about I just remember that if this helps ONE of you today to avoid the overwhelm of pressure in your life, then that’s enough!

Do it, ask yourself… what is within my control and how can I decrease that pressure? You will find, my friends, that there is a lot more within your control and a lot more you can do than you might have first realised.

And if all else fails, maybe just take a break and go and play Fortnite!!

This week I am delivering a full week of masterclasses (from presentation skills to resilience!) as part of a program with more than 250 ‘early career talent’ participants, so I’m sure they can help me learn how to play Fortnite if I need a break!

Finally, if no one else tells you today, let me be the one to tell you I’m grateful for you. I know you can handle the pressures you’re experiencing. Thank you for letting me be a part of your day and thank you for being a part of my world.

With gratitude,

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