 Throughout the day, when you are working, do you notice how your body posture is? Do you notice your facial expressions? Do you notice whether you are banging on the keys if you're working at the computer? Or, and when do you notice these things if you notice them? What do you do about them? So I have been practicing for years now something I call calm, joyful focus. So what is that? It is simply the practice of noticing throughout my work day. What is my body posture, my facial expression, how I am working at the computer, and then consciously bringing a more healthy and gentle calm, joyful focus. Now some of you might say, George, that's simply mindfulness practice. Sure, you can call it whatever you want. I just happen to call it calm, joyful focus because I like how it sounds and it's a good reminder for me about how I want to work. So what do I do? Well, first of all, I make it an intention. I set that intention and hopefully now that you're watching this video, you can also set that daily intention to work with calm, joyful focus. And primarily, how do you do it is to set the intention to notice your body and your face throughout the work day. And how often, well, as often as possible, without breaking the flow of your work, I recommend trying to notice at least every 10 to 20 minutes. When you're first starting, maybe it won't be 30 to 60 minutes before you notice your body because working on any project can be hypnotizing. You can be in a trance of sorts. So you might forget your body and just be all mind or heart focused. But when you can notice just for a moment what your body posture is, you might find, and this is so often, we somehow, I don't know where we get this, but we believe that if you're working with focus and determination, you're supposed to look something like this, or some other version of fierceness and furrowed brows and tense body is, I don't know, maybe it's just where I got my programming from early in my childhood. But I don't know, what do you think? I'm curious to know. What do you think it's supposed to look like when you are working diligently? And you're focused on a project and you are firing on all cylinders. What is that supposed to look like? Especially when you're, you know, well, a lot of us work at the computer. So what does it look like at the computer when you're firing on all cylinders? You know, is it look like that? Is it supposed to look like that? Well, you know, I like to learn when I can from the martial arts masters. What do they teach us about, you know, power, right? Authentic use of power in one's body and expression. And I want to show you on the screen a couple of very short video segments that may inspire you to understand what is calm, joyful focus. All right, so let's get to it. I'm going to share this, my screen here. And here we go. Watch this. This is a clip about Aikido and how that works. Pushing back with force just turns into a contest of strength. With an expert, all the energy flows in the direction that will knock the opponent over right at the moment of impact. So if you lift your arm in that situation, let me show that to you one more time. But if you slide your hip. Okay, so basically what you're watching here, and this is not just Aikido, I think this is true in many martial arts, is instead of going like this with an opponent, you use the opponent's force and you kind of direct the force so that the opponent falls naturally. The same thing happens with your work with a project that is difficult for you. Do you face it right on with your fierce look on your face, your tight body and banging away at the keys. Is that how you face a difficult, challenging, frustrating, confusing, tedious project? Or do you martial arts it and yes there's tedium and frustration and fear failure and challenging nature of some project coming at you. What do you do. You use that force and you kind of redirect it so that instead of like this you go, yes, yes I see you. Ah, okay. And you kind of let that let let those negative emotions kind of flow by you while you continue to Aikido the project and and somehow able to work your way around it. Towards the way I like to bring it bring the attitude I can bring as curiosity. Playfulness. I wonder how I can work around this project. I wonder if there's a way around this obstacle. I wonder if there's a way underneath it or above it or to the side of it or I'm going to try this I want to play around with that. So, nothing, therefore, in your day. Any project you're working on any task that's difficult, ever needs to make you frustrated, you know, being all tense and fierce and, you know, supposedly working hard only creates more stress, more pressure. And shortens your lifespan shorten, you know, decreases your health increases the, you know, stressful hormones in your body. It doesn't help you bring more genius and more spirit to the moment, right. So, the solution, calm, joyful focus. Now let me show you one more video and watch as this martial artists. Faces the opponent now this in this case, this guy is working with a with a dummy, but watch the skillfulness and watch the facial expression of this martial artist. Check it out. Wow. So, typically, in Hollywood, when we watch, you know, fight scenes, you know, even people who are really good at fighting music. Oh, you know, they're they have that fierceness in their face and they just they make loud noises of punch, right, you know, like very. And it's true in the in actual, you know, sparring or fighting situation, you might you might make those noises but I just prefer to think about. And maybe it's the martial arts masters in the mountains with such grace and skill, and kind of like this guy again, let me show you again look at look at his face. As he does all this. I mean there's no there's no like, you know, it's not this it's it's again it's kind of like using the power of the fame to just gracefully deal with it and I hope that we can learn from that kind of attitude. And implement that in our day to day work with any task, any project, especially something that's difficult. I know many of you as you build your business do your work you have to work with technology, for example, and working with tech. Does that bring stress and pressure and frustration and why does it have to be like this why couldn't it be easier and all that emotional mental angst that then translates into your body. Do you do you bring instead of calm joyful focus do you bring frustrated tense, you know working, you know suffering to to the task. Well, hopefully not anymore, because any problem, any frustration, any challenge can be solved with either gracefulness, or with frustration, you have a choice. It can be solved. If you take a moment. And again the practice is throughout your day, multiple times an hour. Notice your body posture, because you can use your body posture. When you change your body posture, it can change your emotional and mental state so what do I do when I catch myself in a tense state during any working hour. I'm going to stop like that. I first when I become conscious of it. I take a cute couple of deep breaths. And then I consciously noticed my shoulders. And I relaxed them. I notice my neck. It's typically stiff if I'm in that frustrated or confused or, you know, negative state of some kind so I move my neck gently. I'm going to loosen it up again, keep it flexible instead of stiff. And then I bring a calm, joyful smile to my face as I continue to work. Now, for those of us who work at the computer there's an additional step, which to notice how hard we are typing. Because some of you are like, you type so hard, you know, your hands are stiff and you're typing and some of you even do this, you know, you're typing hard and you're using like just a couple fingers. Instead, why don't you rest your palms gently on the computer and try typing lightly, whether you use multiple fingers or use one finger or two fingers, try to type lightly on the keys, touch the keys lightly. Try it. So that instead, your hands and arms don't have as much tension, which of course will save your hands and arms from repetitive stress injury, maybe carpal tunnel in the long term, because I actually had repetitive stress I don't know probably was carpal tunnel repetitive stress but I had pain shooting up my arms, a couple of years into my business really and I think in the second year I started feeling it, because I didn't know about calm joyful focus yet so I was working like you're supposed to work hard, work hard, suffer through your work. So I started feeling the tingling sensations in my arms and in my shoulders, the neck, a couple years into my work. And I, I'm so glad I noticed that that that that tinglyness, and that start that the beginning of the pain because then I realized, oh, I am working in an unsustainable way. So that's when I started practicing calm joyful focus on instead of working in that tension of a way. Let me relax my arms, shoulders, neck, bring it to the computer, like I'm playing the piano. I, gratefully it was trained in the piano and early age so I remember my piano teacher, you know when I when I approach the piano I used to be like this, like, because I noticed certain good pianists were like, they were like, somehow their shoulders were up and I thought that was how you're supposed to play the piano with such, you know, tension or whatever and it's like no one know you that's that's just, that's just their style you don't have to emulate their style you can you can play your piano however, however you want. And same thing at the keyboard you can type however you want you know, and it's like you can just rest your palms, type gently, and with a smile gentle smile on your face with relaxed shoulders and neck, and with joyfulness in your heart. Yeah, you can work like that all day long. And, you know, not surprisingly, I am still around in my business thriving 12 years later, starting my business 12 years and I sadly as I look around there remember the colleagues I worked with, you know, 10 to 12 years ago. I'm not around. I mean, in their business anymore, they probably in some job or whatever but it's like, not surprised because so many people work in their business with such tension and stress, treating themselves and treating others with tension and stress that it's not sustainable. So, bring more calm, joyful focus to your keyboard to your work throughout the day. So I'll end with this. It's all connected, right, your body posture and way of working is connected to your mind and your heart, your spirit, right it influences how your body how you choose your body influences the mind, heart and spirit. And let me just end with this, how you choose to frame your work also influences your body. So calm, joyful focus really can be approached from the body, how you, how you, how you move your body, but it all comes, it can also be approached from how you frame your work are you focused on the results attached to, I might make a mistake, I might fail, am I doing it right. Authentic business is there is no such thing as doing it right. There's only doing it with more or less joyful productivity. And I probably should emphasize this point more often in authentic in if you are dedicated to the practice of authentic business. There's no doing it right or wrong. There are no mistakes. There's only whether you are bringing, whether you are conscious of bringing your joyful productivity to the moment or not, that's it. You can always bring, you know, you can always become more conscious throughout the day of bringing joy for productivity to your work. And if you are doing that. Then I believe you are doing authentic business because you are, you are focused more on the spirit of the process and the personal growth that's available in the moment of the process, rather than, am I going to get good results or bad results. Am I going to do my work or not, is this person going to say, you know, yes to my services or not, am I is this post going to do well or not, am I going to be embarrassed looking or not. Those are all attachment to results. Let me read you this wonderful quote that I have been inspired by for many years this is a this is a quote from a book that influenced me deeply. This is a practicing mind by Thomas Steiner, and the quote goes like this. I once read an interview with a coach for the US Olympic archery team, he commented that the biggest problem he faced and coaching the American team. This is the Olympic coach of the American team said that the American team was so fixated on their scores, the results of their shots. It was as if they were drawing the bow and releasing the arrow, only to hit the bullseye and earn a good score. That was their focus. Get a good score. This was in contrast to the Asian teams who having grown up in different cultures by the way I didn't know even though I am, I look Asian, I actually grew up mostly in the US and my family immigrated one to the US when I was six and a half. I really was raised in the American culture of getting the score right it's all about the results right. So the quote continues this was in contrast to the Asian teams who having grown up in different cultures were consumed in the process of properly executing the technique that led up to releasing the shot. Where the arrow hit the target was almost unimportant compared to the motion of drawing the bow correctly and releasing the shot. They viewed the result with an almost detached difference for them, the desired goal was the natural result of prioritizing the proper technique and drawing the bow of drawing the bow. They operated in a completely different paradigm. And because of it, they were very difficult to beat the minds of the Asian archers were quiet, uncomplicated and free from mental turmoil. What was that when compared to the results oriented Americans, the Asians were the ones who are winning. Now us sports psychologists are teaching our athletes to think along similar lines. So, are you focused on hitting the bull's eye when you're working, or are you focused on the way that you're working. I hope, going forward, starting today, you will focus every day, every hour on the way that you are working. That is the essence of joyful productivity is, are you working with calm, joyful focus. Or are you so attached to making mistakes looking bad embarrassing yourself attachment to whether it's going to go well or not, that you tend to tend to self up thinking you can force that result. When truly, if you just bring some grace and joyfulness to it, you will, you will be able to sustain your work for many more years than your than your peers. You will sustain your work for many more years, and by continuing to work year by year by year, you're naturally going to learn and grow and get better at what you do. So, it's all about the way that you work. Now let me, let me finish up with a couple of quotes from the Bhagavad Gita, you know, now, to be honest, I haven't read the Bhagavad Gita in full I know it's short. I really should read it, but there have always been some quotes that I've discovered from this wonderful book spiritual book that is very inspiring. So the first quote goes like this, the meaning of karma is in the intention. The intention behind the action is what matters. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable. Let me say that again. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action. So they care just about what happens. They're miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do. That's another quote, set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward. Finally, perform all thy actions with mine concentrated on the divine renouncing attachment and looking upon success and failure with an equal eye. Spirituality implies equanimity. This is practical spirituality. For those of us who believe in the divine set. Perform all thy actions with mine concentrated on the divine. And that's what essentially is the core of the message I've been trying to bring you for years, which is in all of our business. It's not about the business results. I mean, yes, of course. Yeah, George, it is about the business results otherwise I'll be out on the street without being able to make any money. I get it. But the irony is if we can focus on the process as personal growth, the process of building our business the whole time is simply a stage for spiritual development. Every minute of the day, you are not sending an email, you are not writing a social media post, you are I am not making this video for the sake of the video, I am making this while I'm making this video. My spirit is either becoming more open to the divine and approaching the divine, or I am shrinking away from the divine. That's it. That's the moment of every day. You are not doing your bookkeeping, you are not organizing your ideas. Yes, you are doing those things that looks like from an outside point of view if someone were looking at you looks like you're doing those things. But I hope inside your reminders. I am simply seeing the spreadsheet as a tool for connecting with the divine I am simply seeing the keyboard and the words I'm typing as a prayer to the divine. For those of us who don't believe in the divine, I am simply typing these words as a way to practice calm joyful focus. Because who knows how long I have to live I might as well work with calm joyful focus because my goodness the quality of life is so much better when I work in this way. I think you get the idea. And hopefully I've set that impression upon you to remember every hour of every workday. Every minute of every workday now I don't want you to break your flow like every minute Oh gotta come back Oh gotta come back. It's not about that. It's about trying to become sensitive to how your body posture is one way to become or trying to become sensitive to your emotional state and go Why am I going into the negative now. Why am I becoming frustrated with this project. Why am I fearing why why is there fear in the moment here, afraid of making mistake that's, if you can become sensitive to that and quickly adjust. Back to calm joyful focus, you will work in the most sustainable way possible for yourself. Alright, go and practice go and notice today, tomorrow, and every day. I wish you well.