Love – Page 2 – Sam Makhoul

January 20, 2016

Sleep More Get Smart

Whenever I suggest more sleep around motivated people on the go, I am often met with ‘are you insane?!’, followed by a ‘yawn’. Not only because the topic bores them but also because they are sleep deprived. Im guilty on both counts. But below you will find 3 great tips for the best sleep ever.

Sure we might go through periods where we sleep less and for good reason. For example when we travel to exciting destinations and constantly on the go. Or when we work on projects that stimulate us. But there comes a tipping point where the mind and body say, “hey, enough is enough, you need to chill”.

Benefits of sleep:

You will look more attractive (that’s why they call it ‘beauty sleep’)
You will improve your memory
You will lower your stress levels
You will be smarter. Albert Einstein needed 10 hours sleep a night.

And the best thing about sleep is that its free. It’s the best supplement that money can’t buy. It is a daily detox for the mind. Some people swear by meditation to relax BUT research show that sleep is far more effective.

Here are three tips that will definitely get you the best sleep:

Cardio exercise after work – at least 30 mins.
Get some sun around midday.
Have a laugh in the last hour before you go to bed. Hang out with fun people or watch your favourite comedy.

And remember that one hour sleep before midnight is worth 2 hours sleep after midnight. So get to bed early.

Yawn.

August 12, 2015

“Where Is The Love?”

There is a natural tendency for companies to create boundaries between their teams, by optimising within a business unit rather than optimising for a global customer experience. Unfortunately, such boundaries create a “them vs. us” culture where some teams start to feel like corporate refugees as they see other teams being favoured. So when the global customer experience breaks down, the following starts creeping into the vocabulary: “It’s not my teams problem.” (cf. “It is not my countries problem”).

There are two ways to overcoming such boundaries:

By focusing on the “Cognitive Culture” of employees and instilling the values of teamwork, results-orientation and innovation.
The second and most effective way is to cultivate the “Emotional Culture”. That is, by engaging their hearts so they love the customer.

“Love Knows No Boundaries”

Whenever I mention the word LOVE in business meetings, some executives shift uncomfortably. They are thinking: “My performance is measured by tangibles like operational efficiency, not love!” I remind them that, ‘Not everything that matters can be measured, and not everything that is measured matters’. – Einstein

Almost all senior executives acknowledge that their business is all about the customer experience AND that employees are their greatest asset. Yet they do not realise that the invisible force that connects both, is love. Without it there is no empathy for the customer. And without empathy there is no connection. Without connection there is no customer loyalty; which leads to the coveted 3 R’s of business: Retention, Repeat & Referral.

Where there is NO love, a task is performed, a box is ticked and a KPI is met. The customer feels like a file number. Where there is love, there is compassion for the customer’s anxiety for a transaction and there is a genuine willingness to help.

It is ironic that the most devastating tragedy of the current Syrian refugee crisis unfolded on the shores of Greece. The ancient Greeks appropriately had six words with corresponding meanings describing love. The one that is most relevant for business and for humanity is “Agape”, the love you have for all people on earth, even strangers. C S Lewis referred to it as “gift love,” the highest form of Christian love. It is the only one that fosters natural empathy for other humans. Your job as a senior executive is not only to meet operational efficiency targets but also to cultivate that kind of love in your organisation.

………………………………

Opinion on the Syrian Refugee Crisis: I want to live in a world with NO boundaries. As humans we have an innate desire to help others. It should not matter whether that person falls in our arms from across the street or from across a border.

May 22, 2014

9 Tips to Work Rest and Play

WORK

1. Master the art of a perfect greeting/handshake. Its what people most remember about you. Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama are your perfect examples.

2. Keep learning and attending seminars in your field of expertise. Stay relevant and avoid becoming a dinosaur.

3. Aspire to inspire others, not put them down. Business is a lot easier when you win people over. They will work hard with you and for you if you inspire them about the goals. By all means though avoid people that ‘just don’t get it’. Life is too short…

REST

1. Breath through your stomach not your chest. Do this consciously when you are driving, sitting idle and sleeping. This single exercise can change your life because it unlocks tension and releases your mojo.

2. Turn off all technology when you are driving, eating and sleeping. Technology trains our mind to be in distraction mode, reduces our attention span and teaches us to not live in the moment.

3. Sleep more.

PLAY

1. Don’t do exercise. Play a sport that caters to your competitive nature. e.g. Soccer, tennis, touch footy. Competitive sport is a lot easier on the motivation. You can do 60 minutes of touch footy and the time flies. It also tunes you for competitiveness in business.

2. Get intimate with your partner more often. Play in the bedroom is just as important as sport. Use it or lose it. As a side benefit for men: more intimacy = less risk of prostate cancer.

3. Reserve work for work. I don’t believe that play should occur at the office. Sure you can celebrate your wins at work, but keep it professional and save your silly side for your family. My wife and I often put pop music on for the kids in the family room and we all dance and party like it was 1999.

Life balance is simply a matter of maths. We have 24 hours in the day. If you reserve 8 hours each for rest, work and play you will never get stressed again in your life.

January 16, 2014

Love, Actually

Our relationship with our partner plays a huge role in our wellbeing and engagement at work. In my book, A Higher Branch, I rank love as the second priority you should have in life: health first, love second and family third. The reason for this is simple: love gives us energy: it ignites our passions and makes us happier and more productive both at home and at work. This is because as humans, we all have an innate desire to be attractive and be attracted to someone. So in life you have to pursue love with the same passion and intensity as you would any other goal because love completes us and defines us. Expressing love also awakens a power and energy so strong that it lifts your level of performance in all areas of life to that of extraordinary. It connects the power of your mind with that of your heart and unleashes a source of immense creativity and imagination.

It doesn’t take much to nurture a loving relationship. Here are 5 personal tips that I use in my life. I would love to hear yours.

1. LOVE GOES TO WHERE LOVE IS. Loving another comes from the same part of our heart as loving yourself. If you don’t love yourself, you’re incapable of loving someone else. You love yourself by working on yourself as a person: by eating well, exercising, relaxing, pursuing your ambitions at work, nurturing your friendships, and creating your own wealth. When you love yourself, you’re going to attract someone to you.

2. LOOK AND FEEL ATTRACTIVE. Everyone has an innate desire to be wanted: to be attractive and to be attracted to someone. So look and feel attractive: take pride in your appearance, dress up, and wear clothes that suit your personality and body-shape. You might not always feel good but if you look good, people may compliment you and that will instantly boost your mood.

3. SCHEDULE INTIMACY. We live in a chaotic world where you cannot rely on spontaneity. So if you want a great relationship, schedule intimacy. Send your partner a calendar invite right now! And be cheeky and creative.

4. GO ON DATES. Pack a picnic, spend an afternoon in the park, have lunch together if you work close to home, see a movie, read a book together, it doesn’t need to cost a lot of money but it nurtures your relationship and keeps the love energy alive.

5. DO LIKE ANDRE AGASSI – FOCUS ON YOUR PARTNER’S POSITIVES. A lot of relationships break down because we start to focus on all these things that begin to irritate us about the person, when in reality they were always there. They’re irritating you now because you’re focusing on them and if you have a negative mindset, you focus on what you don’t have instead of what you do have. No one’s perfect, you aren’t perfect, are you? So focus on your partner’s positive qualities.

When tennis player, Andre Agassi married Stephie Graf, whom he loves dearly, they put a blackboard in the kitchen and Andre, who wakes up before the family, writes what he loves about her on that black board. So every morning when Stephie wakes up, she goes down to the kitchen and is greeted with a positive note like: “I love the way your hair falls over your eyes, or I love the way you laugh or the way you ate that mango.” Everyday it’s something different and everyday it reminds them both why they love each other.

February 13, 2012

9 THINGS A MAN CAN DO FOR THE WOMAN IN HIS LIFE

If you want your woman to climb the table to kiss you on Valentine’s Day, read on.

Most guys I know (myself included) are very courageous in sport and in business – but when it comes to intimacy they are so terrified of being rejected that they are sometimes reluctant to initiate sex. What most men don’t realise is that intimacy is not an ON/OFF button you can press whenever you want to get some. It is a culmination of your actions over days, weeks and months.

My philosophy is to talk less and show more. Talk is cheap. In fact the deepest moments of intimacy occur when you’re not talking.

1. Do like Andre Agassi – he has a black board in the kitchen where he writes a DAILY note to Stefi Graf telling her what he loves about her. It can be the simplest thing like “I love the way you eat a mango” or “I love the way you cover your mouth when you smile”. If you do not live with your partner, a simple text message on waking every morning is awesome. She will read it throughout the day.

2. Send Her A Gift Unexpectedly – Sometimes the “just because” gifts we give mean as much or more than those given on special occasions.

3. Arrange An Entire Evening Together – Create the atmosphere that you know that she loves, and make it like a complete date; the great meal, the right music, and a romantic comedy or film she loves. And finish off with a bath or shower together.

4. If She Works In An Office Setting: Send Her A Bouquet Of Flowers For Her desk That Will Last A Week – Include a card, letting her know you wanted her to have something lovely to look at that week at work.

5. Buy Her Something To Her Taste At A Lingerie Store – They have the most helpful people there who will help you put together a gift package that will be appreciated, romantic, and hopefully, used!

6. Check Into a Hotel – Take her to a nice hotel in town and enjoy room service, shopping, indoor swimming, or whatever she wants to do. Instead of booking her into the spa for a treatment, give her a full-body massage yourself. It’s not that difficult if you take your time and use the right oil.

7. Tell Her You Want To Shop With Her For A Special Present -Take her to her favourite stores, or ask her what she really wants or needs. Hold her hand throughout the experience. Shop with her patiently, and when she buys something, tell her that she deserves it.

8. Write Her A Love Letter – Be soft and generous in your praise of her. Use the kinds of words you used when you first got together

9. Ask Her To Plan A Weekend For The Two Of You – tell her you will go anywhere, do anything, and basically, cater to her and with her, for 48 hours.

My last tip is to work just as hard on your love life as you do on your work life.