The Most Overlooked Barrier to Success: Your Energy

Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of coaching hundreds of senior leaders of some of the largest and most recognizable companies in the world. I’ve encountered extraordinary individuals who were driven, smart, and had the curiosity and ambition to grow in their careers.

Yet, many of these leaders were beset with self-limiting unconscious beliefs and fears. Throughout our sessions, they would reveal a complex constellation of emotions that were holding them back professionally while hindering their ability to fully enjoy life. They struggled with different levels of insecurity. They lived lives of intense and false emotional compartmentalization: for example, trying to be one person in the corner office (invincible warrior) and another person at the dinner table (sensitive spouse). But as it turns out, living a dual life is almost impossible. Why? Because it requires a vast amount of energy. 

So how do you live an integrated life of fulfillment, purpose, and success? How do you create an alignment between head, heart, and the creative power that is in coherence with your true self? The answer is simultaneously simple and complex: You need to move from managing your time to mastering your energy.

This is the essence of my upcoming book, “The Energy Advantage: How to Go from Managing Your Time to Mastering Your Energy,” published by HarperCollins Leadership. It emerges after a decade and a half of helping people shift their mindsets and manage their personal energy to become more humane leaders. It signifies not only the realization of a project but the materialization of a life purpose. The book is a result of years of reflections, learnings, and the conviction that intentional energy, specifically intentional energy, is the key to unlocking our maximum potential.

“The Energy Advantage” proposes a shift in focus and understanding that we are much more than professionals with tasks, tight deadlines, packed schedules, and challenges to overcome. We are individuals dealing with emotions, feelings, and levels of consciousness and unconsciousness capable of directly affecting our creative potential and satisfaction levels, not only at work but also outside of it. 

My mission is clear: to help these leaders not only connect with their personal energy but also manage it effectively, transforming into authentic human leaders consistent with their true selves. This is only possible when individuals can continuously integrate their personal and professional dimensions. Instead of getting lost in the frantic pursuit of time management, leaders are invited to direct their attention to something more fundamental: mastering energy at various levels - physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

Talking about energy may sound somewhat abstract or esoteric, as conceptions of human energy vary widely, especially between Eastern and Western cultures. But experience tells me that it's not an abyss. There are similarities. I hope one contribution of this book is to serve as a bridge between Eastern and Western conceptions of human energy. 

As strange as it may seem, managing our energy means focusing on things we can't touch or see. We can't see emotions, yet they directly influence our levels of happiness and success. In this book, you will learn to manage your energy at seven levels, observe the results, and go with the flow. 

In “The Energy Advantage,” I invite readers on a journey of self-reflection and self-discovery. Learning to tune into our energy and intentions is not just a management strategy but a philosophy of life. By aligning our intentions with the immediate group of people we work with, we create an environment conducive to the maximum expression of our creativity. This is where the transformative power of intentional energy resides. 

Throughout the book’s pages, I share not only theories but extensive experiences coaching leaders such as Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, and Dolf Van Den Brink, CEO of Heineken, that shaped my understanding of this vital concept. My expectation is that each reader feels inspired to question their own intentions, explore the energy driving their actions, and embark on a journey of personal transformation. 

With "The Energy Advantage," I hope to contribute to a world where people can awaken their most authentic and vibrant energy and, through it, spread a bit of the magic that is becoming the most complete and true version of oneself.

(Note: all proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to charity).