Clifton Strengths Finder Expert And Coach Lisa Cummings

Clifton Strengths Finder Expert Lisa Cummings Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast


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Introducing Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings

Lisa Cummings is the Clifton Strengths Finder Strength Coach, who 100% believes that it’s a lot better to become great at what you are good at and leave behind the poor stuff.

She has built an amazing coaching business all around the work done by Gallup as we discovered the last time she appeared on the show back on episode 510 .

As she says “I sometimes call myself the Chief Strengths Sleuth because I spend my days uncovering hidden talents on your teams.

Remember that song “It’s Your Thing” by the Isley Brothers?

I use those lyrics like a spotlight glass to amplify people’s differentiators.

It’s how I help you and your team figure out “your thang” so you can be more productive at work.

Starting her career as a Sales Executive for Business To Business back in 1998, it appears that the path best trodden for her actually started when moving into staff development.

Like myself she has spent most of her working life, building the strengths of individuals in corporations to make better, higher functioning teams.

Getting people to feel inspired by the working day instead of dreading that ringing sound by the side of the bed.

How The Dots Joined Up For Lisa

But what interests me is what personally was driving her back in the day.

As with a career strewn with employment lasting a couple of years at each time, it is clear to me that her ambition, was equally matched with a desire to find her thing too.

And now as a podcaster herself, or as she calls herself the Chief Strengths Sleuth: Host of the “Lead Through Strengths”​ Podcast: she helps people find and leverage their strengths at work.

Complimenting her workshops, keynote speaking and by performing a role of StrengthsFinder Performance Coach, which as you know is a publication that I have recommended many times on the show she is busier than ever..

So what is it about keynote strengths that lit her up inside and made her want to build a business around it?

And with all the issues that the world has seen in the last year, has she found more personal strengths that she didn’t have.

So lets bring her onto the show to start joining up even more dots with the one and only Lisa Cummings

Show Highlights

During the show we discussed such deep subjects with Lisa Cummings such as:

How Lisa and I both share how we both went through the dark times of entrepreneurship and the steps we took to climb back into the light.

Why you should only do the things that fill you up with energy and not depletes you.

and lastly……

Why your strengths can be so powerful in every area, but can also be used for evil and work against you if you are not careful.

How To Connect With Lisa Cummings

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Return To The Top Of Clifton Strengths Finder Expert

Full Transcription Of Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings Interview

Intro [0:00]
Life shouldn’t be hard life should be a fun filled adventure every day. So now start joining up dots tap into your talents, your skills, your God given gifts and tell your boss, you don’t deserve me. I’m out of here. It’s time for you to smash that alarm clock and start getting the dream business and life you will, of course, are dreaming up. Let’s join your host, David Ralph from the back of his garden in the UK, or wherever he might be today with another jam packed episode of the number one hit podcast. Join Up Dots.

David Ralph [0:41]
Yes, good morning to you. Good morning cheer. Yes, it’s our number one podcast. Yes, I’m number one in Mongolia or number one somewhere that nobody listens to podcasts. But that’s all right. That’s fine. That’s brilliant. I’m looking forward to today’s episode big time because what we’re trying to do in Join Up Dots we’ve, we’ve we’ve started reaching out to people that have been on the show previously, to find out what they are doing so that we can join up the dots see what we’re doing there. And the first person that we reached out to is this lady that we’ve got on today, and she’s the Clifton Strengths Finder strength coach, who 100% believes that it’s a lot better to become great at what you’re good at, and leave behind the poor stuff. Now she’s built an amazing coaching business all around the work done by Gallup. And as we discovered the last time she appeared on the show back on episode 510. She seems to love it. It seems to play to her strengths and her strengths are their strengths and it’s a big win win. As she says I sometimes call myself the chief a strength sleuth, because I spend my days uncovering hidden talents on teams. Remember that song? It’s your thing buddy Isley Brothers up be honest, I don’t. But I use those lyrics. She says like a spotlight last to amplify people’s differentiators. It’s how I help you and your team figure out Yeah, fine, so you can be more productive at work. Now starting her career as a sales executive for business to business back in 1998. It appears that the path best trodden for her actually started when moving into staff development. like myself, she spent most of her early working life building the strengths of individuals and corporations to make better higher functioning teams and getting people to feel inspired by their working day, instead of dreading that ringing sound by the side of the bed. But what interests me is what personally was driving her back in the day as we have a career strong, we’ve employment lasting a couple of years at each time, it’s clear to me that her ambition was equally matched with a desire to find her being to and now as a podcaster. herself, or as she calls herself. The chief strengths lose host of the lead through strengths podcast, I was honoured to say she helps people find the leverage their strengths at work time, now complementing our workshops, keynote speaking and by performing a roll out the Strength Finders performance coach, which as you know, is a publication that I recommend many, many times on the show, she is busier than ever. So what is it about the business of strengths that lights them up inside and made her want to build a business around it? And we’ve already issues that the world has seen in the last year how she found more personal strengths that she didn’t have before? Well, let’s find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up even more dots with the one and only Lisa Cummings.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [3:29]
Hey, I’m doing great and feeling strong.

David Ralph [3:32]
I’ll bet you all because your last time we met which was 30th Of March 2016. Yep, five years ago, I bought even then that you was a bit like a Terminator. You were like, you were full of energy you were bouncing around and you seemed like life had come together in that that weird spot where the sweet spot is the whole spot and you just want to bathe in it. Do you do still feel like that? Or was I wrong? Or maybe you was projecting an image that actually wasn’t that true? Looking back on it?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [4:07]
No, I think that was really authentic the bouncing around the boundless energy. And interestingly, and growing this business and continuing to do Clifton strengths training all these years. I still love that with all of the same fervour and zest and all of those things. But you know, I didn’t keep that energy. I had a real dip and worked through some issues with it. So even after finding that perfect sweet spot, I let workaholism ruin it for a while. So interesting how, even though the thing you’re doing can be energising you can foil your own success.

David Ralph [4:45]
Well, we both did exactly the same as I was sharing with you before and now my listeners know it all the time, because I think it’s so important. Now, you’ve got to tell people, don’t over tie yourself don’t work out. It’s not important sort of move along. So what It was it obsession to be everywhere at all times and have like a brand profile where you were basing it. This is what I did. I’m speaking about how I did it. I was basing it on what other people were doing not taking into account by had teams of people doing it. And I was trying to do it all myself.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [5:20]
Yes, I think that’s definitely part of it. And then I think it was just leaning on what, what got me to another place. So for example, earlier in my career, when I was trying to get promoted, or be in a corporate environment and look like a, you know, the a player, employee or team member that I wanted to be, I relied a lot on persistence and hard work and staying up late and being the last one at the office and being able to be the one that anybody could count on to get it done. And then when you launch your business, and you play every role, or at least you’re delegating the roles that you’re not playing, so you’re still involved in them. I think that I just hit a ceiling of capacity. And I didn’t see it coming and had to figure out and I’m still figuring out the next phase and what that requires, because you think used to call it the hustle muscle. So it’s just like a muscle, you know, like, if you take your hamstring and you tax it and tax it and tax it and tax it, it needs to rest. That’s when the growth happens. And I wasn’t letting it rest. And if you tax it too hard all at once you get a strain or a pool, and you could damage it. I think that’s what I did to my buddy.

David Ralph [6:31]
Yeah, I was an idiot too. I don’t believe in the hustle muscle at all anymore. I think strategic hustle is good. And being very focused on what you’re doing. But actually just that constant, I will outwork the next person. I don’t believe in it at all anymore. And I I wish I could go back on my shows. Somebody said to me, is there any part of your shows you regret? And I think it was the hustle. I just thought that work? won the game. But it’s not. It’s not. It’s about being clever. It’s about resting. It’s about being focused on what your audience and your listeners and your customers want. There’s so much about business. It’s easy, Lisa, isn’t it? But until you get into it. I don’t think you realise how easy it is in many ways we overcomplicate it. What do you think?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [7:24]
I think we overcomplicated is a statement of the decade. I think that yeah, I mean, being able to have boundaries. learn to say no, you really focused with prioritisation. Those are all things they sound they would have sounded good and true to me. I learned how to delegate worry less that you’ll disappoint someone if you say no, those would have been things I would be like, yeah, that sounds like a smart path. But it feels so good to say yes to things and making other people happy. And it feels like momentum. But saying no to things. It’s a different skill. And it’s a different level of focus. And then when you’re saying no, it also requires this bigger picture, backing up and saying what do I even want out of this life? What do I want my life to look like? Because I’m getting here’s, here’s a good example, my nickname for my husband for a while was Click, click, click boom. And it sounds like a boom, boom, it sounds something sexy, but actually it was. I’m at my computer and I’m clicking away on my keyboard, click, click, click click and the boom was when I fell asleep on my keyboard because all I did was stare at the screen and fall asleep. And that’s a that’s a good moment to stop and say, why am I doing this? What is this even for? I’m not playing the drums as much I’m not enjoying myself. I’m not writing songs.

David Ralph [8:38]
I’m not doing it just jumping in. Why were you doing it? Really? Well, what was it you were aiming to achieve?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [8:50]
Such a deep question, David.

David Ralph [8:52]
That’s why I hit you with it. You see, because I say I’ve been reflecting on why I was doing it myself. And I still can’t quite get to the bottom of it. So I thought I’d ask you.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [9:03]
Well, I don’t know that I’m fully to the bottom of it. But here’s what I’m suspecting. And I suspect that it was habit. So if it got me success in the past, I knew I could lean on it to get things done. So it felt like a tool that I knew how to use the persistent store the hard work tool. So I think I did it because I knew how to use that tool. But then it was it was running out of its own capacity. I think for ego because it felt good to get things done and see the levers that it moved. Like if hard work got me more revenue or that hard work, built a better funnel that day or that hard work got me another lead or landed another client. I think that felt good and it felt like success. And then I also think it has something to do with kind of a teamwork thing. So In my family, being able to make sure that I am a good teammate to my husband, and that I’m bringing in the cash for the household as well. And I think it’s been very scary to say, oh, if I step away back, and I pull back on my hours, what if it fails? What if my revenue stinks? What if I now feel like I’m not pulling my weight? I think a lot of is tied up in that fear of the unknown of what it will bring to try the other way.

David Ralph [10:28]
As you said one word, but I bought that’s it. And that’s what I’ve been reflecting on. And the one word was ego. I think, for me, it was, you know, global domination. I used to say that all the time, you know, I want the global domination. And now I look at it and think why do you want global domination other than an ego metric? And why did you want to prove to the world that you left, but you hadn’t made a mistake. And I think that was my key thing. But I’d quit a very well paid corporate gig, to do something. But effectively, people didn’t really understand. And I wanted to look, the success. Now, I don’t give a monkey’s as we say, I really don’t care. You know what people think, because I know what’s going on behind the scenes. But I think I think the ego was something that you really got to keep in check, because it can bring you to your knees.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [11:25]
It can and I think it can be so deceiving as well, because, okay, if you are on Join Up Dots, you’re getting one bazillion downloads per show, that would feed your ego. But if you flip over to the new David, it would also tell you I’m touching more lives, and I’m doing something meaningful there. So the way that you look at the numbers, the way that you take a metric, and instead of letting it be a vanity metric, let it be something that tells you how many lives are touching or the meaning or the depth of the work that you’re doing. Sometimes I think these you almost want to throw it all out and go, I don’t care about vanity metrics anymore, because that’s all ego. But then how do you know if what you’re doing is working? It’s a whole different way of living and feeling out filling your way through the darkness

David Ralph [12:14]
is I I kind of went as quite cynical to say this, I looked at all the downloads, I was getting and stuff. And at my peak, I was getting about 500,000 a month, which is which is a lot based in but I was just doing it myself. And I started to think how many of those 500,000 are actually bringing anything back into my bank account. And it was as simple as that. And I realised that I was spending all my time growing this audience. But actually, I didn’t have any time to support the audience and reference the audience and spend time doing whatever. And I do think as well, Lisa, while we’re being totally transparent, but anybody out there who wants to launch a podcast, you’ve got to have something to hang on it. Otherwise, it’s just a thing you’re doing. You’re you’re you’re you could create this big audience, but you’ve got nothing to bring it back to. And I think I also launched the podcast, before I’d realised what the thing I was hanging on it was. And that took me quite a time to sort of develop the income streams to make it sort of very profitable. I think there’s certain things that we do online. But we almost do because we think we should be doing it. Or it looks fun, without stopping to go. Actually, what where’s the benefit to me of doing this?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [13:32]
Yes, I think you’re hitting on something that is really important for listeners, because I know a lot of your listeners are in corporate and they’re wanting to get out. And when you’re in that place, of course, you can start getting momentum on social media. And it’s really easy to get caught up in. Okay, I’m feeling like an influencer. Now I have this many followers and fans and downloads and whatever metrics you’re using. But then, are you hanging out on top of a business model? And is it lead generation for that business model? It’s so important, because otherwise you just get caught up in what content do I post next, but the content has to be for that specific business model. I think a lot of people are missing that. It’s like social first, but you need a business model first, and you just tapped into a really important order of operation that most

David Ralph [14:22]
people miss. Because my content other than the podcast, I think if I go back over the podcast, it’s genuinely quality is as it’s as good as I can do. Okay, which I’m happy with. But when I look at all the other stuff, I was lobbing out to the world, it was crap, basically, you know, the stuff on Instagram and the stuff on YouTube, because I didn’t have the bandwidth to do it. It was so it was just rubbish. And that’s one of the things that I would reference to the listeners. But if it’s not the best you can possibly do at that time. Don’t bother doing it because he There’s no point you just focus in on what you do the best focus in on your strengths, which obviously is a perfect segue to you. But that’s true, isn’t it? Lisa?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [15:11]
It is and focusing on the things that bring you energy and the things that you think are fun. Because those if they’re, of course leading to the revenue of the business in some way, then you’re going to want to keep doing them. But if you need to be on Instagram and tick tock and clubhouse, because that’s what you do. But you actually don’t have a strategy for them and they don’t relate to your business and you’re just doing it because you have to be on every channel. It’s just going to lead you to becoming stressed out I

David Ralph [15:42]
want to give up while I was clubhouse never had a clubhouse. What’s this?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [15:50]
You know, the latest and greatest social media. So this, it will make it the episode not evergreen, because in hopefully it won’t die out. But in three years, it’ll be the next thing.

David Ralph [15:59]
Is it like? Do you remember periscope? Yeah, that

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [16:03]
one did die quickly. didn’t

David Ralph [16:05]
date they did. And I think that’s the last time I ever looked at something and thought, Oh, I’m gonna jump on that. Because by the time I went to jump, it’s gone. And I thought, I can’t be bothered about this anymore.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [16:16]
Well, this actually gets to your ego question because, or your your ego topic, or maybe even the questioning of strengths and where you’re aligning to things. So I love the medium of audio, you love the medium of audio. And then a social media network like clubhouse pops up. And it’s only audio, it’s social media audio, that sounds so perfect. And then the poll begins where you’re like, Oh, I want to try that out. Oh, am I like that, oh, that could be the thing. But then the angel and the devil on the shoulder. The other one is saying, look, come on. Why are you gonna go out there and spend 10 hours a day, you don’t have time for this? You’re trying to be better at prioritising and getting really focused this year, don’t even go there. So it’s the this side and that side and which one to do.

David Ralph [17:04]
Let’s talk about the strengths. And let’s talk about your personal strengths. Because the last time you was on the show, it was about the strengths of the listeners. But I I’m interested with you coming on here in a second time. Have have your strengths changed? Have you developed them? Are you so busy helping other people but actually yours are getting a little bit flabby? Because we can do that quite easily Can’t we we can be focused on the other person and we think I haven’t done this myself. I should do this really?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [17:34]
We sure can. I love that the strength getting flabby. I’m going to borrow that and attributed to you. So yeah, and in Clifton strengths language, which also by the way is Strengths Finder. A lot of people still call it Strengths Finder from the book Strengths Finder. 2.0. So in Clifton strengths language, my top five are strategic Maximizer positivity, individualization and Woo. And, sure, I mean, they develop over time and strategic is one that’s really good at prioritisation. Maximizer, is one that’s really good at making evergreen content and making something usable and getting the full potential out of it, not just a one time use. So if I take those two examples, I’m good at those things. If I tell them to show up at work for me that day, but they can also go to become I call them my troublemaker talents. Because I can also say that strategic It looks so far ahead in the future, that I can be future proofing content. And I can spend an extra four hours working on a video that could have taken me five minutes.

Outro [18:41]
Yeah, or

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [18:42]
Maximizer wants to go back through and improve nothing can. If something is subpar, and I notice it, I need any to get fixed now. But that might take me away from the number one priority of the day. So these two, I feel like they chase me around. And they they want to make me slow, like a slow high quality worker. But that’s not what I need for my business right now. So I call them a troublemaker talents, and they have to be kept in check. Because if your talents that are natural to you if they are how you think and feel and operate when you’re just at your natural default. They can be used for good, but they can also be good used to wear you out. They can also be used to annoy the heck out of someone else. Because like the movie Spinal Tap, you have the Volume Volume Down and it’s all the way up to 11 in this case, all the time instead of giving it the right dose for the right moment. And so, yeah, I guess the short answer to your question is, yes, I’ve developed them and continue to make them better. But yes, I’ve also let them get out of control.

David Ralph [19:45]
I love this. I love this because this this is so real. This is so because I look back at my IV strength binders 2.0. And I’m a great believer in it. I think it’s really really good. And I couldn’t remember what mine were and they were futuristic. activator belief positivity and something else a comment. Well, the last one was, and I realised that futuristic is brilliant, because I’m always like that. But wouldn’t it be great if we do that? And why don’t we go on holiday next week? Why don’t we do it. And it’s always about what we’re doing next week and stuff. And I can quite often forget, but the gift is in the now. And so over the last year, I’ve been focused very much on trying to rein my futuristic brain back to really being present and centred, and hopefully experiencing life. But it’s giving me at that time as the gift instead of being focused. So I think you’re absolutely right. And I had it dawned on me that Yeah, they can be you can use them for good. Oh, but evil. What? Oh.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [20:50]
And I think that also, you’re bringing up an example for me about how you can put them to work. If you look at them, and you think, alright, what can I do? How can I work these in combination to do what I’m trying to accomplish right now. So for example, activator, it’s about, hey, let’s go let’s get this moving. When you said let’s go on holiday next week like that as a right now we’re planning we’re on we’re on this? Well, activator, that means it’s right now, what are we doing right now? What are we getting started, so that one could be your presence, focus. And then with futuristic, if you combine it with activator, maybe you take your futuristic and you say, yeah, your mind’s just naturally going to be oriented to the future. But if you give it the job of paying attention to the conversation you’re having with your wife, right, in this moment, it is serving your futuristic because it’s serving the long term relationship. So I’m not gonna do

David Ralph [21:47]
that mine is gonna do that really.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [21:51]
Okay, then maybe we’ll use positivity because positivity loves to turn things into fun. It says My life is too short, we need to enjoy the moments while we’re in them. So let yourself turn up the positivity and have a good time while you’re in it. Great way to use the talent themes.

David Ralph [22:07]
It’s interesting though, because you know, when I’m deciding that I’m going to be really positive and have the most fun. I’m also aware that I’m annoying my family, because there’s not a lot of fun to be had in a household until you turn your attention on the people that are there. And they often say, Oh, that’s having he’s happier tag that’s having his moment. Let’s let’s run the cover because that’s having his moment. But um, yeah, it’s, it’s a powerful statement. Now, one of the things I want to do, I’m gonna play this speech, and then I want to come back to you, okay, here’s Rocky,

Rpcky [22:40]
who me or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward, how much you could take a keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.

David Ralph [22:56]
Now for the people that have been on the show five years ago, and they come back with the same business, maybe pivot, pivoted, maybe changed direction, they will have had an awful lot of punches in the face in that time in its entrepreneurial life. And I’m really intrigued on what keeps you going on the path and not thinking, Oh, I’ll get a job in Starbucks instead. Or I go back to my old job. Why do you want to continue with what you’re doing? Lisa?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [23:30]
offer me since I started a business, what I love the most about it is the time freedom, that I get to choose how I’m going to spend my time and even when I was spending my time as the Chicka chicka, click click boom gal, I still could look at myself very easily and say I’m creating this the crappy boss that is asking me to work as long as me. And I love the accountability of that. I love that I went to the gym at 11 o’clock in the afternoon yesterday. And I didn’t have to do it at four or 5am, like I did in corporate and we’re just to pull off a day. So that’s a real motivator for me. And it makes me think, Oh, I would never want to give that up. So I want to do everything I can to preserve it. And I think this is a great application for strengths too. Because I could look at it and say, Okay, if if a customer punched me in the face, although I have great customers, they don’t punch me in the face. But if they did the rocky thing, and they took me down, how do I get back up? Well, individualization is one of my top five, which means I like to get to know every person and what makes them tick. And so instead of me getting down about getting hit, that’s the one I could turn up to say, Well, let me just really understand their position where they’re coming from so that I’m not taking it personally. I’m just really understanding their position. Your belief could be the one where when you get knocked down it is saying, Why am I doing all of this what is my greater picture what’s the greater cause and getting connected even spiritually to why you’re in it so that you stand back up The person who has analytical might even do a pivot table and excel in order to run some comparisons to get some data about these trends about how they pick themselves up best, over the over the years of getting knocked out. So everybody does it a little differently. But that’s what I love about strengths is using this approach, it allows you to do use the tools that feel really good to you.

David Ralph [25:24]
When I started my podcast, there was a guy, and I’m not sure he’s really doing any more called to remember Michael O’Neill from the European URL. Do you remember him?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [25:32]
Yeah, of course, I sure do.

David Ralph [25:34]
Now, I went over to his show, but I was obsessed with the show. And it was the first podcast I ever appeared on. And episode eight, about 16 minutes in, I sent him a sound clip, which he played on the show. And it was basically me sort of trying to encourage myself that I could be a podcast when I might give it a go. And so it was a it was a wheel gumbos magic feather time. But I remember him saying that, he realised that he was swimming in the pool at two o’clock in the afternoon, right Tony Soprano. And he realised that the first part of his life was over, where we’d actually moved so far away from corporate life, he could never go back to being at eight o’clock, and leaving at five o’clock and being trapped. And what you said about time, freedom that is so powerful in every area, and I would never lose it. But what I realised as well was because I had the time freedom. I didn’t know what to do with it, it because everybody else was either at work or at school or me mates were at work. And I was just on my own all the time. So I just carried on working. So I went from doing 40 hours a week to 100 hours a week, even though I didn’t have to because I didn’t know what to build up the time with I had nothing other than creating my business, does that have sort of resonance as well, but you lose track of your passions and your desires away from the business because the business overtakes you over.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [27:03]
Yeah, it’s interesting. And when you are passionate about your business, where you like what you’re doing, it’s really easy to let it flow over into all of those hours. So yeah, I can really resonate with that. And I even did it last night. So I came back from the gym, I was working until I think it was about seven o’clock last night. And I thought, Oh, it’s starting to be that time of night where I’m a little too tired to want to do all of the things with playing drums and writing songs that I was thinking earlier in the day, I wanted to do with my time That evening, and then I want to get off screens. So I don’t want to stick that earlier in the day. Because then if I’m at 9pm trying to finish up my work, I don’t want to mess with glue, I don’t want to mess up my sleep. So it is really interesting. You have to think about your time very differently. And especially if you like what you’re doing. In everything in your life, you have many things that you like you can still be too full of things that you enjoy. And it’s really easy to to lose sight and not prioritise and not make room. For some of those. I also think there’s a procrastination element. I don’t know what this is. This is where you can be in a cycle analysis mode here. What do you think causes the filling the time thing, you mentioned that phrase and it made me think of how sometimes when I try to open up space, in my mind, I say I want more white space, it makes me feel more creative. Then I notice wind when I have white space, like I’m getting ready in the morning, I must feel it by listening to podcasts. I can’t just be there with space. And I think that’s actually bad for creativity. Or at least that’s my current conclusion. It’s bad for creativity. But I haven’t yet kicked the addiction to filling the space with something learning or podcast listening, and just just have a moment to be

David Ralph [28:53]
Yeah, I’ve read a book by a guy called Eckhart Tolly. Alright, called the power of now. And it was just when we went into lockdown the first time last year, and the weather was gorgeous. It was lovely time to be trapped in the house when the dwelled was suddenly stopped. And I’d get up early in the morning and I’d sit out in the garden. And I could see the sun coming up over the fence panels to the next door’s garden and the house and you knew it was going to be a gorgeous warm day. And I kept on reading this book, but I also kept on just putting it down and watching ads. And just like looking at things it was like I had all the time in the world. And I realised that there’s enough going on to fill it up with something else. You know, I don’t need to actually plug something in my ears and listen to podcasts. I hardly ever listen to podcasts. I don’t need to, you know, do anything other than just sit and be aware and just enjoy life, you know. And so it was a real simplicity that came over me and it was the benefit The old 2020 for me, I think that you don’t need to turn the TV on. You don’t need to turn the radio on in the kitchen when you’re making the breakfast you can just be and be perfectly happy with that. And the more I do that, the more it’s like spider senses are more aware once again of the great things about this world offering us just even little city beanbag bumblebees floating around and butterflies and stuff, which I never really bothered watching, I now will take a moment and watch them doing their thing because I’ve got the time and the rain capacity to allow it to happen. Does that make sense? So does that sound I’ve just had a breakdown?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [30:39]
No, it sounds beautiful. It actually is making me think about as you were talking about the bumblebees and the butterflies, I was thinking about how, when I’m out on a hike, I do notice all those things. And I’ll I’ll hit my husband and be like, Oh my gosh, look at that, look at that. But then you wouldn’t be in your own garden going, Oh, look at that. Look at that, but you show it. And the the idea of always filling the time versus just letting it be there’s an infinite amount of stuff that we could fill it with. So I could always listen to another podcast, I could always turn on more news. And it’s interesting when you get another. Another stimulus. Like for example, one of the things I noticed no matter what gym I go to, they love having on a radio and a TV and another one, they have three sound sources all at once it kind of scrambles my head. And I don’t watch TV. And it’s the only time I ever get exposed to what the current news is. And I see it I just instantly feel the stress about how they’re presenting the world. And I think Well, I’ve created my own bubble, I live on 30 acres in the middle of the woods, and with no one telling me what life is. So I’m creating it until I walk into that little microcosm, and I watch the news and I go, oh, now they’re telling me this is what the world is. And it really changes your view. So I get this keen awareness of how susceptible you are to the things you allow yourself to be exposed to, and what you just said about the intuition and how it you start to be able to tune in what you were otherwise tuning out or blocking out. I think that’s really key I’m going to I’m going to take away from this show that as my driver to allow myself to stop feeding inputs in because maybe the input is the beauty of nature, maybe the input is the creativity and the mind that can flow once you give us some space to relax, and thanks. So thank you for that. I think it’s beautiful.

David Ralph [32:30]
No, it’s a powerful way to be and because one of the things as well with it all was I I I became aware that I was overthinking is the only way that I can describe it, that my brain was always thinking about something. And most of the time it was business or sales funnels or whatever, I didn’t have any time to just be quiet. So even when I was resting, I was still working in my head. And that took me months to actually slow down on to the point now that sometimes I think I’m not even thinking, you know, it’s just like a black hole we’re going on. But suddenly the good ideas come flying in. And I think oh, yeah, I should do that. Which I don’t think I had before. I was too busy thinking of stuff, where I wasn’t allowing the subconscious to actually work it out on me. You know, it’s like Einstein used to do, he couldn’t solve something, he’d walk away and play the violin. And he’d come back two or three hours later with the answer because he allowed us to separate ourselves from the business.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [33:33]
Mm hmm. You know, it’s interesting, what you’re making me think of, with your futuristic talent being number one, it’s categorised as a thinking theme. And I could see that one, it’s acting as your troublemaker talent, it’s always like, we have to get ahead, we have to keep we have to keep going, keep going, keep going. Because I see all of these things coming on the horizon. And in order to hit this goal, you need to hit this one, and you need to get this and go. And it can be the monkey mind that will not stop. But if now you’ve tapped into another way to honour the talent by saying, hey, look, I also realised if I don’t get my mind as many inputs, it will think of the brilliant things that will build a future life that I actually want more. Now you’ve seen the other side. So you have to the devil and the angel on your shoulder have different ways you could apply the futuristic theme. So it’s cool that you’ve been able to see the new way, because it probably feels a lot better to your soul and your body than the one that was like let’s go Let’s go. Let’s go. We’re always behind.

David Ralph [34:35]
Yeah, it does. And as you were talking about walking in nature, you know, I think there’s not a person on this earth that doesn’t feel better. Walking through some woods or walking across the meadow. I just can’t fathom how you don’t feel good with that. And more often than not, we don’t do it, but we know that it makes us feel good. And it doesn’t take a lot to make ourselves feel really good bye. Thinking away from a computer away from a tablet away from whatever. It’s just, it’s there already to make us feel good, where we only have to sit by a river and put our hands in and build a stream going past its bare ready to recharge us. But we just kind of ignore it. And I think I ignored it for years. There’s a place near me Lee so called Hadley castle. And Henry the Eighth, used to have it as he’s kind of out of London place. And it’s a bit of a relic, but it’s right up on a mountain. And you can see over the River Thames and you can sort of see all the distance, it’s about five minute walk from my house. And I’ve always said that when I die, I want to be scattered there. Because when I go up there, I’ve always been happy. When I was a kid, we used to go there. And my mum and dad didn’t take as many places. But I used to take us to Hadley council because it was free. And we would fly a kite and we kick up well around. And then I used to take my kids when they were little. And it’s just a freedom. And it gives you that ability to look at the horizon and being if I went there, where would I go is like the adventure point of life. But you can go in any direction and see something incredible. And I know it’s great for me. I don’t go there very often. You know, I should go there because it lights me up.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [36:22]
Yeah. Why do you think you don’t?

David Ralph [36:25]
I don’t know. Well, I do know now I say that? I think it’s you don’t go to Disneyland if Disneyland’s next door to you, you know, it’s coming to too close to you. But when relatives come, you go, Oh, I take them to Hadley castle. And if people come along, you can’t do that. But actually, do it yourself. You don’t. And I don’t know why you don’t plug yourself into your happy spot more often.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [36:54]
Yeah, that’s a key life learning, it seems I mean, five minutes away, you could take 10 minutes of your day to walk there and back. And all you do is look out at the river, take in your deep breath and turn back around and you’ve had something inspiring for the day and it took 10 minutes, it might be the warm up to your day, or ask yourself to do it twice a week or every day to the 10 minute recharge moment. Sounds like a beautiful thing right there. Or even the garden, I know you’ve always been into your garden and you have it right in your backyard, it would take 30 seconds to step into the garden, sucking some air and look for that butterfly or those ants. And even that is a tool that do you use that every day?

David Ralph [37:35]
Yeah, I do. And one of the things I’ve realised, and I saw this on a YouTube video, and this guy was talking about connecting with Earth, and he said, Have you ever do you remember that thing in pretty woman when she made him take his shoes and socks off and walk around on the grass? Do you remember that in the field?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [37:52]
Yes. Yeah, and

David Ralph [37:56]
what about you the grounding thing, and I remember that film I didn’t understand, it just seemed daft walking around with your shoes and socks off. But there is that connection with the ground, once again, kind of charges you up. I’m kind of wondering whether we’ve got a big battery outside, which is a nature’s battery. But we can literally tap in so we can stand out there in the sun. And feel better. We know that the sun’s better. But we can take the energy from the ground as well. It’s, you know, I’m just speaking off the top of my head, knowing how I feel. But I’m starting to wonder whether we’ve already got our recharge point lined up for us if we just have to use it.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [38:38]
Hmm, well, first, I also have to acknowledge this is making me think of your belief, talent. It’s tapping into something bigger, you know, and it was really good to be able to do that naturally. And then the next thing that it made me think of as Yeah, why don’t we try these things? I’ve heard of grounding? And how often do I walk around on the grass and my bare feet? Well, not that often. Well, why not? I don’t know. I’m not even sure why it’s a tool that might be right under my nose. And it’s free, and it’s fast. And why not just go run some 32nd experiments or 10 minute experiments each day. That sounds like a great way to decompress and take a stress break.

David Ralph [39:23]
It’s interesting, you talk about belief that there’s a lot of reflection in this conversation. It’s a totally different conversation than I expected to have. But we believe I I struggle with that as well. Because I’m quite willing to go all in on something. I see something. And I go, yes, that’s the future. Yes, I’m going to do that. And then that’s it. I’ve just got all the willpower in the world and I will cut out beings and I will just totally believe it’s right. And then I see something that you can always find a contra opinion to everything. And that comes along and I go Ah yes, that’s right. That’s right. I’ve been I saw a switch again. So I’m always passionate about something always focus on something that I’ve seen that I think it’s going to be a benefit. And unlike YouTube, I watch quite a bit of YouTube. I don’t really like watching TV, but I like YouTube, because it’s like 10 minutes, and you’re done. And there’s a lot of I did this in 30 days, I cut out this and you know, I was doing cold showers and I was doing all these things that I’d seen on YouTube, because he just, I’d watch it and I go, yes, that’s it. That’s it, but belief and take you down some weird avenues again, can it can take you away from what you should be doing, because all you’re doing is, is jumping on the next thing, I suppose.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [40:40]
Yeah, this is a great lesson that I’ve been pulling from strengths. And both for myself and for my clients is looking at some of the threads of each of these talents and where they could take you. So that’s one area where you could just go full bore and to the hormetic stressors of cold showers or whatever thing if they could take you all over the place. But the other side of belief is seeking a spiritual connection. And the other side of belief is, are you aligned with your values, and I think those you are strongly connected with and those are not so changing. And maybe that’s what makes some of the stuff stick or not stick with you is if someone’s running against your values, and they would actually insult your values and your thinking that’s not a good person, or they don’t have the integrity that I would expect. Your belief might not even allow you to work with that person. Like I could imagine someone offering you money to do podcast coaching, and you know, you’re not aligned with their values. And you could, you could just say up front, you don’t think that you’re a good fit for them. Because your belief would allow you to do it. Whereas other people would just say I need the morning, I’m going to do it. So it’s a lot of times for our talents, it’s finding the part of them that really works for you when you turn it up.

David Ralph [41:58]
I agree with that. Totally, there was a guy that came through to me, I’ve never spoken about this on the podcast. But he came through to me, and he wants a podcast coaching. So I went through things with him. And I said, Look, this is how much I charge. And at the time, it was about 2000 for a mumps Crash Course to get them up to the level that I am after sort of seven years. So you know, it was a fair amount of money, but not not a lot. And I said to him, all you got to do is tell me on Monday, whether you want to do it. And he didn’t come back on Monday. And when he came back on Wednesday. And he said I will do it. But because he was two days late, I didn’t work with him. And my wife said to me, I’ll don’t he might have been busy. I said no. If he’s if I say Monday, it should be Monday, and he didn’t. And that was one of those things about my values about if you say you’re going to do something you do something didn’t align with he’s, and I know from experience that when you have somebody like that, it makes it difficult, because it’s already the crack in the authentic professionalism that they bring to you. It will be our can’t make Monday, can we move it to Tuesday? And can we do it? Can we do that? It’s always those tiny little things that really, if they don’t align to your values can cause you and your business a huge amount of problem. Do you agree?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [43:18]
I agree. I’ve seen this a lot with my clients. I think it’s fascinating. There are two of the talent themes. One is belief and one is responsibility that feel so strongly toward what you’re describing. And when someone will describe a scenario like yours, there will just as equally be a handful of people in the room who are saying, really, like just move on to silver look at just to sign that client up. And you could always not do business with them later. If it turns out that that was true. And they would not even register that monday, wednesday thing. But for those who do, especially leading through belief, responsibility, etc. Those are moments where the chink in the armour is it’s deeper. And it matters more. And if you let that pass by, it would be detrimental to the relationship. So I think it’s paying attention to these things that matter to you. It’s unique to you.

David Ralph [44:13]
And Join Up. Dots, Julia, I think and if you look at a picture close enough, it’s just made up of millions of dots. But if you spread out, you’ve got that clarity, so you can’t ignore the dots because the dots are the clues, aren’t you? You aren’t a strength sleuth. And you don’t just steam in and go back at it. You look at this and you look at that and you you join up the dots of their strengths.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [44:41]
Oh, that’s, that’s so it. I had never thought of Join Up Dots as a part of intuition. But really, it’s like you’re joining up the dots by listening to the intuition of your strengths or your talents and those are telling you how to lean into the best version of you the one that you is really aligned with you really good with you really authentic to you. All those buzzwords that people say they want to be authentic. But then what does that really mean? This is a perfect example of something just that simple that you gave in that example of one guy who said Monday and then turned it in on Wednesday. And that changed everything for you. Because that’s the intuition that you know, matters to you. And it might not matter to the person next to you. But this is how you join up your personal dots. I love it so much. It’s, it’s not that every everyone has a different set of dots. And the things that you decide, actually join up, you don’t know until you tune in, and listen, what makes them all connect?

David Ralph [45:43]
Well, let’s hear from somebody who knew how to connect some dots, Steve Jobs,

Steve Jobs [45:47]
of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.

David Ralph [46:22]
Now he talked about future he talked about belief. He talked about everything that we’ve been talking about now with your own life. Lisa, is it easier to join up the dots to the first time you came on the show? Or the second time? It doesn’t say more messy leading up to the first one where you were starting your business? Are you more organised? Are the dots becoming steppingstones more than they were?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [46:49]
Hmm.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [46:51]
I don’t know if I could measure it as easy or harder. I think of it like when I came on five or six years ago, when we talked, there were fewer dots that I could see. So I was joining them up. But as I’ve progressed through the business and time, I feel like I’ve been able to zoom out more. And I realise Whoa, there are so many more dots, so much more to connect so much more to do. So like the speck of sand sort of thing, zoom out and go, wow, this is not just one grain, it’s one grain. That’s almost imperceptible, when you see how vast it is. So that’s what I feel like it’s become for me more and more and more and more and more dots. And then if you’re going to get more and more focused on the life you want to live, it can become feel a little more challenging to join up the dots because there are so many more of them to think about which leads you to need to be more strategic and prioritise. Otherwise, the data won’t go for you.

David Ralph [47:50]
I had a person on the show recently, and he’s really stuck with me this and she was talking about a to don’t list everybody has to do but actually what are you going to clear off? What are you going to say? No, that was part of my business. But it doesn’t work for me anymore, or it’s taking up too much time. Or it’s in a folder on my computer. And I haven’t looked at it for three years. Let’s just get rid of it. And I thought I too don’t missed or a dump list is a brilliant way of actually allowing the right dots to come to the fore because you can see them clearer.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [48:28]
That is so good. I love the phrase too. I call it stop doing list but to don’t is so much more fun. It sounds like to dunk dunk. Yeah, I like that a lot. And I think that that is really overlooked by people. Because you think of all of the things that you say yes to? And sometimes you say yes, four years ago, and something now has become a habit or a part of your structure of your life. And you think wow, one small Yes, that took two seconds to add. otter has now used hundreds of hours of my life. Do I want to keep that? mitt? The answer could be yes. But it could be No, I want to stop that and put that on the to don’t list. I don’t do that any longer. I don’t take calls at 8am. I don’t book up my schedule on Mondays and Fridays for 12 hours. I don’t I don’t reply to podcast booking agents who I get 40 emails a day from who asked me to interview people and I don’t do an interview show I used to reply to every person because I felt I must. But now I just delete them because it landed on my to do list.

David Ralph [49:42]
Really, really? Well. This is a part of the show that we’ve been leading up to and this is the Sermon on the mic and this time. Instead of you choosing what age Lisa you get to speak to. You’ve got to speak to the one who turned up on the show five years ago. So if you could walk into a room and make that Lisa From 2016, what advice would you give her to get her where you are today? Well, I’m going to play the theme. And when it fades, it’s your time to talk. This is the Sermon on the mic.

Unknown Speaker [50:19]
With the best beat of the show,

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [50:26]
man. Well,

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [50:36]
hey there five years ago, Lisa, you know, this version of you is the workaholic Lisa, that persistence, that hard work, like getting it done kind of Mojo that you learned from playing sports growing up, it served you well, it served a great, new corporate, it served you great as you started your business. But you’ve hit a ceiling of capacity. And going into this new phase of life, what you need to really focus on is discernment. Learning to set boundaries, getting fully focused on priorities, worrying less, that your choices that you’re saying, you know, might disappoint someone, this next phase requires something new and big view is going to require a lot of bravery. But if you want to bust past the ceiling, and not run into those capacity issues, it’s important to let this next phase of you develop. So as I leave this Sunday sermon for you, think of that, too. Don’t list make it long, these priorities will allow you to live into the life you say you’ve always wanted to live. Don’t let those stop as a dream. Try them. Let them become real.

David Ralph [52:02]
Yeah, great stuff. So Lisa, for the audience that have been listening out there and are fascinated with developing their own strengths. What’s the number one best way that they can connect with you?

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [52:14]
Well, since you have an audience of podcast listeners, check out the podcast lead through strengths, that would be a great place to meet me come over to beat through strengths.com and see what we have going on. I would love to catch up. I’m on LinkedIn as well. Feel free to connect there. It’s LinkedIn slash and slash Lisa Cummings,

David Ralph [52:33]
we’ll have all the links in the show notes to make it as easy as possible, because that’s what I do. Lisa, thank you so much for spending time with us today. joining up those dots. And please come back when you’ve got even more dots to join up another five years, where are you back on? As I believe that by joining up the dots and connecting our past is the best way to build our futures. Lisa Cummings, thank you so much.

Clifton Strengths Finder Lisa Cummings [52:55]
You are welcome. Can’t wait until next time.

David Ralph [53:00]
Lisa Cummings. So strengths. You build your strengths up as superpowers but also your strengths can destroy you. So we’re all sort of yin yang is a real balance of that, isn’t it? My futuristic I know he’s my biggest strength is what I’ve built my whole business around. But also it can take me into dark areas. Now I wasn’t expecting to have that conversation with Lisa. But there’s a deep connection between us. But I will was surprised was there again, even though last time I spoke to her was five years ago. It was like a friend has come into the room that you used to know really well. And suddenly you could just chat all night. It was a I really enjoyed it. And hopefully you got something from it, too. Until next time, but everybody out there that’s working with me. Thank you so much for anybody who wants to leave a rating review on iTunes, Join Up dots.com forward slash iTunes always appreciated. But even more appreciated is if you come back next time. Look after yourself. And I’ll see you again. Cheers. Bye bye.

Outro [54:04]
That’s the end of China. You’ve heard the conversation. Now it’s time for you to start taking massive action. Create up church and create your life is he only you live he will be back again real soon. Join Up Dots Join Up Dots Join Up Dots Join Up Dots. Joey jolina Join Up Dots.