August 27, 2025 • 20 mins
What keeps leaders energized and thriving over the long haul?
This week, we explore the powerful concept of “red threads”... those igniting moments and passions that instill purpose and continuity in our leadership journey.
Drawing from recent Global Leadership Summit lessons and decades of experience, we reveal how:
This week, we explore the powerful concept of “red threads”... those igniting moments and passions that instill purpose and continuity in our leadership journey.
Drawing from recent Global Leadership Summit lessons and decades of experience, we reveal how:
- Identifying and leaning into your “red threads” prevents burnout and sparks flow
- Aligning your energy cycles with your daily tasks maximizes impact
- Authentic storytelling connects deeply and builds lasting leadership influence
- Purpose-grounded leadership creates fulfillment amid inevitable challenges
- Small moments of joy make a monumental difference for resilience and grit
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This podcast is a proud member of the Teach Better
podcast network, Better Today, Better Tomorrow, and the podcast to
get you there.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
You can find out.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
More at teefbetter dot com slash podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Highlighting on the moment that brings us joy. Those are
the moment that gives our life a sense of purpose
and continuity.
Speaker 4 (00:20):
Do you want to be a leader in a constantly
changing world? Our emerging leaders look different, come from various
backgrounds and from all different age groups. Leadership is changing
and it's hard to keep up.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
But the good news you.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Can be a leader too. You can be an e
merging leader. Welcome to the Limitless Leadership Lounge, a try
generational conversation for emerging leaders. Come spend some time with
us to discuss leadership from three angles. The coach Jim Johnson,
the professor, Doctor Renumah Kareem, the host John Gering, a
monthly guest. And you get in on the conversation on
(00:59):
Facebook and Instagram if you sure to follow us on
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Speaker, So come on in and
make yourself comfortable.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Well, we're just coming off of the Global Leadership Summit
and GLS this year was a smashing success. Here in
Rochester and all three of us were involved in it
in some way. Last year, one of the GLS themes
was red Threads and Renewma brought this up to us
and I was really interested in talking more about this.
And Coach is even prepared. He's got a red shirt
(01:29):
on today, so he dressed up for the occasion. RENEWMA
and I didn't get the memo, I guess, but RENEWA
tell us a little bit about what red threads are
and why they're so important leadership.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Thanks John, I would love to share like I came
across that book. And also at GLS last year, Marcus
Buckingham talked about this red thread the threads that are
always charged and popping up in our life and keeping
us going. I have heard so many people talking about burnout,
(02:01):
and there is like an epidemic of work professional burnout
all over the world. I think these are the moments
like when we are aware of our redtress, like the
reticular activating system the RaaS is actually popping up. But
you hate your world, but these are good things in
(02:22):
your word that pops up and make you go into
the flow. I think those are our red thrests that
we look forward to and that gives us a chance
to play our strength every day in whatever we are doing.
So I was wondering if coach, you can share your
red thread moment when you are speaking engagement in your
(02:42):
professional space.
Speaker 5 (02:45):
Absolutely so from my professional space is now that I
speak professionally and it's been a great joy as I've
really I think improved immensely as a speaker. But getting
on stage is such a small part of the speaking business.
I just spoke recently to two school districts in Kansas
(03:07):
and it was really powerful. I got a chance to
make an impact, met a lot of really neat people.
A little sidelight to that is traveling home. I got
delayed and got home at one o'clock in the morning,
so this would not be a red thread, but that's
part of the deal. Well, let me give you just
a few ideas. For me, it's getting on stage and
trying to make an impact on one of my presentations.
(03:29):
First of all is getting the opportunities to speak. And
there's a lot of different ways, but a couple is,
like we do social media every day. I always do
reach outs to potential clients as well as former clients
that continue those relationships and certainly getting out and speaking
and having a system where you follow up with people,
(03:51):
and also getting opportunities because they liked your speaking, then
they can give you a referral. So it starts with
getting some momentum by getting speaking engagements. Then you get
the speaking engagement. I'm psyched, I'm ready. Now the big
part is your preparation. So the first thing that I
really encourage people in being prepared is you've got to
(04:12):
get to know the people that are hiring you. So
I always have a pre call and we talk about
their challenges, things that they would like in my presentation
to help customize to meet the needs of their audience.
So you've got to be really specific about that. Then
secondly is me putting together with my small team the
(04:35):
power point, the things that we are going to keep
the same with some of my other presentations, things that
we're going to tweak and make it specific to that
particular audience. And then after that it's the practice. So
my practice is after we put the PowerPoint together, I
put together my whole presentation on paper. I write out
(04:56):
each slide and what I want to say, not verbatim.
I do a lot of just bullet points, and then
from there after I lay out the whole speech. It's
practice and I practice it quite a bit and getting comfortable.
I will practice in my office. I'll practice in front
of a mirror and really get the concepts. And then
(05:19):
the other thing I really always try to help speakers,
because I've come into John's classes sometimes and I've done
it to Reneumal when she was teaching, is how to
be a more powerful presenter. And one of the things
I talk to young people about in presenting is how
you start your presentation and how you close presentation is
really important. Those are the most impactful. So therefore what
(05:41):
I practice, not only do I practice the whole speech,
but I will practice the intro and the closure even
more because I want to really get the attention of
the audience immediately, and then I want to close with
a bang. And then the last thing I'll say is
then the follow up. After I do my presentation, I
always send out thank you packages, and then I also
(06:04):
have a follow up call and I have a little
procedure where I find out and I get feedback what
they thought of the presentation, how was it working with
myself and my team, And then really trying to get
into finding out exactly if they fell good about it,
they then hopefully they'll give me a testimonial and some
referrals to help continue to grow my business. So those
(06:26):
are some things that I do with The main red
thread is getting on a stage and making an impact
with my message. John, how about you? From the professional standpoint.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
There's so many pieces that go into making a red
thread possible. Like Coach just explained, to the speaking business,
in the production business, it's much the same, though different
of course, actually putting out the final product, producing the podcast,
finishing the audiobook, that's just a very small piece of it,
Coach said. There's the networking, and there's the getting of
(06:58):
the work, there's the preparation for the work, there's the
completion of the project itself, and then there's all that
follow up afterwards. But the red thread that really keeps
me energized and keeps me going because I will admit
some of those parts of the process are draining, and
that's part of the deal, right. It's what Coach mentioned
getting back at one AM. It's not what you wanted,
(07:19):
but it's what you signed up for. So you take
the good with the bad. But I would say that
the part that keeps me going, keeps me energized and motivated,
is the concept of making something sound good. That's always
been a passion for me, whether it be somebody else's
podcast that I'm producing, by enhancing the audio, making it
sound studio quality, even if they didn't recorded in a studio,
(07:41):
and then listening back to it and seeing how it sounds,
and that sense of accomplishment that you've helped this person
sound better and increase their reputation and improve their brand,
And that's a really satisfying thing for me. And then
if it's my own project, my own work, if it's
a podcast or a commercial that I'm creating or an audiobook,
(08:03):
having that satisfaction of looking back and people ask me
what does that feel like? And the only thing I
can really compare it to is it's like when you
cut the grass and you look back at your work
and you're like, wow, there's nothing like the scent of
a freshly cut grass and that sense of accomplishment that
you completed something. Or if you were like woodworking, was
that sense of accomplishment when you've finished that table or
(08:23):
whatever it is that you're building. So that's my red thread,
getting whatever it is, whether it's my sound or a
client's sound, to sound better so that they can put
that out in the world and have something that they
can be proud of, a piece of content audio and
video content that they can be proud of that improves
their brand. That's what keeps me motivated every day. And
I love the concept and I had never heard of
(08:45):
it until Renewmed brought it up and until it was
part of the GLS. But the red thread is just
something that's really cool and RENEWMA we tied together those
red threads at the GLS as a show of the
strength that we have as a community. How about your
red thread renewed. For the professional side.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
As a nonprofit In the nonprofit setting, I have so
many different professional side, but I will take the nonprofit setting,
and I hate doing the administrative part. Those are not
my red thread. Not doing the database or getting into
the budgeting. I do not like that and that is
(09:22):
why I usually delegate it to my finance team or
the ITT so I have time to actually solve the problem.
So nonprofit setting, when the problem arises, that is what
excites me how to tackle it. And when you see
the big picture. So probably I have the strength to
(09:43):
see the big picture and how to approach how to
find all those elements and then connecting it together. I
have that strength probably to bring the people together to
solve the problem. So that is really my red thread.
I am so excited when I know that this is
the problem and we can solve it through bringing in
(10:04):
the local people, then the government, the volunteers. This is
the problem that we have an innovative solution to. And
after the whole program, when you see everybody smiling they
found a solution that satisfaction. Those are the red thread
moments that will moves me and pushes me forward to
(10:28):
work more to find those problems and find the solution.
And without those flow moments, I don't think I would
be doing what I am doing right now. So usually
I move away from the work where the red thread
is below twenty person, then I know that all it
is not part of my being. I was working in
(10:49):
a bank and there were hardly the only red thread
moments just meeting with the clients and solving their problems.
Those were just the red thread moments, but less less
than twenty person. The other monotony of the work was
not creating that excitement, and I was experiencing burnout. So
we have to find out those moments that really light
(11:13):
us up, makes us happy. And for me in my
nonprofit setting, those are the moments getting the big picture strategizing.
So those are my red thread.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
That's great because red threads are a key to overcoming
burnout or preventing it in the first place, because they
keep you energized and they keep you moving. So that's
certainly relevant in work, but I'd also say it's relevant
in life too, And I love that metric renewment twenty percent.
If we can keep our red threads, those things that
energize us above twenty percent everything that we're doing in life,
(11:45):
that'll keep us motivated and keep us living that fulfilling life.
So coach, tell us a little bit about one personal
red thread that you have.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Absolutely and Johnny can appreciate that because we clash off
and on the tennis court. I always am really encouraging
leaders that the first person they got to lead is themselves,
and therefore I think you need to take care of yourself.
So I'm a big fitness person and exercise and so
from there, I exercise every day because I think it's
(12:14):
that important to help me energy. But I can admit
there are some parts of that exercise program that I'm
not a big fan of. I don't like strength training
that much, although I do it. I do a cardio,
which is okay for me, but it's not my red thread.
But my red thread is playing tennis. It's a great game.
It's a way that I can really help my own fitness,
(12:36):
and I really encourage people to find something in the
exercise world that they can enjoy because I don't play
tennis every day, but I try to play the least
a few times a week so that I can take
care of that.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
That is my real red thread.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
And coach, I love that because you and I share
that red thread, so that's really cool. And exercise is
so import and leading yourself, and we talked about that
a lot in previous episodes too. One red thread in
my personal life is definitely travel. I absolutely love getting
out and seeing different areas of the country and the
world because I think that energizes me. Some people think
(13:15):
traveling drains them, and it may drain some people, but
to me, it's an energizing thing. I come back feeling refreshed,
even if I am working while out on the road,
if I'm out there meeting new people, experiencing new things
and places. In fact, a goal of mine is to
get to all forty eight of the estates beside Alaska
and Hawaii. That's a goal of mine, and I'm over
(13:35):
halfway there, so that's definitely something that energizes me. My
wife and I just got back from a big trip
where we went to the Midwest and it was really
cool to see different cultures, meet different people. And international
travel is someday something I'm gonna do as well, to
see other cultures and meet new people. So that's such
an important red thread for me, because whilst travel drains
(13:57):
energy for some people, for me, it actually rings me
energy and makes me more productive and makes me more fulfilled.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
What about you, and it be backing on you, John,
I always find places and conferences so that I get
to travel and also meet new people and learn something.
So even when I was with the college, I would
submit paper to international conferences like Greece and other places
so that my paper get accepted and I get to
(14:24):
travel to Greece so see a new country, also present
a new paper. So those are that is one of
my red threat but personally for me every day, every
day red threat would be in the morning when I
wake up at five am with my prayer and then
two hours I just do not look into my phone
(14:46):
or anything. I am with myself with my usual lemon, honey,
warm water, starting the day to detox my body, light
music in the background, listening you and listening to the birds,
the winds, And that is the time when I think
my head just burst into creativity and I love that
(15:09):
moment and often and that is why sometimes when I'm
in Bangladesh, because I'm all the time running around, I
miss some of those quiet time. So when I'm in
New York, I cherish that alone time. So that is
the time that gives me a little bit of space
to find who I am some meaning, what my purpose is,
(15:33):
and then reflect on it to become better for the
whole day. So that is my personal red threat. And
a walk, a morning walk or an evening walk, that
has a must. If I do not do that, then
I feel so guilty. Then I have been bad today
and did not complete my day as I plan.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
And those these things are all good for our physical
and mental wellbeing as well, and I think that's why
it's so important that we all find those red threads
and be intentional about making sure that we try to
keep that above. Like Renewma said, twenty percent, what has
changed for both of you, Coach, Let's start with you.
What has changed since finding your red threads? How important
(16:16):
has that been in your life?
Speaker 5 (16:19):
In my presentations, I talk about really discovering your passion,
and as Renewma said, with red threads is you got
to fight that zone where it's something you really enjoy
and it's something you can be pretty down good at too,
and making it coming, especially in the professional world where
when you're making a living, it's got to be something
(16:39):
you enjoy.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
But I'm not going to.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
Make it as a professional tennis player, as much as
I love tennis, So I have to realize that there's
something I can do, and that is as a professional speaker,
I can make an impact with my messages. So I
take a lot of pride in creating that craft and
developing it so that I can make an impact when
I share my message to the various books across the country.
(17:01):
So I think it's really important to get that red
thread that finding or something you really love to do
in something that you can be very good, that you
can make an impact on the world. And I think
when you find that, as we all know, and we've
talked about this, the red thread is never going to
be one hundred percent. There are too many other factors
(17:22):
that you have to go in with that. But the
real thing is when you always come back and go, wow,
that was really cool that I could impact people with
a message. But then, as I said, as something you
sign up for getting back because of flight delays at
one o'clock in the morning, it's pretty red thread department,
But it's part of the deal.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Those are the things that makes us more intentional and
makes us not depressed. Now we can see that there
is a high rate of mental health issues all across
the world, not only in America, all over the world.
And one of the reason is people are not focusing
on some of the positive moments of your life. We
(18:05):
are so much focusing on the negativity that we lost
that sense of being. So I think this red thread
moments for me at least, it gives me that sense
of purpose. Like every day eating and sleeping and all
those things we do, those are not red threads. Yes,
sometimes when we go out to the restaurants or suddenly
(18:26):
I cook something amazing and you all appreciate it. That, oh,
that is my retreed moment. But every day, cooking and
all those moments are not redtrod, and that we have
to accept that every single things in our life won't
be red thread movements. We cannot be happy all the time.
We need some of the downtimes as well, but highlighting
(18:48):
on the moment that brings us joy those at the
moment that gives our life a sense of purpose and continuity.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
It was definitely a joyful moment tasting the fish that
you made, Numa, although it was thank you. It was
spicy though we forget how our friends out in the
Bangladesh how much leg spice in their food, and I
experienced that first time, but it was delicious. But Renuma
makes a powerful point if not for the times that
(19:18):
aren't happy, you have to have context in life. And
if every time was happy, no time would really be happy.
We wouldn't appreciate how much joy that we have. So
there are reasons for those down times. But finding those
threads and keeping that purpose alive is what will keep
our lives feeling fulfilling. And our work fulfilling, which is
(19:38):
so important to how productive and effective we are as professional.
So Coach Numa, always great talking with you. We're wrapping
up August here on the Limitless Leadership Lounge, but we'll
be back next week with another guest and another try
generational conversation for emerging leaders.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
Thank you for joining us this week at the Limitless
Leadership Lounge. To listen to this episode again and to
find previous episodes, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
and Spreageer. You can also get in on the conversation
find us on Facebook and Instagram, then tell three of
your friends to join it as well. Coach Renuma and John.
We'll be back again next week for another try generational
(20:15):
leadership discussion. We'll talk to you then on the Limitless
Leadership Lounge
This podcast is a proud member of the Teach Better
podcast network, Better Today, Better Tomorrow, and the podcast to
get you there.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
You can find out.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
More at teefbetter dot com slash podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Highlighting on the moment that brings us joy. Those are
the moment that gives our life a sense of purpose
and continuity.
Speaker 4 (00:20):
Do you want to be a leader in a constantly
changing world? Our emerging leaders look different, come from various
backgrounds and from all different age groups. Leadership is changing
and it's hard to keep up.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
But the good news you.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Can be a leader too. You can be an e
merging leader. Welcome to the Limitless Leadership Lounge, a try
generational conversation for emerging leaders. Come spend some time with
us to discuss leadership from three angles. The coach Jim Johnson,
the professor, Doctor Renumah Kareem, the host John Gering, a
monthly guest. And you get in on the conversation on
(00:59):
Facebook and Instagram if you sure to follow us on
Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Speaker, So come on in and
make yourself comfortable.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Well, we're just coming off of the Global Leadership Summit
and GLS this year was a smashing success. Here in
Rochester and all three of us were involved in it
in some way. Last year, one of the GLS themes
was red Threads and Renewma brought this up to us
and I was really interested in talking more about this.
And Coach is even prepared. He's got a red shirt
(01:29):
on today, so he dressed up for the occasion. RENEWMA
and I didn't get the memo, I guess, but RENEWA
tell us a little bit about what red threads are
and why they're so important leadership.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Thanks John, I would love to share like I came
across that book. And also at GLS last year, Marcus
Buckingham talked about this red thread the threads that are
always charged and popping up in our life and keeping
us going. I have heard so many people talking about burnout,
(02:01):
and there is like an epidemic of work professional burnout
all over the world. I think these are the moments
like when we are aware of our redtress, like the
reticular activating system the RaaS is actually popping up. But
you hate your world, but these are good things in
(02:22):
your word that pops up and make you go into
the flow. I think those are our red thrests that
we look forward to and that gives us a chance
to play our strength every day in whatever we are doing.
So I was wondering if coach, you can share your
red thread moment when you are speaking engagement in your
(02:42):
professional space.
Speaker 5 (02:45):
Absolutely so from my professional space is now that I
speak professionally and it's been a great joy as I've
really I think improved immensely as a speaker. But getting
on stage is such a small part of the speaking business.
I just spoke recently to two school districts in Kansas
(03:07):
and it was really powerful. I got a chance to
make an impact, met a lot of really neat people.
A little sidelight to that is traveling home. I got
delayed and got home at one o'clock in the morning,
so this would not be a red thread, but that's
part of the deal. Well, let me give you just
a few ideas. For me, it's getting on stage and
trying to make an impact on one of my presentations.
(03:29):
First of all is getting the opportunities to speak. And
there's a lot of different ways, but a couple is,
like we do social media every day. I always do
reach outs to potential clients as well as former clients
that continue those relationships and certainly getting out and speaking
and having a system where you follow up with people,
(03:51):
and also getting opportunities because they liked your speaking, then
they can give you a referral. So it starts with
getting some momentum by getting speaking engagements. Then you get
the speaking engagement. I'm psyched, I'm ready. Now the big
part is your preparation. So the first thing that I
really encourage people in being prepared is you've got to
(04:12):
get to know the people that are hiring you. So
I always have a pre call and we talk about
their challenges, things that they would like in my presentation
to help customize to meet the needs of their audience.
So you've got to be really specific about that. Then
secondly is me putting together with my small team the
(04:35):
power point, the things that we are going to keep
the same with some of my other presentations, things that
we're going to tweak and make it specific to that
particular audience. And then after that it's the practice. So
my practice is after we put the PowerPoint together, I
put together my whole presentation on paper. I write out
(04:56):
each slide and what I want to say, not verbatim.
I do a lot of just bullet points, and then
from there after I lay out the whole speech. It's
practice and I practice it quite a bit and getting comfortable.
I will practice in my office. I'll practice in front
of a mirror and really get the concepts. And then
(05:19):
the other thing I really always try to help speakers,
because I've come into John's classes sometimes and I've done
it to Reneumal when she was teaching, is how to
be a more powerful presenter. And one of the things
I talk to young people about in presenting is how
you start your presentation and how you close presentation is
really important. Those are the most impactful. So therefore what
(05:41):
I practice, not only do I practice the whole speech,
but I will practice the intro and the closure even
more because I want to really get the attention of
the audience immediately, and then I want to close with
a bang. And then the last thing I'll say is
then the follow up. After I do my presentation, I
always send out thank you packages, and then I also
(06:04):
have a follow up call and I have a little
procedure where I find out and I get feedback what
they thought of the presentation, how was it working with
myself and my team, And then really trying to get
into finding out exactly if they fell good about it,
they then hopefully they'll give me a testimonial and some
referrals to help continue to grow my business. So those
(06:26):
are some things that I do with The main red
thread is getting on a stage and making an impact
with my message. John, how about you? From the professional standpoint.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
There's so many pieces that go into making a red
thread possible. Like Coach just explained, to the speaking business,
in the production business, it's much the same, though different
of course, actually putting out the final product, producing the podcast,
finishing the audiobook, that's just a very small piece of it,
Coach said. There's the networking, and there's the getting of
(06:58):
the work, there's the preparation for the work, there's the
completion of the project itself, and then there's all that
follow up afterwards. But the red thread that really keeps
me energized and keeps me going because I will admit
some of those parts of the process are draining, and
that's part of the deal, right. It's what Coach mentioned
getting back at one AM. It's not what you wanted,
(07:19):
but it's what you signed up for. So you take
the good with the bad. But I would say that
the part that keeps me going, keeps me energized and motivated,
is the concept of making something sound good. That's always
been a passion for me, whether it be somebody else's
podcast that I'm producing, by enhancing the audio, making it
sound studio quality, even if they didn't recorded in a studio,
(07:41):
and then listening back to it and seeing how it sounds,
and that sense of accomplishment that you've helped this person
sound better and increase their reputation and improve their brand,
And that's a really satisfying thing for me. And then
if it's my own project, my own work, if it's
a podcast or a commercial that I'm creating or an audiobook,
(08:03):
having that satisfaction of looking back and people ask me
what does that feel like? And the only thing I
can really compare it to is it's like when you
cut the grass and you look back at your work
and you're like, wow, there's nothing like the scent of
a freshly cut grass and that sense of accomplishment that
you completed something. Or if you were like woodworking, was
that sense of accomplishment when you've finished that table or
(08:23):
whatever it is that you're building. So that's my red thread,
getting whatever it is, whether it's my sound or a
client's sound, to sound better so that they can put
that out in the world and have something that they
can be proud of, a piece of content audio and
video content that they can be proud of that improves
their brand. That's what keeps me motivated every day. And
I love the concept and I had never heard of
(08:45):
it until Renewmed brought it up and until it was
part of the GLS. But the red thread is just
something that's really cool and RENEWMA we tied together those
red threads at the GLS as a show of the
strength that we have as a community. How about your
red thread renewed. For the professional side.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
As a nonprofit In the nonprofit setting, I have so
many different professional side, but I will take the nonprofit setting,
and I hate doing the administrative part. Those are not
my red thread. Not doing the database or getting into
the budgeting. I do not like that and that is
(09:22):
why I usually delegate it to my finance team or
the ITT so I have time to actually solve the problem.
So nonprofit setting, when the problem arises, that is what
excites me how to tackle it. And when you see
the big picture. So probably I have the strength to
(09:43):
see the big picture and how to approach how to
find all those elements and then connecting it together. I
have that strength probably to bring the people together to
solve the problem. So that is really my red thread.
I am so excited when I know that this is
the problem and we can solve it through bringing in
(10:04):
the local people, then the government, the volunteers. This is
the problem that we have an innovative solution to. And
after the whole program, when you see everybody smiling they
found a solution that satisfaction. Those are the red thread
moments that will moves me and pushes me forward to
(10:28):
work more to find those problems and find the solution.
And without those flow moments, I don't think I would
be doing what I am doing right now. So usually
I move away from the work where the red thread
is below twenty person, then I know that all it
is not part of my being. I was working in
(10:49):
a bank and there were hardly the only red thread
moments just meeting with the clients and solving their problems.
Those were just the red thread moments, but less less
than twenty person. The other monotony of the work was
not creating that excitement, and I was experiencing burnout. So
we have to find out those moments that really light
(11:13):
us up, makes us happy. And for me in my
nonprofit setting, those are the moments getting the big picture strategizing.
So those are my red thread.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
That's great because red threads are a key to overcoming
burnout or preventing it in the first place, because they
keep you energized and they keep you moving. So that's
certainly relevant in work, but I'd also say it's relevant
in life too, And I love that metric renewment twenty percent.
If we can keep our red threads, those things that
energize us above twenty percent everything that we're doing in life,
(11:45):
that'll keep us motivated and keep us living that fulfilling life.
So coach, tell us a little bit about one personal
red thread that you have.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Absolutely and Johnny can appreciate that because we clash off
and on the tennis court. I always am really encouraging
leaders that the first person they got to lead is themselves,
and therefore I think you need to take care of yourself.
So I'm a big fitness person and exercise and so
from there, I exercise every day because I think it's
(12:14):
that important to help me energy. But I can admit
there are some parts of that exercise program that I'm
not a big fan of. I don't like strength training
that much, although I do it. I do a cardio,
which is okay for me, but it's not my red thread.
But my red thread is playing tennis. It's a great game.
It's a way that I can really help my own fitness,
(12:36):
and I really encourage people to find something in the
exercise world that they can enjoy because I don't play
tennis every day, but I try to play the least
a few times a week so that I can take
care of that.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
That is my real red thread.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
And coach, I love that because you and I share
that red thread, so that's really cool. And exercise is
so import and leading yourself, and we talked about that
a lot in previous episodes too. One red thread in
my personal life is definitely travel. I absolutely love getting
out and seeing different areas of the country and the
world because I think that energizes me. Some people think
(13:15):
traveling drains them, and it may drain some people, but
to me, it's an energizing thing. I come back feeling refreshed,
even if I am working while out on the road,
if I'm out there meeting new people, experiencing new things
and places. In fact, a goal of mine is to
get to all forty eight of the estates beside Alaska
and Hawaii. That's a goal of mine, and I'm over
(13:35):
halfway there, so that's definitely something that energizes me. My
wife and I just got back from a big trip
where we went to the Midwest and it was really
cool to see different cultures, meet different people. And international
travel is someday something I'm gonna do as well, to
see other cultures and meet new people. So that's such
an important red thread for me, because whilst travel drains
(13:57):
energy for some people, for me, it actually rings me
energy and makes me more productive and makes me more fulfilled.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
What about you, and it be backing on you, John,
I always find places and conferences so that I get
to travel and also meet new people and learn something.
So even when I was with the college, I would
submit paper to international conferences like Greece and other places
so that my paper get accepted and I get to
(14:24):
travel to Greece so see a new country, also present
a new paper. So those are that is one of
my red threat but personally for me every day, every
day red threat would be in the morning when I
wake up at five am with my prayer and then
two hours I just do not look into my phone
(14:46):
or anything. I am with myself with my usual lemon, honey,
warm water, starting the day to detox my body, light
music in the background, listening you and listening to the birds,
the winds, And that is the time when I think
my head just burst into creativity and I love that
(15:09):
moment and often and that is why sometimes when I'm
in Bangladesh, because I'm all the time running around, I
miss some of those quiet time. So when I'm in
New York, I cherish that alone time. So that is
the time that gives me a little bit of space
to find who I am some meaning, what my purpose is,
(15:33):
and then reflect on it to become better for the
whole day. So that is my personal red threat. And
a walk, a morning walk or an evening walk, that
has a must. If I do not do that, then
I feel so guilty. Then I have been bad today
and did not complete my day as I plan.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
And those these things are all good for our physical
and mental wellbeing as well, and I think that's why
it's so important that we all find those red threads
and be intentional about making sure that we try to
keep that above. Like Renewma said, twenty percent, what has
changed for both of you, Coach, Let's start with you.
What has changed since finding your red threads? How important
(16:16):
has that been in your life?
Speaker 5 (16:19):
In my presentations, I talk about really discovering your passion,
and as Renewma said, with red threads is you got
to fight that zone where it's something you really enjoy
and it's something you can be pretty down good at too,
and making it coming, especially in the professional world where
when you're making a living, it's got to be something
(16:39):
you enjoy.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
But I'm not going to.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
Make it as a professional tennis player, as much as
I love tennis, So I have to realize that there's
something I can do, and that is as a professional speaker,
I can make an impact with my messages. So I
take a lot of pride in creating that craft and
developing it so that I can make an impact when
I share my message to the various books across the country.
(17:01):
So I think it's really important to get that red
thread that finding or something you really love to do
in something that you can be very good, that you
can make an impact on the world. And I think
when you find that, as we all know, and we've
talked about this, the red thread is never going to
be one hundred percent. There are too many other factors
(17:22):
that you have to go in with that. But the
real thing is when you always come back and go, wow,
that was really cool that I could impact people with
a message. But then, as I said, as something you
sign up for getting back because of flight delays at
one o'clock in the morning, it's pretty red thread department,
But it's part of the deal.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Those are the things that makes us more intentional and
makes us not depressed. Now we can see that there
is a high rate of mental health issues all across
the world, not only in America, all over the world.
And one of the reason is people are not focusing
on some of the positive moments of your life. We
(18:05):
are so much focusing on the negativity that we lost
that sense of being. So I think this red thread
moments for me at least, it gives me that sense
of purpose. Like every day eating and sleeping and all
those things we do, those are not red threads. Yes,
sometimes when we go out to the restaurants or suddenly
(18:26):
I cook something amazing and you all appreciate it. That, oh,
that is my retreed moment. But every day, cooking and
all those moments are not redtrod, and that we have
to accept that every single things in our life won't
be red thread movements. We cannot be happy all the time.
We need some of the downtimes as well, but highlighting
(18:48):
on the moment that brings us joy those at the
moment that gives our life a sense of purpose and continuity.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
It was definitely a joyful moment tasting the fish that
you made, Numa, although it was thank you. It was
spicy though we forget how our friends out in the
Bangladesh how much leg spice in their food, and I
experienced that first time, but it was delicious. But Renuma
makes a powerful point if not for the times that
(19:18):
aren't happy, you have to have context in life. And
if every time was happy, no time would really be happy.
We wouldn't appreciate how much joy that we have. So
there are reasons for those down times. But finding those
threads and keeping that purpose alive is what will keep
our lives feeling fulfilling. And our work fulfilling, which is
(19:38):
so important to how productive and effective we are as professional.
So Coach Numa, always great talking with you. We're wrapping
up August here on the Limitless Leadership Lounge, but we'll
be back next week with another guest and another try
generational conversation for emerging leaders.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
Thank you for joining us this week at the Limitless
Leadership Lounge. To listen to this episode again and to
find previous episodes, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
and Spreageer. You can also get in on the conversation
find us on Facebook and Instagram, then tell three of
your friends to join it as well. Coach Renuma and John.
We'll be back again next week for another try generational
(20:15):
leadership discussion. We'll talk to you then on the Limitless
Leadership Lounge
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