if buddha went to bschool he might say: you know what's a good pre-meeting strategy? ten seconds of summer.

the idea behind this "bschool buddhism" is that you have to be conscious of the energy you walk into a room with. that you should always go to a positive, mindful place before you start an important conversation.

there are definitely people i’ve worked with that have great energy and people who just kinda don't. and when the latter walk into a room, with gossip or pessimism or negativity, they change the energy. i heard a former ceo speak to this and it really stuck with me. he said he was the sucky energy guy, but just didn’t realize it. when people asked him how he was he would “be honest:” the babysitter cancelled last minute, traffic sucked this morning, my dishwasher is broken. one day, he realized that since he was leading the meeting, if he started it with a negative comment he affected the energy of the room. something clicked. he decided to make a conscious effort to have a pre-meeting strategy, which i call his ten seconds of summer. he would go to his happy place for a couple of seconds before meetings - summer, on a beach, with his son - and was really amazed by how it shifted and aligned so many things for him. it forced him to pause, be more mindful and ultimately regain a sense of perspective we often lose in the day to day.

so, if buddha went to bschool he might say: before you walk into an important room, first go to a happy place, think of a happy thing, smile, and exhale. PAUSE. if your energy is high, positive, and bright, people will be more responsive to you, like to work with you more, gravitate towards you. and, importantly, you will have more opportunities to be effective and lead.

image above (which feels like summer to me) is by artist kirra jamison