The Five Emotions of a Champion in 2016

Get Mike’s Audio Podcast

Get Mike’s Video Podcast

We’re into the final days of 2015. It’s been a turbulent, trying, tremendous   year – just like every other year but even more cataclysmic. Every day seemed like an entire year in miniature. I was thunderstruck by the extraordinary events that rocked the world. Everything we know is being challenged. And we don’t know what we don’t know.

What we do know is that what we don’t know is growing faster than what we do know. Complexity occurs when the number of interactions between components increases dramatically. This is when things quickly become unpredictable. We don’t know when and we don’t know how, but we do know that shocks will happen with increasing frequency. We can deal with them if we are ready emotionally ready for them.

Here are just some of the highlights that took my breath away in 2015:

Twelve people were killed in the terrorist attack at the Charlie Hebdo Newspaper in Paris in January.

Cuba and U.S. agreed to open embassies in Washington D.C. and Havana for the first time in 55 years.

Canada hosted the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup where the U.S. crushed Japan, 5-2.  Carli Lloyd scored the first hat trick in Women’s World Cup final history, scoring three goals in the first fifteen minutes of the game.

Greece missed a critical debt payment of 1.5 billion Euros to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), increasing the country’s financial crisis.

Iran and the United States, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany, reached a historic agreement to limit Iran‘s ability to produce a nuclear weapon in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

The Immigration Crisis intensified: The German government estimates that 800,000 migrants will seek asylum there by the end of 2015. A total of 1.3 million people will come to Europe from countries such as Syria and Afghanistan to escape war and conflict in the next year.

China’s economic growth slowed to a six-year low of 6.9%, despite repeated interest rate cuts and other stimulus measures. This caused a tsunami of anxiety that severely impacted the prospect of global economic growth in 2016.

The price of oil hit its lowest level in five years at $40 a barrel.

The Dow Jones stock market index hit its highest level ever at 18351, then dropped by almost 20% before recovering to 17800 by the end of October, the best month for stocks in 4 years.

A billionaire reality show star AKA The Donald could become the next president of the United States. Although not if Hillary has anything to do with it.

In Canada, the New Democrats won a historic victory by nearly sweeping all of the province of Alberta’s urban ridings to win 53 of the province’s 87 seats.

Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party pulled off a huge upset election win in Canada, stunning Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party. The Liberal Party took 39.5% of the vote, 184 out of 338 seats, while Harper’s Conservative Party took 31.9% of the vote, or 99 seats. Election observers view the outcome as a result of a public that grew tried of Harper’s heavy-handed conservative focus during his nine-year reign. Trudeau succeeds Harper as prime minister 47 years after Pierre Elliott Trudeau, his father, held the office. The 43 year-old Trudeau also becomes the country’s second-youngest prime minister and the first to follow a parent into the position. Move over Bush and Clinton, Canada has its first dynasty

Yup, it’s been a heck of a year. It’s closing on a high. And it just gets crazier from here. Fact is stranger than fiction. Nothing is unbelievable or impossible any more. The news is heartbreaking and awe inspiring in equal measure. Celebration and catastrophe are interchangeable. Joy and misery switch places every hour.

One thing is for certain: 2016 is not for sissies. It will demand a colossal capacity to control one’s emotions and reassure others. The future belongs to those who can create their own internal realities, irrespective of circumstance. In fact, this capacity is most crucial when uncertainty is at its greatest – in other words, for the foreseeable future. Sunshine and rainbows are just a state of mind.

Based on my research with over a million people in 43 countries, I believe that the champions in 2016 will share five emotions in common. A champion is someone who is the proven leader in their field and they enable the people around them to become champions. As Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook says, “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that the impact lasts in your absence.”

Firstly, Champions will be courageous. Courage is the most important emotion because it’s the one from which all others spring. Just like everyone else, champions will feel the fear. But they will use their fear to bring out their best. The great writer Margaret Atwood said, “Heroes need monsters to establish their heroic credentials. You need something scary to overcome.”

So Champions will be both cautious and curious. They will be comfortable being uncomfortable. They will worry about the future but they will convert their worry into anticipatory action. For example, I am worried about 2016 because 2016 is going to be the most challenging year of all time. I’m going to have to transform myself faster than my environment which is changing at warpspeed.  That’s why I’m creating this video. It’s my way of anticipating what I need to do to win. By communicating my insights with you, I’m empowering you to be successful. I know you’ll pay it forward and I’ll be paid back very well. What anticipatory action can you take to be a champion in 2016?

Secondly, Champions will be excited. They will interpret their environment in a way that makes them enthusiastic, eager and energetic. Where others see blocks and barriers, they will see gaps and openings. They relish their lives and all the possibilities that come with them. They are always fascinated by what’s in front of them. As Helen Keller said, “Life is a daring adventure”.

Steve Gupta, a leading property developer in Toronto, came to Canada 40 years ago but he still thinks of himself as a “New Canadian”. He still looks at his adopted country through the eyes of someone who has just arrived. He’s always excited. That’s why he sees so much more than his counterparts. What could you see if you looked at 2016 through new lenses?

JK Rowling was a struggling single mother before she wrote the first Harry Potter.  She said, “Harry Potter’ gave me back self respect. Harry gave me a job to do that I loved more than anything else.” What job could you love more than anything else in 2016?

Thirdly, Champions will be engaged. They are all in. They are committed to all their communities. They step up. They know they are only as good as how good they make others. Champions are volunteers – they don’t do what they do because they have to. They do what they do because they want to. They find reasons to reach out, not excuses to hold back. They err on the side of action. They would rather try something than do nothing.

There is a direct correlation between their commitment to the cause and their personal happiness. The two are directly correlated: engagement equals happiness. The opposite of happiness isn’t sadness. It’s isolation. Apathy is not an option. If you lose yourself in the service of others, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for.

Fourthly, Champions will be at ease. Champions find the quiet place in the eye of the paradox. Despite the stress and the strain, they radiate wellbeing. Their minds are relaxed. That’s why, when you’re around them, you feel relaxed. They know when to move and when to be still. You’re attracted to them because they make you feel cool, calm and collected. Champions become your go-to-people.  I’m privileged to have so many champions in my life. They make it seem easy especially when it’s hard. But, they work very hard to make it seem easy.

Champions are self-aware. They understand their impact on others so they manage their impact on themselves. There was a reason Muhammad Ali said, “I am the greatest”. There was a reason, Martin Luther King said, “I have a dream.” There was a reason, Steve Jobs said, “We want to make the best products for people.” They say great things to themselves so they can say great things to others.

We become the words we speak because words don’t just describe the environment, they define the environment they describe. It also helps to take deep breaths many times a day.

Fifthly, Champions will be generous. Champions understand that true power is reciprocal. They more they give, the more valuable they become. Champions give especially when it’s inconvenient or difficult. They are motivated by the sheer pleasure of contribution but they also harvest its rewards. They are the ones to whom others respond first. If all you do as a result of this video is go give as much as you can to as many people as you can today, my work will be worthwhile.

When you give, you open up the flow from you and towards you. I have never regretted giving more. I have always regretted giving less. So make sure that your giving equals your talking. Sharing magnifies success.

Make Courage, Excitement, Engagement, Ease and Generosity part of your emotional portfolio in 2016. Build them one thought, one action, one contribution at a time. Switch off your automatic pilot. Turn on your intentional awareness. Develop your antennae. Listen for feedback. Adapt as you go along. Try on new approaches.

And, above all, be guided by this question: Am I a joy to be around? Count every moment because every moment counts. This is Mike Lipkin, and I’m counting on you to be my champion in 2016.

Get Mike’s Audio Podcast

Get Mike’s Video Podcast