Can you go to sleep at night knowing that a project has been left undone? Or are you working at 2 in the morning trying to finish?
For some people they are fine going to sleep knowing they can finish tomorrow. For others with a compulsion to work, work, work, they are up late burning themselves out, just to finish that work.
That wasn’t even a question for Penny Zenker. She made sure she completed her work on time, no matter the stakes. Whether it was wanting to please others with her value, or being in control, or a fear of things being left undone, the results were the same.
When she sold her company to try out a 9-5, her tendencies followed her. She realized the grass wasn’t always greener whether you own your company or are working for someone else.
Listen in to hear how Penny accepted her compulsions to be in control, and developed a reset practice transformed her ability to see the forest through the trees.
Key Takeaways
Key Moments
{02:33} “I'd work into the wee hours in the morning because it wasn't done. Like, it was really hard to put an unfinished piece of code. And go to sleep. I don't know, I just couldn't put it down.”
{03:53} “I wasn't the kind of leader I needed to be in order to motivate those people, in order to bring out the best so that they wanted to own that work. I was a terrible micro manager. And that was really what was burning me out, is I was trying to fix it and take it away from them and just added more and more onto my plate.”
{04:47} “Our dysfunctions just follow us and then they get bigger.”
{13:12} “Like I still get it, where, you know, in the beginning of the pandemic, for instance, when everything shut down, my workhorse wanted to jump in and say, it's okay, I got this, I'm just gonna work through it. Right? I'm just gonna overwork especially when it could have been a time when I could have relaxed and I could have stepped back.”
More about Penny
Penny Zenker is The Focusologist, an international speaker, business strategy coach, and best-selling author. Penny founded, developed, and sold her 1st multi-million dollar business while living in Zurich, Switzerland. Later at the world's 4th largest Market Research company, she managed business unit turnarounds and was a Tony Robbins business coach helping entrepreneurs around the world to double their businesses.
Penny’s book The Productivity Zone was an Amazon Best Seller and her TEDx, "The Energy of Thought" with over 1M views, has gained attention around the world. Penny has been featured on NBC News, Forbes, Inc, ESPN, and Wharton Business Radio among others.
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