Quotes from Jim Loehr

Drinking water, we have found, is perhaps the most undervalued source of physical energy renewal.

Stress is not the enemy in our lives. Paradoxically, it is the key to growth.

In his Treatise on Painting, da Vinci wrote, "It is a very good plan every now and then to go away and have a little relaxation. . . . When you come back to the work your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose the power of judgment.

Golf is not as much fun without a scorecard. Tennis doesn't work as well without it. Same for other sports. Somehow, though, we muddle through life without a scorecard, one that's focused on character strengths, even though most people, if they reflected on it, would agree that in the game of life, these are what truly matter most.

Barriers to full engagement: Negative habits that block, distort, waste, diminish, deplete and contaminate stored energy.

We survive on too little sleep, wolf down fast foods on the run, fuel up with coffee and cool down with alcohol and sleeping pills. Faced with relentless demands at work, we become short-tempered and easily distracted. We return home from long days at work feeling exhausted and often experience our families not as a source of joy and renewal, but as one more demand in an already overburdened life.

A dynamic relationship exists between physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy. • Changes in any one dimension of energy affect all dimensions. 22. Energy capacities follow developmental lines. • First level of development is physical. • Second level of development is emotional/social. • Third level of development is cognitive/mental. • Fourth level of development is moral/spiritual.

The more we take responsibility for the energy we bring to the world, the more empowered and productive we become. The more we blame others or external circumstances, the more negative and compromised our energy is likely to be.

A growing body of research suggests that as little as 5 percent of our behaviors are consciously self-directed. We are creatures of habit and as much as 95 percent of what we do occurs automatically or in reaction to a demand or an anxiety.

So many people postpone joy until they have achieved.

America is the only country in the world in which employees work more hours per week than the Japanese.

We tend to thrive when we see opportunities for growth, not when we are in defensive mode.

the energy of the human spirit can override even severe limitations of physical energy

Chronological age is fixed. Biological age can be modified with training.

Business leaders should seek out intrinsically oriented individuals whose core values are aligned with those of the company. As it stands, asking a potential new hire how a particular job could be a vehicle for expanding his or her character strengths and intrinsic growth opportunities is a very different conversation from the one typically carried on during the job interview process. Some

Character is best thought of as existing in two distinct but related categories of competency – performance character competency and moral character competency. Performance character consists of specific acquired strengths usually necessary for high achievement and performance: focus, persistence, resilience, confidence, positivity, decisiveness, courage, tough-mindedness, ambition, reliability, discipline, fortitude.

Leaders have a disproportionate impact on the energy of others.

The most important asset you need to protect in order to manage the demands of a job or an investment portfolio is your production of energy. And, just like with money, if you do a great job managing your energy, you'll get a great return.

Boundary setting is really a huge part of time management.

We grow the aspects of our lives that we feed – with energy and engagement – and choke off those we deprive of fuel. Your life is what you agree to attend to.

When people are entering a high-stress period, they don't sleep and don't exercise, but in fact, it should be just the opposite.

There's no such thing as multitasking.