"The Power of Full Engagement" in 45 tweets

1. Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance (p. 4)
2. Recovery is an integral aspect of sustained performance (p.12)
3. Paradoxically, stress is the key to growth (p.13)
4. To maintain a powerful pulse in our lives, we must learn how to rhythmically spend and renew energy (p. 12)
5. In order to build strength in a muscle we must systematically stress it, expending energy beyond normal levels (p. 13)
6. We grow at all levels by expending energy beyond our ordinary limits and then recovering (p. 13)
7. Expanding capacity requires a willingness to endure short-term discomfort in the service of long-term reward (p. 47).
8. Positive energy rituals are the key for managing energy and sustained high performance (p. 14)
9. A positive ritual is a behaviour that becomes automatic over time-fueled by some deeply held value (p. 14)
10. Leaders have a disproportionate impact on the energy of others (p. 23)
11. Too much energy expenditure without sufficient recovery eventually leads to burnout and breakdown: Overuse it and lose it (p. 29)
12. Too much recovery without sufficient stress leads to atrophy and weakness: Use it or lose it (p. 29).
13. Full engagement requires cultivating a dynamic balance between the expenditure of energy (stress) and the renewal of energy (recovery) in all dimensions (p. 29).
14. Periods of recovery are likewise intrinsic to creativity (p. 34).
15. Without time for recovery, our lives become a blur of 'doing' unbalanced by much opportunity for 'being' (p. 34)
16. We live in a world that celebrates work and activity, ignores renewal and recovery (p. 37)
17. Our capacity to be fully engage depends on our ability to periodically disengage (p. 38)
18. Intermittently disengaging is what allows us to passionately reengage (p. 39)
19. Worka-holism: an inability to regulate work habits and an overindulgence in work -to the exclusion of most other life activities (p. 40)
20. Unlike most obsessive-compulsive disorders, worka-holism is often admired, encouraged and materially well rewarded (p. 40)
21. Reaction time, concentration, memory and logical/analytical reasoning decline steadily as sleep debt increases (p. 55)
22. To sustain full engagement, we must take a recovery break every 90 to 120 minutes (p. 71)
23. No single factor more clearly predicts the productivity of an employee than his relationship with his direct superior (p. 75)
24. The ability to communicate consistently positive energy lies at the heart of effective management (p. 75)
25. Empathy: listen to others without interruption and instant judgement (p. 87)
26. The ability to summon positive emotions during periods of intense stress lies at the heart of effective leadership (p. 92)
27. Da Vinci: "The greatest geniuses sometimes accomplish more when they work less" (p. 96)
28. Evidence confirms that the brain operates like a muscle- atrophying from disuse and increasing in capacity with active use, even late in life (p. 101)
29. Margery Silver: Every time you learn something new it builds new connections to the brain cells (p. 102)
30. Changing channels mentally permits different parts of the brain to be activated and facilitates creativity (p. 109)
31. Anything that ignites the human spirit serves to drive full engagement and to maximize performance in whatever mission we are on (p. 110)
32. Sense of purpose mobilize hope and optimism, with focus and clarity (...). Nietzsche: "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how" (p. 117)
33. Spiritual energy provides the force for action in all dimensions of our lives. It fuels passion, perseverance and commitment (p. 127)
34. Spiritual energy is derived from a connection to deeply held values and a purpose beyond our self-interest (p. 127)
35. The energy of the human spirit can override even sever limitations of physical energy (p. 128)
36. If we lack a strong sense of purpose, we cannot hold our ground when we are challenged by life's inevitable storms (p. 133)
37. Purpose is a unique source of energy. It fuels focus, direction, passion and perseverance (p. 133)
38. Sometimes it's more important to stay connected with people than to be right (p. 137)
39. The challenge we all face is to find ways to use the workplace as a forum in which to express and embody how our deepest values (p. 140)
40. Truth without compassion is cruelty-to others and to ourselves (p. 164)
41. Accepting our limitations reduces our defensiveness and increases the amount of positive energy available to us (p. 164)
42. Rituals create a means by which to translate our values and priorities into action in all dimensions of our life (p. 181)
43. The sustaining power of rituals comes from the fact that they conserve energy (p. 169)
44. The more exciting the challenge, the more rigorous our rituals need to be (p. 171)
45. Building precise rituals makes it possible to push away the distractions and fears that arise under pressure (p. 176)

“The Power of Full Engagement” (by Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz), Simon &Schuster 2003, 245 pp.