NLP Weekly: Recovery is the Secret to Sustained Success

NLP Weekly: Making your leadership & performance second nature. 

Performance: Recovery as a Competitive Advantage

When we think of high performance, we often focus on pushing harder, going further, and doing more. But here’s the truth: recovery isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Recovery isn’t just physical. Yes, your muscles need time to rebuild after a workout, but your brain and emotions need their version of recovery too. Mentally, it’s about giving your mind space to process and reset after a period of intense focus. Emotionally, it’s about letting yourself fully experience and release what you’ve been carrying.

Recovery doesn’t mean stopping entirely. It can be active: a walk, mindfulness practice, a journaling session, or even laughter with friends. It’s about replenishing your reserves so that you can show up fully charged when it’s time to perform again.

What’s the cost of neglecting recovery? Declining performance, diminished results and ultimately, burnout.

Here’s a challenge: this week, schedule your recovery like you would an important meeting. Block that time out. Make it non-negotiable.

Need some ideas? I've got an Elite Recovery Course coming soon. In the meantime, the #1 thing is your sleep. Focus on your night time routine:

• no screens 30 minutes before bed
• drink some magnesium to relax & restore
• journal about your day in the positive
• stretch your hips (this releases emotion)
• pro-tip if you can't fall sleep: close your eyes and count to 300. If you lose track, start again. It's never let me down.

Watch how it transforms your energy and focus.

Leadership: Your Circle Shapes Your Ascent

Leadership is often portrayed as a solitary climb. But the reality is, the most impactful leaders don’t do it alone—they thrive because of their community.

Surrounding yourself with other leaders, especially those who are equally committed to growth, can provide invaluable support. These are the people who inspire you, challenge you, and keep you accountable to your goals.

Think about it: who are the people you engage with most frequently in a leadership context? Are they helping you grow? Keeping you accountable to your values? Or are they unintentionally anchoring you to mediocrity?

This week, consider how you can lean into a leadership community. Attend a networking event, spark a meaningful conversation, seek out someone whose leadership inspires you, or ask a parent how they try to best show up for their kids. If you’re already part of a leadership circle, be intentional about contributing to its strength—your input matters as much as the inspiration you draw from it.

As leaders, we rise higher when we climb together.

Nature: Lessons from the Unexpected

A few days ago I saw something that stopped me in my tracks—a coyote swimming across a river.

I have 150 - 250 coyote sightings each year. I see them hunt and travel through the tidal zone. I have never seen a coyote in the water, much less swimming with ease and purpose. It was a reminder of how adaptable and surprising nature can be.

Life is full of unexpected moments like this. But how often do we pause to take them in and learn from them? That coyote wasn’t overthinking its circumstances, it wanted to go from Point A to Point B—it simply adapted, took action, and chose what it considered the best  way forward.

Here’s the question:

• Where in your life or leadership can you be so open to a possibility that you are skeptical of how open you are?
• How can you draw inspiration from nature’s openness to unexpected solutions?

Sometimes, the best lessons come from the moments we didn’t plan for.

Be open to surprise.

Stay curious.

-Graham