The Vertical Mindset Podcast

In the context of “Being and Creating” (the 0 and +1 states), we look at the science and research to understand what is going on in our brains. Join Eitan and Sasja in the final episode of this 5-part series on Living Your Purpose and learn how the different brain chemicals impact your thoughts, your feelings, and ultimately your well-being.

Cultivating a mindset of excellence enables us show up more authentically when faced with adversity.  Join Eitan and Sasja in the fourth episode of this 5-part series on Living Your Purpose and learn how to consciously choose to stay focused and engaged during challenging situations.

Determining our purpose or our “Why” is critical to the success of any relationship. It is the reason for Being together and Creating together. Join Eitan and Sasja in the third episode of this 5-part series on Living Your Purpose and learn how to examine your relationships (work and personal) by working from a strong foundation: your purpose and values.

Learning to manage our energy with all the competing demands that we face is key to increasing our capacity to live our purpose daily. Join Eitan and Sasja in the second episode of this 5-part series on Living Your Purpose and learn the importance of consciously creating space for yourself to allow your energy to fully emerge and help you create the life you want.   

The concept of living in 0 and +1 is an interplay between being at peace, fulfilled and present versus being fully engaged to create and achieve.  In this podcast, you will learn how 0 and +1 are two sides of the same coin, the Self, and how they are essential to living a purposeful life. Join Eitan and Sasja in the first episode of our 5-part series on Living Your Purpose and learn how to train your mind to ground yourself and just to“Be” in the 0 state as well as how to be fully engaged and inspired in the +1 state to create.

The impact of Sales Excellence on your organization can not be underestimated, and part of your ability to influence sales, is your sensory acuity.  It's the ability to pick up on the things that most people filter out, go unnoticed, and more importantly, matter to your clients. Join Sasja and Eitan in the final episode in our 3-Part series on Sales Excellence and learn how you and your sales teams can heighten your sensory acuity and apply it to the sales process.

Negotiating with clients has historically been set up as a win-lose endeavour, especially when coming from a horizontal mindset. When you apply the Vertical Mindset to your negotiations, you begin to create that culture of Sales Excellence and position yourself as your clients ally. The results then become win-win for everyone involved. Join Sasja and Eitan as they discuss how to turn your negotiations into conversations about strategic partnerships.

The first episode, in our three-part series, discussing the Vertical Mindset and how it can be applied to your sales efforts in order to drive positive outcomes and powerful results. Listen in as Sasja and Eitan discuss this important piece of your business in today's episode. As always you are encouraged to visit us at www.dynamicachievement.com for more information, and if you wanted to provide comments or feedback we would love to hear from you at info@dynamicachievement.com   Until next time, Be Vertical.

If you are a leader that has always wanted to build a team of individuals that seem to be capable of creating and achieving any results it wants, then you won't want to miss this episode. In this episode of The Vertical Mindset Podcast, Sasja and Eitan discuss the concept of The Super-Mind and creating your culture of excellence.

Today there are many ways to describe an organizations culture with words like innovative, combative, fun, positive or negative, agile - but what does this really mean, and how does it support or set-back progress? If you were to ask any CEO, or organizational leader, whether or not they believe that having a culture of excellence is important they will inevitably say yes. Yet, many leaders find it difficult to articulate why their organizations culture is important to the success of their business over time. The impact of culture can be seen in the day to day interactions between colleagues, it is visible to your customers, and it will impact your bottom line.

  Mindset focus is key for maintaining your vertical life. There are a handful of things that you need to be attentive to if you are going to maintain your vertical mindset and life over the course of your lifetime. The first is that of mental focus. You have to establish patterns of mental remembrance or discipline that help you refocus your mind on the vertical things you're living for. Eitan shares a few of the ways you can begin those good habits on this episode, so be sure you take the time to listen. Emotional health: Key to focusing on what is most important in your life. We all have great ambitions and things we know need to be an important part of the lives we live. But we don't often realize that if we allow our emotional health to decline we'll be shooting ourselves in the foot when it comes to those higher goals. On this episode, Eitan shares the kinds of things you need to pay attention to in order to maintain emotional health. If you can put these into regular practice you'll find yourself to be more resilient and strong when it comes to staying focused on your vertical life goals.  If your body isn't strong, your vertical focus will suffer. Have you ever been at a place in life when you were so physically exhausted that you couldn't think straight? It's in those moments that everything looks hopeless and our emotions prompt us to give up. But there isn't any truth in those feelings - they came from the fact that our body was out of steam. On this episode, Eitan covers why physical energy and health is so vital for staying on track toward your larger, life goals. You'll learn some practical ways you can keep yourself healthy so you will be able to endure the slog required to successfully live a vertical life. If you can't stay on track in life, you likely don't have a structure to help you do it.  Staying on track with your vertical mindset doesn't happen purely through willpower and good intentions. It happens as willpower is coupled with structures you put in place that prompt you to stay on track. Eitan knows that can sound a bit ambiguous until you get into so he dives into examples of some practical structures he uses, on this episode. You'll find the description of what he does to keep himself on track very instructive when it comes to determining and devising your own structures. Be sure you listen. Outline of This Episode [0:10] Introduction to this episode on sustaining the vertical life and mindset. [0:45] How to keep your mind focused on your bigger “vertical life” issues. [2:27] Emotional energy is key. [3:02] The physical component of sustaining your vertical approach to life. [5:06] Spiritual focus on your highest values help you stay aligned with a vertical way of living. [6:05] What happens when you get knocked off track in these areas? [7:30] How to set up a structure that helps you stay focused. [9:51] Refocusing and recalibrating is like building a muscle through repetition. [11:47] The deficit you put on family if you don't manage your energy throughout the day. Resources Mentioned The Productive App

We hear it a lot these days, people talking about being real or living an authentic life. But what does it really mean? Some people advocate total honesty in everything, expressing exactly how you feel about every situation. Is that being authentic? On this episode, Eitan Sharir shares what he understands it means to live authentically. It's not about performance and it's certainly not about being the center of attention - and it's not always about total honesty, either. Find out what a truly authentic life looks like and how you can live in a more authentic way, on this episode. What does it mean to truly be authentic? When Eitan was asked what it means to be authentic he said two simple words: Being myself. An authentic person is one who is self-aware, they know who they are and what they believe. They also know how to live consistently with those beliefs and that identity without being pushed around by the opinions and perspectives others might express. An authentic life is one of conscious, confident choice about how you will show up in the world. Find out how you can live a more authentic life by listening. When you are busy surviving, you don't have the capacity to live authentically. Many people in our day are busy surviving. They haven't taken the time to establish a vertical mindset that enables them to live for more than their own interests. Consequently, they rush from situation to situation, reacting as they go. That is the direct opposite of living an authentic life. Authentic living requires self-awareness and the ability to choose your own role and behavior in the world. It's not a life of reaction, it's a life of intentional investment. Find out more on this episode. Is it authentic to share everything happening in your life? Some people feel that if they don't honestly share everything they feel and think about a given subject, they are being inauthentic. But is that true? Eitan Sharir says, “Not necessarily.” What determines whether a person is living authentically through honest sharing depends on their reasons for sharing and the mindset behind their sharing. Are they trying to benefit others? Are they attempting to make the situation better? Or are they simply venting, unburdening themselves at the expense of others? Eitan has wisdom to share on this episode about how you can become more self-aware so that your honesty is truly authentic, so be sure you listen. Does the mindset of “fake it ‘till you make it” have a place in living an authentic life? People often say, “fake it ‘till you make it,” and the words themselves sound incredibly inauthentic. But what's meant by the phrase is that if you don't feel confident or capable in a situation, you should keep practicing, learning as you go until you reach competence. There's nothing inauthentic about that, it's the process by which we grow and gain confidence in our abilities. But if it turns into lying about your ability for the sake of saving face or covering up your need to grow, you're headed in the wrong direction.  Outline of This Episode [0:10] What does it mean to be authentic - to live an authentic life? [6:00] How can you deal with difficult or confidential information and still be authentic? [9:08] Is it necessarily authentic to share everything going on in your life? [10:48] Does “fake it ‘till you make it” have a place in living an authentic life?

You may not be familiar with the term co-creation or the concept of co-creating with others. But it's something you've at least seen done and hopefully have taken part in yourself. Co-creating is the process of two or more individuals coming together in a cooperative, collaborative relationship for the purpose of creating something that has not existed before and that could not be created without the input of all the people involved. There are tremendous benefits to co-creative relationships, so listen to this episode to hear Eitan's explanation of the co-creation process. The more horizontal people are, the less team oriented and collaborative they are. In the past episodes of this series, Eitan has made a distinction between having a horizontal mindset and a vertical mindset. Each is an approach to life that determines the way individuals choose to live and relate to others. Co-creation happens best when the parties involved have all made a conscious choice to live according to a vertical mindset - a mindset that intentionally seeks to live for something bigger and more significant than themselves. It's this mindset that allows the collaboration needed to fuel the co-creation process. On this episode, Eitan discusses how to foster your own vertical mindset for the sake of co-creating. Generous collaboration is at the heart of co-creating.  A person who has a vertical mindset is outward focused, eager to benefit others with their life and interaction. That kind of generous attitude enables them to be open to the possibility and benefits of true collaboration. Co-creating reaches its zenith when that's the case. On this episode, you'll discover what co-creating is, how the process works, and why it's a tremendous way for teams and families to work together to accomplish amazing things they couldn't have done without collaborating.  Is co-creation something that can happen in families?  The primary discussion in the first part of this conversation centers around how workplace teams can practice co-creation for incredible results. But are there other contexts in which co-creating is possible, such as the family? Eitan responds to that question with enthusiasm and describes many ways in which co-creation is beneficial to all kinds of relationships, including those that happen inside the home. Be sure you take the time to listen. Effective co-creation depends on understanding each other and a focus on common goals. Everyone has their own set of self-centered goals that they take with them as they enter relationships. It's a natural part of being human. But when a person makes the shift into a vertical way of thinking and living, they begin to seek to understand others. It's this desire for understanding that enables them to see that others are not necessarily in competition with them, they just hold a different viewpoint. Understanding and appreciating the views of others is what  enables collaboration and effective teamwork toward common goals. Eitan describes how this sort of mindset fosters effectiveness in co-creation, on this episode. Outline of This Episode [0:10] What does it mean to co-create with other human beings? [4:27] How does co-creating actually work and come to life in the workplace? [9:51] Can co-creating happen at home with our families? [12:26] Is co-creation in families structured the same as it is in the workplace? [14:51] How can you co-create with those who don't understand the need for a vertical mindset approach to life?

What is the absolute best investment you could make? Eitan Sharir says it's not a financial one - it's the investment you make in yourself. And he's not talking about more education or more letters behind your name. He is talking about the inner you, the centered, stable self inside that needs to have emotional maturity and strength in order to wisely handle the stress and demands of the world. On this episode, you're going to hear Eitan share his own story - how he discovered his own need to invest in himself. You'll also learn what he's done to make that investment consistently throughout his adult life. He says it's the best investment he's ever made and believes it will be for you, too. The best investment doesn't have to do with money. It has to do with yourself. When you think of investments you are thinking in terms of putting something to work in order to receive a greater gain in return. We seem to easily think in those terms when it comes to financial investments or education. But when it comes to developing ourselves, we don't see the correlation as easily. But the best investment you can make is in your own inner health. You need the stability to handle the pressures of life calmly and with wisdom - and that takes investing in yourself, systematically, over time. Eitan shares the benefits of making that commitment, on this episode - so be sure you listen.  How can people who are educated and successful resort to behaving like a 3-year-old? You've seen it happen. The person in charge of a meeting at work or with many degrees and accomplishments flies into a tirade when things don't go their way. How is it possible that someone so recognized and accomplished could behave in such a way? It's because our culture has spent so much time focusing on intellectual and skill development and so little time on inner emotional development. The two need to be integrated in order for a truly healthy human being to emerge. On this episode, Eitan shares what it means to make investments in yourself, what it looks like practically, and why you need to do it. You'll be intrigued by what he has to share. Investing in yourself requires daily commitment. You might listen to this episode and agree that the best investment you can make is in yourself. You might be motivated to get started right away. But make sure you understand this - investing in yourself is a long game. You can't be hit and miss about it and expect to see much in the way of positive results. It takes daily work, daily practice to see the benefits. Just like any discipline, this one requires your time, attention, and mastery - over time. Find out the practical things you can do daily to invest in yourself, on this episode. What happens in your life when you actually make the investment in yourself? You truly won't believe the difference daily investments in yourself make to your life. You'll find yourself able to detach from the circumstances of life in order to assess them wisely, without reaction, without a feeling of threat or insecurity. You'll be able to see that you are entirely separate from the circumstances you face and can then make better decisions and treat people with more kindness and gentleness. Those are just some of the benefits that come from making the best investment you can make - an investment in yourself. Find out more on this episode. Outline of This Episode [0:25] Why don't people change when they really want to change? [3:50] In order to be fully functional we need to be balanced in mental and emotional development. [5:42] The results of NOT developing yourself. [7:31] What does it look like to make the best investment in yourself? [12:33] Daily practices that enable you to make your best investment in yourself. [14:37] The biggest difference these practices have made in Eitan's life. [16:14] How can you see your need for investing in yourself?

If you take the time to look around you, you'll see almost everyone trying to pull off the balancing act between home life and work. You hear it expressed as a desire to achieve work-life balance, but Eitan Sharir believes that the “work-life” approach to balance implies that work is not really “life,” when in fact, it is just as much an important part of life as being at home with family members. For him, it's an issue of greater purpose, and on this short episode of The Vertical Mindset Eitan shares how he guides people to understand the power of life purpose, being a chooser, and the impact those two things make on their own balancing act. Balance is not in what you do, it's in what you focus on. When you try to balance out your life, the primary issues that come up are those of distraction. You are home with your family but still feel the tug of work-related items or deadlines. Eitan says that the key issue when seeking to perform a balancing act effectively is that you know your life purpose and are committed to living according to it. It's that knowledge that enables you to make the right choices and to apply the depth of your desire to whatever situation you are in. You learn that balance is not about what you do, it's about where you place your focus at any given time. Learn how to be 100% at work when you are working and 100% at home when you are at home, in this episode. A key component in work-life balance is to remember that you are a chooser. Do you feel that you are in control of what happens in your life, or do you feel that things happen to you? It's an important distinction - one you need to fully grasp and apply to your own life. When you understand the power you have to be a chooser, then you are able to push aside the demands and outside pressures you may feel at any given time and apply the power of choice to the situation. Nothing outside you need place a demand on you - you are able to choose what is best for you at any moment. So when you are at home, you can choose to BE at home, with your family, engaging in what is important there. Find out how Eitan Sharir applies vertical living to the balancing act of life, on this episode. If your family is most important to you, why do you live as if they aren't?  We all live with a certain level of contradiction in our lives. We say one thing yet live our lives in ways that appear and in fact, are contrary to that thing. For example, almost every executive Eitan speaks with says that their family is most important to them. Yet, they allow work and work-related issues to intrude on family time regularly. The power to change comes in realizing that you have the power to choose, that you are in all actuality free from the pull of outer demands. You simply have to choose to live that way. It may sound a bit simplistic here, but if you'll take the time to listen to Eitan's explanation, you'll be helped greatly. When you are clear on our bigger purpose it's easier to say “No!” to the right things. Our brains simply cannot handle the weight of continually mounting responsibilities. We have a limitation on our capacity as human beings. That's why we have to learn to say, “No” to some things in order to take on others. But how do you make wise decisions when it comes to knowing what you should say “no” to? Eitan Sharir says that your decision to say, “no” flows out of your larger life purpose. When you become crystal clear on why you are living your life, the decisions about what you will take responsibility for and what you will not becomes equally clear. Do what you can to set aside time to hear his explanation on this episode. You'll be glad you did. Outline of This Episode [1:03] The reason people feel a need for work-life balance, and how Eitan looks at the problem. [4:23] Handling situations practically: How do you manage being fully present in each context? [9:33] Why we don't keep adding tasks to our load without removing others. [11:36] What are the things Eitan sees people most commonly decide to stop doing? [14:22] How can you know when you are doing things from a right motive or from a sense of obligation? [17:49] Learning to notice when you are living in a state of division rather than fully in balance.

In this series, Eitan Sharir has been addressing the things that enable us to live vertically, and on this audio, he walks through the 7 steps to excellence. There is a lot of talk about excellence these days but few people really understand what it takes to be and do what is excellent. This concise, actionable overview of Eitan's 7 steps will help you understand the simple but difficult process every person must take to truly achieve what is excellent in their life. You don't want to miss this enlightening and powerful explanation. Be clear and committed to your purpose. In a previous session, Eitan spoke about the power of having an overarching, powerful purpose to your life. In this audio, he follows up on that concept by showing how being committed to a clear purpose for your life is the first, and foundational step in the 7 steps to excellence. This concept is powerful - and as you listen you'll understand why. Clarity and commitment to your purpose are what fuel every step to come, so don't miss this. When you make a commitment, you give everything to it.  It's easy to say you are committed to something. But when the obstacles arise you'll discover if you really are. True commitment requires that you give everything to it - which is why you should never take the issue of commitments lightly. In this session, Eitan covers what it looks like to really make a commitment, how that commitment responds in the face of opposition or adversity, and what it takes to see a commitment through. Making commitments is a foundational part of the path toward excellence, so you need to understand what it takes to make and keep a true commitment. You can hear all about it in this session. True excellence requires that you take responsibility to be the chooser in your life. The environment most of us are raised in communicates a variety of unhelpful and even counterproductive messages. One of the most damaging is the idea that you are not responsible for the things that flow out of your life. This mindset/belief is manifested in blaming, excuses, and a host of other rationalizations. But Eitan wants you to understand that you are responsible to be the chooser in your own life. That means you either choose or do not choose every thought or belief, and the actions that flow from them. That understanding removes any room for blaming, playing the victim, or making excuses and it sets you on the path toward living a life of excellence. You can hear Eitan explain it more thoroughly, in this audio teaching. As you take steps toward excellence, take the high road, not the easy one.  There are many places along the road of life where you have the opportunity to choose, and most of us default to the path of least resistance. But if you want to pursue excellence you'll need to understand that the easiest road is not the one that is going to get you where you want to go. In his 7 steps to excellence, covered on this episode, Eitan Sharir explains why you have to choose the high road in order to reach excellence in your life, your creative pursuits, or your business. It's a principle that crosses over into all areas of life. Find out more on this episode. Outline of This Episode  [0:25] An introduction to the 7 Steps to Excellence - what to do in order to become more vertical. [2:20] The foundational step: Be clear and committed to your purpose. [7:00] How you can keep yourself on track regarding your purpose: a weekly review. [9:35] How self-doubt attacks your primary purpose. [12:50] The second step: Take responsibility to be the chooser in your life. [17:44] Step three: Choose the high road. [22:22] The fourth step: Face everything. [28:38] Step number five: Be authentic. [31:37] Number six: Give 100%. Receive 100%. [37:15] The seventh step: Do it now.

If you are looking to have more control over creating the life you want, as opposed to surviving the life you have, then adopting a vertical mindset can do just that. In this episode, Eitan Sharir shares more about the notion of horizontal vs vertical mindsets, and how each affects your perception of the world around you. Is The Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty? When it comes to individual perception, many labels have been applied to describe a particular mindset. Descriptors like good, bad, right, wrong, positive, negative, optimistic, and pessimistic are all used to define the way that we look at a situation or the world around us. Yet are these definitions really helpful in understanding why we view certain things the way we do? Eitan explores how recognizing the difference can serve us in our personal, and professional, lives.   The Survival Mindset and Decision Making   About 85-93% of the population has a tendency to see life from the perspective of survival, but in today's world, what does survival mean? For many it means coping with all of the stressors in their personal and professional lives. The Dynamic Achievement Group has discovered that there are typically two driving motivators behind each of our decisions and behaviors, and these tie into the mindset needed to take us from surviving, to creating a life that we want.   Your Current Leadership Style May Stem from Your Mindset   When an unconscious belief is left undiscovered, it can manifest in a number of ways throughout our personal and professional lives. Some people crave power, some crave power over other people. No matter what their present circumstances are, some individuals overcompensate for the feelings attached to past events, by viewing everything in the present through a horizontal, or vertical, mindset. The result is a feeling of continual unrest and dissatisfaction. Luckily, once an individual learns to think and perceive the world around them differently, they can start to make incredible changes!

Eitan Sharir had a successful corporate career when an eye-opening event in his life forced him to evaluate his definition of success. Originally having studied marketing and general management, Eitan slowly discovered that his true interests were with the people inside of the organization and not it's products. In today's episode of The Vertical Mindset Podcast, Eitan shares his journey of discovering a different way of thinking; one that can impact your life and the lives of those around you. What is The Vertical Mindset? The journey of discovering this life-changing shift, began in disillusionment. Eitan discovered that, when the bottom line is more important that the people that contribute to an organizations success, classic signs of organizational dysfunction start to come up. He also discovered that when individuals are introduced to a different perspective, like the Vertical Mindset, measurable results can be achieved. How to Keep Going When There is Fear and Insecurity For each of us, there will be moments of fear and insecurity that plague our thinking and decision making. However, Eitan found that by harnessing the power of a Vertical Mindset, and focusing on specific goals, can provide clarity when the environment around you is noisy. Moving Past Perfection in Business Like most leaders, Eitan found himself on a quest to transform every individual, every time he worked with them. Yet when some organizations didn't achieve the successes they were capable of, he turned to neuroscience, quantum physics and the human psyche to understand how the mind works, and what causes it to have the ‘aha!' moment that he had experienced. After many years of research, testing, and analyzing his results with clients, the Vertical Mindset and its incredible effects within an organization was developed.