Is there a difference between activity and productivity? Both make you busy, but only one makes you fulfilled!. 

Our guest on today's episode is Garland Vance, the co-founder of Advance Leadership, a firm that helps leaders accomplish more and stress less. Garland is also the author of Getting’ (un)Busy, a book that takes you through the 5 steps to overcome "busyness" and live with purpose, productivity, and peace.

The conversation is an insightful and active one, with Garland sharing how his own "busyness" caused him significant health problems. This sparked his initial research, hoping to discover ways that he (and others) could accomplish more while doing less. He discovered ways to identify and focus on important tasks, and how a positive "ripple effect" could elevate everything else.

Garland's business mode, delivering content through coaching and keynote speaking, was upended over the last year by COVID-19. Like many others, he needed to retool his content to reach a virtual audience. Always an innovator, Garland doesn’t simply talk for an hour and then disappear; he has found ways to make a 500-person Zoom call feel like a personal learning event, and he knows how to make each guest feel like the center of attention.

Garland also talks about the fact that "busyness" doesn't qualify speed or skill. He assesses the 20 best practices of highly productive people, and why they aren't overwhelmed with "busyness" - because they practice habits that make real differences!  Combined with the 5 steps in his book, Gettin’ (un)Busy, he shares insights and ways you, too, can deconstruct bad habits and design the life you want to live!

Three Key Takeaways:

• Thought Leaders are easily overwhelmed with "busyness," which can affect  personal life and even health. Focus on the tasks that matter, and accept that you can’t do everything all at once.
• Productivity and activity are not the same thing. Garland's thought leadership helps focus on productivity, and ways to fulfill life's greater purposes.
• Taking a Thought Leadership keynote into a virtual presentation requires additional work, and there are simple ways to make the experience personal and create genuine connection with your audience.