579. Taking the Time to Define Her Bull's Eye

Helene Segura

Helene had a clear plan as she left L.A.—to be a dual athlete playing soccer and softball for Texas A&M. “My plan got shot to heck when I was cut from the softball team.” If she wasn’t going to be Helene, the athlete anymore, she had to figure out who else she could be.

Helene Segura, author of two Amazon best-selling books, has been the featured organizational expert in more than 150 media interviews. In her time management keynotes and workshops, she shares her mind-bending framework for decreasing interruptions, distractions and procrastination so that companies can spend more time generating revenue. On weekends, she can be found sneaking adult beverages onto the lawn bowling court. Helene’s newest book is “The Inefficiency Assassin: Time Management Tactics for Working Smarter, Not Longer.”

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

“In high school, I had this odd mix of friends. I had my nerd friends from the Honors and advanced placement classes, and my jock friends from all of my sports. I also had several gang friends. I grew up in Los Angeles and it is kind of hard to avoid knowing a gang member or two. I got to deal with so many different kinds of folks from different walks of life. They helped shape how I work with people.”

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

“Getting cut from the softball team at Texas A&M University was the biggest turning point in my life as I was coming into adulthood. I moved from Los Angeles to Texas, planning to play soccer and softball for A&M. I got to play soccer, but when I tried out for softball, I was cut. My plan got shot to heck! I’d always been used to getting what I wanted. I had to rethink my life. Sports had been a huge part of my life for the previous decade. I didn’t know a life without sports. My identity had been as Helene, the athlete. So, if I wasn’t going to be Helene the athlete anymore, I thought, who am I going to be?”

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“One of the first things I do with my clients is have them create definitions of their personal priorities and their work priorities, and their definition of happiness. If we don’t know what the bull’s eye is that we are trying to hit, how do we know how far we are or how close we are to hitting it? So many people are dissatisfied with their jobs because they are in a rut. They are spinning. The way out of it is to create clarity about what happiness is. But most of us don’t want to take the time to think about that.”