High Performance Coach Eva Medilek

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast Certified High Performance Coach, International speaker, bestselling author and cultural inclusivity Trainer. Ms.. Eva Medilek. How are you?

Eva Medilek: Oh, I’m doing fantastic. Stone How are you?

Stone Payton: I am doing well and really been looking forward to this conversation right there in the intro. We talk about being a high performance coach. Maybe a good place to start would be to get your perspective on what it really means to to be a high performer.

Eva Medilek: Oh, yeah, I get that all the time because most people think that because you’re a high achiever, you are a high performer, and that’s not necessarily true. So when you are a high performer, you are able to advance your career without sacrificing some other things that are important to you, like your health, your well being and your relationships in order to be successful and have it all. And most high achievers get the achieving part right, but they don’t get that special type of unique balance to where it’s not costing them and some other important areas of their lives. So it really is, you know, performing at your best and on your A-game without it costing you and some other important areas of your life.

Stone Payton: So my observation has been and I think I want to make sure I’m using the right term here, but the people that we would would say are high achievers. I mean, sometimes they just they wear themselves out, don’t they? They get exhausted.

Eva Medilek: Yeah, exactly. You know, if you’re a high achiever, most likely you’re white knuckling through burnout and exhaustion because you don’t want to quit. You don’t want to stop. There are too many things that you want to do and achieve right now. So it’s not the time to slow down right now and it’s really is costing them and how their relationships are affected, how their their mood is affected, how their health is affected. And it really it’s not attractive a lot of times, if you will, to be a high achiever if you’re not showing up in a good I like to say, in a good mood. If you’re a little Mr. and Mrs. Cranky Pants, then maybe you should look at what high performance coaching can do for you.

Stone Payton: So I got to know the back story. How in the world did you get into this line of work? What was the path?

Eva Medilek: The path was being a high achiever. I have to tell you, when I was preparing for my 50th birthday, which was about 12 years ago, I got downsized from my job as a dental hygienist. And it was that spark that prompted me to become an entrepreneur. So I started a real estate investing company, and at the time I had gotten more employment as a hygienist and I was working hard to just work full time. I was doing my business, but I was also doing all of the cooking, all of the shopping, the laundry, like all of it. I was Superwoman and some people listening might remember this commercial from the I guess it was 1980s or so where it depicted this this successful, super successful woman and she comes out singing, I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan and never let you forget your man because I’m a woman. Well, that was me. And so basically the tagline for that was Angele, the eight hour perfume for the 24 hour Woman So basically you could work yourself to death 24 hours a day, but at least she’ll smell good in the process.

Eva Medilek: But, you know, in all honesty, I was really working myself into the ground and my health was affected my well being. You know, I was just always a tired and complaining about being tired. And then eventually my relationship with my husband became affected. We were cranky with each other and snapping at each other. And I don’t know if you ever had as as soon as disease, but I always thought as a as a busy person, as soon as the business gets to a certain level, as soon as we make a certain amount of money, as soon as I own a certain amount of units, then we can take the time to work on our relationship. And as soon as it came for me, when I discovered my husband was having an affair and that was the wake up call that I needed to realize that my current habits were contributing to my stress and breakdown in my health and my relationship. And high performance living actually resonated with me because I knew I needed to take responsibility for who I was being as I was building.

Stone Payton: So let’s talk about habits a little bit. Are there habits that we can engage in that can kind of help us navigate this this gap between busy and effective? I mean.

Eva Medilek: You know, I call them, if you will, pit stops. You know, we’ve all seen NASCAR race, right, or the Indy 500. And those cars are racing really fast, dangerously high speeds, trying to make it to the the finish line and hopefully win the race without crashing and burning. And I remember I used to think when I saw the lead car get off and stop for a pit stop, I would think that was stupid. Right? Aren’t they going to fall behind and lose the race? Aren’t other people going to pass them up? And so those drivers realize that taking pit stop is necessary to continue to race at peak or high performance without breaking down. And most of us are running our lives and business at high speeds. We’re racing around the track because we’re afraid if we slow down, we’re going to fall behind and lose. And so when you look at high performance habits, those are strategic pit stops throughout the day so that you have that energy that you need to finish the day as strong as you started it without breaking down. And so, for example, most of us eat when we get hungry. Right. If you were a high performer, you would eat to fuel yourself for performance. Just like that car at the pit stop gets gas before it’s on empty.

Stone Payton: What a great analogy. What a great frame to to view that from. So you’ve been at this a while. I can tell that you find the work incredibly rewarding. What are you enjoying the most at this point in your career? At this point in your practice? What’s the most fun?

Eva Medilek: The most fun for me is when my clients have their breakthroughs about how they are, about what they can do to show up better for themselves, their own happiness. They’re all getting clear on what they want and what makes them happy and prioritizing what’s important to them so that they can set boundaries that actually support their values and priorities and what’s important to them and when they realize that. You know, most of us are talking about how we’re working this hard and hustling and grinding for our spouse, our kids, our families and our future. But yet we’re spending very little time with the people that we claim to be working so hard for. When they get that realization that what’s important to them is not really what they’re spending their time on. That’s really fun for me.

Stone Payton: So you’re out there coaching, but you’re also a speaker. What is that world like and what is it like to get in front of a bunch of people and try to share some of these ideas?

Eva Medilek: I actually love it. I mean, because we are connecting in person and and most people can really relate to what it feels like to be hustling and grinding to get ahead and create success in your life and business. And just really seeing some of these realizations and how high performance habits can help you generate the energy that you need so that you’re not burnt out, exhausted and overwhelmed. Is is fantastic. And I just love connecting with people in person because most people on Zoom can multitask or tune out. But when you’ve at least got them in a room with you, they’re kind of a captive audience. And there’s an exercise that I do with audiences. When I do have the time to speak where I have them take out three blank sheets of paper. And I learned this from one of my coaches, Larry Winget, who calls himself the pitbull of personal development. So I want to give credit where credit is due here. But on the first piece of paper for you to write down the State of the Union of your life, how everything is in your life and your business, and on the second sheet of paper to write down how you want it to be in your life, in business and your relationships. So you’ve got the current state of affairs and the dream life, and then on the third blank sheet, write down what you’re willing to give up. To get from the first sheet of paper to the second sheet of paper, because most of us think that we need to keep adding more and more and more. And it’s not about adding more. It’s about getting rid of things like you don’t get fit and healthy. You give up. What’s keeping you from getting fit and healthy, right? You don’t get skinny. You give up what’s making you fat, You don’t get healthy, you give up what’s making you unhealthy. Right? And so most of us think that we have to add more things as high achievers, right? But the magic is learning what to let go of.

Stone Payton: How does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a person like you, a practice like yours? Are you at a point where it just sort of comes in over the transom, or do you find yourself needing to engage in some sort of structured sales and marketing process to get the speaking gigs, to get the opportunities to coach people?

Eva Medilek: Yes. Yes, I do. I do. I need to put myself out there and be seen. And and I usually invite people to a a session with me so that they can see the value of high performance coaching and explain that in more detail. And for them to really see the cost, if you will, of not being a high performer and just being a high achiever. I know what it nearly cost me. So I am speaking from experience. I nearly lost everything and just to to not leave the audience hanging. My husband and I are still together. That infidelity actually saved our marriage because it was the punch in the gut that I needed or the two by four to the head or whatever you want to call it. That made me realize who I was. Being as I was building was actually pushing the people I cared the most about away. And so, yes, I still mark it. I still speak I still out there on social media sharing and always inviting people to connect with me.

Stone Payton: And you’ve committed some ideas to paper. You’ve written a bestselling book. Tell us about being an author. Tell us what that experience is like.

Eva Medilek: I’ve actually it was in a compilation book with Les Brown. Some of you may have heard of Les Brown, who is a motivational speaker as well. I was in a compilation book with him and Dr. Cheryl Wood, and that made it to the bestseller list. And I also wrote a solo book to highlight some of the the diversity, equity and inclusion work that I started doing as a result of the the racial events of 2020. And that book was called The Intimacy of Race How to Move from Subconscious Racism to Active Allyship for People of Privilege. And that’s really a simple, a simple book to get you started on how to how to communicate and how to be aware of some certain things to help you be better allies for underserved communities. And what we can do as mere individuals to make a difference for people.

Stone Payton: When you were writing the book, did you find that some chapter, some parts of it came together fairly easily and others were were a real struggle for you? What was that like?

Eva Medilek: Well, what happened? It was a struggle for me to get started because I just didn’t feel worthy. But once I started, I did get an accountability partner to help me keep going. But this book was based on a live event that I produced called the Allyship Awareness Forum, and I basically took everything that was discussed in that forum. We had six amazing, powerful women of color in the leadership position. We all got together and I produced this event. I think there was 700 people on it. And we we each had a section where we talked about some myths about racism, how to communicate, what bypassing was, all of these different things. And I really took that and compiled it into a book called The Intimacy of Race. So it was pretty much lined out for me, just really getting it from kind of a listen and learn event to something on as a paper resource for people was challenging, to say the least, but just to be motivated to think that I could do it. For me, it was that personal part of, you know, I’m not a trained and I expert, although I do coach in that space for some corporations. And it was just something I felt I needed to do to to contribute and make a difference during that very difficult period in America’s history so that I could make a difference.

Stone Payton: Well, I’m asking some of these questions because I know many of our listeners are entrepreneurs. Some are coaches, consultants. You know, they have a book in them. And I think sometimes maybe they could use a little bit of inspiration or a little bit of a nudge to get going and get started on it. But again, on this book, when you got it together, was it a little bit scary to sort of put it out in the world and then like, wait and see how it was received?

Eva Medilek: You know, I actually got really excited once I finished it because it was such a huge accomplishment to get me out of procrastination because of the fear. And once I finished it and got the book cover design and everything, I was real excited actually to get it out in the world and have people have it as a as a resource that they could always refer to. But yeah, all of the feelings were there of fear. It was just something I felt out of my own satisfaction that I, I accomplished it and, and I got help. Here’s the kicker. I got help to be able to accomplish it. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs try to do so many things on their own. And success is really, really lonely. And we work a lot in isolation. And when that happens, a lot of times it really slows us down. And I had to get someone to really hold me accountable to to the milestones and the benchmarks that I set for myself to get the book written. And once I did that, I actually came in ahead of my deadline. So it was pretty cool.

Stone Payton: Oh, so on these topics, diversity, equity, inclusion, I came across a term in your write up as I was preparing to to have this conversation inclusive intelligence. Can you speak to that a little bit?

Eva Medilek: You know, I can because it really is a level of awareness and intelligence on how to be inclusive. And what I mean by that is it’s a skill. It’s a skill. It’s something that’s learned. It’s something that doesn’t come naturally to us in how to formulate conversations, if you will, that creates safety and inclusivity. There’s a certain level of intelligence. We have emotional intelligence, right? We’ve got personal intelligence. We hear all of the X and peaks, but how do we create a level of intelligence that gives that supports inclusivity? How I want to say that it supports people of different backgrounds, different upbringings, different education to feel included. In the space to feel seen, heard and acknowledged in the space. And that’s the level of intelligence.

Stone Payton: So as if you didn’t already have enough irons in the fire, as my daddy would say. You also host your own radio show. Talk about that a little bit. Tell us about the format of the show and what you’re trying to accomplish with that.

Eva Medilek: You know, my show is called What’s Important Now? Making Time for what matters most and the intention of the show is to really support people in getting clear on what really matters to them, what the priorities in our lives are. Because when we’re chasing so many shiny objects, if you will, which leads to burnout and overwhelm, we actually lose sight of what’s really important to us. So I bring on guests and experts, a lot of authors who help us prioritize our health, prioritize our mental health, our emotional health, our physical health, prioritize some of the dreams and goals that we have. Prioritize and get clear on what matters most to us in all areas of our lives. And this show is on the Voice of America Influencers channel right now. It airs live Tuesdays at 1 p.m. Pacific Time, and it’s been really fun speaking to people from all walks of life and leadership and who have been through some challenges on their own and really share how they’ve overcome those challenges and hopefully will help some of the listeners get clear on what matters most to them.

Stone Payton: Well, I’ll tell you, my experience has been as a ton of fun and I feel like I learned so much and have built, I mean, lifelong relationships that have sort of launched from having a conversation with someone on air. I got to tell you again, if you if you enjoy building relationships with people and you’re a life learner, get yourself a radio show. Don’t you agree? Oh, man, it is so much fun. Before we wrap, I’d love to circle back to this this idea, this topic of of burnout. And maybe if you could share, I don’t know, maybe a handful of pro tips things that we can be thinking about, reading, doing, not doing, just to make a little bit of headway against this, this thing called burnout.

Eva Medilek: Well, you know, I actually have a PDF called Five Ways to Reverse Burnout that if anybody’s, you know, even metallic dot com forward slash reverse burnout. But basically it really is being proactive to set yourself up to win and to create the energy that you need so that you don’t burn out. And so I would say the number one thing is to establish routines and especially a morning routine. A morning routine has been proven to wipe out 20% of stress and brings you preparedness for the day and again, reset like a pit stop. Don’t work on any one task, if you will, for more than an hour before you get up and take a break, move, have water, have an energy generating snack or whatever. But just give yourself that that break that those little breaks, strategic breaks in the day. I never schedule my meetings back to back. I always give a 15 minute buffer so that I can reset and recharge myself. And I think one of the number one things to preventing burnout or creating energy is to really make sure you get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep to optimize your performance per night. So those are three things you can start to do right now to just start generating more energy for your performance during the day.

Stone Payton: I am so glad that I asked. That sounds like marvelous counsel and I think the number one pro tip for those of you out there listening is reach out, have a conversation with Eva or someone on her team. Tap into this radio show of hers. Read the book. Attend to attend a class. Let’s make it easy for our listeners to connect with you and tap into your work. I want them to have access to this book. I want them to be able to get to the show. So whatever you feel like is appropriate website, LinkedIn, email. But let’s leave them with a with a way to connect with you.

Eva Medilek: Eva Oh, absolutely. My website is Eva Metallica, and you can actually download a free gift on there. You can read about the book and the form that I put on and you can have a link to listen to some of the past episodes of the radio show on there as well.

Stone Payton: Well, Eva, it has been an absolute delight having you on the program this afternoon. Thank you for sharing your insight, your perspective, your energy. This has been an inspiring, informative conversation and the work you’re doing is so important and it has such tremendous impact. I’m sure not only with the individuals and the teams you’re working with, but then in turn the people that they are leading with and and through. Thank you so much.

Eva Medilek: Well, I appreciate the opportunity to be on your show. Thank you for having me.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. All right. Until next time, this is Stone Payton for our guest today, Eva Metalik and everyone here at the Business Radio X family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.