The Energy Advantage: How to Go from Managing Your Time to Managing Your Energy
Ricardo Sunderland
HarperCollinsLeadership (June 2024)

How and why your life energy flows out of an internal source

As Ricardo Sunderland explains in the first chapter, “The energy I discuss in this book — which I refer to as [begin italics] intentional [end italics]  — underlies our creativity and ability to impact others. When we have unconscious, mixed, or opposing intentions, we fight against ourselves and disrupt the creative process. When we learn to align our intentions– within ourselves and with the immediate group of people with whom we work — we tap into tremendous creativity.

“So that’s my goal in this book: to help you — whether you are a current or aspiring leader — make a shift that will be the key to your success.”

In this context, I am again reminded of a concept that Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (pronounced “Me-high CHEEK-sent-me-high-yee”) introduced in 1970. Briefly, he suggests that “flow” (i.e being in a zone, on a roll) is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one’s sense of time. Flow is the melting together of action and consciousness; the state of finding a balance between a skill and how challenging that task is. It requires a high level of concentration. Flow is often used as a coping skill for stress and anxiety when productively pursuing a form of leisure that matches one’s skill set.

These are among the passages in The Energy Advantage that are of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to indicate the nature and scope of Sunderland’s coverage:

o Understanding Human Energy (Pages 3-13)
o Mastering human energy (5-6, 114-115, 181-182, and 192-193)
o Freedom of Choice: Self-confidence (25 29)
o Centering Your Emotions (34-35 and 81-82)
o A Complex and Nonlinear Process (39-43)

o Level 1: Felt Sense (47-66)
o Being Present in the Moment: Exercises for breathing (59-60 and 62-63)
o Level 2: Love of self (67-92)
o Energy Givers (77-81 and 89-90)
o Self-acceptance (86-87)

o Level 3: Clarity of thought (93-112)
o Changing Your Mind (105-108)
o Family constellation modsel (113-114 and 117-122)
o Level 4: Loving interactions with family and friends (113-129)
o Boomerang Effect and belief systems (123-125)

o Level 5: Speaking and following your truth (136-153)
o Life’s purpose (137-138, 146-147, and 193-194)
o Level 6: Unconditional love for others (154-172)
o The Secular and the Spiritual Balance (161-163)
o Level 7: Seeking the greater universal pattern (173-186)

Sunderland introduces a process that can prepare almost anyone to activate a source of internal energy that can be managed to sustain efforts to achieve goals that would otherwise be inaccessible.  It is important to keep in mind that the best golfers do not sink every putt, the best basketball players do not sink every shot, and gamblers “on a roll” tend to lose whatever they’ve won…and then some. Flow seems to be a temporary state.

What Ricardo Sunderland proposes — a personal “journey” of discovery and growth —  has profound implications for those who are — or aspire to be — an effective leader. Possessing energy is fine but it must be mastered, controlled, and directed wherever and however it can be most effective.

Years ago, Thomas Edison observed, “Vision without execution is hallucination.” More recently, Darrell Royal observed, “Potential means you ain’t done it yet.”

Your move.

* * *

Here are two suggestions while you are reading The Energy Advantage: First, highlight key passages Also,  perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, action steps (preferably with deadlines), page references, and whatever you have learned that will be most helpful. Pay special attention to completion of the four “Homework” exercises as well as to the “Takeaways” at the end of Chapters 4-11.

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will facilitate, indeed expedite your frequent reviews of key material later.