When you have the opportunity to ask some of the most interesting people in the world about their lives, sometimes the most fascinating answers come from the simplest questions. The Thrive Questionnaire is an ongoing series that gives an intimate look inside the lives of some of the world’s most successful people.
Thrive Global: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
Tiffani Bova: Actually it’s right before I get out of bed. I take a few minutes to think about the day, what I’m thankful for, what I have in front of me. It puts me in the right frame of mind when I start my day.
TG: What gives you energy?
TB: At this point in my career, I think it is the fact that in some small way I get to make a difference each day. Working for a company and a CEO that allows me the opportunity to give back and pay it forward energizes me on those long days.
TG: What’s your secret life hack?
TB: Trust the process. The journey is never a straight line. Life will present you with amazing opportunities as well as challenges. But believing you can work through it no matter what is liberating.
TG: Name a book that changed your life.
TB: The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle. It was early in my career when I first read it, and while I didn’t understand it as well as I do now, it had a profound impact on my day to day (mental) focus on what was really important. I have since re-read it 2-3 times.
TG: Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?
TB: Sometimes, she’s finicky, my phone. Sometimes she is really demanding, other times she needs to be left alone. I’ll say this, it is still a work in process for me on this front.
TG: How do you deal with email?
TB: I try to always respond within 24 hours—my inbox shadows as my to-do list so I manage it accordingly.
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?
TB: Think. Ponder. Enjoy the quiet.
TG: When was the last time you felt burned out and why?
TB: Just recently. This was a full year for me. I launched a podcast, wrote a book, and did my day job, which had me traveling over 200,000 miles all over the world. I had no time to give myself the breaks I usually get. This was literally the first time I had pushed myself this hard at work—and I actually hit a wall. I had nothing left to give. The good news is, I have time to recover and re-energize, and reflect on all the ‘firsts’ I had this year. There is nothing I would change.
TG: When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
TB: Failing myself is one thing, failing others is entirely different. I have high expectations, which sometimes sets me up for failure, all self induced. So I have learned to balance what I want to do, what I can do, and what I am able to do in a way that lets me fail and recover more quickly. I would never try to eliminate failure, as I think that is where you learn your best lessons.
TG: Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace.
TB: “You win or you learn—you never lose.”
Tiffani Bova is the global customer growth and innovation evangelist at Salesforce. Recognized in 2014 as one of the most Powerful and Influential Women in California by the National Diversity Council, Top 50 Marketing Thought Leaders by Brand Quarterly Magazine in 2016 and Inc. Magazine’s 37 Sales Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter and a Top Sales Influencer on LinkedIn. Bova is a highly sought after keynote speaker having delivered over 300 keynote presentations around the globe to over 300,000 people on sales transformation and business model innovation. A regular contributor to HuffPost, Harvard Business Review, Marketing Matters on Wharton Business Radio – SiriusXM and Forbes plus various industry leading podcasts on sales, marketing and digital business. Here new podcast “What’s Next! with Tiffani Bova” has become one of the top 100 business and marketing podcasts on iTunes in 2017, and won top Sales and Marketing Podcast by Top Sales Magazine.