Archive for Coaching
Curious about Coaching But Afraid of What Might Happen?
Posted by: | CommentsI believe in coaching.
I’ve sought out coaching in every phase of my life. I think back to one of my very first coaches (when I was in my twenties) and can’t believe I actually did what she wanted me to do to get a raise. **
But I did it. Not only did I get a raise and a new title — I also got a car. I got a car when no one in my position got a car.
AND…I got the car I wanted, a sporty convertible, simply because I asked.
That wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gotten coached.
Good coaches make you do the things you probably don’t want to do, so you can be successful.
So really…there’s no reason not to give it a try.
That’s why I just created the “30 Minute Mentor” program. For people just like you.
Entrepreneurs, authors, service-based small biz owners, solo-preneurs, healers and other coaches.
We all need coaching.
We need it for clarity; to get perspective on a decision, to learn more about ourselves, to get answers to specific questions and for personal and professional development.
So what stops you?
Is it the fear that you’ll be sold into a long term program? The choice is always yours. I may solve the issue you have in a 30 minute session. Sometimes it’s all you need. A checkup of sorts. And then there are times you’ll desire more. But that’s your choice to make.
Is it the fear that you won’t click with the coach? Read More→
Speaking to Grow Your Business: Crafting Your Personal Keynote to Sell Yourself
Posted by: | CommentsIf you want to market to your tribe and get immediate results there’s no faster way to do it than by speaking.
Think about it. By speaking directly to your right audience, providing immediate value and then enrolling them in your services and programs you’d serve a greater percent of your target market than any other marketing option.
Why? Because your market wants to hear you, see you, learn from you as directly as possible. No internet marketing campaign can match the results of speaking. Speaking includes live events, seminars, keynotes, guest speaking or teleseminars.
So what do you do if you don’t like speaking, are afraid to speak, don’t know what to say or how to say it to sell yourself? Read More→
Reinvention Intervention – Is It Time to Begin Again?
Posted by: | CommentsJoin Me September 13
Click Here to Learn More
Artist, Entrepreneur, Coach, Author and Hand Analyst
Posted by: | CommentsWhen I was a kid I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I loved to color and sketch and make things from the big “Make It!” book my mom always had on hand. That book satisfied my curiosity about how things were made and it sparked my creativity…not to mention saving my mother’s sanity!
My curiosity about how things were made probably accounts for my passion for the act of sewing…the how-to part. (Some people sew but only because they like the end result not the process–but I loved both.)
I loved figuring out how I could use the least amount of fabric when laying out a pattern often getting a better yield than the suggested layout.
For me the “fun” part would be figuring out how to cut an “uneven” plaid so every seam of a pleated skirt would match perfectly. That’s just how my brain works.
This obsession with “figuring things out” showed up in my life in the oddest moments. I remember sitting in my office on the 34th floor looking north up 7th Avenue (in Manhattan) and watching an office building being built a few blocks uptown.
I was fascinated by how quickly progress was made and each day I walked into my office with great anticipation as to what would happen next.
But the one thing I couldn’t figure out was how the construction elevator rose above the floor that was being constructed before there even was a floor! It was like watching magic.
Finally, I could stand it no longer and broke down and called my father, a retired electrician. I said, “Pop, how do they get the elevator up when the floor isn’t even completed?”
He told me they build it as they go and explained the process.
“They build it as they go.” Seems like the same process we use to build a business. Build and add a new floor as you get a little further along. I know that’s what I have been doing.
You might have noticed these recent additions to my services: hand analysis and new coaching programs. It’s the build as you go philosophy.
I love hand analysis the same way I loved figuring out how to lay out a pattern or sew a besom pocket. There is a certain “eureka” at the end. The light bulb goes on and everything is “illuminated” as though you’ve never seen the very thing you’re looking at before.
That’s what hand analysis does. It “highlights” your innate talents and purpose. It adds a whole new layer of information that colors and adds definition and detail to an individual that may not have been “visible” before. Like holding a letter written in lemon juice over a heat source.
The message was always there…you just couldn’t see it until you had “the secret.”
Hand analysis reveals your purpose and the pattern that keeps showing up for you as a “stall” or a “wall” in front of your success. It’s the “secret” without actually being a clandestine process.
What I mean by that is that hand analysis is a repeatable process. It is not a predictive tool but a tool to help you understand yourself in the moment.
Couldn’t you use a little more light on your life purpose and your life lesson? Certainly it helped me.
Check out this April Showers Special Here: Hand Analysis for You.
Reinventing Yourself? Know Thy Talents
Posted by: | CommentsIf you are due for a change–a personal Spring cleaning, of sorts–you’ll want to take note of your talents and passions. What comes naturally and easy for you? Talents, which are innate, are different than abilities, which are learned.
The next time you feel a lack of confidence, remind yourself of the talents you naturally possess. Talents don’t come and go; they are with you all the time. Speaking of time, the things you are truly passionate about are the ones that make you lose track of time. Passions may be things that come so easily for you, you can’t imagine why anyone would pay you to do it.
If you are reinventing yourself but don’t quite know what you want to be this time around, well, those passions and talents of yours are the things you want to put at the top of your list!
You have every reason to remain confident knowing that you always have talents that can be accessed and used when you need them. Don’t pooh-pooh anything. Remember, Oprah loves to teach, Martha Stewart loves homemaking, The Cake Boss loves to bake, Denise Austin loves to exercise and Andrew Zimmern loves to eat weird food! Hardly the things we think would make a lucrative career.
Dismiss nothing. Consider everything. You just never know what you can turn into a living and have fun doing it.
Let me know what you’re passionate about.
Still not sure what you want to be when you grow up? Then call me for a FREE Strategy Session and let’s get you on the right path.
Inner Communication is the Key to Reinvention
Posted by: | CommentsI believe that the most important conversation you can have is the one you have with yourself.
Have Some Fun!
In my new teleseminar series, “Reinvention Intervention – 5 Really Smart and Simple Steps for Relaunching Your Life”, I talk about the #1 thing that keeps you from living the life you want to live, keeps you from making timely decisions, and keeps you in a place of frustration.
So, what is it–you ask. It’s the failure to make a choice. A decision. Yup, it’s that simple. We live in limbo land and rationalize the end result of possibilities and create endless lists of pros and cons until we are blue in the face–but we never quite commit to a, well…a commitment.
I use that word purposely, because commitment tends to feel like a heavy yoke on our shoulders, weighing us down with responsibilities when in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Not making a decision is what weighs us down. Making a decision is freeing and liberating. Making a decision lifts the fog. Making a decision propels you forward.
If you’re serious about reinventing yourself, you are, my friend, going to have to make a decision. Probably a bunch of them…but, let’s start with one.
Making a decision is a declaration to move in a direction based on your bigger why. The “why” is the compelling reason to change that supersedes all others. It’s the single compelling force that allows you to forge ahead even when the cons seem to outweigh the pros.
And yet, this inner conversation is often the one we fail to initiate with ourselves because it means acknowledging that undefinable thing. That thing we call “gut” feeling or hunch or, if you are more enlightened…your intuition. It means listening very closely for the the truth and, that is indeed, scary.
Here’s the remedy for failure to decide: Put down the pen and paper and go talk a walk. Get out of your office or away from the kitchen table and engage your right brain. Play a game, play with your kids, play hoops, hula hoop, or potsy, frankly, I don’t care. Do anything but think logically.
And then, get quiet and listen to what you are feeling. Get beneath the chatter and you’ll find your feelings. Pay attention. Now, you’ll know what to do.
But, you know this is only the start to your reinvention – don’t you? If you’re living with a sick feeling in the pit of stomach because your life is passing quickly and you’re scared you’re never going to live a life that has meaning for you then join me for The Reinvention Intervention-5 Really Smart and Simple Steps to Relaunch Your Life Teleseminar Series. You’ll discover how to stop feeling afraid to step into your passions, gain the confidence to make decisions and create a map for the next phase of your life!
Communicating and Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude at Work
Posted by: | CommentsIf there is one thing we should we should be communicating daily it’s gratitude. Expressing gratitude in the workplace is the key to fostering good relationships and cultivating a pleasant working environment.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a staff member or the manager in charge, you can use small tokens of appreciation to change your working atmosphere from negative or neutral to positive and expansive.
Here are a few ways to express your gratitude and make a difference.
Things to say:
- “I’m happy you’re here.”
- “I’m grateful you’re my coworker (or on my team.”)
- “I appreciate your smile–it cheers up my day.”
Things to do:
- Put a few words of gratitude on a colorful sticky note and tack it above a coworkers desk.
- Write a few words of appreciation on small slips of paper and stuff them into fortune cookies. Keep them personalized to each recipient.
- Create a weekly gratitude day–don’t make it a big deal–just catch a coworker in an act of kindness or generosity and let them know you appreciate their caring gesture. Listen, we all know who makes the coffee, this is a good time to acknowledge it.
Creating a culture of gratitude will yield greater profits than what’s visible on the bottom line–though it will certainly contribute to that result.
Try it. Let me know what works for you by leaving a comment below.
I’m grateful for you– my readers and clients–today and everyday. Thank you for showing up and participating. Happy Thanksgiving to my U.S. friends.
You can find more information on this topic in my book, Misunderstood! The Fast Guide to Communicating at Work–What to Say, How to Say It and When to Shut Up. Get it at Amazon.com today.
People Just Want to be Acknowledged and Appreciated
Posted by: | CommentsThe deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated. ~ William James
It’s true that the number one motivator for employees is appreciation. Whether you are motivating employees, students, co-workers or your children practice giving motivation that suits his or her’s learning style–auditory, visual and kinesthetic.
Take the time to “tell” the auditory person what you appreciate about them rather than sending an email, writing a note or even giving a gift. Hearing the words live and in-person really connects with the auditory. So get up and tell them in person. Or pass out fortune cookies stuffed with words of praise and have them read their good fortunes aloud.
Visuals love notes, plaques and anything they can both see and display for others to see. Keep those cards and letters coming. I used colorful, post notes to write short boldly colored words of thanks for my visual staff. They displayed them on their cupboards like a display of “first place” blue ribbons.
A pat on the back goes a long way for the kinesthetic people. They want to feel the love. A hug, handshake or high-five tugs at the heartstrings of these feeling folks.
Coworkers and clients will shift their attitude and raise morale. Everyone benefits.
Find more tips on communicating with your team in Allie’s book, Misunderstood! The Fast Guide to Communicating at Work–What to Say, How to Say It and When to Shut Up. Buy it now at Amazon.
Information Contact Allie at 407-313-4967
or Ask Your Questions on the Contact Page
