Walk Your Talk

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Barry

“You cannot talk your way out of something you behaved yourself into.”

—Stephen Covey, American self-help author

Image from nxtlvlc.com

Actions speak louder than words. They are all we really have to turn our dreams of a better future into a reality.

Consider a business leader whose behavior is inconsistent with the core values and corporate vision he claims to follow. Consider the individual who constantly brings up his interest in health and wellness, yet makes unhealthy choices and rarely engages in physical activity.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life can you bring greater alignment between your words and your actions?
To whom, beside yourself, will you make the promises? What added support will be required to ensure this new level of personal responsibility?

When the Student is Ready

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Barry

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

-Gautama Buddha, on whose teaching Buddhism was founded

image from kevingcook.com

When people say, “perception is reality,” they often mean that the way we perceive something makes it real. What if we don’t perceive an issue, challenge, or lesson to be learned, simply because it is invisible to us?

As a student, we must first see a situation and determine that there is value, opportunity, or benefit in it. Only then is there the potential to hear the teacher and see how they might assist us in understanding the lesson.

EXERCISE:

Where are you stopped or stuck in your life? Where are your efforts to move forward being thwarted? To whom could you go with the challenge you face, to determine your readiness and receptivity to the lesson?

Don’t Stumble

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Barry

“Don’t stumble over something behind you.”

-Seneca, Roman Stoic Philosopher

Image from lovethispic.com

Where do you live? Regardless of city, state, or country, we all live first and foremost in our thoughts.

How often do you think of past events or experiences that were negative or upsetting? We have the ability and tendency to travel back in time to revisit – and yes, stumble over – the same events and all their limiting feelings.

EXERCISE:

Image you were born with a factory-installed time machine with three settings: past, present, and future.

How would you use your current level of self-awareness and intentionality to limit your negative journeys to the past in order to maximize your experience of the present?

Who Looks Outside

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Barry

“Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakes.”

—Carl Gustav Jung, founder of analytic psychology

Image from zdnet.com

I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of exploring new worlds. I was a fan of Mr. Wizard as a child, and dreamed of being an astronaut. The Discovery Channel is one of my favorites, and my first career was as a science teacher.

As I aged and pursued adventure, personal growth, and my current career in coaching, I found new excitement in taking frequent journeys into the land inside of my mind and heart – without the assistance of a rocket or a space suit.

EXERCISE:

Chose a practice such as meditation, prayer, journaling, or reading insightful, thought-provoking books and blogs to explore the worlds inside of you, and engage in new journeys of self-discovery.

What’s Important Now

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Barry

“W.I.N. – What’s Important Now”

—Author Unknown

Image from behappy.me

When people enter a coaching relationship and set their course on a better professional and personal life, winning, or their definition of winning, is the goal.

What does winning the game of life mean to you? What would you like to improve? What new areas would you like to explore? What obstacles and barriers would you eliminate or overcome?

One of the primary reasons we don’t always achieve all that we desire is because we become distracted by unimportant matters that take up too much time.

EXERCISE:

Let’s say that the 80/20 rule is a fact, and that 20% of what we do each day that we consider important produces 80% of our desired results.

What winning results could you produce if you would focus 40%, 60%, 80%, or ultimately 100% of your efforts on what is most important? Do the math!

In the Real World

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Barry

“In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm. In the real world all rests on perseverance.”

–Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 19th Century German writer and statesman

image from iRuler.net

Who doesn’t admire and become inspired by the enthusiastic leader with a great idea? It is pretty easy to get caught up in the possibilities of some new and better future.

When reality sets in, we all would note that only a very tiny set of these ideas ever come to fruition. Rigorous execution of a great or even good idea is priceless in our world of metrics and quantifiable results.

EXERCISE:

How can you use a “what gets measured gets done” perspective in your personal and professional world? Consider generating the necessary perseverance to have your best and most enthusiastically shared idea become real.

Nothing Ventured

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Barry

“Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.”

—Geoffrey Chaucer, 15th Century English Poet

image from urbana.ie

Take a moment today to look back over your life at some of your most memorable and significant accomplishments. Pay particular attention to the level of effort and engagement it took for you to realize these noteworthy achievements.

How much did you venture to realize these gains? We can’t relive or change the past, but the future is literally a blank canvas on which we can venture forward to realize gains of remarkable scale and scope.

EXERCISE:

What would be possible if you took a “many things ventured, many things gained” perspective today and in the days ahead? What will be the first action you plan to take to make the years ahead even more remarkable and rewarding?

Finding Fault

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Barry

“Finding fault replaces peace of mind.”

—Author Unknown

Image from alarminfo.org

There doesn’t seem to be much peace of mind, serenity, tranquility, or calmness in people’s lives or in the world these days. In our hyper-connected, media-inundated society, the levels of judgement, blaming, and outright hostility are unprecedented.

In addition to conducting your own version of a media diet or even a complete media fast, take a very close look at your immediate professional and personal worlds to determine the level of fault-finding you observe and perhaps initiate.

EXERCISE:

Beginning with yourself, make an extra effort to see what is right with people and in the world around you, and replace fault finding with the peace of mind you desire.

Create What you Want

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Barry

“Sometimes you gotta create what you want to be part of.”

-Geri Weitzman, PhD, California Psychologist

Doing work I love is one of the greatest joys I know. Who wouldn’t want to wake up each day – especially Mondays – to a vocation or career that utilizes their strengths and unique abilities? Who wouldn’t want a career that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of others and the world around them?

I was inspired by the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games to start my career as a coach. In that ten-day span, 5,000 athletes worked with about 2,000 coaches, producing gold medal performances. I thought I’d bring this idea to the business world to help people pursue even greater levels of performance in their professional and personal lives.

The challenge was that business coaching wasn’t considered a “profession” at that time. Still, the idea seemed to be such a great fit for me, and I had gained a great deal from studying the few people who were beginning to be known as coaches. I resigned from my 12-year career as a pharmaceutical industry sales and marketing professional, and created a coaching career for myself. That was 24 years ago – and the best career decision I ever made!

EXERCISE:

Where in either your personal or professional worlds do you need to create something for yourself so that you can be a part of it?

Feelings Are Like Waves

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Barry

“Feelings are much like waves. We can’t stop them from coming but we can choose which ones to surf.”

-Author Unknown

Image from Flickr by Alain Bachellier

One of the greatest freedoms each of us has is the freedom to make choices on a daily basis. Examine your day closely. How many choices did you make intentionally, and how many by default, without thinking?

This examination along with its increased self-awareness will likely have you notice the accompanying feeling about what you are doing, and perhaps with whom you associate.

Today’s quote points us in the direction of actually choosing our perceptions, and thus our feelings, to catch only the waves we most desire.

EXERCISE:

Consider using a journal to capture your feelings as you surf through your day. How can you choose far more ideal waves that will give you the best rides of your life?