“Do one thing each day that scares you.”

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“Do one thing each day that scares you.”

—Eleanor Roosevelt, longest-serving First Lady of the United States

Photo from Flickr by Nikki Collett

Photo from Flickr by Nikki Collett

I’m not a big fan of being scared. I don’t care for heights, roller coasters are not on my list of fun activities, and I’m unlikely to go to scary movies. Why are such activities so popular with many people?

Facing my fears gives me a booster shot of “Aliveness.”  When I examine the fears I held as I entered and pursued my career in coaching, these things happened:

  • I resigned from the stability of a Fortune 500 Company, without a salary to support myself, my wife, and my two young children.
  • I spent three months networking and reaching out to people I did not know, with no tangible results.
  • I gave many talks and speeches (public speaking is one of most people’s fears) to numerous groups to create awareness of my services.
  • I tapped into savings to secure an office instead of working from home to save money.

EXERCISE:

What one thing will you do today that scares you and will help you achieve an authentic goal and fulfill more of your highest potential?

“Quiet People have the Loudest Minds”

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“Quiet people have the loudest minds.”

-Stephen Hawking, English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge

Photo from Flickr by NASA HQ Photos

Photo from Flickr by NASA HQ Photos

For any of our readers who, like me, are interested in the study of the universe, black holes, and quantum mechanics, Stephen Hawking is a rock star. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein.

It the early 60s he contracted Motor Neuron Disease and was given only two years to live, which thankfully was proven wrong, given his distinguished career and great contributions to science.

In spite of his almost total paralysis and inability to speak without a speech generating device, Hawking has had one of the loudest minds of our time, and resoundingly gets his message across, making a considerable dent in our understanding of the universe.

EXERCISE:

If you are a quiet individual, or if you have quiet people in your professional or personal life, how can you more fully capture and appreciate the volume and value of this quiet inner world?

Small thing big shadow

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“Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.”

-Swedish Proverb

Photo from Flickr by Stuart Anthony

Photo from Flickr by Stuart Anthony

When was the last time you examined your shadow just after dawn or just before dusk? You know – the times of day with the sun just peeks over the horizon, on either side of the day. It is at these times that the longest shadows are cast.

Worry, fear, dread, or that forbidding feeling we sometimes experience is just like these shadows in that they make small issues so much larger and ominous than they actually are.

EXERCISE:

Imagine a world where it is always high noon – where the dark shadow of worry is either very small, or nonexistent.

How can you exercise your optimistic attitude, enthusiasm, and positive perspective so that you can carry around your own sunshine, making your life and the life of others brighter?

“Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.”

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“Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.”
-W. Somerset Maughman, British playwright, novelist and short story writer

Photo from Flickr by Nikki Collett

Photo from Flickr by Natural Turn

If you, as a loyal reader of The Quotable Coach series ever visited my website or received an email from me, you will have noted a quote by Tuli Kupferberg: “When patterns are broken new worlds will emerge.”

A critical aspect of why the coaching process supports people in achieving new and better results is your willingness to break the patterns of behavior that have brought you to this point in your professional and personal life.

Included in these patterns are habits, rituals, and traditions that may limit your capacity to move forward toward a highly desired goal or objective.

EXERCISE:

Examine if, or to what extent, your current personal or professional traditions may be imprisoning and limiting your freedom to pursue your fullest potential.

“Less is the new More”

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“Less is the new more.”
-JP Chartier, Canadian Author

The words “less” and “more” are among the most powerful terms used in a coaching discussion. When explored in depth, they have the power to transform your life.

You’re probably familiar with the metaphor of life being a jar that contains all our “stuff.”

Chartier’s quote suggests that we take a hard look into our jar and take the necessary steps to remove items that are no longer of optimal service to us.

When we do this, we experience the freedom and greater maneuverability this less-cramped space provides. Should we choose, we now have more room for the great stuff we desire.

EXERCISE:

Look into your own “life vessel” and create a list of things you would like to have less of in order to make room for the things you desire.

Feel free to reply to this post with your own less/more list, and share this intention with a friend, family member, or coach to support you in fulfilling this intention.

Failure is not Permanent

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“Failure is a bruise, not a tattoo.”

—John Sinclair, American poet, writer, and political activist

Photo from Flickr by Tanisha Pina

Photo from Flickr by Tanisha Pina

When was the last time you skinned your knee, or cut yourself prepping a meal?

What was your immediate reaction (after the expletives)?

My guess is that you cleaned the wound, then allowed the healing process to begin. Do you recall how long it took to heal completely?

Unfortunately, many people experience failure as a wound that never heals, a wound that has the permanence of a tattoo, remaining for a lifetime.

EXERCISE:

How many failures do you wear, personally or professionally, as unwanted tattoos?

What change of perspective or other work is required for you to heal what you’ve believed was permanent?

“Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.”

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“Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.”

-Albert Camus, French Nobel Prize winning author, journalist, and philosopher

QC #636

Our society embraces youth, beauty, and vitality. These qualities coincide with spring and summer, where new growth begins and we bloom into our fullness.

As we age, we enter the autumn of our lives. I embrace the metaphor of leaves, in all their wondrous colors, being a second spring. With aging and life experience, we can discover new forms of inner beauty and wisdom.

Exercise:

How can you embrace every moment and every season of your life?

What beauty can you find in where you are and who you have become?

one likes foolish people

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“Sometimes one likes foolish people for their folly, better than wise people for their wisdom.”

– Elizabeth Gaskell, British Victorian-Era Novelist

Photo from Flickr by Patrick

Photo from Flickr by Patrick

I consider the Quotable Coach posts as serious business, nuggets of wisdom I hope impact your life.

This quote by Elizabeth Gaskell stopped me in my tracks, and caused me to take more detours to a lighter and jovial side of life. It’s caused me to strengthen my funny bone and avoid the osteoporosis of too much sitting on the mountain of wisdom.

EXERCISE

How can you embrace the foolishness and folly within yourself and others to strengthen your own funny bone, and live a more complete, fulfilling and happier life?

Please feel free to reply to this message, and share any insight you may have on this subject.

“Kindness causes us to learn, and to forget, many things.”

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“Kindness causes us to learn, and to forget, many things.”

– Madame Swetchine, 18th Century Russian Mystic & Writer

Photo from Flickr by Margaret Almon

Photo from Flickr by Margaret Almon

What would happen if we lived in a much kinder world?

Today’s quote suggests first that we would learn more, perhaps due to the openness and receptivity kindness provides.

We would also forget many of life’s speed bumps because kindness has the capacity to help us forgive others and jettison the memories that hold us back.

EXERCISE

How can you intentionally and generously expand your level of kindness to those in your professional and personal worlds?

Notice what this effort helps you learn, and perhaps forget, through the process.

“It’s easy to get people’s attention; what counts is getting their interest.”

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“It’s easy to get people’s attention; what counts is getting their interest.”

-Philip Randolph, Civil Rights Activist

Photo from Flickr by Kathleen Donovan

Photo from Flickr by Kathleen Donovan

If you haven’t been sleeping the past few years, you, too, have experienced an onslaught of technological, attention-and-interest grabbing resources, such as:

  • Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn
  • Mobile Apps
  • Skype, Facetime
  • YouTube, Video Games, Satellite or Cable TV
  • Blogs, email

Observe people in any mall, shopping center, or restaurant, and notice what percent are heads-down, looking at their smartphones.

What percentage of these attention-grabbing pursuits also engage people’s sincere interest and make some meaningful contributions?

EXERCISE

Given that the speed and amount of attention-grabbing choices will increase dramatically in the years ahead, what strategies have you found useful to sort through the abundance of options, to find and select the items that are of interest to you in your professional and personal lives?

Please reply to this post with your most helpful strategies.