“Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.”

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“Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.”

– Ralph Marston, American writer

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Image from Flickr by Tambako the Jaguar

Imagine you are a high-quality battery in a new electric vehicle. When fully charged, you have ability to transport yourself and your cargo 100 miles. As you plan your trips, you are very careful to determine the exact distances you are traveling – and make absolutely certain you are home or at another recharging station with enough time to be prepared for your next excursion.

Unfortunately, many of us expect ourselves and others to always be at full charge emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually – which is not always the case. We even get upset and frustrated with ourselves and others when we fall short of this unrealistic target.

Exercise:

Consider picking up a copy of The Power of Full Engagement (www.amazon.com/The-Power-Full-Engagement-Performance/dp/0743226755) by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz and explore many of their energy-saving and energy-restoring strategies to help you get back to work and accomplish the important things you desire.

Feel free to reply with your own most effective recharging strategies.

Do a Little More

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“Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can.”

– Lowell Thomas, American journalist

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Image from Flickr by Jessa9

Exploring our limits is a useful exercise in a coaching relationship. By doing more, we usually achieve more.

I attend a local fitness center called Lifetime Fitness – which is a great name and an excellent example of branding. Among the staff are 25 personal trainers who support thousands of individuals to achieve their personal fitness goals. With physical and sometimes mental coaches by their side, people discover that they are able to do a little more each day than they think they can.

Exercise:

In what areas of your personal or professional life are you capable of one more rep, one more mile, or a little more of something than yesterday?

Select a friend, family member, mentor or coach in your life to push or pull you to be your very best each and every day.

You can even be your own coach by establishing a “one more …” Post-it note reminder in strategically placed locations in your environment.

“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.”

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“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.”

– Publilius Syrus, Roman writer

491Image from Flickr by Hammerin Man.

Who are some of the people you most admire in your personal and professional life? Which of their qualities make them stand out as people whose ship you’d sail upon?

Below is a short list of qualities to consider:

  • Leadership
  • Courage
  • Fortitude
  • Boldness
  • Passion
  • Integrity
  • Honor

Exercise:

What qualities would you add that represent the “right stuff” to help us navigate the rougher seas of life?

Where might you benefit from some extra sailing lessons, so that others would put you on their list of admirable individuals?

“There’s always some further action to take.”

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“There’s always some further action to take.”

– Pierre Boulle, French novelist

490Image from Flickr by Celestine Chua.

One of my favorite coaching techniques is called the “pivot point”. It involves three steps:

Step 1: Assessing the current reality of a situation.

Step 2: Identifying and choosing a vision for the future that you (and perhaps others) desire.

Step 3: Selecting and taking the next appropriate action to get you to your desired goal or objective.

Taking Step 1 alone can provide for considerable awareness … but it will leave you right where you are. Taking Step 2 leaves you with only a possible future, or what some may call “wishful thinking”.

By taking the last and final action step, you can make these potential futures real.

Exercise:

Where are you currently stuck at Step 1 or Step 2 in your personal or professional pivots? How can you take the next action step?

“One resolution I have made and always try to keep is this: to rise above the little things.”

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“One resolution I have made and always try to keep is this: to rise above the little things.”

– John Burrows, American naturalist and essayist

489Image from Flickr by Dave M Photography.

Are you familiar with the term “pot hole”? Here in Michigan, these holes in our roads have become a substantial issue. It is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate our roadways to reach our destinations without bumps and substantial zigging and zagging.

Consider what “pot holes” in your personal and professional life are slowing you down, getting in your way or simply taking up attention that would be better focused on other matters.

Exercise:

How will you rise above these issues or simply patch these holes for good and move faster toward your objectives?

the risk to remain tight

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“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

– Anaïs Nin, author

SONY DSCImage from Flickr by Matt Brittaine.

Safety and security are strong values for many people. They represent part of our collective comfort zones that play an important part in who we are. Unfortunately, there is often a very limiting and sometimes painful consequence to this “better safe than sorry” approach to life.

Exercise:

If a flower misses the rain and sunshine by not blooming, what are you potentially missing by not summoning the courage to blossom into your full expression of yourself? What actions will you take today to blossom?

Please reply and let me know what happens.

Help Choose the Cover for The Quotable Coach Book

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Thanks so much for offering your thoughts on the title for my book. By popular demand, I’ve titled it The Quotable Coach: Daily Nuggets of Practical Wisdom.
We’ve been through an exciting and fast-paced design process during the past week, and now have four options to choose from.
Thanks again for all your support,
Barry

 

“Values are critical guides for making decisions. When in doubt, they cut through the fog like a beacon in the night.”

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“Values are critical guides for making decisions. When in doubt, they cut through the fog like a beacon in the night.”

—Robert Townsend (attrib.)

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Image from Flickr by briant87

I am reading A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business, by Ari Weinzweig. He is the co-owner of Zingerman’s, located near the University of Michigan’s campus in Ann Arbor.

This book contains a wide variety of essays that show how Zingerman’s became what Bo Burlingham from Inc magazine refers to as “the coolest small company in America.”

Townsend’s quote speaks to the very heart of what makes Zingerman’s, with now over 500 employees, a great place to eat and work.

Exercise:

Google Zingerman’s to do a bit of research into how their values guide their decisions and why they are famous for “the Zingerman experience.” You can even use their mail-order business at zingermancommunity.com to get a literal taste for yourself.

“Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.”

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“Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson, American writer and philosopher

487Image from Flickr by Celestine Chua.

Self-reflective work, as part of a coaching journey, can produce remarkable results. Pursuing greater inner peace through some of the seven strategies below may help:

1. Seek to love and appreciate others and not control them.

2. Moderate your convictions and consider the viewpoints and perspectives of others.

3. Increase your tolerance of others who are different; learn to better “live and let live.”

4. Embrace your ability to have compassion for others and avoid all forms of violence.

5. Seek forgiveness when you hurt others and be willing to forgive those that may hurt you.

6. Create a naturally beautiful place of peace in your world to provide a sanctuary away from the chaos of your fast-moving life.

7. Do work that you love – that makes a difference in the lives of others – even if this is not your primary vocation. Consider volunteering for a cause you believe in.

Exercise:

Please engage with at least one of the strategies above and determine how it helps you live a more peaceful life.

Consider discussing this list with others in your world, so that you can take this peaceful journey together.

Please reply to this post with some of your best peace-producing strategies to add to the list.

“It’s amazing how a little tomorrow can make up for a whole lot of yesterday.”

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“It’s amazing how a little tomorrow can make up for a whole lot of yesterday.”

– John Guare, American playwright

485Image from Flickr by symphony of love.

How happy are you at this very moment? Notice what is going on around you and pay particular attention to your thoughts. Do you think more about the past, present or future? Virtually all coaching relationships pay attention to all three, focusing particularly on each client’s intended vision for the future.

Regardless of whether your yesterday was good, bad or somewhere in between, a little tomorrow, with its hope and intended advancement, can be a great life elixir to pick you up.

Exercise:

As you look back on yesterday, complete today, and look forward to tomorrow, what do you notice?

Feel free to reply with any insights you have.