Tag Archives: Barry Demp Coaching

“It is not the whistle that moves the train.”

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“It is not the whistle that moves the train.”

—D.V. Rangarajan

Image from Unsplash by Balazs Busznyak

When was the last time you heard the whistle of a train? What thoughts, emotions, and memories do you have from the past about trains?

A few that come to mind for me are:

  • Watching movies about the wild west as a kid
  • Taking the elevated train into the city
  • Playing with toy trains with my friends
  • Taking the Cog Railroad up Mount Washington
  • Riding Thunder Mountain countless times at Disney World
  • Waiting at railroad crossings and counting the cars as they passed, wondering when the train would end

For many of us, trains represent a special form of transportation that take considerable energy and work to move people and things from one place to another. Trains don’t just whistle and stand still. The sound of the whistle lets you know something hopefully good is coming or going your way.

EXERCISE:

In what ways do or can you offer a whistle or other signal to let others know that you back up your words with significant levels of locomotion?

 

“There is a child in every one of us who is still trick-or-treating looking for a brightly lit front porch.”

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“There is a child in every one of us who is still trick-or-treating looking for a brightly lit front porch.”

—Robert Brault, http://rbrault.blogspot.com/

Image from Unsplash by Conner Baker

When I was young, Halloween was the holiday that excited me most. The handmade costumes, the pillow cases used to gather candy, and our neighborhood lit up with almost every porch light was the best.

On evenings when the weather was mild and calm a good majority of our neighbors would meet us on their front steps to help optimize our trick-or-treating efforts.

No matter what costume you wore, every child became a pirate once they arrived home to count their booty.

EXERCISE:

What are some traditional and innovative ways you can foster the inner child in kids of all ages this Halloween and over the holiday season?

What are some ways to keep your porch lights on to welcome and encourage the youthful exuberance of others in your communities?

A brain dump may be just what the doctor ordered

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A brain dump may be just what the doctor ordered.

—Barry Demp

Image from Unsplash by XPS

How we carry our load of responsibilities when we are overwhelmed is very important to keeping our balance and not being crushed by the weight of things.

Breaking things down into smaller bites can help us to tackle even big challenges.

Steps I’ve found helpful include:

  1. Write down everything on your personal and professional To Do lists. This may take many sheets of paper. Keep asking “what else?” until you get it all.
  2. Estimate how many minutes each activity will take to complete.
  3. Prioritize the items that are both highly important and highly urgent. Be rigorous here, and consider discussing this list with others.
  4. Using your calendar, insert enough priority items to offer you a doable level of challenge, based on the time available.
  5. Share your intentions and plans with key individuals to establish agreed upon expectations, and to avoid upsets.

EXERCISE:

Schedule 15-60 minutes today to dump your brain and go through the steps above.
Be prepared to have this process take a number of days until you make this exercise a habit.
Share this exercise with a colleague, friend, family member, or a coach, to help you regain you momentum and the traction you desire.

Friday Review: Doubt

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Friday Review: Doubt

How often do you let doubt confuse or stop you? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

 

“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.”

 

 

 

 

“Inhale confidence, exhale doubt.”

 

 

 

“If people are doubting how far you’ll go, go so far that you can’t hear them anymore.”

 

 

 

“To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June.”

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“To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June.”

—Jean-Paul Sartre, 20th-century French philosopher

Image from Unsplash by Chris Lawton

With Labor Day behind us and the cooler days with less sunshine ahead, it can be useful to look at our perspective on the seasons.

What comes to mind when you think of the winter months versus summer?

In the animal kingdom various creatures traverse the globe to different climates to pursue food and other necessary resources. Others find ways to hibernate and hunker down for up to six months to ride out the chill.

How do you intend to enter this time of year to support your continued pursuit of personal and professional excellence?

What inner work can you explore to grow more reflective and soulful in the coming months when heading out for a walk may not always be your first inclination?

EXERCISE:

What are some of the poetic pursuits you intend to include in the days ahead to keep them as lovely as ever?

“You can lean over backwards so far that you can fall flat on your face.”

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“You can lean over backwards so far that you can fall flat on your face.”

—Ben H. Bagdkian, American educator and journalist

Image from Unsplash by Rarsai Chaikulngamdee

Are you a pushover? How often do you let others in your world take advantage of you?

Where have you become so flexible to the intentions and interests of others that you have lost your backbone and sense of self?

Let’s face it—It is impossible to get everyone to like us. If you have tried to do so by bending over backwards, accommodating what other want, you are destined to fall flat on your face or at least lose your way.

EXERCISE:

Where and with whom in your world is it time to straighten and strengthen your backbone?

Where would a boost of personal integrity and resolve to live life on your terms have others look to you for leadership in your various communities?

“Don’t make friends who are comfortable to be with. Make friends who will force you to level yourself up.”

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“Don’t make friends who are comfortable to be with. Make friends who will force you to level yourself up.”

—Thomas J. Watson, Founder of IBM

Image from Unsplash by Ruffa Jane Reyes

In how many ways are you a better person today than you were a year or two ago? If you can confirm that you are, it is likely because of the company you keep.

To what degree do you admire, respect, and wish to be like members of your family, friends and colleagues?

In what ways do they set a good example for you to strive for in your personal and professional efforts?

Alternatively, where do you see yourself plateaued and slipping into bad habits, or falling behind your former self? How have your close relationships played a role in your losing your edge in your pursuit of being your best?

EXERCISE:

Where are your friendships and key relationships in need of a reboot or upgrade?

How and in what ways can you help those around you level up and benefit from your friendship even more?

Which simple things in life do you appreciate?

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Which simple things in life do you appreciate?

—Calm app Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Maarten Deckers

We often complicate our lives with a multiplicity of stimulating things, only to realize that we have lost much of our sense of peace and well-being.

Keeping things simple will bring back the calm and serenity you hope to have fully present in your life.

Appreciate the simple elements of life. Look to natural things versus man-made things for lessons.

Simplicity is a source of peace and well-being.

Seek it, and remove the complexities of the world where you can.

EXERCISE:

What are some areas in which you can reduce or eliminate the complexities of life?
Where would simplifying your personal or professional life provide you the peace and greater well-being you seek?
Where will you begin, and what will be your first few steps?

Friday Review: Desire

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Friday Review: Desire

What are your thoughts and beliefs about the concept of desire? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

 

“Don’t wait until you are lost to evaluate where you are going.”
 

 

 

 

“Desire is half of life. Indifference is half of death.”

 

 

 

 

 

“In order to have faith in his own path, a warrior does not need to prove that someone else’s path is wrong.”

“Thou hast only to follow the wall far enough and there will be a door in it.”

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“Thou hast only to follow the wall far enough and there will be a door in it.”

—Marguerite De Angeli, 20th Century American writer/book illustrator

Image from Amazon

Being persistent and staying the course is a solid approach to discovery and achieving excellence, offered to us all. These days it seems fewer and fewer of us take this approach. It appears that the pursuit of/grasping for pleasure and comfort and the avoidance of discomfort and pain has softened many of us to far more frequently pursue the paths of least resistance.

Over the years I’ve been repeatedly introduced to the Japanese concept of IKIGAI, which is defined as a central purpose or reason for being. Two of the most common perspectives on this topic relate to either a societal or personal view of life that can drive our daily pursuits.

EXERCISE:

What is your personal or societal IKIGAI? How has or can it fuel you to follow more of the long and difficult walls of life until you discover and open the doors to your destiny?