“If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.”

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Barry

“If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.”

– Author Unknown

These days, high value is placed on one’s ability to multitask to enhance productivity.

The evidence regarding the productivity gains is controversial at best, with many examples of serious downsides – just look at texting while driving a car.

There’s no question that focusing on one high-priority task at a time pays huge dividends. There’s considerable evidence that most productive people do just that, then move on the next high-priority task, thus giving the appearance of multitasking.

Exercise:

Use your calendar to break up your day into highly focused priority items, and take them on one at a time.

If another rabbit comes in sight, make sure you choose only one to chase. After all, one is far better than none.

“We are capable of greater things than we realize.”

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Barry

“We are capable of greater things than we realize.”

–Norman Vincent Peale, 20th Century author of The Power of Positive Thinking

Image from Unsplash by
Paola Aguilar

Sure, we have all heard similar thoughts from our teachers, parents, colleagues and friends. We even believe them to some extent. The question to consider here is “How much more are we actually capable of that is beyond our ability to truly believe?”

If thoughts become things, what must we do with our own thoughts, opinions, judgments, mental models and yes, personal paradigms, to free us from our own limiting beliefs?

Exercise:

As you think about and create plans for the coming year, ask the following questions of yourself and of those who know you best:

What am I capable of through the use of my mind in the coming year?
What am I capable of through the development and use of my body in the coming year?
What new spiritual developmental opportunities will I take in the coming year?

Extra Credit:

better than myself

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Barry

“I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.”

– Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian ballet dancer

Image from awanderingjewess.com

If you have ever seen Mikhail Baryshnikov dance, you know just how brilliant he has been over the years. If you haven’t, I suggest you Google him and check out some video clips of his mastery.

Consider that your own life is a dance, where all that is required is to keep mastering your own professional and personal steps. These steps are within your control, and they allow you to express yourself fully and authentically.

Exercise:

During this new year, what will your personal continuous improvement program include?

As you establish your goals, include the measurable results and action steps you will take. How will you turn these action steps into sustainable habits that will get you there? Just think of it as dancing your way to a better you.

Life is about choices

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Barry

“Life is all about choices. How many people are trapped in their everyday habits: part numb, part frightened, part indifferent? To have a better life we must keep choosing how we’re living.”

– Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist

Image from www.onhold.on.ca

As a coach, I often see individuals who are limiting their freedom to fully choose.

Which of these choices have you been fully intentional about?

• The choice of career or vocation
• The choice to be healthy and fit
• The choice of friends and associates
• The choice of how you spend your free time
• The choice of where you live, and the communities you associate with
• The choice of the thoughts and attitudes you bring to each day

Exercise:

Where are you currently trapped and limited by your everyday habits and thinking?

What new and intentional choices can you make to achieve a better life?

My Highest Aspirations

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Barry

“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead.”

– Louisa May Alcott, author

Image from Flickr by Tommy Clark

There’s an often-quoted goals study from Yale University in 1953 indicating that the 3% of graduates who had clearly-written goals achieved far more than the 97% that didn’t. This study has been shown to be untrue.

There is, however, a study from the Dominican University that shows the following:

1. Those who write down their goals accomplish significantly more than those that do not have written goals.
2. Goal achievement is more likely when accountability is supported by a friend, mentor or coach.
3. People who also make a public commitment to others achieved more.

Exercise:

Write down your highest aspirations.

Make a public commitment to your goals, and ask someone committed to your success to hold you accountable. You can even call me at 248-740-3231 to tell me your goals.

Tell me and I’ll forget

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Barry

“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”

– Chinese Proverb

Since my first job as a middle school science teacher in Philadelphia, I have always been fascinated by the process of learning. Back then, the old-school didactic method of teaching did not truly help children to grow in understanding, or to consistently retain information.

As a coach, I engage clients in a multitude of learning experiences, where practical. “On the court” involvement over a six month time frame is critical to long-term understanding.
You can find out more about my Personal Excellence Training here:

http://www.dempcoaching.com/personal-excellence-training

Exercise:

What professional and personal lessons do you most wish to learn that will make the biggest difference in your life?

How can you build greater involvement and real-world experience into the lessons, to support your desire for greater understanding and long term achievement?

“When a man is wrapped up in himself, he makes a pretty small package.”

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Barry

“When a man is wrapped up in himself, he makes a pretty small package.”

—John Ruskin, English artist and art critic

Image from Unsplash by Jose de la Cruz

We all know people who are self-centered, egotistical, narcissistic and arrogant. Most people have at least a trace of these attributes. A typical reaction we have with these people is to withdraw and to avoid them. When people exhibit these behaviors, their worlds become small packages.

When we become far more interested in the lives of others – including family, friends and colleagues – our world expands exponentially.

Exercise:

How many people would attend your funeral, or attend a party that would celebrate your life?

If the people in your life were to write a eulogy for you, what would you like it to say?

Forget to be Afraid

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Barry

“Become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.”

–Lady Bird Johnson, Former First Lady of the USA

Image from Pinterest

My journey into the coaching profession is definitely an example of getting so wrapped up in something I almost forgot to be afraid.

At the ripe old age of 35, I threw caution to the wind and left a 12-year career with a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company to sign up for the job of “coach” with:

1. No salary (You ate what you killed!)
2. No benefits
3. No coaching clients
4. No general agreement about or awareness of the profession – it was truly in its infancy
5. A wife and two young children, plus a considerable mortgage
6. Modest savings, with about 6 months of living expenses

In spite of these factors, I found myself enthusiastic and excited to partner with people and help them achieve breakthroughs in their personal and professional life – just as Olympic athletes work with coaches to achieve their full potential.

Exercise:

What can you be so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid?

Our Greatest Glory

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Barry

“Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Image from www.imdb.com

One of my favorite movies of all time is Rudy, in which the main character is a small and very feisty football player with a passion for the University of Notre Dame. Through dogged determination, persistence, and a tenacity rarely seen, he takes quite a beating by being a veritable practice dummy for the first team – and eventually rises to glory in the final hours.

Exercise:

What are your passions and commitments to which you give your all, no matter how often you fall?

What inspiring “Rudy” stories have you participated in or observed?

What stories are yet to be written, in which you will experience future glorious moments?

“A friend is a loved one…”

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Barry

“A friend is a loved one who awakens your life in order to free the wild possibilities within you.”

– John O’Donohue, poet, philosopher and Catholic priest

QC #1016a

Someone once told me that friends are the family we choose for ourselves. That puts friendships in a very special category of relationships.

One of the key attributes of our friends is that they are tuned into our personal life frequencies. We are far better together than apart.

Exercise:

What are two to three areas of your life that need to be awakened? What would you consider to be a wild possibility in these areas?

Who are the friends that bring this special spark to your life, and how can you be this kind of friend for others?