Tag Archives: Demp Coaching

The Greatest Thing About Man

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“The greatest thing about man is the ability to transcend himself, his ancestry, and his environment, and to become what he dreams of being.”

—Tully C. Knoles, early president of the College of the Pacific

Meme of Today's quote

Do me a favor. Please read today’s quote four more times.

Read it slowly.

Savor each word like a fine wine or choice morsel of an extraordinary meal. Let its full meaning sink into your bones to see how it does, or could, apply to your life today and as you move forward.

Where is your past or ancestry somehow holding you back and placing limits on what is possible?

Where is your current personal or professional environment blocking your progress and thwarting your efforts?

EXERCISE:

How can you summon the wondrous and extraordinary capacities within you to transcend your current self? How might this help you realize far more of your most inspired and compelling dreams?

economize or agonize

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“He who will not economize will have to agonize.”

—Confucius, ancient Chinese Philosopher

Image of rocks balanced on a plane

Image from LinkedIn

Over many years of coaching, I’ve noticed several interesting trends.

In general, my clients in their twenties, thirties, and forties are most often on a highly intentional growth trajectory. They want to build wealth, pursue success, and increase their standard of living. This almost always involves accumulating possessions, and often increases the demands and complexity of their lives.

As they reach their fifties, sixties, and seventies, they seem to be more focused on scaling back, simplification, and greater balance. It is often because their many years of living in the fast lane, carrying too much stuff and stress, has become more of a burden than they care to shoulder going forward.

EXERCISE:

Where would a “less is more” strategy, regardless of your stage of life, provide you the added freedom and peace of mind you desire?

Trust One Who Has Tried

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“Trust one who has tried.”

—Virgil, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period

Meme Trustworthiness

What criteria do you use to determine someone’s trustworthiness?

Select a particular person from your professional or personal community. Using the following questions, rate them on a scale of one to four, with four being high:

THIS INDIVIDUAL:

  • Is consistent and dependable
  • Is more focused on others than self
  • Is a good listener
  • Keeps personal confidences and avoids gossip
  • Shows genuine care for others
  • Exhibits honesty and integrity
  • Is a win-win, consensus builder

Also ask yourself if this person walks their talk, even in the face of obstacles and challenges.

EXERCISE:

How would you rate yourself – or better yet – how would others rate you on the same trustworthiness scale? How can you always demonstrate yourself as one who would not ask others to do something you hadn’t tried yourself?

Desire is half of life

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

—Kahlil Gibran, 19th Century Lebanese Poet

Meme of today's quote

How do you feel when you are around enthusiastic, passionate, and excited people?

How do you feel when you are around people who lack energy, and pretty much don’t give a hoot about anything?

These groups of individuals act like booster shots or vampires in the way they create aliveness or deaden our worlds.

EXERCISE:

Where and in what ways can you build and fan the flames of desire to experience more of the aliveness you desire?

How can you lessen or completely eliminate the deadening quality of indifference from your world?

Consider partnering with a close friend, mentor, family member, or coach to support both of these intentions.

Friday Review Giving

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FRIDAY REVIEW: GIVING

What are your thoughts and practices about Giving? Here are a few giving-related posts you may have missed. Click the links to read the full messages.

 

“The Heart That Gives, Gathers.”

 

 

 

 

 

“The world truly does require your help.”

 

 

 

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”

 

 

 

Life becomes easier

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“Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.”

—Robert Brault, American Freelance Writer

meme of "I'm Sorry"

We all recognize that life can be difficult at times. Take a few moments and look into your past, to a time when someone wronged you, personally or professionally. Examine all the details of this event to see if it still has any grip on you, especially if you never received a proper apology.

For many people, reliving such events in their minds can be particularly upsetting and painful, even if the occurrence happened years or decades ago.

EXERCISE:

How could you make your life easier and travel lighter by developing the talent to accept apologies you never received?

Keep out of the suction

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“Keep out of the suction caused by those who drift backwards.”

—attributed to E. K. Piper

Image of a boat being sucked into a whilrpool

Image from Pinterest

When I was in my early teens, I hung out with friends at the local bowling alley. Beyond pursuing our mastery of bowling, we also rode bikes, played wall ball, stick ball, hand ball, wire ball, and a game called “Chink,” which also included a ball.

Back then, if you had a ball, you were guaranteed entertainment all day.

When some of the older friends started driving and hormones kicked in, things began to shift. Their behaviors and language became unacceptable to the values I was taught by my parents and teachers. I could actually feel the negative backward drifts whenever I was encouraged to behave in similar ways.

EXERCISE:

Where do you currently feel the suction of selected individuals in either your personal or professional communities?

What steps must you take to eliminate this backward draft so you can continue pursuing your best future self?

Faith that the thing can be done

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“Faith that the thing can be done is essential to any great achievement.”

—Thomas N. Carruthers, late bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina

Cartoon image of a man stretched out

Image from hbr.org

Over the past year, I have noticed a growing trend in many of my clients who work for large corporations. It has become increasingly apparent that the goals set for them go far beyond the usual “stretch” goals, to a level of the unreasonable and unbelievable.

What remains for many of these folks are feelings of upset, discouragement, hopelessness, and even anger.

Genuine faith that a goal is achievable is essential to empowering all of us to give our best to the task at hand.

EXERCISE:

Where can you collaborate and create shared goals, to maintain and encourage the faithful beliefs and actions that the goals will be fully realized?

Friday Review Friendship

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FRIDAY REVIEW: FRIENDSHIP

What does it mean to be and have a friend? Here are a few friendship-related posts you may have missed.

 

“A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.”

 

 

 

 

“Friends are as companions on a journey, who ought to aid each other to persevere in the road to a happier life.”

 

 

 

“A friend is a person before whom I may think aloud.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glimpses of Heaven

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“There are glimpses of Heaven to us in every act or thought or word, that raises us above ourselves.”

—A.P. Stanley, 19th Century Dean of Westminster

Image of Thor's Helmet Emission Nebula

Thor’s Helmet Emission Nebula 
Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, U. Arizona

I love the idea that if we shoot for the moon and miss our mark, we will still land among the stars. How often do your eyes rise to the heavens to explore and pursue the possibilities of life? How often do you navigate your world looking down or only at your next step?

With the right lens or perceptional filter, today’s quote suggests we can use every action, thought, or word as a catalyst, to become a better versions of ourselves.

EXERCISE:

Ask and answer these three questions, to open up the heavens even further:
• What did I learn from the action that I just took, to improve my current situation?
• How can my current thinking be more hopeful, optimistic, and creative?
• What do I hear or read that can inspire me toward a new level of excellence?

Consider creating a question or two for yourself that, once answered, can raise your life to new levels of success and life satisfaction.