Tag Archives: Demp Coaching

Guests see more in an hour

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“A guest sees more in an hour than the host in a year.”

-Polish Proverb

Image of Barry on the bridge overlooking the Sydney Opera House

Barry and the Sydney Opera House

For my 60th birthday, my wonderful wife Wendy surprised me with a “Bucket List” vacation to Australia and New Zealand. I take adventures such as this with my senses wide open, even though they can be exhausting.

The sights, sounds, tastes, and feelings make experiences like this magical!

Surprisingly, a good number of the people we met who live and work in Australia and New Zealand saw their worlds as “normal,” with only reasonable pleasure and satisfaction in what we, as tourists, experienced as amazingly beautiful and extra-special.

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you more fully explore and take greater delight in the world right around you? You may wish to invite a guest, friend, or colleague to visit your home and express what they see and appreciate about your world.

Dig the well before you are thirsty

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“Dig the well before you are thirsty.”

⏤Chinese Proverb

Image of a wishing well

Image from Pinterest

The Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared,” has been used by millions of scouts around the world since the early 1900s. It focuses on always being in a state of readiness, in mind and body, to do your duty.

How prepared is your mind to evaluate and explore the many opportunities, challenges, and choices that present themselves on a daily basis?

How strong, flexible, and able is your body to do what you know is right, so that you can  live your vision and values fully?

EXERCISE:

What are some of your current priorities in which it is important or even urgent to “be prepared’? How will you dig your personal or professional wells before you become thirsty?

Friday Review Simplicity

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FRIDAY REVIEW: SIMPLICITY

What is the value of simplicity in your life? Here are a few simplicity-related posts you may have missed. Click the link to read the full message.

 

“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

 

 

 

“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings.”

 

 

 

“Remember, all the answers you need are inside of you; you only have to become quiet enough to hear them.”

 

 

 

If you don’t read people well

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“If you don’t read people well, you’re climbing up a wobbly career ladder, blindfolded.”

⏤Dan Rust, author of Workplace Poker

Image of "Workplace Poker" book cover

When you hear the phrase, “office politics,” what comes to mind? If you are like many, this idea draws strong reactions, including hate, disgust, annoyance, or for some, a bit of curiosity. Regardless of your feelings, office politics are a fact of life. In Workplace Poker, Dan Rust suggests we either learn to play it or we are likely to be played.

His advise on learning to read people includes:

  • Minimize your own emotional reactions, and set aside preconceived notions, judgements, and expectations. You can’t get inside someone else’s head until you get out of your own.
  • Learn to be a third-party observer. Notice how people speak, dress, act, and interact with others. You will gain a baseline of their behavior, which can be revealing and useful.

EXERCISE:

Consider picking up a copy of Workplace Poker if you have ever experienced bumps or dips in your career trajectory. This resource can also prove useful in many community and non-profit organizations.

Without promotion something terrible happens

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“Without promotion something terrible happens… Nothing.”

⏤P.T. Barnum, 19th Century politician & Founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus

Image of Greatest Show on Earth poster

The Greatest Show on Earth will sadly close forever in May 2017. It appears that after 146 years, no amount of promotion will overcome the numerous challenges facing the circus, including considerable shifts in public taste.

If you have visited Las Vegas over the last decade, you can see what Cirque du Soleil has done to reinvent the genre.

Are people losing interest in your products, services, or ideas?

How engaged and active have you been in promoting them?

What feedback have you received that has caused you to rework or reinvent your ideas in order to remain relevant in today’s world?

EXERCISE:

Consider picking up a copy of Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Cham Kim and Renée Mauborgne to get some fresh ideas in this area, and then promote away!

Often we change jobs

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“Often we change jobs, friends, and spouses instead of ourselves.”

⏤Arkbarali Jetha, Author of Reflections, Combined Edition

Image of road signs of blame

Image from Time to Play

Are you familiar with the phrase, “Wherever you go, there you are?”

Although it may seem obvious, this thought has tremendous implications in regard to our happiness, success, and general life satisfaction. Simply look at all the people and places in your life that aren’t working, or causing you some level of upset and struggle.

How much responsibility and accountability do you place on your own shoulders in these situations?  How often do you blame others, or the system, for your dissatisfaction?

EXERCISE:

In what situations and with whom is it time to take greater responsibility and accountability for how you experience life?

Choices are the hinges of destiny

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“Choices are the hinges of destiny.”

⏤Edwin Markham, 20th Century American Poet

Image of an ornate door hinge

Image from Flickr by Fred Faulkner

In the book The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz warns us that more is less, and that our abundance-based culture often robs us of our satisfaction in life.

Imagine yourself in a room with a few dozen doors. You are told that some will lead to great opportunities, others to places far less desirable, maybe even dead ends.

All too often, we are looking outside ourselves to what others or society tells us are the best choices. And yet, we are frequently dissatisfied, because by comparison there is always something better⏤or at least we think so.

EXERCISE:

How might you use your most deeply held values and beliefs to design and open the doors you are meant to open? Your destiny hinges on it.

Friday Review Focus

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FRIDAY REVIEW: FOCUS

How intense is your focus on the goals you have set?  Here are a few focus-related posts you may have missed. Click the link to read the full message.

 

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

 

 

 

 

“You can rest assured that if you devote your time and attention to the highest advantage of others, the universe will support you.”

 

 

 

“I never hit a shot – not even in practice – without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head.”

 

 

 

 

 

You see but you do not observe The distinction is clear

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“You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.”

⏤Sherlock Holmes, A Scandal in Bohemia

Image of Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Watson

image from BBC

Do you enjoy a good mystery? You know, tales of intrigue with twists and turns, and a wise individual who uses the power of perception and deduction to discern who done it from all sorts of information?

Most of us fall a bit short of identifying all the clues we need to solve the mysteries of life.

Take, for instance, the mysteries of our most significant relationships with a spouse or life partner. On may occasions we really do seem to be from different planets!

EXERCISE:

How can you expand your capacity to observe your world like Sherlock Holmes, to see the people and events around you far more clearly?

The faintest pencil is better than the strongest memory

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“The faintest pencil is better than the strongest memory.”

⏤Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism

Image of a pencil on a table

Image from Flickr by Chris

Sam Horn was one of the speakers/conversation starters at a coaching conference I attended last year. One of her favorite sayings is “Ink it when you think it.” She always has a notebook in her hand.

Productivity guru David Allen, who wrote Getting Things Done often advises his readers that brains were meant for thinking, not as a storage device for information of limited value.

EXERCISE:

How would an “Ink it when you think it” strategy foster less stress and far more productivity in your life?