“Our fingerprints don’t fade from…”

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Barry

“Our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we’ve touched.”

—Will Fetters, American Screenwriter

Image from lynnemosher.com

I’ve been fortunate over the years to build a coaching practice in which I often see clients in person in my office. Sessions are held at a special round table covered with glass. By the end of the day, the glass is often covered with fingerprints, along with a few crumbs if we happen to meet over lunch.

Perhaps the most profound reason the profession of coaching has grown so significantly over the years is the stickiness and sustainability attributed to these special, collaborative relationships.

EXERCISE:

Where can you make an enduring and lasting impact in the lives of others? Who are the people who have made an enduring and lasting impact on your life? How can you continue to positively build on these “life fingerprints” and only bring out the “glass cleaner” to remove the smudges that sometimes come your way?

“If the world is cold, make it…”

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Barry

“If the world is cold, make it your business to build fires.”

—Horace Traubel, 20th Century American Essayist

Image from www.offthegridnews.com

The life blood of any business is satisfied customers who are attracted to you as well as your products or services.

The goal of business development or outreach efforts is to convert the unaware or “cold” prospect to a hot prospect, and to eventually consummate a win-win agreement. In our frenetic, over-communicative world, this is often easier said than done.

One strategy I found that will definitely warm things up for you is to create a discovery process that intentionally seeks to establish the fit and value of a future agreement.

EXERCISE:

Create an assessment that specifically identifies the best candidates for your product or service. Create another assessment that helps people determine the value and areas of impact of your product or service.

Feel free to examine the Assessment Section of my website to see how I help prospects determine the fit and value of working together. Consider adapting these resources to support your own efforts.

“Respect yourself enough to walk away…”

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Barry

“Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy.”

-Robert Tew, Australian, Chairman at Newcastle Knights Limited

Image from Flickr by Oleg Sidorenko

Today’s quote is a pretty good barometer for progressing in life. Mr. Tew calls on us to fully open our eyes and hearts to determine what is and is not working at this point in time.

Take the opportunity to dig deeply into the ideas of service, growth, and happiness to not take the simple way out of your evolving self. Then, and only, then, make a beeline for the door!

EXERCISE:

Where in your personal or professional life is it time to walk away from certain people, events, or circumstances, in order to gain greater self-respect?

“We have a tendency to want…”

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Barry

“We have a tendency to want the other person to be a finished product while we give ourselves the grace to evolve.”

-T.D. Jakes, Apostle/Bishop of The Potter’s House

Image from responsiveuniverse.me

How guilty are you of having a double standard regarding the people in your personal and professional worlds?

How often do you hold people to some form of ideal to which few ever match up? How often do you use this same standard of excellence as a measure of your own efforts, behaviors, and achievements?

EXERCISE:

If you are in the smallest way guilty of this double standard, examine the costs it may have in key relationships. What adjustment can you make in your perception and point of view to accept and embrace that we are all “works in progress”?

“Speak in such a way that others…”

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Barry

“Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.”

—Author Unknown

Image from beyond.com

One thing I know for sure is that quality relationships result when our focus is on others rather than ourselves.

Being interested rather than interesting will channel your listening and speaking skills, to help you successfully navigate your professional and personal worlds.

EXERCISE:

Choose your words today, so that they resonate at the frequency others hear and appreciate. How can you tune into the messages and signals of those around you, so that you fully honor and show how important they are to you?

“I wonder how many people…”

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Barry

“I wonder how many people I’ve looked at all my life and never seen.”

-John Steinbeck, American Author

Image from differencebetween.info

What is the difference between looking at something, and truly seeing it?

Whether it’s a painting or a person, my sense is that the differences can be great or small, considering the circumstance.

Great art, and in the case of today’s quote, the art of relationship creation and sustainability, requires a level of mastery seldom available to the paint-by-number novice.

EXERCISE:

Where can you place the time and effort to gain the depth of connection, cooperation, and collaboration you desire in your professional and personal lives, through more seeing and less looking?

“Although we are responsible for…”

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Barry

“Although we are responsible for our own happiness, having a friend who opens more doors than we close is truly one of life’s greatest blessings.”

-Author Unknown

photo from ilicoreleadership.org

If you happen to believe the adage, “No man is an island,” today’s quote is for you. In virtually no area of human achievement do you see any great, overwhelming examples of the “Lone Ranger Approach” succeeding in the long run. And come to think of it, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto by his side.

EXERCISE:

How can you further your own happiness journey by fostering better, deeper, and more satisfying personal and professional friendships? Where can you be an even more valuable friend and blessing to others?

“A journey is best measured in…”

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Barry

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”

—Tim Cahill, travel writer

QC #787

In early May, my wife Wendy and I celebrated forty years together and 36 years of marriage by taking a river cruise along the Danube between Passau, Germany and Budapest, the capital of Hungary. We’ve taken many other cruises over the years. What made this one special—beyond each other’s company—was that there were only 136 other passengers, and about 40 crew members.

One of the most pleasant surprises was the number of friendships we made with this intimate group of fascinating people from around the globe.

EXERCISE:

Who are the friends in your world that have made your life journey meaningful and rewarding? How can you continue your journey with a greater emphasis on using the development of close, caring friendships as a measure of a meaningful life?

“If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.”

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Barry

“If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.”

—Dale Carnegie, American writer and lecturer

Photo from Flickr by Mini Cooper

Few among us have not experienced a bee sting at some point in our lives.

Honey bees are gentle by nature, and can be found in almost all urban and rural environments. Only when we disturb their gentle worlds do we find ourselves at the end of their stingers.

It is in our best interest to care for these important creatures because of their role in our environment and food supplies.

EXERCISE:

How can you gain greater sweetness from life from the people in your professional and personal worlds by taking a more gentle and nurturing approach in your daily interactions?

“It’s during bad times that you..”

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Barry

“It’s during bad times that you can tell if someone is any good.”

—Author Unknown

Photo from Flickr by Betsy Weber

Take a moment to examine your personal and professional relationships. How many truly good people can you list, based on the quote above?

It is pretty easy to be friends with people when times are good and little or few demands are placed on us. When the going gets tough, fewer people step up and step in to help.

These special few, appearing like angels sent from heaven to help us when we stumble, hold a “sacred” place in our hearts.

EXERCISE:

What can you do today to thank and fully acknowledge these extraordinary people? Take a moment to consider how many people in your world would place your name on their list.