The Virtuous Life - Temperance

When I hear the word temperance many things come to mind: moderation, The Temperance Movement, and to avoid extremes in behavior. But what does Franklin mean when he states this as a virtue? He gives us a small clue in his autobiography, where he states roughly, don't eat so much that you are dull and don't drink so much that you are high. It is therefore that I am led to believe Franklin is stating a virtuous or morally excellent life includes moderating the extremes in our behavior. I'd suggest that this is more of a general rule than a never. So don't fret, I believe we can still live a virtuous life and over indulge once a year at Thanksgiving dinner.

I've found over the years that if I am fully immersed in a project the rest of my life can easily become out of focus. It is only with deliberate restraint, composure, and planning that I am able to remain balanced. And even when I'm not on overdrive, but just trying to keep up with life, I can also stumble and lose balance Where have you lost balance? Have you:

• Bought too much
• Said too much
• Worried too much
• Worked too much
• Played too much
• Drank too much
• Eaten too little
• Eaten too much
• Exercised too much
• Exercised too little
• Avoided the necessary

Do any of these resonate with you...? Take Action Challenge: Let's reclaim our balance. Your weekly workout is to look deep and uncover where you're hiding. Let's not make excuses. Take one of these (or your own) and exercise self control and restraint over the next week. A little planning, forethought, and composure and we'll all be living a tempered existence. Email your feedback and questions to Margaret@MargaretPundmann.com. Find resources and articles on MargaretPundmann.com. Connect to me: Margaret Pundmann's LinkedIn.com Profile

The Virtuous Life

What is it to live a virtuous life? In 1726, at the age of twenty Benjamin Franklin had some ideas of what he believed to be a virtuous existence. To be a virtuous person or in other words to be a person of excellent moral character according to Franklin hinged on thirteen virtues which he attempted to follow and recorded his progress on a daily basis. In his autobiography he shared each with us:

• Temperance
• Silence
• Order
• Resolution
• Frugality
• Industry
• Sincerity
• Justice
• Moderation
• Cleanliness
• Tranquility
• Chastity
• Humility

Franklin is credited with some of the most phenomenal innovations and thought processes. The city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, pays homage to Franklin in many ways, but most significantly with the Franklin Institute that provides a “window into” Franklin’s world of innovation and creativity. Children and adults alike come to be inspired and dazzled with this man’s work and the legacy he created for each of us. Over the coming weeks I am going to write on each of these virtues and will modernize where necessary. My goal is simple; illuminate Franklin’s virtues by providing insights that are reflective of our current age and lifestyle. My desire is that we both learn a little bit more about what constitutes a virtuous life, at least according to Franklin and perhaps apply some of these lessons to our own life. Find resources and articles on MargaretPundmann.com: Globalized Workplace Integrity - We Are Our Word Connect to me: Margaret Pundmann's LinkedIn.com Profile Margaret Pundmann's MySpace.com Profile

See Your Beauty, Feel Your Power

Monday was my younger sister’s birthday, she turned 15 years old. As I gave her a hug and wished her happy birthday, she said “I have beautiful hands and beautiful hair.” I agreed and kissed each. Then I asked why she was thinking about them today. She reminded me of an exercise I asked her to do many months ago. We were walking and I asked her to think of ten beautiful things about herself. Five attributes I wanted to be inner, non-visible and five other attributes I wanted to be physical and visible to the world. Women, young and old, are bombarded with a myriad of negative influences. I believe if we all don’t practice loving ourselves and finding our beauty we forget our beauty and think that we are without. We each have enormous and unique beauty and reminding ourselves of our beauty is power. My request is that all women reading will take the next week and focus on your beauty. Write down five items of your inner beauty and five items of your physical beauty. Then for seven days look in the mirror and say each of these things to yourself ten times. See if you feel any different at the end of the week. My hope is that you are reminded of your inner and outer beauty and the power that you hold. And when we give ourselves permission to be powerful and beautiful, we give all the other women around us permission to do the same. Imagine the impact our small actions can have. Find resources and articles on MargaretPundmann.com: Globalized Workplace Integrity - We Are Our Word Connect to me: Margaret Pundmann's LinkedIn.com Profile Margaret Pundmann's MySpace.com Profile

How Do I Find the Right Coach?

Finding the right coach is much like finding the right wine. There are some bad wines, but for the most part finding the right wine is fun and done through sampling. Some like their wine to have polished tannins complimented by uplifting black cherry acidity and others prefer a lighter white wine with a mellow, oaky finish and still others want their wine quite sweet and bubbly with a citrus finish. My point being, there is no perfect wine and no perfect coach. When you find the right coach (like wine) you will have a natural click.

To find the coach best suited to meet your needs, I suggest you ask people you respect, see if they have any recommendations. If you don’t know anyone with a coach visit the International Coach Federation and they have a tool that will allow you to search for coaches around the world. Next come up with a list of questions that are important to you (I’ll give you some suggestions below), and finally pick five coaches and interview them. See where you sync and where you don’t. Be flexible and prepared to listen to your inner voice. What I hear resoundingly from folks who have a coach is, “I just knew he/she was right for me.”

Let me tell you how I found my coach, Valorie Burton. I heard her speak in St. Louis at the St. Louis Business Journal’s Women’s conference. I was drawn to her style and humor. Since she doesn’t offer a free initial coaching session (although many coaches do), I wanted to get to know her better before committing to a paid session. I subscribed to her free weekly e-Newsletter. Not only did I like her writing style: short, sweet and direct, I also was attracted to the topics she writes about. Next, I purchased one of her products so I could hear how she coached others. I was doing research to see if I thought her style and values would line up with mine. Finally, I hired her for one, 50 minute coaching session. During my one-on-one time Valorie conducted the session well above my expectations. She was a great listening, asked powerful questions, lightening the situation by laughing, and probably most importantly to me, she was very direct and straightforward. (If reading this you are still wondering, “Why in the world would I hire a coach?” I’d suggest you refer to a recent post or my website for a list of reasons of why people decide to use a coach.)

Below are some questions for you prior to interviewing a coach as well as suggested questions to ask a coach during an interview. Get clear on what you want out of the relationship prior to interviewing potential coaches. Questions for you (before you interview the coach):

• Does it matter if my coach is a male or female?
• Am I committed to working to maximize my results?
• Does my coach need a specific background or set of additional skills?
• What would be helpful for them to know about me, so they can best support me?

Below are questions to ask a coach during an interview:

• What type of client do you work best with?
• What do your clients say about you?
• Can we take 15 minutes to do a trial coaching session?
• In the coaching relationship, what is most important to you?
• Do you require a 3 month or 6 month contract?
• What are your fees and how do I pay them?
• How do you coach (phone, in person, duration, frequency)?
• What value added services to you provide for clients?
• What value and experiences do you bring to the coaching relationship?
• If I select you to be my coach, what will begin working on first?

Once you are clear what you want out of the coaching relationship and what your goals are then use the questions above as a point of departure to interview at least three coaches, but hopefully more. After you’ve done your research, go with the coach that you believe is best equipped to support you in delivering for yourself the results you desire. Good luck and enjoy the process! I’d love to hear how it turned out, email me at MP@MargaretPundmann.com.

Find resources and articles on MargaretPundmann.com: Globalized Workplace Integrity - We Are Our Word Connect to me: Margaret Pundmann's LinkedIn.com Profile Margaret Pundmann's MySpace.com Profile