Why Hire a Coach?

"I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities." -- Bob Nardelli, CEO -- Home Depot

"Who exactly seeks out a Coach?....Winners who want even more out of life." -- Chicago Tribune 12/17/00

"Executives and HR managers know Coaching is the most potent tool for inducing positive personal change..."-- The Ivy Business Journal Sept-Oct 2000

"Once reserved for executives and professional athletes, personal coaches...are going mainstream." -- Christian Science Monitor 1/25/99

"Entrepreneurs...are hiring coaches to help guide them in everything from changing careers to starting a business to balancing work and family." -- Christian Science Monitor 1/25/99

"The hottest thing in management is the executive coach." -- Fortune 5/12/00

Let Us Give Thanks

Dear Friend,

He who thanks but with the lips Thanks but in part; The full, the true Thanksgiving Comes from the heart. J.A. Shedd

Each year we gather 'round with our family and friends and we celebrate Thanksgiving. I've always loved this holiday because it is purely American and cuts across cultural and religious divide. How can we each make the most of this holiday? Once Halloween has passed, there is eager anticipation for the Holidays. We work hard to complete projects at work, we clean our homes, we cook food to be shared, we decorate our homes, many of us travel, we prepare our homes and our hearts for this joyous holiday. In all of this preparation we get overwhelmed and become irritated with all around us. We are ready for it to be over before we've even eaten the turkey and before the tryptophan resulted in a nap. So how can this year be different? I'd suggest that this year be about giving thanks for the blessings around us rather than perfecting what is already pretty good. Close your eyes and imagine that Thanksgiving has passed. The dishes are done, the house is empty, you are back at your desk working away, but you can't remember what was said at the table because you were so worried about...the food, the decorations, a looming project at work, the mess. This year you have a chance to prevent being derailed by the minutia. This year stay on track. Set your attitude on gratitude and your thoughts on thanks-giving! What is important about this holiday is spending time with those we love and giving thanks for them. So as the chaos sets in - avoid the temptation of thinking about what must be done and let go - what is done is done and what isn't done just doesn't really matter. Allow yourself permission to return to exactly what is important about this holiday. Remember that having meaningful connections and coming together as friends, families, and communities is what Thanksgiving is really about. Enjoy this time!

Make It Happen

Below are some ways to give and show thanks to the world around you ... Before you hit delete and move on - Give thanks for... Your electricity Your heat in the Winter Your a/c in the Summer Your running water Your firefighter who shows up in the event of a fire Your postal worker Your abundance of food and water Your home Your faith Before you leave your office for the Holidays Write a note to three people you work with and say thank you Write a note to three clients and thank them for their business this year Call three people and simply tell them what they mean to you Before Your Thanksgiving Meal Visit a local shelter or charity and cook for and serve others Donate warm clothes and nourishing food to your local church or temple At Your Thanksgiving Meal Have everyone at the table say what they are thankful for Have everyone focus on each person for a minute or two and say what this person means to them, and what they are thankful for about this person

Blessings to you!

Make Meaningful Connections!

Dear Friend,

In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it, under it, and over it.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

This week I celebrated the arrival of my first book! The book signing experience was exceptional. Not because I sold my first million copies (smile!), but because of the connections that I made with some incredible people. After months of working on my book in relative seclusion it was heart-warming to feel the connections of friends, family, family-friends, and new found friendships this weekend. What it made me realize is how desperate we all are for deep, true connections with the people around us. My experience this weekend reminds me of a chapter in The Emerging Woman entitled "Open Up." Here is an excerpt. None of us is an island unless we choose to ignore the bridges in our life. Reach out. Walk across your bridges. In this world of drive-throughs, delivery service, and techonlogy devices, it is easy to sit in our office or home and feel alone. In fact, even if we are "chatting" on the Internet, I am not sure we can fool ourselves into believing that we are meaningfully connected to anyone. It is easy to be stuck in a rut and forget that we have a beautiful web of friends, family, and colleagues who love us and care for us. This web of friendship is designed to support us and celebrate with us. Yet our web of connections is only as good as we are at using it.

Make It Happen This week I'd like to ask you to consider how you can make meaningful connections with the people in your life. Make of point of connecting, not for them, but for you. Blessings to you!

Warren Buffett's 7 Secrets for Living a Happy and Simple Life

Secret #1: Happiness comes from within. “In my adult business life I have never had to make a choice of trading between professional and personal. I tap-dance to work, and when I get there it’s tremendous fun.” -- Warren Buffett If you do what you love and love what you do, you’ll naturally be productive. Secret #2: Find happiness in simple pleasures. “I have simple pleasures. I play bridge online for 12 hours a week.” -- Warren Buffett You can also learn to be happy with the simple pleasures of playing cards with friends, playing with your children or taking a walk in the wilderness. Secret #3: Live a simple life. “I just naturally want to do things that make sense. In my personal life too, I don’t care what other rich people are doing. I don’t want a 405 foot boat just because someone else has a 400 foot boat.” -- Warren Buffett Keeping up with the Joneses is the worst epidemic among those who should never contemplate that notion in the first place. Less is more. Secret #4: Think Simply. “I want to be able to explain my mistakes. This means I do only the things I completely understand.” -- Warren BuffettIf you apply this rule in your life, you can develop clarity and sanity in your thoughts. Life is about simple yet profound choices. Secret #5: Invest Simply. “The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund.” -- Warren Buffett Often, the simplest route will bring you the most riches, and the most happiness. Secret #6: Have a mentor in life. “I was lucky to have the right heroes. Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you how you’ll turn out to be. The qualities of the one you admire are the traits that you, with a little practice, can make your own, and that, if practiced, will become habit-forming.” -- Warren Buffett Having a mentor is as important as having a purpose in your life, but having a wrong mentor is as devastating as having a wrong purpose in your life. The mentor has to be someone you can trust. You’ll find that person in your inner circle if you think hard enough. Secret #7: Making money isn’t the backbone of your guiding purpose; making money is the by-product of your guiding purpose. “If you’re doing something you love, you’re more likely to put your all into it, and that generally equates to making money.” -- Warren BuffettMoney should never become the object and end all of your motivation. Sources:Success Soul July 15, 2008, article source

Margaret Pundmann's The Emerging Woman

   

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Humility

Dear Friend,

The master can keep giving because there is no end to his wealth. He acts without expectation, succeeds without taking credit, and does not think that he is better than anyone else.

Tao Te Ching

We return for the last of Benjamin Franklin's thirteen virtues this week. Benjamin Franklin suggests that to exercise humility we should "imitate Jesus or Socrates." What is humility? It is the act of being humble or modest. This is a significant virtue because it grounds us - encouraging us to think of we, rather than me. Consider the words of renowned teacher and preacher, William Temple, who encouraged his congregations to avoid "being a great deal occupied about yourselves." Rather he suggests, "Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than other people. It means freedom from thinking about yourself." Let's be clear though, humility is not false modesty. It is not achieving success and acting as if it took no effort. Have you ever given someone a compliment and they said, "Oh, it was no big deal" or "That was easy?" How frustrating is it when we want to acknowledge someone and they just can't say, "Thank you!" Let us not be the person who cannot accept a compliment! Say, "thank you," be proud of the fruits of your labor, accept the compliment gracefully. How can we exercise humility? Give credit where credit is due. Celebrating the accomplishments of those around you before you celebrate your own. Do what is expected of you and don't over-emphasize what you've done. Put your head down and do your job rather than walking around seeking praise. Perform acts of service anonymously. As you do such acts enjoy the surge of joy and energy you receive. Stop one upping people. Don't pretend to be what you are not. Share your experiences to connect with someone not to be better than them.

Make it Happen This week do one random act of kindness anonymously. Don't over-complicate this it can be as simple as letting the car cut in front of you with a smile! Try This As Benjamin Franklin suggests, contemplate two quotes below from Jesus and Socrates. What do they mean to you? How do they nudge you closer to humility? Jesus Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth... Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy... Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matt 5:5-9 Socrates The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.

Blessings to you!

Caring For Ourselves, part two

Dear Friend,

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.

Cicero

How did it go over the last week doing one nice thing for yourself? Where you able to do it?If so, I congratulate you! Way to go! If not, I encourage you to ask yourself, why couldn't you find a small piece of time for yourself?I encourage you to make your-self a priority in this next week. Right now, mark thirty minutes on your calendar and select an activity that you can complete in that time. Remember to achieve something you must set specific, measurable, realistic, and scheduled goals - so take three minutes to map that out right now. I believe one of the greatest ways we can care for ourselves is to show gratitude. (The rest of this column is an excerpt from my book, The Emerging Woman, due out on November 13, 2008.)

Begin a Gratitude Journal

According to research done by Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, a gratitude journal can make you happier. She had two groups of subjects that kept journals for ten weeks. The first group kept a gratitude journal and regularly jotted down those things that they were grateful for (meals, day, relationships, and work.) The second group wrote down daily hassles and annoyances. Not surprisingly, after ten weeks the group keeping a gratitude journal was happier, more optimistic, exercising more, experienced better health in terms of - decreased headaches, coughing, and even nausea. Some days you will have profound revelations. Other days, small simple things like food on the table and shade to shelter you from the heat of the sun will fill your list. You will see that those things you notice and appreciate change over the coming weeks. As you experience personal benefits of keeping a gratitude journal, take note below of those benefits and experiences. Over time, this journal will serve as a reminder to you why this is an important practice in your daily life.

Make it Happen

Right now, decide that you will purchase a lovely little notebook - one that is beautiful on the outside and makes you smile. Promise yourself, that each evening, before your head hits the pillow you will write five items for which you are grateful.

Try This

After a week of using your Gratitude Journal, take note of the benefits of your gratitude journal. Use this list as a reminder to continue using the Gratitude Journal. Blessings to you!