How Do Your Rituals Serve You?

Dear Friend,

"When you always do what you've always done, You always get what you've always gotten."

~Tony Robbins

Our rituals are a reflection of how we live our lives. They reflect what we do day-in and day-out. Our rituals build the fabric of our lives and contribute to the results that we desire. Last week I asked you to reexamine five to 10 rituals in your life and see if they were adding to your life in positive ways. I suggested that you consider replacing those rituals that were not positive. For example, if the ritual of getting to your office every morning, going down to the cafeteria, getting a hearty breakfast and chatting with colleagues is not working - how might you replace it? Here are a couple of suggestions:

• Get to work early to prepare for your day
• Change what you eat at breakfast (not who or when you eat)
• Workout at the company gym with your colleagues rather than eating breakfast
• Schedule a professional development breakfast once each week with different colleagues throughout the company
• Spend your morning working from home rather than wasting precious time in highway traffic
• Have breakfast with clients or potential clients once each week

The reason I list these examples is because I think you need to know what problem you are solving in order to get the right answer. In other words what do you want to change in your life? Without knowing what you want to change it is difficult to reconfigure your rituals in order to bolster your life. So this week let's return to our goals since they represent where we desire to be in 2009 and let's match these goals against our rituals.

Ask yourself three questions:

• How does this ritual serve my goals?
• Is this ritual the best way for me to achieve my goals?
• Is this ritual sustainable?

Make It Happen

Use these three questions to examine each of your rituals in the context of your goals. Remember that this process takes time so it may take some adjustment to find the best sustainable ritual to achieve your goal. Identify and lock in accountability to help to sustain the ritual. Research shows that it can take 21 days to form a habit - so be patient, be diligent, and persevere! Remember we want to make 2009 Your Best Year and that takes appropriate planning and diligence - stay strong! Blessings to you!

Are You Making Excuses?

Dear Friend,

"Some favorite expressions of small children: "It's not my fault...They made me do it...I forgot."

Some favorite expressions of adults: "It's not my job. . . No one told me. . . It couldn't be helped." True freedom begins and ends with personal accountability." -Dan Zadra

Do any of the following sound familiar? • If I didn't have a work dinner on Thursday then I could start my diet on Monday. • If I had more money then I would be happy. • If I had more time in the day I would be able to get my projects completed • If my boss gave me more praise then I would be satisfied. • If there wasn't so much traffic then I would be on time. • If my spouse didn't travel as much then I would be able to exercise. • If I had more than one hour I could... -Clean the closet, -Write the proposal, -Organize the garage, -Take down the holiday decorations...and on and on the list goes. If any these sound familiar, then you (like me) suffer from what I call the "if only" syndrome. It is the voice in your head that says, "if only" something were different then I would be able to do what I need to do. It is easy to make excuses, to blame others, or even to shirk responsibility in the name of a loved one or even traffic! However, when we make excuses we release ourselves from accountability. We create a story of why we are justified in not doing what we know we need to do. When we stop making excuses and hold ourselves accountable for creating our own dreams, we begin to transform our lives. We transform our lives by actually achieving what we set out to do and not using others as an excuse or placing blame on them rather than ourselves.

Consider this hilarious children's poem, All My Great Excuses, by Kenn Nesbitt. Perhaps there is a lesson for us adults?

I started on my homework but my pen ran out of ink. My hamster ate my homework. My computer's on the blink. I accidentally dropped it in the soup my mom was cooking. My brother flushed it down the toilet when I wasn't looking. My mother ran my homework through the washer and the dryer. An airplane crashed into our house. My homework caught on fire. Tornadoes blew my notes away. Volcanoes struck our town. My notes were taken hostage by an evil killer clown. Some aliens abducted me. I had a shark attack. A pirate swiped my homework and refused to give it back. I worked on these excuses so darned long my teacher said, "I think you'll find it's easier to do the work instead."

Make it Happen

This week I ask that you consider how you can make your life excuse-free. Examine how you can accept accountability for getting exactly what you desire...and don't let your boss, spouse, child, or friend be the excuse for you not accomplishing a particular goal! Blessings to you, Margaret. P.S. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretPundmann.com where they can sign up. Margaret Pundmann is a life and business coach, speaker, and author The Emerging Woman. Please feel free to forward the "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter to friends and colleagues, but please forward in its entirety. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise. Copyright © 2008 Margaret Pundmann. All rights reserved. www.MargaretPundmann.com.

Accountability - 5 Questions to Answer

Dear Friend,

We (live) in a culture where accountability, learning to accept responsibility, admitting mistakes and learning is critical to us.

~Anthony Zinni

So far this year we've reviewed our lessons from 2008, built a vision for 2009, created a plan to support our vision, cleaned our slate so that we have room in our lives for our 2009 dreams and goals. This week I want to ensure we have accountability to reach our goals. As much as we need to be diligent and persevere there will be times when we lose focus of our vision. In these times we need to have appropriate accountability to support us in regaining focus. In fact according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, people who attend meetings lose three times more weight than those who go at it alone! What this means is that when we have support we are more likely to achieve our goals. This week I want to ask you to consider what accountability you can build into your life that will support you in attaining your goals.

5 Questions to Consider

Who in my life will support my vision?

Friends Family Loved Ones Coach Colleagues Trainer Mentor

What activities will serve as accountability?

If your goal is Business Growth Activities that may hold you accountable: initiating a specific number of sales calls each day, attending valuable networking events each week or month, following-up with potential clients If your goal is Volunteer Work/Cleaning-Up Tasks Activities that may hold you accountable: scheduling the dates/times of your work-hours every four weeks, finding inspiring activites, scheduling a party, cleaning up to your favorite music or a book on tape If your goal is Weight Loss Activities that may hold you accountable: hiring a personal trainer, attending group meetings, creating a food journal, exercising with a friend or in a group If your goal is Balance Activities that may hold you accountable: creating a schedule of when you will work and when you will spend time with family, setting reminders on your calendar, before you say 'Yes' to a new project take 24 hours to consider if this is consistent with all of your goals

When will I have accomplished my goal?

We need specific measurable results to know we've reached our end pointThis means a desired revenue number, a desired weight, a goal of how many hours we will have volunteered, a specific plan for what areas of our home, office, or car must be de-cluttered Consider some goals may need an end date to aim for as a target Why is this goal important to me - what is my underlying motivation for achieving this goal?

Consider writing a letter to yourself about why each of your goals are significant to you and what each of them mean to you For each goal know what your larger motivation is and create a reminder of your motivation - with a picture, with writing, or even little notes around your home

How will I celebrate once I've achieve my goal?

Celebration locks in our success and can act as a "carrot" so to speak encouraging us to persevere Create a plan of what your celebration will be. If you have a larger goal - allow yourself to have mini-celebrations along the way

Make It Happen

This week take some time to review each of your goals in the context of the five questions above. The fundamental question is, "who or what will provide accountability to keep me on track to reach my goals"! Think creatively to establish the appropriate accountability in your life so that you may accomplish your goals and make 2009 Your Best Year! Blessings to you, Margaret.

2009 - Your Best Year Yet!

Dear Friend,

A goal is a dream that has an ending. ~ Duke Ellington

I hope you are having a joyous Holiday Season! Last week I asked you to reflect on 2008 - the truth of your year - both what worked and what didn't work. (Click here if you missed these questions.) Now that you've honestly answered these questions you can begin to ponder what you want your life to look like this time next year. This week let's create a vision of where we want to go into 2009. Once we paint this picture into our consciousness - we can break the vision into pieces.

When we develop ideas of what we want to accomplish, we need to ensure that our goals are complimentary. In other words we want to ensure our goals don't negate each other, but work together. For example, if one of your goals is to triple your business revenue and another goal is to coach little league for all three of your children - these goals might not realistically go together. Or they might. What I am asking you to do is to get real now - so that you don't create unreasonable expectations for yourself and then play the blame-guilt game with yourself next year.

First things first - close your eyes and begin with your vision. Ask yourself the question - what would you like to accomplish in 2009? Consider the following areas of your life -

• Love and Relationships,
• Health Life,
• Physical Environment,
• Work Life,
• Financial Life,
• Spiritual Life.

Over the next week I ask that you think of your vision and write down at least one goal for each area of your life. Once you have your list of at least six things that you want to accomplish in 2009 - see if they are symbiotic - do your goals go against each other or work together? Next week I'm going to ask you to put some planning around each of your goals so that once the proverbial ball drops and you've finished your champagne you can get focused and get to work on your goals for 2009.

Make It Happen

This week consider six things that you want to accomplish in 2009. Over this next week continue to celebreate all of the things that went right in 2008. Enjoy and savor the abundant blessings in your life. As you think about what you want to accomplish in 2009 - be real with yourself. Set challenging, inspiring, and yet reasonable goals for yourself. For each goal ask yourself the question, Who do I need to be to accomplish this goal?

Blessings to You for Your Best Year Yet!

Let's Review 2008

Dear Friend,

I don't care how much power, brilliance or energy you have, if you don't harness it and focus it on a specific target, and hold it there you're never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants. Zig Ziglar

Can you believe we are less than two weeks away from the New Year and the Holidays are upon us? Where does time go! This week I want us to review 2008 - the truth - the things that worked and the things that didn't. By reflecting we can find the things that worked and continue to do them in 2009. Additionally, we can adjust what didn't work so that we get different results in 2009. What were your goals in 2008? Before we leave 2008 and begin to think about 2009 here are 10 questions to consider: 1) Is what you are doing in your life - personally and professionally - working? 2) Are you getting the results you desire? 3) Are you fulfilled? 4) Are you enjoying your life? 5) Are your relationships nourishing and flourishing? 6) Do you take time to relax? 7) Are you growing as an individual? 8) Are you getting spiritual nourishment? 9) Do you make yourself a priority? (See article on self care.) 10) What is really important to me? (See article on blessings.) Once you have taken time to reflect upon these ten questions consider the following: If you could change one thing in your life what would it be and how might you make that change?

Make It Happen

This week I hope that you have a joyous Holiday with your loved ones. Keep your focus on the blessings in your life. Treasure each family member and celebrate what they bring to the table of your life. Try to find a few quiet moments before and after the fun to consider the questions above. We will use your answers to these questions as a basis for planning your 2009.

Regardless if 2008 was your best year yet or if it left a lot to be desired keep your eyes on the bountiful blessings in your life.

Next week we will focus on creating your vision for 2009!

Blessings to you for a warm and joyous Holiday!

Goal Achieving - 5 Questions to Ask Yourself

Dear Friend,

The significance of a man (and woman) is not in what he attains but in what he longs to attain.

Kahlil Gibran

We've made it through 48 weeks of 2008, we have four weeks left until 2009.What else do you want to accomplish this year? Is there one goal you have yet to accomplish? If you accomplished this goal, this year you would look at yourself and feel empowered and excited for 2009. What is a goal? According to Merriam-Webster a goal is, "the end toward which effort is directed." In the most general sense a goal is something that we want to achieve or attain. Maybe your goal is a clean desk, an organized pantry, a cold call you've been putting off, attending a networking event, putting yourself out there to meet someone new - personally or professionally, saying "no" to new volunteer opportunities, losing a few pounds, whatever your goal - you have four weeks left in 2008 to either accomplish your goal or make tremendous headway toward achieving your goal. Five Questions to Ask Yourself 1. What is your goal? Take a minute and close your eyes and think of a personal or professional goal of yours. Once you have identified this goal write it down. 2. Is this a pure goal versus a "should" goal? If yes, continue. If no, return to question number one. 3. What will be different in your life once you have accomplished this goal? Close your eyes and imagine that you've already accomplished this goal. What is different in your life - How do you feel? How do you look? What are you doing? Create a vivid mental picture of everything around you. Have you ever heard the phrase, "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have?" Well this phrase is similar to goal setting. Act as if you've already accomplished the goal and the vision you create will pull you toward your goal. 4. What is your plan to achieve this goal? Use the phrase SMART to create a plan to achieve your goal. Specific - Goals should be as specific as possible Think about who, what, when, where and why. Measurable - Goals should be measurable Ask yourself - How much? How many? How will I know this goal has been achieved? Achievable - Big goals that push us are fabulous, but goals that are too big and cause us to break down are not so fabulous. Ask yourself - Am I pushing myself at an appropriate level to achieve this goal? Relevant - Base your goals on your core values and purpose in life rather than a "should" or an "ought to" goal.Ask yourself - Is this goal relevant to me and my larger mission? If yes, continue. If no, adjust your goal accordingly. Timely - Creating urgency and deadlines fuels us. Select a deadline and manage to that deadline. Ask yourself - What is the time-frame to achieve this goal? 5. How will you celebrate once you reach your goal? What will you do to acknowledge your accomplishment? Who will celebrate with you? Who will you need to thank for their role in your success?Your celebration may be large or small. It may simply be a massage or it may be a catered party at your home.

Make It Happen

Take out a piece of paper and return to question one. Work your way through these five questions to develop a plan to reach your goal - personal or professional. Once you reach your goal, don't forget the most important part - the celebration. It is critical because it "locks-in" your success. The celebration is the wax after a car wash or the sealant after you've refinished your floors. It is the critical component that seals your success.

Blessings to you!

Priortize Your Goals

Most of us want to accomplish lots of things, but if we don’t prioritize them we often achieve few if any of our goals. Goals are these lovely, wonderful, usually big to dos. Goals are not intended to be should’s or have to’s, but instead, authentic desires of our heart. Goals that are not pure become bourdons and really aren’t worth the journey they require to accomplish lest we arrive and realize hummm, we didn’t want this goal after all. Once we clearly understand and have articulated our values, it is easier to examine the purity and authenticity of our goals. For the sake of this conversation I am going to assume you’ve got your goals and they are in alignment with your life. Prioritizing goals helps un-clutter your life and your decisions. Another benefit of prioritizing our goals is that it is more likely we will actually achieve them. Following the prioritization of my goals an additional strategy that works well for me is breaking them into smaller, measurable and accountable pieces. For example, when I ran a half marathon, I did what most runners do, broke the 13.1 mile goal into smaller goals. First, I looked at the timeframe I had until the half marathon, for me it was about 12 weeks. Each week I had distance goals for each day and for the week along with times that I would beat based upon my performance the previous week. Ultimately, it wasn’t a marathon just a bunch of long sprints strung together. Remember the phrase, enjoy the journey? Breaking this larger goal into smaller pieces kept me motivated and allowed me to celebrate along with way toward the big goal. Having goals that are prioritized and founded in your values reduces the number of truly important decisions you have to make and frees you to actually accomplish the goals that really matter. Breaking your authentic goals into pieces is a great excuse for a party and keeps you motivated along the way. Later this week, I’ll be writing eliminating vs. accumulating! Check out other 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

What Coaching Isn't

I think it is important to make some distinctions between what coaching is and what it isn’t. These brief comparisons will help clients needing therapy, consulting, mentoring or another service discern which type of professional is best suited to meet their needs. My hope is that clients who are considering hiring a coach will have some basis for comparison about what they can expect and ask for from their coach. Coaching isn’t therapy. Generally, therapy goes back to the roots to work through unresolved issues of the past. Coaching assumes that the past is perfect, whether it is or not, and focuses on putting your energy to work in the present and moving forward. Therapy is appropriate for clients who need to resolve their past in order to move forward. Coaching isn’t consulting. Consulting typically begins with a particular problem that a client wants to solve. A consultant, the expert, does tests and evaluations and delivers a report with potential solutions to the problem. Coaching assumes that the client has all the information they need to problem-solve. Coaching questions the true problem to ensure that the client won’t find answering another question more meaningful and profound. Once the client has selected the question they want to answer or the problem they want to solve, the coach and the client work together to devise strategies to create a win. After the client has articulated exactly what the win looks like, the coach and client work on creating the win together. Coaching isn’t mentoring. Mentoring is about providing advice and guidance based upon past experience and “having walked in the clients shoes.” The coaching partnership is focused on the client and helping them discover their own truth. Because the mentor is assumed to have greater knowledge, in the mentoring relationship there tends to be a hierarchy between the client and the coach. In coaching, the client is the expert on their life and the coach brings questions, ideas and thoughts for the client and coach to ponder together. Hence the relationship is flat.Therapy, consulting, mentoring and coaching all offer tremendous benefits to the client looking for change. Understanding where you are and what your objectives are will help you best determine which type of professional is best suited and most qualified to work with you. Check out other articles on MargaretPundmann.com: Globalized Workplace Integrity - We Are Our Word Connect to me: Margaret Pundmann's LinkedIn.com Margaret Pundmann's MySpace.com Profile

What is Coaching?

There are many different types of coaches. If you’re familiar with competitive sports you know there are coaches for tennis, baseball, basketball, football, etc. There are also life and business coaches; and there are even many specialties within the life and business coaching frameworks. Life and business coaches are similar to sports coaches in that they work with their clients (players) to create a vision of the win. That is to say, a coach’s goal is to partner with an individual to understand who they are at their core, and what their values are. A coach is also looking for what a client wants to accomplish. A client may desire to accomplish a broad range of things which might include: creating more fulfilling relationships, job transition, organization, weight loss, financial stability, and on and on. Most clients want some combination of many of these goals. Together the coach and client create a path to achieve these goals. The coach and client strategize on the most effective and efficient way to create a win. One thing a great coach is always looking out for is false goals. A goal that isn’t connected to who a client truly is and is instead a “should” or “have to.” Coaching is a synergistic partnership that enables an individual to reach their highest intent and potential in the most efficient and effective path while staying connected to their truth and integrity. It is a mutual agreement to create a “safe space” to explore one’s beliefs, values and vision for their life. Check out other 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