Category Archives: Success

“Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.”

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“Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.”

-Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis

Brené Brown, from her TED talk (see link below).

Brené Brown, from her TED talk (see link below).

In recent years, the subject of “vulnerability” has received a great deal of media coverage due to the work of authors such as Brené Brown.

In two of her recent books, The Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly, which are based on considerable research, she clearly debunks the idea that vulnerability is weakness and indicates that it is far more correlated with courage and strength, as Freud suggests.

Exercise:

Where would being vulnerable in either your professional or personal life demonstrate the strength of your commitment to something of great importance to you?

Consider watching Brené Brown’s TED talk, The Power of Vulnerability

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”

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“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”

– Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator and founder of the Montessori educational method

544Image from Flickr by Dermot O’Halloran.

Have you ever supported a young child with any of the following tasks?

  • Walking
  • Getting dressed
  • Tying their shoelaces
  • Riding a bike
  • Swimming
  • Making a sandwich
  • Making their bed
  • Feeding themselves
  • Potty training
  • Completing a puzzle

What was the learning process like? How much or how little assistance was necessary?

Exercise:

How can you offer others in your professional and personal life (not just young children) only the support they truly require to accomplish their goals, in order to maximize their own experiential learning opportunities?

“Man who stand on hill with mouth open will wait long time for roast duck to drop in.”

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“Man who stand on hill with mouth open will wait long time for roast duck to drop in.”

– Confucius, Chinese philosopher

527Image from Flickr by backpackphotography.

As part of my Personal Excellence Training program, I use various assessments to determine the likelihood of success for each person.

One of the traits associated with success is initiative. People who are motivated self-starters take it upon themselves to proactively move in the direction of their goals – such as completing a new project, finding a new customer, or securing a raise or promotion.

Exercise:

Where in your professional or personal life would a booster shot of initiative make the biggest difference for you today?

Secure the support of friends, family, colleagues, or a coach to stretch and grow this ability in yourself and you will have many more roast duck dinners in the years to come.

“The great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up.”

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“The great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up.”

– Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize winner

Albert Schweitzer was born in Germany in 1875. In his life of 90 years, he had many occupations, including philosopher, scholar, doctor, musician, missionary, preacher, theologian, and journalist. Some of his primary life objectives included the brotherhood of nations and helping solve the world’s problems.

In 1952, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of “Reverence for Life.”

Exercise:

Imagine you have just been honored with your own Nobel Prize for your contribution to your professional and personal worlds. What would you like your success legacy to include?

“Success in life comes not from holding a good hand but in playing a poor hand well.”

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“Success in life comes not from holding a good hand but in playing a poor hand well.”

– Denis Waitley, motivational speaker and writer

Have you ever watched the World Series of Poker on television – you know, where the winners walk away with millions? If you have, a notable thing about these tournaments is that the viewer actually gets to see all the cards of all the players.

Rarely does the winner always get the very best cards. Almost always, the winner is the person who makes the best of the cards they are dealt.

Exercise:

If your life was a game of poker, where your five cards included such areas as work, family, health, faith and community, how could you make the most of these to always have a winning hand?

Quote From David Brinkley

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“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”

– David Brinkley, American newscaster

People of extraordinary achievement often experience more adversity and judgment than others. The sheer fact that they stand out in the world means that people take note – and often take a shot or two to lower them down a peg.

Somehow, these extraordinary people take these judgments and criticisms to further strengthen their resolve to achieve even more.

Exercise:

How can you use the proverbial bricks thrown at you in your professional and personal life to strengthen your foundation for greater achievement?

Consider your ability to encourage and affirm others as a way to create an even more powerful foundational support for their success.

#106: “There is a giant asleep within everyone. When that giant awakens, miracles happen.”

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– Frederick Faust, author

Is the giant within you fully asleep, taking a catnap, or just a bit drowsy these days?

What are some strategies to waken this giant to the status of full alert?

Consider the following ideas:

1. Identify the giants and leaders in your organization or community and practice similar behaviors.

2. Double your efforts on any worthwhile endeavor – and see what level of accomplishment results.

3. Cut the amount of time you give yourself to accomplish key tasks in half, to create greater urgency – and see what happens.

Exercise:

Send me your best ideas that you have used to create miracles in your professional and personal life. (Email me at barry@dempcoaching.com.)

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

#80: “Just do what you do best.”

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– Red Auerbach, American basketball coach

As parents of two children in their mid-20s, my wife and I were always focused on their growth and development. From the moment they were born, “What will they become? How can we support their success?” were questions we often asked ourselves.

I believe that we, as parents, are caretakers of these young souls, for the purposes of both keeping them safe and secure, and exposing them to the world to discover their gifts and their talents through the various experiences and opportunities through their life journey.

Exercise:

To what extent are you and those closest to you doing what you do best?

What efforts can you make to further discover and express these unique abilities in the future?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

The Quotable Coach on OC Talk Radio – Live Today!

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Later today, I’ll be interviewed by Doug Gfeller of OC Talk Radio about The Quotable Coach. You can listen in here at OC Talk Radio, 7pm Eastern / 4pm Pacific.

Whether you’ve been following The Quotable Coach for several months, or whether you’re new here, take a few minutes out of your day to hear about how the project is progressing.

I’ll also be talking with Doug about my business practices as a coach: how I customize my coaching programs for a variety of client groups, and why I give away so much material.

Here’s the link again, so that you can listen in today at 7pm Eastern / 4pm Pacific:

OC Talk Radio

#67: “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire…”

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“…sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass.”

– Paul J. Meyer

How many blogs, newsletters, and books have you seen that tout the “X steps to success” and then go about taking up a few hundred pages to describe them?

Meyer’s quote contains four simple steps:

  • imagine = dreams = vision
  • desire = passion = purpose
  • belief = core values = authenticity
  • action = results = achievement

Exercise:

Select one area of your personal or professional life and go through these steps.

Repeat as often as you wish.

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.