“You can’t reach for anything…”

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Barry

“You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday’s junk.”

—Zig Ziglar, American author, salesman, and motivational speaker

Image from bradbyers.com

Imagine you are learning to juggle, starting with three balls. Your initial efforts are awkward, but you quickly learn that you must release one ball in order to catch the next, then quickly toss that one, too. You just can’t hold on to anything for long without losing the momentum of the entire batch of balls.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life are you required to juggle people, priorities, and projects in order to have more of what you desire? In such cases, you must release some of them temporarily. What if your job here is to make sure you release those that represent yesterday’s junk so that you can have more of the quality balls in your life?

“The tiny seed knew…”

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Barry

“The tiny seed knew that in order to grow, it needed to be dropped in dirt, covered in darkness, and struggle to reach the light.”

—Author Unknown

Image from www.scottthor.com

Today’s quote builds on the one about the mighty oak that once was a nut that simply held its ground.

Here, along with persistence, we must often accept and manage the dark, dirty, and difficult aspects of life. Eventually, we emerge into the light of becoming all that we can be, which can appear a bit “nutty” to us, and to others, along the way.

EXERCISE:

Where and in what ways can you more fully embrace the challenges and barriers that stand in the way of your sprouting and growing into a mighty oak of a person?

“Never put off for tomorrow…”

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Barry

“Never put off for tomorrow what you can cancel.”

—Darren Hardy, Publisher of Success Magazine

Image from diamondresortsmembers.com

Time management is perhaps the most universal issue facing the majority of clients seeking the support of a coach.

Who hasn’t read books and blogs, or attended at least a few workshops or seminars on time management?

The proverbial “to do list” has killed more trees, or now takes up a good deal of our hard drives, with no end in sight! Unfortunately, the more we add to these lists the “behinder” many of us feel.

EXERCISE:

Today is the day I’d like you to take out your red pens and scissors, or use your backspace and delete keys to literally cancel things from your list. This powerful act of saying “NO” once and for all to certain tasks will be challenging at first. This is due to our habit of dragging the weight of the world around. Select and cancel at least one task, meeting, or other commitment each day this week. Eventually you will get to the point where many items never make it to your list in the first place.

“Never let the fear…”

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Barry

“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.”

—Babe Ruth, American baseball player whose Major League career spanned 22 seasons

Photo from thegreedypinstripes.com

Perhaps no baseball player in history will ever achieve as much notoriety as Babe Ruth, who began his 22-year career 101 years ago, in 1914.

Among the many interesting facts about Babe was his unique method for keeping cool during hot summer games, wearing uniforms made of wool. His trick to provide relief for an inning or two was to chill cabbage leaves in ice, then put the frozen leaves under his cap!

Surprisingly, Ruth is ranked 113th on the all-time strikeout list, with 1,330 strikeouts. Compare that to Reggie Jackson, who had 2,597 strikeouts. Perhaps it was his quote and the cabbage that did the trick?

EXERCISE:

Where is the fear of striking out in your professional or personal life stopping you? Where do you most need to get up to the plate and swing away? What strategies will help you keep your cool in the process?

“Don’t quit your day dream”

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Barry

“Don’t quit your daydream.”

-Author Unknown

Image from Unspash by Icarus.jpeg

For many of us, the act of daydreaming is about longing to be somewhere else, doing something else. This often flies in the face of our day jobs—jobs that have become, for some, unfulfilling or even toxic.

When we daydream, there is a heightened sense of excitement, and a desire to live and work more consistently with our most authentic beliefs and desires.

In many ways, the coaching process encourages each individual to be true to themselves, giving them greater access to more of their personal power, gifts, and inherent talents. Who wouldn’t want far more of that?

EXERCISE:

What would be possible if you lived more consistently by the phrase, “Don’t quit your day dream” instead of “Don’t quit your day job”?

What specific actions can you take today to do just that?

“A bird sitting on a tree

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Barry

“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings.”

—Author Unknown

Photo from Flickr by Martin Heigan

Where in your professional or personal life are you leaning too much on the help and support of others? How would you cope and adjust if their support were suddenly withdrawn? Do you have a “Plan B”?

A dual strategy to proactively address such scenarios is to sit more lightly on the branches of others, and of course, exercise your own wings to fly solo when necessary.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life could you strengthen your capacity, trust your own abilities, and operate more independently?

How could you be a branch to support others, when needed, as they develop their ability to fly on their own?

“I alone cannot change the world…”

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Barry

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.”

—Mother Theresa

image from www.marclangloisconsulting.com

Take a moment sometime today to reflect on your most satisfying and deeply felt moments of personal fulfillment. Make sure you look at your personal and professional worlds.

Examine what percentage of these highlights occurred as an individual versus within a larger group or community. Consider, also, to what extent you were operating in an area of strength or unique ability.

EXERCISE:

Where can you make more ripples, or even waves, in your professional and personal worlds by casting more of your special stones across the waters you come upon today?

“If there is a single lesson…”

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Barry

“If there is a single lesson that life teaches us, it’s that wishing doesn’t make it so.”

—Lev Grossman, Author and Journalist

Illustration from Flickr by Tom Simpson

Walt Disney World is a magical place that we have visited many times with our children and family. In the childhood classic, Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket sang, “When you wish upon a star,” a song which says that anything your heart desires will come to you.

For most families, planning a six-nights/seven days vacation full of magic can cost anywhere from $1,000 per person to over $10,000 for a family of four. Given that money does not magically grow on trees, affording it takes considerable effort and sacrifice. This is especially true for the average family, whose median annual household income, according to the 2012 census data, is about $50,000.

EXERCISE:

To what extent are your most fervent hopes, desires, and wishes backed up with necessary efforts and actions, to make even more of your dreams come true?

“Each of us is born with…”

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Barry

“Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can’t strike them all by ourselves.”

—Laura Esquivel, Mexican novelist, essayist, and screenwriter

Photo from changingmydestiny.wordpress.com

I must admit that I watch reality TV shows. I enjoy those that involve living in remote areas of the world, where there are little or no creature comforts.

The fundamental necessities for survival include food, water, and shelter. Without exception, fire is another essential resource, needed to cook the food and sterilize the water. Achieving a successful fire is often a significant challenge and hardship for would-be reality show survivors. Almost always, success comes from the collective efforts of numerous individuals.

EXERCISE:

How can you spark and ignite the potential of others to more fully realize the fires that burn within them?

Who are the people in your personal or professional worlds that can and will play this valuable role for you?

“It is better to prevent than to cure.”

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Barry

“It is better to prevent than to cure.”

—Peruvian Proverb

Photo from Flickr by Phossil

Many years ago, there was a TV commercial for Fram oil filters, using the marketing slogan, “you can pay me now, or pay me later.” The premise of this campaign was to garner the support of auto mechanics. The mechanics, in turn, would suggest that you could do one of two things:

Invest a small sum in protecting your car’s engine with a new Fram oil filter right now, or pay for an expensive engine repair or replacement down the road.

EXERCISE:

Where would an ounce of prevention be worth more than a pound of cure in your professional or personal life? What actions will you take today to invest a little, for far greater value or savings in the future?