Creating Tomorrow

 

 

Dear Friends,

I spend some time every day having a look at other people’s blogs. Sometimes I study their layouts, sometimes I check out their coaching credentials, at other times I look for articles and insights that enhance both my professional and personal growth.  

I had never heard of John G. Agno before researching a new “Quote of the Week”, and I hope he forgives me this oversight. It turns out that Mr. Agno is an American who works as a certified executive and business coach. While browsing through his site and blog I came across a list of 7 best practice lessons for leadership development* from the  Top 20 companies in the USA that I’d like to share with you today.

When you learn from the best, you can forget about the rest!

1. Having leaders at all levels who focus on creating a climate that motivates employees for peak performance
2. Ensuring the company and senior management make leadership development a top priority
3. Providing training and coaching to help leadership team, as well as individual leaders, work together more effectively.
4. Scheduling rotational job assignments for high potentials
5. Pinpointing resources to provide external leadership development programs for mid-level managers
6. Providing access to web-based self-study leadership modules for mid-level managers
7. Supporting executive MBA programs for select mid-level managers

Question: How does YOUR organization measure up to this list - which was put together for 2006! -  right now in the middle of 2007?

Trina

(*Source: www.coachingtip.com)

“Happiness happens when you know yourself, your true calling and that you get what you tolerate”

(source: John G Agno) 

Dear Friends,

My favorite quote of the week came my way via Elaine St. James, author of the book Simplify Your Life: 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter -

“Maintaining a complicated life is a great way to avoid changing it.”

But how many of us do just that? We often live lives so over-full that not even our Filofaxes or PDA’s are a real help in guiding us through the thorny thicket of business and social obligations, as well as contacts to maintain, projects to complete and goals to achieve. Deep down inside we may feel a nagging sensation…that sensation that tells us that all is not well with our world. But the prospect of having to somehow tackle changing “all that” on our way to living more balanced and peaceful lives sets us to whirring around even faster inside our self-made hamster wheel instead of mapping out viable escape strategies.

On a site connected with Ohio State University’s Human Development and Family Science Program, I found this list of 10 easy steps to help simplify our lives during my further research into the subject. Although there are other books and other lists, this one resonates with me as a way to begin simplifying now - instead of postponing your personal simplification process to that mystical time in everyone’s life nebulously called “later”:

1. Start the day right. Save all that frantic wasted time used in the morning to prepare for the day. Spend the night before preparing for the next day.
2. Declutter your space. It takes energy to keep possessions in working order or dusted. Get rid of the stuff that’s broken or missing a part.
3. Learn to say “no.” Don’t overload your schedule with more tasks, more jobs, more volunteer time. It’s OK to say no.
4. Turn off the TV. We waste too much time sitting in front of the TV. Curb how many hours the TV is on. And before you pick up the remote control, ask yourself if there are activities to share with the family, or entertainment, like a museum visit or play, that you’ve been putting off.
5. Commit to number one. When the demands of work, parenthood, or household chores get you down, it’s time to schedule a date with yourself. Whether it’s every Sunday night or 20 minutes each morning, the important thing is to make a plan and stick to it.
6. Find a sanctuary. Escape to a place to enjoy peaceful solitude.
7. Be spontaneous. Spontaneity is key to feeling like you’re in control of your own destiny. Every once in a while, a change in routine can spark your spirits and your energy.
8. Live beneath your means. Did you know that 80% of America’s self-made millionaires are frugal? If you want to achieve economic independence, try buying only what you can afford, not what you think you need. See how long you can go without cashing a check, charging on credit, or buying anything. You’ll be amazed how ingenious and inventive you can be.
9. Rewrite the course of your day. When the newspaper’s horoscope doesn’t tell you what you want to hear, write your own, using words that make you feel great. Or start jotting down phrases you like on slips of paper, put them in a box, and pick as many as you need to start the day.
10. Listen to your body. You know what your biological clock prefers. Indulge it and watch your productivity grow.

So, if you are looking for a way to lead a more simple life, driven by your unique individual purpose instead of someone else’s agenda, taking heed of the things on this list seems like a great place to start.

Or better yet: Write your own list of things you can - and will! - do now in order to de-stress your life and harness your energies to achieve the things that really matter to you!

Trina

 

Dear Friends, 

When I was still in junior high school I sang in the school choir. We often sang a song that included these lines:

“Let there be peace on Earth,

and let it begin with me!” 

Why does it seem easier to think about so many things - including your personal idea of success - from the outside? It’s tempting to anchor your expectations of success to the outward trimmings of your life - and luck - instead of looking for the source of your success deep within yourself.

To have a successful career, for example, all you need is to open the right paper and find the right job ad and have the right boss who gives you the right project for the right client who has the right product for the right target group with the right amount of money and the right lifestyle, right?

And if none of that is in place, it’s not your fault if you don’t succeed, right?

WRONG!

Not only must we excavate what would truly mean success for us from underneath the many conflicting layers of external expectations, internalized values, and happenstance, we must look to ourselves to think, feel and act in a way the opens up our lives to the manifestations of true success we are seeking.

Recently I received a link to the 1st issue of a new ezine by the American Dream Project called LIFEOLOGY. One of the features particular caught my eye, adding - as it does - a further facet to my personal contemplations on the subject of success. That’s why I’d like to share this simple yet thought-provoking challenge with all of you:

Consider this:

If you are sick of foreign wars, make peace with your personal enemies.

If you are concerned with our nation’s debt, save your own money.

If you are sickened by materialism, buy only what you really value.

If you are concerned with global warming, conserve, walk, telecommute.

If you are worried about the environment, recyle, plant trees, grow something.

If you are angry with our leaders, propose and post real solutions.

If you are worried about health care costs, eat right, exercise, and sleep.

If you are worried about crime, drugs, and violence, participate in a neighborhood watch.

If you are sad about the decline of marriage, make yours the best example of commitment and fulfullment you can.

If you are worried about terrorists, put some boundaries between yourself and those who use of abuse you.

©American Dream Project

Yes, whether we are talking about changing the world or just changing ourselves: LET IT BEGIN WITH ME!

Trina

Dear Friends,

As someone working in a fairly new profession, I often get asked the question “What exactly do coaches do?”.

Unlike a teacher or doctor or bus driver, most people I come into contact with have never had any dealings with a professional coach, except maybe where sports is concerned. Even people who assume they know what a coach does are often surprised when they find out more about the profession.

While reading some articles and comments on the archives at www.oncoaching.com I came across this nifty little acronym. I had to chuckle when I read it, because - although I say all of these things when people ask me about what I do - I’ve never yet packaged it with quite so much simple impact!

A coach is the perfect sounding board and accountability partner when you want to:

C = Connect with your passion
O = Organize and prioritize
A = Accomplish your goals
C = Cultivate your skills
H = Hone your talents

Carpe Diem!

Trina

 

Dear Friends,

The days of the unchallenged supremecy of traditional advertising are long gone. The web offers a significantly more direct way to interact with your target market, whether you are establishing a company, launching a new fragrance or looking for your next job. An interesting site to check out if you want to know more about the strengths (and loopholes!) of the online networking scene is BuzzNetworker, a site that challenges you to ask yourself:

• Do you have a presence at all on any of these networking websites?
• What are the different websites and which ones should you be using?
• How do you effectively use these websites to promote yourself, your business, or your product?

Trina

 

Dear Friends,

Ok, I am still wrestling with what my authentic definition of success is at this particular stage in my life (yes, I think definitions tend to shift as we age and life’s circumstances change). As someone who began reading other people’s blogs and newsletters, as well as participating in online forums, long before I launched my own consultancy, I now seem to be attracting entries and articles orbiting around that subject in one way or another.

In trying to fine-tune the qualitative facets of my personal definition of success, many peripheral questions beg to be (re-)considered as well. For example:

How do I interactive with other people?

Maria Sipka, moderator of the forum Global Business Women on the German business networking site XING, challenges the readers of her thread “16 Meaningful Questions for your Conversation” to bypass mere daily niceties when interacting with friends and strangers alike. Instead she encourages us to intensify and strengthen daily interaction on every level by asking real questions and actually listening to the answers we receive.

What’s a ‘real’ question, you ask? We all (over-)use the standard “How are you doing?” that belies any deeper interest in the other person’s mood or fate! It’s just a cheap touchstone anyway. Conversational filler.

Ask yourself what it would be like to ask just one meaningful question in every conversation we have from now on. Imagine how it would feel to honestly answer a meaningful question every time we interact with someone - and have them really listen to what you have to say!

Here are a few of the meaningful questions that Maria collected in her journal and shared with all of us:

1. What’s been on your mind lately?
2. What are you excited about at the moment?
3. Who are you really happy for at the moment?
4. When was the last time you felt inspired?
5. What’s been tempting you lately?
6. When do you find time to reflect? What do you usually reflect about?

In coaching this type of question is refered to as a “powerful question”. They are powerful because they force the coachee to delve below the surface of mere niceties and seriously think about issues that make a real difference in the way s/he thinks/feels/believes/acts.

It’s a good coach’s job to play devil’s advocate and structure coaching sessions around relevant questions like this. Doing so challenges a coachee to explore the realm of their own true feeling, beliefs and opinions way beyond the expectations of societal and peer pressure or upbringing. Allowing your own state-of-being to escape from the cellar of your subconscious and take its rightful place - top-of-mind - helps you confront how you really see things in your life.

It also empowers you to take whatever action needed to reach the goals you’ve set for yourself and your authentic life!

Trina

 

“There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way!”

(Christopher Morley, American writer and editor)

 

Dear Friends,

I’d like to thank my net-friend and fellow coach, Vanessa Vinos, for permission to publish the following article here! It fits in very well with my own personal journey right now, and I definitely wanted to share it with all of you!

Trina 

~~~

HOW DO YOU MEASURE SUCCESS?

Quality of life is nowadays measured by the amount of money you make. Success is defined by the kind of car you drive; by the neighbourhood you live in and by the “toys” you own. After all, he who dies with the most toys wins. True or false?

In contrast, the people of the remote Himalayan country of Bhutan were recently rated as having the poorest quality of life of all bar one other country in the world….after all their average annual per capita income is only $500 (approx. €375) Ironically however, when you visit this country there are no beggars, only beautiful snow capped peaks, virgin forests, and clean air. The crime is relatively non-existant, no one is in a hurry, and there is a strong sense of community. Instead of depending on their belongings to entertain themselves, they’ve learned to enhance their lives by building relationships with each other. 

So the moral of this little story? Be careful to avoid the trap of “ the more you buy, the more you need”. Often the more we think we need, the more unhappy we are with what we have. So next time before you hand over your credit card for that new pair of Jimmy Choo’s (I know you can hear them calling your name!) just stop and think. Will this bring me more happiness compared to perhaps a few hours shared with a loved one, or a donation to an organisation or just doing something small that will make a difference to someone? It’s your call. It’s how you measure it. 

Copyright©Vanessa Vinos/Vision Life Coaching-2007

~~~

Vanessa Vinos started her professional life as a Criminal Psychologist in London, but now runs her very successful international life-coaching practise from a beautiful part of Andalucia, Spain (specialising in coaching career/life changers). She now coaches clients from all over the world; from the UK, the USA, Dubai and as far afield as a tiny island off the coast of New Zealand. She is also the resident coach for the largest website for expat women across the globe. Take a look at her website below and find our how she went from “a life of crime” to becoming one of the UK’s most sought after life coaches.

www.vision-lifecoaching.com
www.van-vinos.blogspot.com