Clients Come Easily and Abundantly

How would my client game be viewed through the lens of Essence?


Leader
Honour
Humanity
Play
Wonder

I lead with humanity and honor in the world.



I invite others to play with me.


With wonder we explore their lives.



We play with the possibilities the future holds for them.





As leader I invite them forward to the future that they choose to create.


They desperately shower me with treasures to reward me for the energy I channel as their playful, caring, honourable, committed leader.




The process repeats... and as my capacity to channel energy for others grows, so too do the rewards.





In Response to Stephen Hawking makes it clear: there is no God

In response to 

Stephen Hawking makes it clear: There is no God




I recently watched The Unbelievers which followed Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss, as they travelled the globe and engaged in conversation and debate on the existence of God.

I love their thoughts and for the most part I love their beliefs and approach.

However, I notice that there is an inherent right-and-wrongness to their own belief systems.  In Dawkins speech I often pick up on a tone of "people who believe in XYZ are flawed mentally".

I personally think that your belief system is only significant with respect to its impact on what you want to create in the world.

If believing that we were created by a grand teddy bear in the sky allows you to have everything you want in life, what difference does it make if I agree with you or not?

I see beliefs, facts and social agreements as completely separate things.

I can believe I am God if I want.  And yet I will need to acknowledge that there are facts like--this thing I am using is called a cell phone.  And in order to exist in a community, it's useful, for example, to agree to not murder each other.

But beyond that, why not believe what you want?  Who really cares?

What do you think?  What's the issue with letting people believe in the existence of God or the non-existence of God?  Can we not just come to some agreements on how we will live together and then just leave each other alone? Why are we so obsessed with forcing everyone to see the world the way we do?

What would the world look like if we put our differences to rest and moved on to creating a future together?


Dream

Photo credit: https://unsplash.com


Dream


Be free to Dream... 

....fantasize.....
...........................idealize..
......envision...
....................................desire......

When they tell you that your dreams are unrealistic; when they say you're naive; when they say that it just isn't possible, look around you.

Everything around you was once a dream.  

The carpet on the floor.  
The paint on the walls.  
The lawn beneath your feet.  
The rules you abide by.  
The schools you attend.  
The religion you follow.

Your heart's deepest desires could one day be the world's reality.

It all starts with a...

Dream





6 Keys to Start a Successful Business

6 Keys to Start a Successful Business


An entrepreneur explains how you get ready to start your business

via Entreprenuer.com
1. Is your concept unique? Entrepreneurs start as small fish in a big pond. If you're planning to start a business, Contreras-Sweet recommends you ask yourself these questions: "What's my niche? How do I distinguish myself in the field? What's the innovation here? What am I fixing that isn't fixed today?

Read the rest: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218067


What Is Motivation?

What Is Motivation?

I believe a person's motivation can be very easily determined -- if they're willing to be honest with you, and with themselves.  To determine what motivates someone, just ask them: What do you need?

There are a number of great models of human behavior and definitions of motivation -- have a read of this article, and comment below...  Is it really any more complicated than answering the question "What do you need?"

Definition:
Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.
It involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces that activate behavior. In everyday usage, the term motivation is frequently used to describe why a person does something. For example...


A Great Resource for a Person with Disabilities

A Great Resource for a Person with Disabilities



Check out Tetra Society:
http://www.tetrasociety.org/community/chapters/nanaimo.php


Tetra clients can be anyone. They can be infants or seniors or anyone in between. As well, levels of disability can vary greatly from client to client. No challenge given Tetra’s volunteers is deemed too great or too small. The goal is always to reduce societal and environmental barriers and to create increased independence.

Tetra’s assistive device projects tackle barriers to mobility, personal care and communications. They facilitate education, work and recreation. They provide increased access within households – kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms – and other environments, such as vehicles or places of business. In short, assistive devices created by Tetra focus on improving quality of life.
While Tetra operates 45 chapters throughout North America, the services and talents of our 300-plus expert volunteers are available to everyone. Information on past projects is shared system-wide; expertise is shared and requests for assistive device projects can even be filled remotely if someone lives in an area not served by a Tetra chapter. Since inception, Tetra has completed 5,000 projects.

Embrace the Near Win

At her first museum job, art historian Sarah Lewis noticed something important about an artist she was studying: Not every artwork was a total masterpiece. She asks us to consider the role of the almost-failure, the near win, in our own lives. In our pursuit of success and mastery, is it actually our near wins that push us forward?

What do Veterans need to know about Mesothelioma?

What do Veterans need to know about Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is misdiagnosed frequently because it's a rare disease, and the symptoms are mistaken for more common illnesses.  I'm pleased to share this resource on behalf of the kind folks at Mesothelioma.net so that people suffering from Mesothelioma and their families can better understand this terrible affliction.

They're also focusing on helping educate veterans about mesothelioma since asbestos was once widely used in the military.  Read more:




What is autism spectrum disorder? – definition, symptoms & cures

What is autism spectrum disorder? – definition, symptoms & cures


Are you worrying about whether your child has autism spectrum disorders? Are you finding and collecting all information of ASD (autism spectrum disorders)? So what is autism spectrum disorder? – is this a question that you are finding the answer for it? If your answer is “Yes”, you should read this report from the site VKool.com that will help you identify if your child or someone you know has autism spectrum disorder.

Read more at:  http://vkool.com/autism-spectrum-disorder/




Dating and Relationship Resources

http://www.100bestdatingsites.org/blog/2013/top-100-google-pages-worth-following-for-love-relationship-tips/


Above is one hundred different google plus pages on dating and relationships.  Check out their google plus page for their website -- lots of great dating and relationship advice and resources!



From Head to Heart

Shooting down and finding faults in other's ideas and dreams is easy.  You've probably been trained to do it since you were born.


Try exercising a new muscle--support, uplift and ask how you can be a part of making their ideas reality.



For me this has been an extremely difficult habit to break -- I've been born with the gift of analysis.  Since I was young, people around me have encouraged and rewarded me for my analytic nature.  It helped me to become an engineer.

I spent decades striving to be right, to prove my point, to win the argument.  It became so ingrained in me that I even to this day I sometimes cannot separate myself from it.  My language, how I view the world, my judgments, all of it is framed through analysis, winning, proving and justifying.

Is it any wonder?  What methods are used to assess students in school?  What is prized at work?  Who are our heroes in popular fiction?


I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.
Abraham Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being 

We have all been equipped with so many tools.  From my own experience I suppose that the least used tool for many of us is our heart.

Our heart would have us feel love, support and compassion.  Our heart wants us to follow our intuitions, live with passion, be open and vulnerable.

If you are anything like me, you probably haven't really used your heart most of your life.

One way to exercise it is to make a different choice with respect to other's ideas and dreams -- just get on board with them no matter what.  Be like a kid in a sandbox -- help build that cool town... Or create that grass and mud soup.  

Who cares what "people" think-- just play with your friend and see what you can create together.


The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Aristotle

(image from http://www.happyfromwithin.com/blog/head-to-heart-connection)

Practice

It seems insane to expect someone to perform perfectly the first time.  So why do we expect ourselves to get life right -- isn't it our first time?

Inspirational Interview with Pixar

Inspirational Interview with Pixar

Inside Pixar: We're About Telling Stories 


What is a life coach?

What is a life coach? 

In a sentence, a life coach helps their client create a new view of their reality -- a perceptual shift -- and then invites their client to take action from that new perception of reality.



A life coach helps men and women who have a deeper calling to achieve a dream, sometimes an impossible dream.  Whatever they want to be, to do or to have, these inspired people haven't been able to be it, do it or have it on their own.

I don't view this as a failing or a lack; rather I support people to discover what is missing or what is needed to propel them forward.

Usually these brilliant and highly creative people know what to do or what needs to be done, but for one reason or another they are not ACTING.

This is one thing that distinguishes coaching from therapy--all sessions are aimed at creating ACTION and FORWARD MOVEMENT on goals and PROJECTS.

Furthermore a life coach helps these passionate and unique individuals get what they want because they CHOOSE to, because they DECIDE to.

For example, a client might approach a life coach saying that they want to start a business... And they may say that now is not the right time or that they don't have the money yet, or XYZ reason is stopping them.

When we work together, with me as the life coach, we would get the business started now, or when the client decides, not at some unknown time in the future.  And we would do it because the client says so, in the face of all their circumstances and reasons that it "can't be done."

Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.
Aristotle

For more information consider this article by askmen
 http://ca.askmen.com/money/body_and_mind_100/141_better_living.html

James Victore on Self Doubt

James Victore on Self Doubt


James Victore is an American art director, designer, and author. In 2010 Victore's monograph "Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss?" was published by Abrams Books. In 2010 and 2012 Victore's work exhibited in The Museum of Modern Art. Wikipedia

Breaking out of self-sabotaging cycles

Breaking out of self-sabotaging cycles 



There are certain situations that drive me into apparently endless loops of thought.  Each thought tends to eventually lead back the original thought.


Here are questions to ask yourself when you get stuck in a head spin that you can't escape from:


What are the facts?


What's the story?


What can I be responsible for?


What do I choose to be responsible for?


What do I want to create?


What will take me forward?


One key idea is to accept that there are only two givens in any given situation--the facts and your interpretation of those facts.


A further idea is to do something to get present to what's so and be clear about where I want to go next.


These questions help me to get clear on that and get moving again.


How might you practice this in your life?  What predictably triggers you into self-sabatoging thought loops?  How will you remind yourself to use these questions?

I need more TIME!!

I wish I had more time!!




Besides "I wish I had more money", "I wish I had more time" is one of the most common desires I hear.

But I see this wish to be surface.  There's actually another need beneath it.

I see this as a desire for change in a person's life.  There is something that a person wants that they currently see as impossible to achieve, and the reason they give is a lack of time.

Consider this--a person's current way of life is only one out of an infinite number of possibilities.  And it comes with its own advantages and disadvantages...

Perhaps all that is needed is a subtle shift into a different way of life to get everything that a person wants... Where there are no disadvantages and only advantages.

Further consider that between the current life and the new life there are things that need to be handled, things that need to be put in place.

My invitation to you is to define what that desired life is and then look at what things need to be changed, removed or added to get to that new life.

For you brilliant thinkers: I caution you against thinking about the how's at first... Just focus on what you want and the how's will sort themselves out.

For example, if you want more hours in a day there are a number of solutions.  Why not automate some stuff?  Or hire  assistants?   Or work more effectively -- kill two or three birds with one stone.

There are often two, three or more ways to achieve an outcome.  The speed at which a person gets their results depends on how clear a person is about the outcome they want and their openness to the ways of achieving the outcome.

Now it's your turn--imagine you have all the time that you need--what is it that you would create?  What do you need to add, remove or change to get from here to there? 

When you think about this, where do you stall?  Comment below and I'll answer in a future post!


What is acknowledgement?

What is acknowledgement?






I have a specific meaning for Acknowledgement, so let me define it for you. 


In the words of Barbara Semeniuk, 

Acknowledging someone is different than complimenting them. To acknowledge someone is to recognize a talent, gift or characteristic that is unique to them. Instead of acknowledging, most of us have learned to compliment each other. We comment on something we like about another instead of focusing our remarks on who they are. Compliments are usually about us ( I think you did a great job on this project, I admired your performance). Using the word “ I” is a clue that it’s about you. When acknowledging the accomplishments of others, the goal is to make it about them. Let me give you an example of what I mean. 

My neighbours have the best garden on the street…it is an oasis of beauty and calm with fountains, birds, and greenery and flowers, glorious flowers! I happened to catch my neighbour working in the garden and I said to him, “ I love the flowers you planted, thank you,” then I acknowledged his gift more personally by saying “ You have such a beautiful garden. Thank you so much for taking the time and energy to share your gift with the neighbourhood!

It was a win-win situation, it made him feel good and it made me feel good about myself. 

Dan Weigold says, 
It’s not easy however it is a powerful, powerful way to let someone know they are important and matter. 

Just say in an authentic manner and a genuine manner as well, “I want to thank you for __________”. 

Micheal Angier says, 
In my personal coaching, acknowledgment comes after my client’s have taken action. However acknowledgment is not just about the action, it is about who my client’s are ‘being’ while they are taking action. I acknowledge my client’s for their values and their purpose and not just their activity. I cheer them on, support them to take the next step with courage and mental strength, and help them to see what they did to get their results. 

Try acknowledging yourself today; tomorrow try acknowledging someone else; the next day, ask someone to acknowledge you :)

Winter Challenge 2014

Winter Challenge 2014 

 


What is this about?

According to  http://globalnews.ca/news/1194435/winter-challenge-2014-goes-viral-on-social-media-across-b-c/

"It is a common practice across indigenous groups in North America to take part in a ceremony like this as part of a cleansing ritual. But it is often a private affair.

The goal is to feel clean and light and free of troubles. “I’ve talked to a few elders about the conflict in a ceremony being exposed,” she said. “But the benefits outweigh the negative.”

She said it is exciting to see so many different people from all over B.C. taking part. “There’s nothing but positivity in it,” said Victor. “It really connects people to each other and to the water.” "

Why am I doing this?


I'm doing this to be a symbol of our connection.  You are all my friends, old, new, near and far.  And you have all touched my life in an important and memorable way.

A symbol of my commitment to you to support you and encourage you to be unstoppable in life, just as you have supported me!

And this is for me.  Just to do something wacky and fun :)
And it's one of the many Out of the Box things I'm planning to do this year as a part of our new program:   Break Out of the Box!

Direct Seller Skill: Asking for business



No matter what kind of direct selling business you're in, at some point you're going to need to ask someone to do business with you.

How it looks is different for everyone, but by "asking for business" I mean asking for compensation in exchange for a product or service.

Although there are so many courses, books and training programs about sales that you might think this will be hard, don't let yourself be fooled -- asking for business is really simple.

It goes like this:

Would you like to do business together?

Certainly there is different wording that can be used (I like "Do you have any objections to hiring me?), but the idea is the same--a basic question with three possible answers:

Yes
No
Negotiate

Anything else that people add to this question is extra, and quite often useless.

Because what you want to know is, are they ready to do business, and if not, is there something you can do about it, or are they 100% no?

Leave people who are 100% no alone.  

Get your contract or receipt out for those who are yes.

And for the so-called "yes but's" determine what their objection is, and determine your ability to address the objection.

And that's it!

The asking for business step can be tweaked and enhanced ad naseum, but the heart of it will never change.

And for those who want to make the process more complicated are most likely trying to pre-handle objections--in other words, they are imagining the "no" and attempting to prevent it.

But without knowing the real reason for the no, without knowing the true objection, all of those attempts are likely wasted energy.

Instead, focus on finding more yes's and managing your own Being, as this will more directly affect your sales results.

What Do I Want People To Know Before I Die?

What Do I Want People To Know Before I Die?


I think we were all put here to contribute something to the world.  Something unique.  Something that adds to the equation of life and existence.

For me, I suppose it's sharing my enlightenments about life.  

And specifically I guess that my contribution is the exploration of the human journey, the journey of one person's battle with self worth and the resulting prisons of the mind.

I am one who tends to overcomplicate everything but at the same time one who judges himself incessantly for being too simpleminded.

I am so fraught with internal conflicts and contradictions that I can get paralyzed debating which way to walk down a street!! 

And at the same time I think my journey is boring.  What can I share?  What's worth sharing?  What do I talk about?  



So I asked myself today, if today was my last day on Earth, what would I want to tell everyone I know?

And what comes to mind today is this:

I discovered once, while giving a speech at Toastmasters, that what others want to hear doesn't really matter... Because there's always an audience for authentic stories, ideas and sharings.  

There are always people who get something from your sharing.  You, yourself can never truly know what people need to hear or what impact your words will have on them.

So just express.  And see what happens.

And so I did.

What do you want to share?

It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action



"It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action." -- Honore de Balzac

And why not team up with somebody?

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET!

What you see is what you get!


Many business owners out there suffer from endless Groundhog Days.  It seems no matter what they do, the same things happen with their businesses and lives, day-in, day-out, week-in, week-out. 

Perhaps it’s they have the same conversation with their staff over and over again, or perhaps their head office does that same thing they do every month and it just gets so exhausting.

image

Nobody wants to experience the same thing every day, especially the same problems.  It’s boring, tiring and frustrating!  Everybody dreams of being happy, fulfilled and successful.  But when someone has faced the same problem 100 times, how could it possibly be any different tomorrow?

Behaviour change can be seen as a 2-step process.


1. Create awareness.
2. Practice something different.

In this series I invite you to generate some new awarenesses and try practicing something new.

This week let’s consider Perception and how it can be changed.

Try this.

Imagine you are an Interior Designer.  Look around the room.  What do you notice?

Probably the colours, the fabrics, the materials, the layout and flow, the lighting, the decorations.

Now imagine you are a Thief!  What do you see?

Likely you see the good stuff, the jewelry, the money, and the exits!

This little exercise should demonstrate a couple of things to you:


1. Your role in the world defines what you see and what you’re looking for.
2. What you see influences your mental and emotional state of being.
3. How you see the world is completely within your control.

So how can this be applied at work and in your life?

Consider an employee, friend, child or spouse that you are frustrated with.  If you meet them while you are frustrated, what will you see when you talk with them?

Probably the things that frustrate you.

And what if you imagine you are somebody else for a change?  Imagine you are their best and most supportive friend—how would you behave differently?

Or what if you thought of them as yourself as their servant and asked, “how can I serve you?”

Do you think there will be any change in the outcome of your next conversation with them?

What did you just become aware of?

This week why not take on these practices?

1. What other ways do you know to change your state of being?  Exercise?  Going to the forest?  Changing your body position?
2. Begin with the end in mind—imagine the result you’d like from an interaction or experience.  What state of being would facilitate that experience?
3. Watch this TED Talk by Amy Cuddy entitled Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.
http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html

Report back and leave your comments below!

And what other questions about your problems, goals and challenges do you have?  Send them in and I’ll answer them!