Coaching Wizardry

Lots of people have been asking me why I went for a blog site rather than a conventional, static website to promote my business.  One of the main reasons is that a blog is so much more dynamic - that’s partly because the content changes as often as the author writes it, but also because there’s the space for readers to chip in with comments, ideas, questions, challenges, information on other resources, blog sites, web material and so on.

And I don’t know about you but I think a blog site with comments looks a lot more friendly and lived in too. After my first five days of live blogging the place already looks a lot more complete - so thanks very much to my early callers

I’m guessing though that there are lots of people out there who’d like to chip in but aren’t used to leaving comments, may not know how to go about it or might not be sure what to say.  If that sounds like you then keep on reading to find out how to join the conversation…

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There’s nothing to beat a good quote to kick start the morning, don’t you think?  I love this one.

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose”

It reflects a lot of important coaching themes - and the things that happen within coaching.  Finding out who you are.  What’s important to you.  The values that drive you forward.  The actions, the choices that reflect those values and beliefs.  That make up and tell your story.

And once you are in that powerful state of knowing who you are, what really matters to you - well then you can get on with going out there and doing it on purpose.

So who was this philosopher who summed it up so wisely?  None other than Dolly Parton, a woman who is proud to define herself, to tell her own story.  Which means she should really get the last word…

“I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes.

I know that I’m not dumb, and I also know that I’m not blonde”

There’s a really thoughtful post on creating a legacy at Anna Farmery’s Engaging Brand site. (One of many short, engaging and thought provoking pieces that she manages to post at least daily: something to aspire to there…)

She’s talking about the way we express values through the development of a personal brand:

You may not be driven by money - like me maybe it is your personal values and the creation of value in the world. The biggest reason for me to know and live by a personal brand, is that I want to ensure that I live my life to my values, I want to create my legacy as I go…so there are no regrets when I close my eyes for the final time….

The idea of creating your legacy as you go along rather than waiting to the end is a very powerful one. And it’s not something that is limited to a brand. It’s the choices we make in life. The roads taken. Things we stand up for. Words spoken. Lives touched. Not just the big things but the small stuff too. An outstretched hand of friendship. Random acts of kindness.

And it is what what I mean by stories: the ones we live, the ones we tell, the ones we leave behind.

All of which reminds me of a fabulous quote by George Bernard Shaw:

“Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch that I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

There’s been some discussion over at Creating Passionate Users about the most scary thing that people have done recently.  (This is in the context both of software and the Sydney Bridge Climb - an intriguing
combination!).  It has been interesting to read about the challenges people have set themselves: leaving jobs, snowboarding, sky-diving, sorting out personal finances, and jumping off a bridge…

The conversation is partly about what makes us scared, partly about how we feel the fear and do it anyway, partly about the buzz we get afterwards.  This is what the bridge climber Kathy Sierra said:

A short time ago I went on the Sydney Bridge Climb. At night. It was the most frightening thing I’ve ever done. But when it was over, I felt braver, stronger, and different.

And I realised that pressing the button to make this blogsite ‘live’ is scary too.  It’s not the scariest thing I’ve ever done and it’s not like jumping off the Sydney Bridge.  But there is a fear factor, an element of taking a deep breath, closing your eyes…and just jumping.

I don’t know about you, but when I’ve got a problem or something that’s making me feel a bit sad or miserable or frustrated, well when that happens the chances are that I turn it over and over in my mind, saying the same words over and over again until they get fixed, solidified, frozen.  Once that’s happened it can be hard to see beyond the words to a point where the problem’s not bothering you any more – or better still you’ve zapped it for good.

Changing the words and the language can help to unblock the problem.  I stumbled across a really simple trick over at the ‘Thinking Managers’ site.  All you do is write down the words of your problem and type them into one of the online translation services like Babelfish. Translate your problem into a different language – non European is probably best, and I’ve had some good fun with Korean – then cut and paste the new text and turn it back into English. 

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