Parents!

Coaching is for more than just adults needing to find their place or reach a goal. Students in high school with unclear goals and unsure about what to study in college or even those considering not attending can benefit from finding out what drives them.

Contact me and we can set up a time to talk with your child and get them on the road to their dreams.

Resolve

The New Year harangues us with the need for changes in our lives. Various media and acquaintances heighten the assault. It is an endless cycle of procrastination and broken self-promises. There are plenty of sources for you to try and keep those New Year’s Resolutions but I am here to suggest you don’t make any at all.

You see - waiting for a date on the calendar will only generate excuses when the date occurs. If you want to change, do it now!

Telling yourself you will modify the situation and your place in the world is different than actually doing it. We are creatures of habit after all, so we don’t really cater to change that easily. We need motivation.

Guilt and its cousin, regret can take a hike. You have decisions and choices. Decide now is the time to do whatever it takes to live a more beneficial and contented life and choose the right course to make it happen. That’s it. Is it easy? Most likely not (it’s that habit thing), however, if you believe to your core that what you want is what you need to express, then the burden does ease somewhat.

It’s hard to do what you love, so do what you are! What you do is a projection of who you are and because it is coming out of you, you will love it!

Now…who are you?

Fill Your Page

Doing what you love does not come without sacrifices somehow. Whether it is a drastic reduction in income or reduced family time, they are there. To many, those are worth it, but to many more, it is not in the cards. So how do we do accomplish or reach the goals that stoke the fires of our passions?

It’s in the margins.

Copyright Pink Sherbet Photography

Picture a piece of lined paper. Personally I prefer college ruled, but you roll with your image. Imagine jotting down everything you have to do in the body of the page. Those things we all have to do. Now, instead of doodling on the side of the page, write down all those things you’d like to do.

There are moments every day when those things can be worked on. It is possible that you will lose sleep along the way, so be prepared for that. That’s one of those sacrifices I mentioned. That being said, if this is something that drives you and you can’t imagine not doing, you will enjoy every moment of it by using every moment.

Living in the Now can seem like some mystical BS attainable only to the enlightened. Not so. It is as simple as being exactly where you are, doing precisely what you are doing. No hoity-toity, no wishy-washy, just here. Now.

No thinking about 5 o’clock on a Friday (unless it is of course). No pining away for some other activity that you are not doing (unless that is what you can focus fully on without distractions of what you really should be doing). If you are going to daydream, then give it your full attention. Otherwise, you are missing out on what is right in front of you that demands your attention. Not living in the moment can best be compared to texting while driving. Driving is a demanding effort that commands your attention. Doing something that takes away from that puts you at risk.

So in chasing passions one must have goals to strive for, but balance that with working on what one can right now. Remember Frogger? That arcade game where the goal was to navigate various obstacles to make it across to your goal is quite apt. There will be moments where we may take the eye off the short-term goal (the next hop) and falter. Knowing when to leap takes understanding what is around you, thus being aware of Now. Set the long-term goal, move toward it, do what you can now.

Give yourself freely, meaning be honest about what and who you are. Be genuine. Giving yourself can also be putting yourself completely into your passion. Living it, breathing it, and doing everything to make it happen. If it is some sort of business, then you will have expectations. You put your heart and most likely money into something and will be looking for some return.

Interpersonal relationships are a way to give yourself without expecting a return. It will come about most likely, but going into it thinking, “what can I get out of this,” is only placating some internal fantasy of how you see yourself. Be good for goodness sake without thinking of how it may make you appear to others.

I get it!

My aha moment.

It was well edited for length I am sure and to be honest I did flub a few moments. I also should say my aha moment did help me meet over the course of years many people who I would have never met and I am grateful to know all of them and call many of them friends.

Be well.

What is the condiment?

"Where do these stairs go?"

When Ray asks that question, Peter replies, “They go up.”

I have always loved that scene from Ghostbusters. The pure audaciousness of the answer in its obviousness gets me every time.

Answers require effort to be found, however. Climbing stairs is apt, insomuch as we tend to look up to goals. Reaching them takes some determination (step by step) on our part but the reward is well worth it.

Will it be easy? Depends on the staircase. A straight run has the next floor in sight. Some stairs have landings where we can take a break before turning and heading up again. Spiral stairs hide the goal as well as the steps a few strides ahead of us and can make us dizzy from the climb.

So let’s call it challenging. Each step has distinct rewards. Every one is a little accomplishment raising you up. You have the goal in mind but you can’t take focus off the steps happening right now. You may catch a toe on the tread and stumble. When that happens you have the handrail to help you keep your balance.

What lies at the top of your staircase?

Brew Night

Thanks to Pete, Horton, Trevor, Cristi, Tod, Beth, Rod, Adrian, Norma, and Jason for attending Brew Night in Omaha! There were some good conversations and information exchanged!