I stumbled on this website that has some videos about coaching.
Sometimes showing the fun aspect of a profession reveals a lot about it.
Coaching Fun Stuff
Reply
Monthly Archives: January 2008
Friday’s For Coaches
Fridays are great days to recap what we did this last week.
Many Coaches leave their Fridays to catch up with marketing, administrative work and people who couldn’t do their regular sessions during the week.
My day was spent thinking, studying and going over my billing. I realize how this could be a problem for someone not used to having an open agenda. You really have to be structured or esle, you can waste the whole day away.
There are so many opportunities to help you waste your time, TV is biggest culprit but so is the Internet in the form of You Tube and games.
All in all, I am lucky to do what I love doing. And I love helping others find what it is they love doing.
Interest Rates Go Down, Spam Goes Up!
I was thinking there is little news on the real estate front lately, short of the appreciation numbers going down. I can remember a few months ago, I couldn’t keep up with the news.
It seems more than likely that the lending industry will be hit very hard in the next few months. As more and more companies close and are being bought out by banks. It seem we will see less and less brokers. Then again, how many have we heard this about Realtors. Nonetheless, with Bank of America rolling the dice with acquiring Country Wide, it seems we will see banks lending in the future.
While the news popped up that the Federal Reserve lowered the rates again, so did the influx of spam. The last refuge of spamming lenders with unethical and predatory mailings has been invading my mailbox. It’s really sad to see these people continuing the practice that have brought this mess in the first place. It is up to people receiving those spam emails not to respond.
I feel we have a few more months until the dust settles a little and the real lenders feel confident enough prices will not drop to lend money again.
Perfect Time To Differentiate The Serious Realtor
When times get tough, the tough get going and this is especially true in our real estate market.
More than ever, this is the perfect time any serious Realtor will use to redefine themselves and hone in on what differentiates them from the flock. Hopefully, if you were successful these last few years, you have set aside some money to weather the rough present storm. This is the perfect time to invest into yourself and be ready when things pick up. They will eventually.
Finding a good Coach now before you hit the upswing of the market will definitely put you ahead of the curve. This is the moment you can spend on yourself, because I assume many of us has a little bit more time than we had the last few years. This time can be spent thinking about ourselves. What makes us different? Who am I in this market? How do I stand out? How can I differentiate myself from others?
Here is a little exercise you can do. Make two lists, the first list, write down your personal values, on the second list, your professional values. Sees what fits, what overlaps and what is contradicting. This alone should give you a better insight as to what motivates you. And for the rest? Well, get in touch with a coach. A little investment today in yourself will go a long way tomorrow.
Satying Positive In The Face Of Adversity
Staying positive in the face of adversity is an important part of success.
It can be hard to stay positive when things start crumbling down around us. It’s easy to slip into self-sorrow, pity and other emotions that serve little to build a good future. It helps to have a little perspective and to analyze situations with a certain amount of detachment.
I always think of the duality that Star Trek epitomized so well between the Doctor of the original series, Leonard McCoy and Spock. Leonard McCoy, or Bones as he was called was the passionate side of humans while Spock was the rational, logical side. Whether you agree or not, Captain Kirk was supposed to be the resulting balance. I never cared much for the character. Ooooh burn, Star Trek fan! However, I always loved Bones and Spock because together, they were spot on.
The Spock in us offers the capacity to have a cold hard look at any situation without feeling. Before reaching a conclusion, Bones would usually chime in and bring into account the human aspect. Together they would find a compromise.
And, no I haven’t completely digressed here. Using our logical minds to find solution has become the norm in our society. However, and this is especially true in the way we conduct businesses today, touching base with the human side (morality, ethics, etc) is something that is rarely done anymore.
Staying positive in the face of adversity means using both sides of your mind at the correct moment. It also involves staying focused on the goal. If you are striving for a specific goal and face problems, keep in mind why you are doing and never lose that vision. It helps you make what you are going through relative.
Coaching You, Coaching Me
Coaching is a fascinating profession because as you work with others, you work on yourself.
This is the one thing I probably like most about coaching, as I work with others it gives me greater insights about me. Coaching is one of those remarkable professions that shed light as to who you are while you work with others. Imagine that?
I am thankful to have found a profession that let’s me do that. My number one priority in life is to transcend my present state and grow into greater understanding of myself, life and the relation with this reality. I guess this is yet another way to say: “What’s it all about?” When I had my computer company, I can’t say it was spiritually fulfilling. The tangents between human mind and computers were interesting but hardly food for thought in the long run. Coaching allows me to witness what others go through and look into myself to see if I have either been there or about to experience it. As we work on unfolding ways to discover about us, it almost feels like a giant mirror is held before me.
And this is a very subtle part of coaching, you never tell anyone what to do. They are best equipped to decide in the end.
Getting Clear About Yourself
For most of us, getting clear about ourselves is the hardest thing when you are caught up in the turmoil of life.
It’s hard sometimes to stop and think; “What is it I want to do in the future?”. “Who am I after all?” This is where a Coach comes in handy. You can ask these questions with a Coach and feel safe about it. I especially like working with dynamic entrepreneurs and small business owners because they often ask themselves these questions but don’t always have the time to spend on them.
And this is what it boils down to… spending the time on yourself you need to make yourself even more effective. Allowing you to take care of number one. I think one good way to access yourself, sort of speak is to get to a place where you do away with your feelings and emotions for awhile. First find a place where you will be comfortable for a few minutes without interruptions. Then think about it as a movie. See yourself as if you were filming the person called you. I have an easier time seeing myself a few feet above and back of my head. This way, I see forward. Slowly get to a place of no judgment, no feelings as you detach yourself from your emotions. After all, right now, you need to not feel encumbered by guilt, shoulds and shouldn’ts. This is your neutral time and space.
The more you find yourself at this spot and the more you allow yourself to observe yourself without judgments, the clearer the vision of who you are and what you see for the future will me. As with anything, it takes time and perseverance but the results are great.
Printers That Don’t Let You Do Your Work
It ticks me off to see how printer companies force cartridges down our throats.
I swore I never will buy again a printer that stops you from printing a black and white paper because it is low on color cartridges. It is annoying that I don’t need the color and I need to print black and white for my business right now. This calls for a letter to Epson. And it’s not just Epson. They all do this. I guess you just cannot depend on them for business.
Music, Sweet Music…
I love music. How relevant is it to the blog? Oh heck! It is my blog after all and I can talk about it. It is such an integral part of me.
The reason for all this rambling is I finally went to Amoeba yesterday in LA and bought Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. Do you remember the creepy music to the Exorcist? The album is simply amazing. It is definitely from that beautiful period when musicians were more free to experiment with concepts and the music industry wasn’t so hell bent on popular commercial boring flavor of the year.
Mike Oldfield, much like Pink Floyd, Yes and Genesis amongst many others created theme albums. Tubular Bells is a perfect example. Two sides, well back in the 33 LP days of instrumentals. What I love about these types of albums are the moods they create. It took me a long time to realize that what I love most in music is the feeling it creates and shares with you. Tubular Bells has a British feel to it. You can almost feel King Arthur and his mystical Knights. Pink Floyd’s Echoes on the Meddle album (probably my favorite album ever) is a trip down to an aquatic fantasy world.
There are precious jewels in many albums. Take for instance Buffalo Springfield’s first album and listen to Yesterdays. It’s an amazing song, filled with strange lyrics and a melody that is jazzy, relaxed, off beat. It is unique. And speaking of Unique, what about the Grateful Dead’s mystical Rosemary? “No one may come here, since no one may stay…”
I used to play a lot of music, first as a drummer and eventually as a singer. I was the only one who spoke English and could sing in the south of France. It was a fun. We had a few semi-professional bands. Ultimately, spending my weekends in crowded and cigarette filled air was too much.
These albums from that time period were filled with artistic creations, imagination and ebullient visions. I miss these times. I miss these albums. I would like to find musicians one day who want to play Pink Floyd, some specific Buffalo Springfield and other interesting pieces. As soon as I have more time, I will start playing with other people again.
Trigger Moments, Reflects for Consciousness
It is interesting that the last few months or so I have been working on consciously creating “trigger points” throughout the day to bring me back to a greater self awareness.
What is interesting is that it has been expressed in my practice by a few clients. Many people want to be more conscious, more in touch with themselves in their daily lives. We hate to lose ourselves and striving to remain conscious while going about our busy day is a challenge.
It really takes an effort on our part to remember to remember. The more you do it, the more you remember. The trick is getting to the point where you have trigger point moments throughout the day. This helps you become aware of yourself and make things relative again. This helps you get a bird’s eye view on the entire situation and redefine you strategy if needs be.
I thought about different ways of creating these trigger moments. You can carry a little piece of paper in your pocket or purse, a necklace with a knot tied onto it, anything special you will look at once in a while to help you remember. The trick is to change the trigger enough so that it doesn’t become habitual and you don’t pay attention to it.
This is why being a Coach is truly a wonderful profession, you get to work on yourself as you work with others. It is is a truly symbiotic relationship.