Reality Check Your Resolution
Whether or not you are a resolution-maker, the New Year invites you to take stock of the distance traveled over the last twelve months and set goals for the coming year. This year, many of us look back on 2010 and see a lot of hardships – whether loss of job, financial stress, health problems, or loss of loved ones. Most of these have hit pretty close to home for me over the last twelve months. And I, for one, am hoping for a better 2011. But while I am hopeful and positive, I am also aware of the many hurdles to overcome, both personally and globally. Cultivating a perspective that is at...
Read MoreTapping Into Your Inner Board of Directors
Have you ever been stuck at a decision point, paralyzed by inner conflict, pulled in multiple directions by different needs, desires, and fears? Instead of trying to choose among these warring factions of yourself, perhaps it is time to get them to work together. Cast them as your internal Board of Directors, give each a seat at the table, and work out a deal so that you can move forward. Here’s one way to do it:* Step 1: Identify the topic or decision in neutral terms. Imagine (or draw) a boardroom table with the topic in the middle. Step 2: Identify between four and six internal...
Read MoreBreaking Up (With Your Job) is Hard To Do
I have a client who is completely fed up with her job. She is spread too thin, underpaid, under-resourced, isolated, and dissatisfied. She has tried hard to make the job work better, but it has now become clear that the fundamental problems with this job are not going to change. She sees that it will never provide what she wants and needs from her job: financial reward, respect, teamwork, meaning, and balance. If this job were a boyfriend, her friends would all be urging her to dump him and find someone more worthy. And yet she is finding it difficult to leave – in part because she feels...
Read MoreFrom Lawyer to Coach (NFL Coach, That Is)
The story of lawyer-turned-football-coach Daron Roberts offers some great lessons on career change. Roberts turned his back on a Harvard Law School education to start from scratch and become an NFL coach. While your transition may be less dramatic, you can learn from his inspiring story. 1. You can change your career. It’s that simple (though not easy). So don’t let your past choices or inertia dictate your future career. Even after investing time and money in law school, Roberts wasn’t bound by his education. He discovered his passion through volunteering at a...
Read MoreThis is Only a Test
Today I spoke with Gretchen Rubin, best-selling author of The Happiness Project, about her book, happiness, and coaching. Our conversation touched on the importance of taking action. Gretchen’s project was all about test-driving a wide range happiness theories and practices to see if DOING things made her FEEL HAPPIER. In pursuit of happiness, she read a lot (I mean a lot), and thought a lot, but the focus was on doing (a lot!) In my coaching practice, I expect my clients to get into action right away. Sometimes clients are caught off guard by the need to take action before they...
Read MoreGet Experimental
Here’s the deal: you don’t change your life by thinking really hard about it, or by dreaming, or talking about it. You change it by taking action. I just watched a talk on youtube given by my fellow coach and former co-worker, Michael Melcher. It’s a great overview of how coaching works — no hidden tricks or gimmicks. He outlines four basic pieces of career coaching that guide the process: 1. Values, 2. Vision, 3. Relationships, and 4. Experiments. Number 4 is key. Yes, you need to know what you like and what’s important to you (values), and you need to...
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