Create the Energy to Grow

WowCoach(tm)
DeskTopCoaching
July 16, 2001

In this Issue:
1.  Quotes of the Week
2.  Create the Energy to Grow
3.  I Want To Matter
4.  Just Do It!
5.  Coaching Tip

Welcome to the weekly edition of DeskTopCoaching. This
newsletter is designed to bring coaching into YOUR life.  Through
thought provoking articles, strong questions, and requests for weekly
action, we will bring a coaching slant to your life.

How do we make changes in our lives?  One step at a time!
Participate in the concepts of the newsletter and watch the shifts
begin to happen.

Our network grows by your referrals.  Please feel free to send
copies of the newsletter to friends and colleagues.

Have a wonderful week.

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"You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your
grandfather was."
                             Irish Proverb

The wishbone will never replace the backbone.
                            Will Henry

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Summer is definately the time we take our holidays, congregate at the
beach, or play hooky for the day (especially on a beautiful day when
you drive a motorcycle).  This time can be a time of renewal, a time of
building up your reserves, or a time of frustration.  It is all in your
attitude!

If you are sitting on the beach, wishing and thinking about the office, who
are you serving?  Are you really being productive about things at the
office, or are you simply thinking about the To Do's, and all the fears that
you
are not out making money or closing deals?  At the same time your mind is
elsewhere you are doing a disservice to the people you are with at the
beach.  They can tell that you energy is truly not with them, on the
holiday.

Take a look at how you do your down time, your holiday, or simply the long
and beautiful days of the summer.  Are you using this time in the most
productive way?  Why not decide to truly enjoy your time away, and use it as
a
time to build up your reserves, your stores of energy, your creative
rejuvenation?
If you can actually approach your time away from 'business' as a recharging
of
your batteries, I know that you will come back with more energy, focus, and
ability to be productive.

We all want to make a difference, do important things in life, and be
successful.  Yet how we live each day, each moment, is a statement of
how we are truly living our lives.  If we cannot relax and focus on where
we are, who we are with, and what we are doing, then how is this reflecting
on the quality of our lives.  At the same time it is never giving ourselves
the time to build up our reserves.

How can you build your reserves over the summer?
What will it take to shut your mind off for a day, a week, or maybe a month?

Give yourself permission to build your reserves.  Focus on self care, and
watch how rejuvenated you feel, and the energy that you can then pour into
your
'doing' mode as you return to the office.

Use your time away to focus on the topics in the next two pieces in the
newsletter - what truly matters to you, and your fears.  Create the space
to grow your life.

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"I Want to Matter"
(c) 2001
Julie Jordan Scott

Sam had tried it all. Even as he worked in his chosen field of
Engineering for the past twenty three years, he had explored a variety of
different avenues to satisfy his internal hunger. His biggest
challenge? He did not know exactly what would satisfy his hunger, so instead
it continued to hover on the edge of his reality, causing a smoky,
smoggy interference with the rest of his existence.  As long as it
was there, that was what seemed to show up in his life: existence.
Not a masterpiece, not a symphony, not a chess game, not a road map.
It was more like his life was exemplified by a puzzle piece: a
missing puzzle piece.

As he watched the blockbuster movie, Pearl Harbor, the words of
Rafe McCawley pierced through to psyche, "I want to matter." Rafe
said. Whether that meant flying into battle as an American for the
British or fearlessly parenting a child was not the point. The point
was, Rafe wanted to his life to have significance.  Sam wanted his
own life to make a difference. He wanted the time he spent on this
planet to mean something.

When something "matters" it is important. It is compelling, profound
and valuable.  It impacts people on many levels. It elevates, empowers
and enlightens.  When a person matters, that person's message
transcends both cultures and generations.

Sam wanted to matter.

He made some subtle and important shifts in his life in order to
create his legacy: his own form of making a difference.  With
laser like intention, Sam was on his pathway towards leaving his
own significant mark.

Like Sam, you can do the same thing. You can leave your signature
in the history book of life.  Your life can truly matter for today,
tomorrow and tomorrow's tomorrow. Start with taking proactive
steps towards living a life that matters. Each step bridges the gap
between where you are today and where you would like to be in
the future.

1. Live according to your own specific purpose in life, not what other
people think you ought to be doing, not "what you have always
done" or what you thought you wanted to do in the fourth grade.
Being on purpose means you will be able to laser in on the tasks
you are meant to be doing while keeping your state of being
aligned with your heart.  This is where Sam initially went off course.
His work life, his "doing-ness" everyday was not in sync with where
his heart was calling him, which is what kept the malaise settling
over the rest of his life. Once he came clear on his purpose, he
could adjust his "doing-ness" even within the same context until
he could adjust his life so that he could pursue his hearts desires.

2. Be fueled by passion rather than fear or scarcity. Are you doing
what you are doing because you are afraid of what will happen if
you don't?  Allow joy and love to be that which propels you instead
of looking for an escape hatch from that which repels you.  Become
crystal clear about what is it exactly that you love to do...what it
is that makes YOUR heart sing.  (Again, not your partner's heart
sing or your accountant's heart sing.)

3. Mattering is also being a part of a grander scheme of things. It
touches significantly the lives of those around you. It does not
happen in a vacuum.  Mattering occurs when people link arms and create
meaningfully, together as well as separately, to create completely
the life of their dreams.  Courageously with commitment to a plan
higher than one's self.

In creating a life that makes a difference for humanity, Charles
Lindbergh said it like this: "Life [is] a culmination of the past, an
awareness of the present, an indication of a future beyond knowledge,
the quality that gives a touch of divinity to matter."

Sam now faces each day knowing that he is creating a legacy. He
is living according to his purpose, fueled by passion as he is a
part of the larger world community.  His actions match up with
the words which continue to reverberate in his mind: "I want to
matter".

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Just Do It!
Copyright 2000 by Jamie McGarvey, MS, LCPC

Often, when talking to clients I hear the biggest roadblock to their
success is FEAR.  The thing that keeps them from being successful in their
life, with their goals is FEAR.  Most often it is their fear of failure that
stops them from trying...keeping them stuck.  They are afraid to commit to a
change or a decision in an effort to avoid the fear.  The truth is that even
inaction can trigger fear...fear of being helpless to change your own life.
Fear is a part of growing and succeeding in life.

Today I challenge you to come face to face with your fear and regard
it no longer as an enemy, but a friend.  Take it by the hand and walk
forward with it...and move towards what you most want in your life.
What are you afraid of doing?  Are you afraid to ask your husband
to respect your boundaries?  Are you afraid of letting go of job that is
going nowhere?  Are you afraid to start one more weight loss program?
What is FEAR keeping you from in your life?

Those who succeed in reaching their goals don't wait for the fear to
go away to move forward and do what they want in life.  It takes
courage to face your fear, but doing so frees you up for what is
possible in your life.

"Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace."
                                    Amelia Earhart

What do you really want to do?  What do you really want to say?
Who do you want to become?

Here are some truths about fear:
The fear will never go away as long as you continue to grow!
The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and...do
it!
The only way to feel better about yourself is to go out and...do it!
Not only are you afraid when facing the unknown, so is everyone else!
Pushing through fear is less frightening than living with the bigger
underlying fear that comes from a feeling of helplessness!
(From Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers)

Living Well means taking charge of your life and making it what you want.
You CAN handle the fear and create a life you love.  I saw a shirt yesterday
that said...Fear tastes just like chicken...so enjoy your meal and love your
life.


Challenge
Write down the top 3 things that you are afraid of doing in your life and
chose one.
Decide what it would mean to take action in this area and break it down to
10 small actions steps.
Commit to taking action on each step by a certain date.
Connect with a friend, partner, coach or group that wants what is best for
you to support you and keep you moving towards your goal.  Let them know
what you goal is and the timeline you have set up for each step.  And, how
they can best support you.

"To hope is to risk despair, and to try is to risk failure.  But risks must
be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing.  The person
who risks nothing,  does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes
nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and
feel and change and grow and love and alive.  Chained by his certitudes,
he's a
slave. He's forfeited his freedom.  Only the person who risks is truly
free."
                                ~ Prophet Gibran

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Coaching Tip:

Find that down time that we all need.  Make it a priority.  Focus on when
this week or this month you will create this space.  Ask yourself the
questions that have been highlighted in the newsletter.  Focus on self
care, and come back into your 'work world' and make a difference!

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Copyright 2000. All rights reserved. Permission is
granted to reproduce or distribute this newsletter as
long as this copyright notice and full information about
contacting the  author is attached. This newsletter is
produced by Dr. Janice Hughes B.Sc., M.Sc., D.C.

Dr. Janice Hughes is a Chiropractor who focuses on
health and wellness. She runs a private practice,
Whole Body Health, in Brantford, Ontario. She has created
an integrative health model which provides a group of
professionals partnering to provide lifestyle coaching
and education. Dr. Hughes is also a Coach who works
with individuals, teams or organizations who are
committed to getting ahead, changing direction or
simply growing.

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