Total Immersion Retreat

July 17, 2019

One month ago, our newsletter “Pause & Reset,” discussed what it means to Reset your Productivity Mindset. Personally, I took a Pause and focused my early July Blog on how laughter is healing energy for the body, mind and spirit. Then I took off for a long weekend. 

With best wishes that you also have taken some time to pause and re-energize, what are the key obstacles and challenges you must overcome to finish the 2^nd half of 2019 strong?   

• Do you feel you are being as productive, influential and successful as you want to be?
• Are you struggling to stay focused? To get ahead? To positively influence your team, customers or family members?
• Have you reached a plateau in your progress and struggle to break through to the next level of joy and achievement?
• Do you miss the pulse and vibrance of growing and contributing at your highest levels?
• Have you discovered your life purpose?

These are a few of the...

Pause & Reset

June 18, 2019 

For all intents and purposes, 2019 is half over. I am taking time to pause and reflect; How am I progressing on accomplishing my goals for the year? How are you doing on fulfilling your goals for 2019? 

In my opinion and from experience, I believe it is important to Pause before you Reset and move forward with renewed focus and energy to finish the year strong. In this newsletter we will discuss what it means to Reset your Productivity Mindset.   

In the past, a pause would mean taking about 5-10 minutes…. thinking through the 3 major objectives I laid out …. doing a mental checklist of good work here, more work to do there, and, oh cripes… I really got off track on that last one. Then I would refocus and gear-up to launch into the 2^nd half of the year. 

In the last 5 years I have learned a lot about what a comprehensive assessment really entails. I have also learned a lot about myself and...

Slowing Down Time 

May 20, 2019 

Have you ever had a day or an experience where you just wanted to stop time or slow time – bottle the full experience – and savor the moment, the feelings and people, even the sights and sounds? 

The 2^nd week of May I was looking ahead to a series of small celebrations and I “just happened” to have a session titled “Slow Time”, Session 12 in Declarations, which is the third in a series of courses offered as part of our Certified High Performance Coaching™ Program. In my mind, there are no coincidences. 

I set my intention to be fully present in the celebratory events coming later that week. What did I do to prepare myself to be even more mindful and to Slow Time?”   

First, I started with asking myself questions, which are included in our “Slow It Down” Worksheet for Session #12 in the CHPC Declarations course. For example: 

1. What trigger would I use...

 Bring Your A Game

April 30, 2019
 

After my webinar a couple of weeks ago, several people suggested that one habit, Raise Necessity, could use more explanation. It can seem somewhat amorphous. It is complex. 

As Brendon Burchard explains in “High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way,” (page 130): 

“When you have high necessity, you strongly agree with this statement: ‘I feel a deep emotional drive and commitment to succeeding, and it consistently forces me to work hard, stay disciplined, and push myself.’” 

There are both internal forces, such a commitment to high standards of excellence, as well as external forces, such as a sense of duty and purpose, at play. For myself, two of my early role models played a huge influence in shaping my values. My Dad taught me to always do my very best – in sports and in Life. It was not about winning and money – it was about doing your very...

Try Something New  

 April 15, 2019 

Try something new. This week I learned a lot when I tried something new. 

I did a 1-Hour webinar on "6 Secrets of the World’s Most Successful People", in my makeshift studio in my office, a Loft with an amazing view overlooking Lake Erie. I learned a lot about accepting myself, just as I am. I learned a lot about measuring success – not by the numbers, but rather by my effort of giving it my all. 

While I really want to share more about my new webinar with you, I do not want this Blog to be only about me. Before I get into the  webinar, an overview of my high performance coaching program, let’s talk about Mindset. What is your Mindset for trying something new? What is your Mindset around learning and change and challenges? 

The definitive book on Mindset was written by Carol S. Dweck, PhD., Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, How We Can learn to Fulfill Our Potential, first...

Only One Rule...

March 15, 2019 

This week I took a moment to celebrate a small win. When I paused, it suddenly occurred to me, I had not taken the time over the past six months working on this project, to celebrate the series of small wins which brought me to this place.   

• When was the last time you gave yourself credit?
• What did you do to celebrate?
• Have you ever found you are so busy doing, doing, doing…that you do not take the time to congratulate yourself on the progress you have made, rather than beating yourself up over what did not get done?
• Do you just check the task off your endless to-do list and immediately move on to the next thing?
• Do you ever find yourself saying, “great job, but…?”

We can be our own toughest critics. I know that has often been the case for me.

One of the ways I chose to celebrate what I had accomplished this week was to sit in my Loft and read out loud, “Only One Rule”, one of my...

Facing Fear, Finding Your Courage 

February 26, 2019 

I have been doing a lot of reflection on Courage, these past few weeks. Finding Your Courage is inspired by family, friends, colleagues and clients in their everyday acts of courage. I want to honor their struggle – our collective struggle.

Change is a constant. Sometimes change happens to us. Sometimes we make change happen. Either way, change can evoke fear or courage, or both. Courage really starts with being aware of what we fear – and taking action anyway.  

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the resistance to fear and the mastery of fear, as Mark Twain so pungently observes.  

So let’s get practical now. We all want to be courageous. We have role models for courage in films and books and cartoons. And what does everyday courage really mean? What does everyday courage really look like?

Recently, I came across an article by Melanie Greenberg which helps us think...

The Conundrum: Balancing Family, Work, and Play Time

January 16, 2019

Like many of us I have long puzzled over the conundrum: “Is it possible to find a comfortable balance between family, work and play time ?” 

At one point in my search, I concluded the answer was No! 

I did not think it was possible to find an easy answer – much less any answer – to this question.  

You know… there are just too many challenges:

• Things, basic life circumstances like health and jobs, keep changing.
• Surprises, and not always the good kind, keep popping up.
• There is only so much time in a day, and my “To-Do List” never gets completed.

I don’t see these as excuses. I see these things as reality. 

There are only 168 hours in a week. There is no magic potion that can create time. There is no amount of money that will allow us to buy more time. For each of us, there are only 168 hours in a week. 

At one point...

What Do You Want in 2019? 

January 2, 2019 

I know people talk about New Year's Resolutions. Others focus on setting Goals and Action Plans. I like to ask myself -- what is my Dream for this New Year? One of the reasons I prefer the word "dream" is because it gives me the freedom to step outside of the "normal" boundaries -- and imagine the possibilities. 

Very simply -- What Do You Want in 2019?

As one of my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho, says: 

When you want something, 
all the universe conspires
in helping you achieve it.  

If you are in search of an inspiring novel with deep wisdom, consider reading "The Alchemist" -- it is all about following your dreams and listening to your heart.  

As we start 2019, I want to wish everyone my very best for health and abundance in 2019.

I invite you to set your intention for 2019 and follow your dreams. If you have already done that, terrific! If you have written it down in your Journal --...

Energy and Enthusiasm 

November 8, 2018

I am excited! I am enthusiastic! I am energized!

Paulo Coelho, a personal favorite of mine for creative energy and inspiration, writes: 

“When you are enthusiastic about what you do, 
you feel this positive energy. 
It is that simple.”  
                        --Paulo Coelho

We have devoted the past month to energy – how we create energy to live our lives with passion and purpose and enthusiasm.

Now, let’s tie it all together with a simple, practical exercise: Let us write 25, positive, I AM…  affirmations focused on energy.

Here is the exercise: Complete the sentence “I AM…”  or “I AM more…” and fill in the word or action statement that affirms your stepping into or doing more to raise your energy level -- physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually....