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Jack of All Trades, Master of None
When I was 27 I received some excellent advice which I’ve been following throughout my career. One evening a fellow Toastmaster announced he had just been promoted to be the plant manager of a major manufacturing plant in the city I worked in. After the meeting I went up to congratulate him on his success and found the courage to ask him “What do you attribute your success to?” His response has stuck with me to this day. He said, “You know Larry, I’m not a very smart guy. In fact I didn’t finish high school. Oh, eventually I got my GED when I was in the service,…
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Facing Fear and Overwhelm – One Rapid At a Time
A couple of ways to manage fear is what this story is about. They came to me while I was on a white water rafting trip in Costa Rica with my son, Michael, and have been applicable on a number of occasions when I’ve been “stuck” because of fear. Here’s what happened. Michael had just graduated from college and it was an opportunity for a father and son bonding experience. One challenging thing about the experience for me was that when I was Michael’s age I had been tossed out of a canoe trying to shoot white-water rapids in Minnesota and had a life-threatening experience. Once I was…
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Check For the Smile in Their Eyes
Taking Volunteerism to New Heights: Bonus Years Hero Joanne Miller When I think of my new friend Joanne Miller, aged 77 years, the three words that come to mind are service, energy and clarity. She is the walking, talking image of the ideas that I share at my “Refire Don’t Retire” talks, and I thought it would be a wonderful idea to feature Joanne in today’s blog post, the second in a series on Bonus Years Heroes. Joanne has been recognized as Volunteer of the Year in Eau Claire, Wisconsin by two organizations since she retired twenty two years ago at 55. The two organizations are Visit Eau Claire and…
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My Life Is Like a Garden Hose
One day when putting on a Life Planning / Business Development workshop with horses I had an epiphany. That is… My life is like a garden hose… One season, when I was learning to be an Equine Guided Coach, I volunteered to water and feed horses on weekends to get over my fear of horses. I would have to take the garden hose to the stall and fill up the water bucket inside the stall. There were two places to turn on the water. One at the hydrant where the hose was attached. The second was at the end of the hose that you put into the bucket…
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Do You Want to Work for More Than Just a Paycheck? Here’s How.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Excerpt from The Summer Day by Mary Oliver We are always at choice, including the decision we make about earning an income for ourselves and those who depend on us. When making a choice about how to create your livelihood, I encourage you to ask yourself: What are the possibilities for my one life given that there aren’t any “do overs”? Do I want to do work that will leave me feeling satisfied and fulfilled? Since I am always at choice, what do I want to create for my life beyond simply the…
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Five Steps to a Rock Solid Business Foundation for Solo Entrepreneurs
“An accurate plan poorly implemented is more successful and effective than a vague or generic plan implemented with brilliant precision.” — Author unknown Just about everyone in the business world agrees that planning is important and has some value. Before you can decide on an approach to planning, however, it’s important to think about who is asking you for your plan and what purpose it will serve. For Example: If a loan officer at the bank asks to see your plan, he is primarily interested in reviewing your financial projections to make sure you can repay your debt. If a venture capitalist asks to see your plan, she is…
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Stepping Through the Gate to Your New Life
“I always wanted to get into another field where I knew I would be more fulfilled but for some reason I was never able to get past the gate. You empowered me to step through the gate to get to the other side so I could have a more fulfilling and satisfied life.” — comment from a client at the conclusion of an equine-guided coaching session with me For today’s post, I invite you to go on a journey of the mind with me. Imagine yourself standing in the middle of an arid, earthen-colored and perfectly ordinary field. As far as the eye can see, the land is flat, scrubby,…
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Get the Right Stuff Done – Learn the Powerful ‘Sort and Stack’ Method
What’s on your “to do” list? If you don’t have a written list, take a few moments now to write down everything that you want to get done. Get it out of your mind and onto a piece of paper. Now look at your list. I’m willing to bet the items are quite varied — from simple errands like “pick up the dry cleaning” to more complex projects such as “draft a budget for the kitchen remodel.” You may also feel your list is a mile long and impossible to finish. You are right. And you’re not alone. This comes up frequently in the life-transition coaching I do…
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Stop ‘Shoulding’ on Yourself
I believe that words in and of themselves have no meaning, that people give meanings to words. I also believe that our words, as they relate to the way that we look at things, create moods. Further, I have observed that the moods and emotions created by our words manifest themselves physically in our body and directly affect the action that we take or do not take. We create our own reality by the words we use to describe it. I have listened to a lot of people who, reflecting on their life, express regret about something they did not do. Often they will say, “I…