A thought

My horoscope (of all things) had these very wise words today (I'm paraphrasing):

To get where want to go, you must be willing to turn a corner.

What corners have you turned in your life? What corners are coming up?

Dreaming

"Cherish your vision and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blue prints of your ultimate accomplishments." --Napoleon Hill

Lately I've been dreaming again! A personal revelation opened up the door to many new possibilities in my life and business, and I'm enjoying the dreaming process. And, it seems, once you open the door to new dreaming, much more comes through! Beyond my business, I'm dreaming of opportunities and goals in many other areas of my life!

What are you dreaming about?

Failure

A quote from a Toastmasters colleague:

"Give yourself room to fail. There are not mistakes, only learning experiences."

I wholeheartedly believe in this, having been a consultant for years who is forced to learn from her mistakes and missteps! I strive not to make any, of course, but I always take constructive criticism to heart as a way to improve.

What have you learned from failure?

Being Kind

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle."

--John Watson

Momentum

“There is power of momentum. You enjoy a small accomplishment, and the positive satisfaction it gives you sets you up for an even bigger and better accomplishment, which further increases the positive momentum.

Small things can make a big difference, because even the small things define the direction of your momentum. When you're thankful and joyous about the modest successes, they begin 
to build into bigger successes.

Because negative momentum can be just as strong, it often takes a lot of effort to make even the smallest move in a positive direction. Yet it is worth all the effort, because even with 
that small move you have effectively turned the power of momentum in your favor.

Once momentum is moving in your direction, you begin to get more and more positive results from each effort. Start small, get momentum working for you, and there's no limit to how 
far you can go.”  

--Ralph Marston

Appreciation

"The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated." --William James

Who have you appreciated today? What do you appreciate in your life?

A Blessing

A friend sent this to me today. It's called St. Theresa's Prayer, but it reads to me more like a blessing. Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of the Little Ways; she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love. No matter what flavor of your faith, the sentiments here are loving and amazing. I'd like to share it because it is my wish for everyone.

"May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love. It is there for each and every one of us."

Questions/Answers

I am quite excited to begin 2009 by committing to some more coaching education! I am in a telecourse now to complete my basic coach training and lead to certification from the International Coach Federation. My instructor kicked off the first class with the following quotation, which is from Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, Letter #4:

"Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which would not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answers."

Failure and moving on

"If you have made mistakes . . . there is always another chance for you. . . . You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down but the staying down." --Mary Pickford.

We all strive for success (or at least, we strive not to fail), but failure is an important part of life. We learn when we fail, and it shapes us as much as success does. As painful as the lessons can be, as difficult as it can be to rise again, it's in our human nature to get back up. 

My coaching instructor put it this way: "We are never overcoming. We are always becoming." I love this sentiment. It makes me think about the failures or bad times in my life. Although I don't necessarily love the bad things, I do realize that they made me who I am, and I like who I am now. I won't necessarily embrace and seek out failure, but I do acknowledge its value.

One of the most difficult things I've ever had to acknowledge in my life was a very bad relationship in my younger days. I thought I knew better, I thought I was smart enough not to get involved with someone who would try to control me or be mean to me. But I fell for it anyway. For more than a decade after, I was angry at myself for being "so stupid" as to not see the signs. One day, I suddenly realized that to truly let this painful episode go, I had to forgive myself. It took some time, but I finally did let it go. I don't relish the memory of this relationship, and I don't want to dwell on it, but I know that it was important to who I am today and my very healthy marriage as well as my self-respect.

What failures have been important in your life? What have you learned from a failure that serves you now?

Shedding weight

As autumn leaves fall and the sky turns grayer for winter, my thoughts turn to what I can shed in my own life. Autumn is a great time for taking stock and figuring out what you can let go of so that you are lighter, freer, and ready for new life (spring). Saying "no" to something, when it comes from a place of centeredness and surety, can be a powerfully good thing. When we say "no" with peace and love, we open opportunities for new and amazing things to happen in our lives. Remember: Life balance isn't about saying "yes" to everything and fitting it all in to our schedules, it's about knowing when to say yes and when to say no.

"If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears." --Glenn Clark

What can you shed now to make room for something new and wonderful?

Deep thoughts

"When you cannot make up your mind between two evenly balanced courses of action, choose the bolder."  --W.J. Slim

I firmly believe in what this quote proposes. It goes along with my other favorite truism: Fortune favors the bold. This reminds me of a time in my life that turned out to be a crucial turning point: when I applied to go the NC School of Science and Mathematics for my last 2 years of high school. I was not a big risk taker at that time--in fact, I was a bit of a coward. I was faced with two options: comfort, routine, and the near-guarantee that I would graduate top of my class at home versus a chance to really be among my peers and have closer friends but be in a completely foreign environment and be middle of the pack. I chose the bolder: Going to NCSSM. And it made ALL the difference in who I am today.

When you have faced such a decision? Did you choose the bolder path? Would you choose a bolder path in your future? 

Blog launch!

Greetings! Coach Laura here, officially launching the Archer Coaching Blog. I'll be posting on a semi-regular basis my thoughts on coaching, tips and tricks for a fulfilled life, inspirational quotes, and of course, shameless self-promotion for speaking engagements, coaching opportunities, and whatnot. Comments and questions welcomed!

Inspirational quote for the day: "To discover new lands, one must be willing to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." (Andre Gide)

To me, this quote sums up coaching. Coaches support clients in charting a new path, and it often means leaving the familiar far behind--to great reward. It takes faith, courage, and a willingness to work!