Improved Relationships

Improved relationships…

Are you ready to challenge the status quo of the relationships in your life?

June is the beginning of summer, the plants are blooming and everything feels fresh. This is a great time to move beyond what you are currently doing and thinking to achieve greater results in your relationships.  

Pick one area in your life or business where you would like to have a stronger relationship than you are experiencing now. Choose whatever came to your mind first; was it a romantic relationship, a closer connection with your kids, a higher performing team in your business or a clearer connection with your boss?

Imagine creating a result that is 10%, 20%, 50% or 75% better than you have right now. What would that change mean to you?

I’m assuming that change would feel really amazing! Here are a few steps to get you headed in the direction of success to be able to make it happen.

1. Invite the person to spend time with you that they wouldn’t normally do i.e. coffee, lunch, walk or a cold beverage.
2. Engage in conversation and truly listen to what they are saying, not what you want hear.
3. Identify how you can help them.  
4. Create a plan with them to make that happen.
5. Follow through on the plan.

I know this sounds simple, however many times it’s the simple things that we tend to put off. Time and genuine conversation will strengthen the trust this person has in you, shifting the relationship. Without these simple steps, relationships tend to remain status quo and you will never know how good it could have been.

Listening is a key component in these steps. Listen beyond the words. Pay attention to the person’s body language and facial expression while they are talking. 

Be patient with your response or interjection. Keep your mind focused on the person you are talking with, not on what you are dying to say as part of your reply.

Use your breath to keep you grounded, calm and tuned in. Be curious to learn more about what the person is saying. Ask questions to clarify what they mean.

All of these tips will enhance your ability to listen at a deeper level and create a more meaningful relationship. They work no matter where they are deployed, be it at work or at home.

Challenge yourself to change the status quo today. Who will you invite to do something out of the ordinary and enjoy what you learn as you listen to the conversation?

If you would like to discover more ways to deepen your relationships with others, click here to sign up for a discovery call with me today.  

Hiding

Hiding…

Today I’m writing to you from 25,000 feet above the earth. Clouds take on a whole new beauty from here.

I’m heading to LA to learn new skills and stretch myself to move beyond my comfort zone. I will be working with my business coach and 6 other amazing women from across the country to push our limits. We work on the clarity of our vision for the next 4 months to discover what is possible for each of us and then we take massive action to make it happen.

It hasn’t always been this way.  For many years I chose to hide my entrepreneurial spirit beneath the security of a corporate job very similar to this incredibly gorgeous Jack-in-the-Pulpit flower. The pic is a bit blurry as we took this while walking our dog near the river.

Anyway as I packed last night I became jittery and nervous about what was ahead. Change…change is scary. I left my corporate coaching job about two and a half years ago to launch my business and one could say, I was scared #*$#less!

At the time we had two kids in college, like many of you a mortgage and bills to pay, however I reached the place of being uncomfortable. I needed to make a shift to reveal my true gifts and strengths. After my Dad passed away, it became a must for me to launch McCrea Coaching.

I knew I was meant to serve others to help them grow and expand into the biggest best version of who they are as a leader in a non-traditional way. Encouraging them to push beyond the fear and live life to the fullest both professionally and personally.

Well, a lot has happened since the day I walked out those doors and placed the golden handcuffs gently on my desk in my highly sought after cubicle.

I have never looked back. I continue to walk through the fear and am learning to trust myself along with my intuition and skills more everyday! Most of all, I have realized the only true failure happens when we don’t try.  

Being an entrepreneur, the sting of failure provides me with the opportunity to learn and grow. I have the dubious honor and privilege of performing several of Deming’s Plan-Do-Study-Act rapid cycles of change everyday in my biz.

The sweet taste of success simply means full throttle ahead! Keep doing what’s working to support others while creating joy in my work.

Let’s go back to the Jack-in-the-Pulpit, where are you hiding in your life? Are you hanging out under the leaf where your gifts and beauty are kept on the underside of a leaf? Are you sensing a need for expansion?

Click here to set up a discovery session with me. Don’t let fear stop you from living the life you desire! You can do more than you ever imagined; the only failure possible is choosing not to try. 

Spring

Spring…are you ready for a fresh start?

Finally the bitter cold of winter has faded and the grunge of mud season here in New England has washed away.

Everything about spring is fresh. The grass is vibrant green and the flowers are a vivid array of color and it all smells amazing.

Growing up on a farm, spring meant it was time to thoroughly cleanse our house, yard, car, and purge our closets. You name it and it got spit shined!

We were also busy preparing the ground to plant a new crop of potatoes, which generated excitement about what that would bring to bear in the fall. This created a feeling of energy to release the old and prepare for the new.

My husband and I spent yesterday planning a new flower garden for our home. As the plan came together the excitement kept building and the vision become reality, however the first step we needed to complete was to get rid of the weeds. We needed to turn over the soil to foster an environment of growth for the new plants.

Take a moment and look around your space, your office, business, and home. What does it look like? Better yet, what does it feel like? If you look at your desk get overwhelmed that could be a great place to start or if you go into your closet and you “can’t find a thing to wear” another perfect beginning point!

What are you unnecessarily holding onto that you could release to prepare for a growth spurt to occur in your life?

Pick the one area that would feel spectacular to have “spit shined” and start by creating a vision of what you want it to be and then begin your quest. When I embark on the environment cleanse, here are a few questions I ask to help support the process of letting things go:

• Do I love this?
   
• When is the last time I used or wore this?
   
•  If it’s broken, am I committed to repairing it today to make it useful again?
   
• Am I holding onto this from a place of fear…what if I need this next year for something?
   
•  Is this essential to what I do or who I am TODAY?
   
•  Does this accurately represent who I am TODAY?

I find the last couple questions extremely powerful as they bring me to my present, not my past or to what I think my future might be, simply today. Trust your inner knowing, have fun and let it go.

Sometimes we even hold onto a job or a boss out of a sense of fear or obligation. Are you growing and blossoming in your current role? Are you excited about the possibilities for you where you currently are?

If you answered no to either of these questions, click here to schedule a discovery call with me and we talk about how to create spring in your professional world. 

Growth

Growth occurs a few inches at a time.

Trees leaning to reach the sun, the water, or simply catching themselves before they tumble to the ground, growing in whatever way they need in order to thrive has always amazed me. They beautifully demonstrate the saying that you’ve heard a thousand times, “If you aren’t growing, you are dying.”

Imagine if we as humans kept reaching for the essential elements of our lives as if our existence depended upon it. What if we were completely willing to stretch beyond any and all obstacles to reach our dreams?

Growth can be stimulated from the smallest of steps; it doesn’t always need to be an earth-shaking event. Honestly, sometimes the tiniest experience can provide a boost that we never could have anticipated. When toddlers take their first step, that is a literal life-altering event, however it can be measured with a six-inch ruler.

For most of my life I had been paralyzed by the fear of heights. I would avoid them at all costs until recently during an amazing family vacation where I took the picture of the courageous leaning palm tree. Our kids wanted to go zip lining in the jungle. To me, this meant swinging to and from the mountainous treetops on a piece of wire high, very high, yes extremely high above the ground! Yikes!

So we board the bus and head to the zip line country. We arrive and go through our training session with the highly skilled guides, then off we go to the tower.

Climbing the tower, step by step I was faced with a decision every six inches, do I stop or do I go one more step.  Every step my heart beat a little faster and louder until I reached the top of the tower and now my heart was racing and pounding out of my chest.

I watched each of our kids and my husband buckle in and push away from the platform and as they arrived on the other side they stretched their hand out to pull themselves onto the next platform. They had embraced the experience and were viewing life from a whole new perspective at tree top level!

I had a decision to make. Am I going to continue to allow this fear to limit my life or am I going to trust myself, push beyond my comfort zone and step off the platform? 

The few minutes it took me to gain the clarity that I needed felt like an eternity, however I decided I was ready! The guide buckled me in, and then he buckled himself right in behind me and off we went. I screamed the entire ride and my heart was throbbing, however there was growth happening!

When we arrived on the other side, the feeling was exhilarating…I had done it. I had overcome the obstacle; the fear and I knew I could do it again. So I buckled in and went on the next leg of the journey by myself.

We continued to climb along the side of a mountain to reach the next zip and there was no way back except through from this point forward. I continued to stretch and grow with every step and scream of terror, oh oops I meant to say, scream of joy! 

The picture of this cactus, taken from the highest point of the excursion, continues to remind me that as an entrepreneur, mum and wife I can choose to stretch and grow to reach new levels in my life and business every day and it all starts with one decision to move six inches.

Where are you letting fear limit you in the way you experience your life and business? What if you decided to grow in whatever direction needed to move beyond your discomfort and you began with one small step today? What would that step be? Remember to breathe and embrace the ride!

Enjoy,

Kris

Learning to move through the fear can feel scary and exhilarating at the same time. If you would like to discover what small step you could take today, click here to set up a free discovery session with me.

Habits

Habits...

We all have them. Some habits serve us and some of them clearly don’t. The good news is we get to decide which habits we keep and which ones we choose to kick to the curb. There is a tremendous power that occurs within us when we create habits that foster health and well being within us i.e. healthy eating, moving our bodies on a consistent basis, staying out of the drama in life and embracing gratitude, love and happiness.

What is the purpose of a habit? A habit creates a way for us to automate our choices without continually thinking about them. A routine consistently performed for a period of time creates a habit and habits train our subconscious to create the experience we desire. It generally takes 21 days to establish a habit. 

What habit(s) is currently a part of your life? How satisfied are you with the results this habit(s) is providing you? This is a great way to identify habits that aren’t serving us or helping us reach our goals and dreams.

Many years ago, I created a habit to begin my day in gratitude and purpose. I start by saying thank you as my feet hit the floor in the morning. When I swing my legs out of bed, as my left foot connects with the smooth hard wood, I say, “thank” then as my right foot follows I say, “you.” Doing this reminds me that every day is a gift called ‘the present’ and it is totally up to me how I experience it and what I do with my time that day. I decided to begin by being grateful and saying “Thank You”.

I continue on to open my day with coffee, reading a chapter from a book that inspires me, and then I write my intention, what I want to accomplish and how I want to feel, for the day. I also incorporate a spin on the bike at the gym or a run outside to hear the singing birds as they awaken.

Oh, please don’t be misled; it wasn’t always like this for me! Prior to this habit, I would lay in bed until the last possible second, then drag myself out and get ready to climb aboard the rat wheel at my job. I was choosing to put off my dream for another day. Which meant most days I was not starting from a place of gratitude for the amazing ‘present’ that I had instantly received by being able to put my feet on the floor.

Clearly this was a habit that wasn’t serving me and it began to creep into other parts of my life. The habit was procrastination. “I’ll get up in a few minutes.” “I’ll work on starting my business in a little while.” A little while turned into tomorrow, then tomorrow turns into next week, next month and then the ultimate…someday.

I woke up one day to the realization that someday was not a date, it was a dream killer! I was putting my life and my dreams on hold every moment I chose to put something off until later and that’s when I began a new morning routine. It took time to develop it into the amazing habit that it has become today, however I just kept at it and the more I honored my routine the more I enjoyed my entire day. Now, it’s just how I roll and I don’t even think about it.

This habit has been a foundational support to me as I decided to leave my corporate job and create a wildly successful business helping others in a profound way!

I’m curious, where is procrastination showing up in your life? What are you waiting for next week, tomorrow, or someday? What if you were to decide and choose today to be the day? Now is the time to create a new habit that will support you achieving your goals and desires! What routine would you like to start with? Keep at it, change can be challenging, however you are worth it! You have the ability to choose and create what your ‘present’ will be each and every day.

Enjoy,
Kris

Decisions

The pace of today's world can make it difficult to make a decision to do something different than you did yesterday simply because what you did yesterday is familiar and you know what to expect. I've recently had several conversations with people who've shared with me they are feeling paralyzed by the fear of making a wrong decision. We created a strategy for them to be able to strengthen their decision making muscles and they've had huge success with it. So I’m re-sharing a post with you today to encourage you to explore how a walk or run in the woods may help strengthen your decision making muscles.

Decisions...

Oh, the places our feet can take us. I was running on a beautiful trail near the river on Saturday and got totally inspired to write to you. I used to watch others run by me as I walked and say, “I don’t know how they do that. I’d fall on my face!”

Then one day I tried it, step-by-step, hill-by-hill and instead of falling on my face, I fell in love with it! I learned that to successfully do a trail run, I must focus on one step at a time, completely staying out of my head thinking about what is coming over the next hill or around the next turn.

I must focus the ground I’m about to step on, decide if I need to adjust my gate to miss a hole, a root or a rock. Make the split-second decision rapidly followed by the next decision while knowing that each decision will take me closer to my goal.

My goal happens to be a spectacular rock that overlooks the rushing water of the rapids. This is where I can rest and soak in the beauty that surrounds me. Complete motivation.

A few years ago, I started using this focus to energize my business. Setting my goals and becoming laser focused on each step to reach them. One decision at a time, absolutely not allowing myself to rev the engine of the storytelling machine in my head that rattles off a never-ending list of things to do as the clock ticks off each second like it was the last.

With this focus, I began to build my confidence in my ability to make powerful and meaningful decisions, notice I didn’t say the right decision! I’ve learned there are no right or wrong decisions. I’ve become comfortable deciding and adjusting, deciding and adjusting just like when I run, I shorten or stretch my gate on the fly depending on the trail.

I’ve reached many of my goals, set new ones and continue to strengthen all of the muscles of my body and mind to remain focused.

As I work with new leaders in an organization or a business owner who wants to go to the next level in their career, business and/or lives, I’ve noticed that many of them are fear stricken by making the wrong decision. Paralyzed, they postpone decisions for fear of being criticized by others or fear of falling on their face.

I encourage them to go for a walk in the woods and notice how many quick decisions they make while walking. This begins to open them up to the possibility that they could jog or run without falling. They soon realize, wow they have more capacity than they imagined possible. They begin to trust themselves and begin to strengthen their adjusting muscle for their decisions. Before you know it, they’re racing through the woods, feeling re-energized and growing like the trees around them. With every decision there is an opportunity to learn, adjust, grow and succeed.

I encourage you to test it out and go for a walk or run on a wooded trail today.  As you navigate the trail notice your feet, notice the decisions that you are making. Continue to pick up your pace, practice making those split decisions and adjust your gate. How can you apply this to decision making in other areas of your life, career or business?

If you would like to pick up the pace of your decision making, sign up for a free strategy session with me today.

Alignment

It’s spring here in Maine, the grass is growing and the flowers are blooming. Everything is coming alive and aligning. I don’t know about you, but this is a time when I start digging out and creating piles to go to a charity or the dump. I’m letting go of the old and opening up to the new.

I strive to continually align my thoughts and my actions to create my reality. If I say I want a home that is clutter free that means there is a lot of stuff that I must choose to get rid in order to make that happen. It always amazes me that when I think about getting rid of something all of a sudden attachment sets in! Then the what ifs start…what if I need this later, what if I’m really going to miss it, oh…I think you get the drill. Scarcity…there’ll never be another one like this.

‘Til finally, boom, I put the breaks on and align myself! I fill the truck and haul the **** away!  Ahhh, the drive home feels amazing!

It can be scary to let go and purge what we have had for a long time even when we haven’t used it or even seen it for years! This same process happens in other areas of our life. Why are you saying you are ready for a change, yet can’t seem to pull the trigger?

I see this happen with my clients, for example, some of them want to leave their job and find one that is more aligned with their values and what is important to them in their life today, yet when the day arrives to resign they begin a trip down memory lane and become derailed to their desire based on all of the what ifs.

I love to be there and support them as they find their footing and apply their breaks.  When they are driving down memory lane and slam on the breaks to re-align themselves with the present, then they shake their body like a shaggy dog, straighten themselves up and walk directly into their boss’ office and pass in their resignation.

They never look back and they feel on top of the world. Alignment is incredible just like we would never drive our car with the front end shimmying and shaking like the wheels were about to fall off so why do we allow this to happen to us?

Are you ready to become more aligned? Here are a few questions that I encourage many of my clients to use and you may find them helpful as well:

• Listen to yourself, what are you saying?
• Check in with yourself; is what I’m saying true for me today?
• If yes, what action(s) do I need to take to make what I’m saying actually happen?

When the fear arrives, breathe through it and let go of what you want to get rid of to create space for something new in your life. Once you align your thoughts, words and actions you will feel a shift and be completely energized and refreshed, just like spring in Maine.

Let’s book a strategy session now to help you start your process of becoming fully aligned with what is important in your life today.

Trust

I want to share something I learned about trust today. As humans, we have a desire to build trust with others both at home and at work. We spend a great deal of time and energy in workshops learning to trust others; we learn how to demonstrate that we listen to them effectively as one way to gain their trust and the skill set goes on from there.

There are also oodles of large legal practices focused completely on Trusts of one sort or another. We can choose to legally grant our trust to another person or entity to manage something of significant importance for us after we are no longer here on this earth. That’s a lot of trust!

What I’ve learned is the most important person that we can build trust with is ourselves. Yet sometimes instead of trusting ourselves we look to others to grant us permission to do what we believe to be the best way to handle a situation. We may even be in a role where we guide people everyday on how to handle situations and we teach them to trust themselves. Then out of the blue, we need to make a decision about what we want to say or do and instantly the doubting sets in. We become foggy on what to do, will it be “right”, what will others think about my decision, until we are paralyzed and don’t’ do anything. I don’t know about you but this is the worst feeling in the world for me. It feels awful.

Imagine what it would feel like to trust yourself enough to say what is on your mind in a respectful way. To trust that your words and your thoughts matter and they could be the catalyst of change in a way no one else has ever thought about before. The more you trust the more confidence you gain and the higher you will soar.

Over the years, I have continually exercised and strengthened my muscle of trust by being willing to create changes in my life and make decisions to move myself forward. Trusting doesn’t mean that all of those changes and decisions ended up to be the best of choices, however it does mean that I know I can always figure it out no matter what happens. The more I trust the less I get stuck and the more I am able to enjoy life as the adventure and journey as it is intended to be. Life isn’t about reaching a destination for me, cause once I’m there I already have a something new in my sights to zoom in on. Life is totally about the adventure and the ride!

One of the ways that I’ve built this muscle is by doing this:

When I get the urge to ask someone else permission to do or say something, I pause and ask myself, “What if I just trusted myself?” I encourage you to try it out and see what happens for you.

As a life-long learner, this is like doing an experiment for me, I repeat what works and feels good and I change what isn’t working and feels yucky. Each of us is incredibly strong and wise. The more we trust in ourselves the more we realize the power and resilience we have within us.

What will you trust yourself to do or say today? 

Curiosity...

Are you living your dream? Do you love your work and your environment or are you doing what you’ve always done wishing every day that something was different? Is there a little voice in your head saying, “There must be more to life than this!”?

Well, that was me…I too heard the voice singing daily in my head. Now don’t get me wrong I was successful and really good at what I was doing and there were many parts of my role that I loved, however I knew there was more. My dream was to own my own business. I began exploring ideas and options then it finally dawned on me…what if I combined my natural talents and abilities as a coach and created my own practice? Nirvana! I began to nurture my dream by getting more experience and training as a coach. Then…the nurturing turned into a back-story filled with excuses of why I couldn’t possibly have my own practice.

• “I need more experience.”
• “I need another certification.”
• “We have two kids in college, I can’t possibly start a business now!”
• “I won’t make enough money.”
• “Where will I find my clients?”

Those are only a few of the many reasons I told myself and perhaps they sound familiar to you as well. I kept feeding the excuses and becoming increasingly unhappy. I dreaded going into the building that I worked in and I felt unsettled all of the time. One day I decided to start running in hopes that would create internal peace for me, yet little did I know that my sneakers and running would be the thing that helped me create the strength leave my job. The more I ran, the more determined I became until one day it happened…I made MY DECISION and I backed it up with ACTION. I resigned my post, cleaned out my cubicle – that I absolutely adored by the way (not!), packed up my files, books, and said my goodbyes after almost 30 years inside the walls of a large healthcare institution. YIKES!

I was on my way. So here’s the deal I knew deep in my heart for years that I was meant to be independent and help others in a profound way, however I chose to deny my knowing because I had a really good job and security and I just needed to try harder to be happy with what I had. Right…are you telling yourself this? Maybe, you want to be in another role in the company you work for or maybe you want to start a business or be an artist, musician, but you are scared that if you make a move it won’t be right. Are you holding yourself back for fear you will make the wrong choice? What if you removed the idea of right and wrong and you simple make a choice knowing that at any point you can make another decision? That’s the beauty we get to live our life one decision at a time. We get to choose our destination, however our choices are not always the easiest path sometimes they create disappointment and sometimes they create adventure. Each decision marks a forward step in the sand. The longer you avoid a decision the more stuck you become and pretty soon you feel like you’re in quick sand.

Get real with yourself for a minute and answer these questions with True or False:

When I wake up in the morning, I am excited to start my day!

When I am done my day, I still have energy for fun!

When I look in the mirror, I see a woman who is truly happy!

I feel a sense of growth and expansion in my life!

I am grateful to be who I am!

So…true or false, if you have one or more answers that are false, where are you creating excuses that are keeping you from making a decision that will bring you closer to living your dreams? Take out some paper and begin to write…just write, keep writing for 20 minutes. Write whatever comes into your head. Then do it again tomorrow and the next day…trust what you discover about the story you are telling yourself. You’re now on day 3 which is the GO day, review what you’ve learn and here’s the best part, you get to make a decision to stop the story right now and create a new way of thinking. Declare one small action step that you can take today towards your dream. Take a deep breath and do it today!

OWN your strength, are you ready?

What are you putting off?

Is it a conversation, pushing send on an e-mail asking for what you need, applying for a new job, leaving your job or relationship? Whatever it is you can handle it. You are stronger than you think!

Many of my clients come to me in a state of overwhelm. They have been putting off the very thing that would set them free to begin a new chapter in their lives. They are stuck in the fear of what if I’m wrong, what if I’m not good enough, what if I have it better than I think I do…okay I’m sure you get the picture. I know that I have been in that very same spot many times in my life and my guess is you’ve been there as well. We all have and that’s okay.

Today is about moving beyond and helping you flex your muscles to expand from where you are stuck. Based on my client’s experiences and yes, my own experiences, I’ve put together a few strategies that have worked over and over again. These strategies will help you own your strength today.

5 Strength Building Tips:

• Be open to what you truly want – write it down. Use your senses to describe it. What do you see, hear, smell, feel and taste? Really stretch for clarity.
• When the “what ifs” start owning the conversation, calm them with an affirmation such as, “I am stronger than I think. I am capable of doing (fill in the blank with whatever it is you want to do).”
• Enlist support (not naysayers) from family, friends, a coach and talk with them often. Remember, select these folks carefully, you can achieve what you desire and don’t enlist non-believers!
• Go outside, breathe the fresh air and imagine how you would feel if you already had your desire! Soak it in just like the sun on your skin!
• Take action. Break it down to one small step that you can take right now towards your desire.

You are on your way. One step leads to another and so on. Action is the key to moving beyond where you are right now. Step in.

Feeling like you would like support on your journey, it is my pleasure to offer you a free strategy call. Please click here and sign up today!

Your game…where to begin!

Your game…where to begin!

I’m from New England so I’m extremely familiar with successful sports teams! My guess is you have a favorite team of your own whether it’s a professional, college, high school or best of all your kid’s team.

Over the years I’ve noticed many things about successful teams and what they do to help them seize the big W! They consistently:

• Fine tune their body with food and movement

• Commit to doing what it takes – getting up at 4am for practice in the dead of winter!

• Practice for hours to prepare for game day

• Huddle on the sidelines with their coach to create a plan

• Never go into a game without all of the positions filled with a player

• Depend on their team mates

• Continually change their strategy to meet the challenge in front of them

• Learn from every game they play included the losses

• Celebrate and agonize together

Today, I’m going to share a little bit about how I created a successful team to support and grow my business (game) as a way to inspire you to begin creating yours. Yes, I needed a team! When I finally realized I couldn’t do it all by myself, my desire started to become real!

Let’ do a role call of who’s on my team?

First and foremost ME along with my internal burning desire and commitment to consistently do what it takes!  Next comes...

Husband and kids, Family & friends, Coach, Mastermind Group, Assistant, 
Branding and Website Designer, Graphic Designer and Printer, Bookkeeper, Accountant, Lawyer, Mani & Pedi Tech, Banker, Insurance Agent, Financial Advisor, Massage Therapist, Chiropractor, Primary Care Provider, Hair Dresser, Acupuncturist, Running Shoes, Dog & Cat, & Happy Hour

Okay you get the picture…it takes an entire village to create a team to sustain a successful biz! The good news is villages are not built overnight! It happens one building at a time and there’s no perfect sequence or secret sauce. I started with a burning desire, my husband, kids, dog, coach and running shoes! My burning desire had reached the point where I was going to incinerate if I didn’t find a way to act upon it. I tried to make it happen on my own which lead to continuous disappointment and frustration. Literally, I woke up one day and decided no more, I committed to my desire, and invested in my vision and myself by hiring a coach! That was a huge turning point for me. I was finally able to put some teeth into my idea! I began to see and FEEL that it was possible. I started caring for myself on a regular basis. I learned to run! Running gave me fuel to think beyond my doubts. My coach helped me see myself in a new way she helped me learn to walk through the fear by developing a consistent belief and faith in ME. For those of you who know me, I’m sure that seems odd to you cause I have always presented confident and self assured yet when starting a business all the “what if’s” and self doubt came rushing to the surface.

So I’m curious, how are you feeling today? Do you feel like you are about to incinerate or have you reached the point where you are thoroughly exhausted and “what ifing” and doubting yourself to death? If you ready to play full out in your game, it may be helpful to start with these 3 steps:

1. Pay attention to the burning desire that keeps smoldering inside of you. Write it down. Begin to clarify it by using your senses. What does it look like? What are you feeling when you have your desire? What are the smells around you? What does it sound like? What do you taste?

2. Share your desire with someone who is always in your court.

3. Decide on one small action that will move you closer to having your desire and take that step today.

If you are stuck and not sure what the next play in your game is, I can help you! Click here to set up a 15-minute sideline huddle with me to help you figure out what the next play is in your game that will get you closer to your burning desire. 

The Power of Choice, Are You Giving Yours Away?

How many times a day do you say the words, "I have to..." or "I need to..."? I'm curious when you say these words, how do you feel? Are you inspired, excited or empowered? My guess is most of the time your answer is no. Take a moment to get clear about what you are feeling; you might describe it as a sense of obligation to someone or something other than yourself. Why is that? The reason is you are giving away your "Power of Choice" in the language you are currently using.

Many folks will argue with this concept by providing examples such as: "I 'have to' drive the speed limit" and I say that is a story you are telling yourself! The truth is you choose to drive the speed limit for many reasons, to avoid paying a fine, to be safe, etc. How would it feel to decide to follow the speed limit and simply say, "I drive the speed limit"? Kick the 'have to' and 'need to' to the curb! Think about the difference, subtle as it may seem, would you rather choose by making your own decision or tell yourself someone is 'forcing' you do it?

What if today you make a decision to own your 'Power of Choice'? Beginning right now, not tomorrow or on Monday, start now, and every time you hear yourself say, "I have to..." or "I need to...", pause, stomp your feet and say I don't have or need to do anything! I am choosing to do it or not! Notice how you feel. As you begin your new practice, each day you will grow stronger in your thinking and your decisions will become more powerful for the sheer fact that YOU own them! Empower yourself today!

Remember, you have the power of choice in absolutely everything you do or don't do.