Friday 4 December 2009

Nature/Nurture









Pure genius = at least 10,000 hours of practice!





The Beatles had been together for 7 years before Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band!





Bill Gates had spent an estimated 10,000 hours of computer programming, bordering on obsession before he was able to take an opportunity which came his way.






Mozart had been composing for 10 years before becoming famous. Some of his early works were considered ‘normal’.







Exceptional people become so through passion and tenacity, not mediocrity.







The world's greatest achievers are sometimes considered to have been ‘born with it’; the old nature vs. nurture debate – I say it is a combination of aptitude and opportunity. A practical thinking person will be able to work through a situation, turn it into an opportunity and act upon that opportunity confidently. A Glass half full!








Further interesting reading:




Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell - published by Penguin.

Thursday 26 November 2009

Stress Busting thoughts






Stress-Busting thoughts!

Of course there is good stress and bad stress here - I am talking about the harmful and situational types!
We all need an element of stress to fire us up, to make us spark and sparkle. In fact some of my best decisions have been made when my ‘back is against the wall’.
For those of you who are already working with me you will understand the importance of intimately knowing your personal set of values, ‘your footprint’, and knowing how to work with your values and help them to help you.
Harmful stress is likely to have been building up over a period of time and has potentially caught you by surprise! Typically this is where you are having to act or comply with wishes of others, or shackled by a limiting self belief the outcome of which means you are having to contradict your core values.
If you feel this is where you are then I am advising you to talk to someone such as myself to uncover the issues, help you to see the wood for the trees and make structured and practical decisions.

Top 10 situational stress busting tips!!

1. Check your values, which one are you crossing?
2. Talk it through with your life coach, a friend, someone who respects you and whom you respect.
3. Write down your thoughts, the facts about the situation, remove the emotion and in doing so ask yourself what is the real issue here?
4. Make sure you are taking regular exercise, as well as allowing your brain to focus on different tasks such as fictional reading, Sudoku, crosswords – avoid becoming obsessed with the issue.
5. Ensure that you are topping up your ‘happiness banks’ by fulfilling your values regularly.
6. In times of no particular stress - Work out what relaxes you ‘taking a candle lit bath’ ‘having a long walk with the dog’ ‘watching a film’
7. Enjoy some quality times with Friends and Family.
8. Make sure you are taking that ‘me time’ you always promise yourself.
9. Break down the problem into it’s component parts and deal with each one separately and one at a time.
10. Diet – ensure that you are eating regularly and that your diet is balanced. Which means fruit, veg and protein! I will post a separate note about the importance of the types of fruit and veg and how to cook/eat them. Avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine especially late at night.

Wednesday 26 August 2009

What is Life Coaching?




Is your glass half-full or half-empty? Do you want to change something in your life?

As a Life Coach I work with people who want to change their lives for the better.

A Life Coach can help you work through the things that are holding you back. This could be a lack of confidence, a limiting belief, a phobia or discord in a relationship.

You would start by deciding which part of your life needed the most attention. From there you will learn about your core values - these core values make up your individual footprint, the things that make you spark and sparkle!

Together we will work towards understanding what makes you behave and operate in the way you do and decide upon relevent changes. You will be able to set change goals and be given the tools to stay with your goals.

Ultimately you will be in a place that is positive and forward thinking - a level of freedom that all successful people enjoy.

You can find out more by visiting my website. But I want to use this Blog as my Newsletter to address some of the seasonal issues that commonly arise. And suggest how I can help you overcome them. I do not run an 'agony column'. But by regular visits as my Blog develops you will gain some idea of what is involved in Life Coaching and make contact to see if I can help you.

Your feedback and comments are welcome.