What is Happening Today at Coaching Institute

We know just how much you all love Kate’s articles and I am sure that every Tuesday when Kate is off changing lives outside of The Coaching Institute you really miss them.  Well I’m hoping to fill those size 10 literary shoes and provide you with equally inspirational articles once a week.  Here is my first of regular attempts.  Enjoy!

Kate last wrote about the importance of believing in yourself as a coach and pretty much believing in yourself in general.  I thought that was a really great message because let’s face it, if you don’t believe in yourself what makes you think anyone else will?

We all have self doubting moments.  Even the guru’s have the odd moment of “can I, little old me, really do this?!”.  It’s the decision you make in this moment about how we WANT to be that makes the difference.  Are you going to face the fear and do it anyway?  Will you step up and embrace the shocking state of perturbation (a word I know Kate has introduced you to – it’s a state of such upset that once through it you will never and can never be the same again)?  Or, will you let the fear and doubt over take you, make excuses and justifications why you can’t or won’t?

I say go big or go home!  Step up or step out!  It’s all a part of the professional life coaching journey!  If you are passionate about something feel the fear and do it anyway; find your strength and strategy to feel confident even when you’re not.  My strategy is the “fake it ‘till you make it” strategy.  Stand up tall, throw your shoulders back, chin up and head back and speak with as much confidence and certainty as you can muster.  I have learned that you can say pretty much anything if you say it with confidence and certainty and no one will think about it twice.

So in that moment of self doubt, where you have a decision to make; do I play big and be my magnificent self or not?; ask yourself this question (which, by the way, is a great discovery questions for new clients) “if you knew you couldn’t fail what would you do?”  You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain so what are you waiting for?  You might just surprise yourself!  And when you do, remember to celebrate and share your magic moment with us (on Facebook) and your loved ones, because we always believe in you!  Enjoy YOUR professional life coaching journey!

Happy Tuesday

Ali – Student Support

“I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun”  Thomas Edison        

You’d agree there is much discussion on setting our goals for 2012 and creating the best year that we have ever had. And that’s a good thing, isn’t it? It is an opportunity to clear out the old and bring in the new and step up even more than we ever have before. You would know this is how success is created in any area of your life. It is also a timely reminder to ensure that when creating these goals, when creating this focus for our best year yet, that we take a moment to remember for what purpose we are on this path. And today I thought was a good day to put out the reminder that success can and definitely also should be fun as you embark on another year of your professional life coaching journey.

Absolutely your success is about stepping up and stretching yourself further than you ever have before, for it takes action, commitment and focus to create the results that you seek. Yet I feel that our efforts would be hollow if there was no fun or enjoyment in the process. You know that in order for you to be resilient in those times of challenge you have to have passion for what you do.  And having fun and enjoying what you do is key to creating a beautiful and enriched life. After all, if you don’t enjoy it then why do it?

Do you remember when you were a child and you were taken along to an event that you really didn’t want to go to? Do you remember why? I can remember sometimes going along to a relative’s house and I dreaded going. And the reason was there was nothing for me to do, and running around inside the home was frowned upon, as it was important to be polite and ‘well behaved’. That meant sitting politely on the couch, avoiding eye contact with other siblings, for fear we’d burst out laughing at nothing in particular. And oh, how the time dragged on as a result! It wasn’t fun at all and I didn’t enjoy it.

Yet other times when we’d visit other friends or relatives, I’d be so eager to get going I’d be ready way before we were scheduled to hop in the car. All because I knew I was in for some fun and a half. I distinctly remember visiting my grandparents down by the beach and we just had a ball. We were encouraged to run around outside, go down to the beach and simply be free to have fun, and leave space for the adults to chat. It was awesome. And the day would fly by and it was always a surprise to be told it was time to go again. So reluctantly I would get back into the car, finding every excuse I could to linger on in this temporary place of paradise and freedom.

And so this is how I intend to have the best year yet in my professional coaching career and my life, as will so many of my colleagues. My husband and I spent time earlier this week finalising our 2012 goals, and we included what we intend to do for fun. This includes how often we’re going to spend quality time together, how all our goals have foundation in what we are passionate about and what we love about our life. And we had so much fun creating these goals and dreams that time just flew by. We know that being grateful for what we have and what we can achieve is based on how much we can enjoy the experience along the way. When you love what you do, when you are passionate about your results you and I know when we look back in 12 months time we will once again be like the child of yesteryear, amazed at how quickly the time flew by and how much fun we had packed into our days. And that’s a pretty cool way to be, wouldn’t you agree?

“You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way!”

Dr Seuss (Oh, the Places You’lll Go!)

What are your goals around having fun in 2012? Why not share them with us on Facebook? Have a fantastic Wednesday and Happy New Year!!! Kate Welk

It’s almost the end of 2011 and we’ve spent some time together in the past few weeks reflecting on who we’ve been in this past year and who we intend to be in the next. And wouldn’t you agree that it’s part of our professional life coaching journey to look back only long enough to learn from our experiences before looking forward towards our new year with anticipation and excitement.

So I sat here this morning in The Coaching Institute building, in the quiet still of the morning, before the office began to awaken with the busyness of the day. I did something that I don’t normally take the time to do. I simply sat still and looked around at my environment, taking in the characteristic rustic bricks of the walls that hold this building up so strong, the simply stunning warm wood ceiling and floors with their weathered yellow colouring worn like a badge of honour, celebrating the uniqueness that is theirs. And there I sat, drinking in the peaceful stillness of this magnificent place. As I sat there in that moment I thought to myself, if these walls could talk what would they say? What would we hear from them about the experiences they have known over the past 12 months?  

If I listen long enough I’m sure I can hear how incredible and inspiring this journey has been for so many of us in 2011. From our new students who have walked in through the door into something that will forever change them. Their excitement mixed with nervousness for what lies ahead…internal relief that they have finally trusted themselves enough to take the step to change their life forever.

And during our new students intake weekend how many stories are told of how they have come to this one point that is life changing? How many stories of letting go of fear, of embracing uncertainty, and as a result realising that the future is in their control, in their hands? How many new friendships are forged in those moments that will stand the test of time? Meanwhile the walls stand by quietly and patiently, knowing that all is well as long as those that share their experiences have the belief in themselves. And you wonder don’t you, how many of us unconsciously hear that message?

If I listen hard I can hear the echoes of celebrations past for each student who has reached a milestone, no matter how big or small. The sounds of the TCI team coming together to celebrate someone who has changed their life through taking action, because there is knowing within the team that this is what the magic moment is about…knowing how much individuals can change their life once they take the step forward into untold potential and opportunity.

If these walls could talk I would hear about the range of emotions as individuals experience learning and growth, the history of those that have finally found a place that is like home, like a familiar old friend who is always welcoming. I would learn of those who have desired to remain connected with this community beyond their initial learning, who have paid it forward by joining in as volunteers, giving back in appreciation of what they have been given. I would hear about the ever expanding community that with each year grows into a force that is truly to be reckoned with in such an empowered and inspirational way. And it is exciting to know that you and I are part of that, isn’t it?

And these walls have so much more to share…more to tell of so many moments in time that are now part of history, are now in the past. It is on this foundation of memories that we now look towards 2012 and know that there will be new stories of experiences shared, of fun and laughter, of challenges and victories, of lives forever changed as each person steps through into a new life of meaning. And with it we can take our own professional life coaching journey to a new level. You and I know it is up to us to write our own history, our own story, so let’s make it a story worth telling, worth sharing, worth being part of the history that will remain in these walls forever.

Have a fantastic weekend and continue to write your history. And remember…the walls have ears.

Kate Welk

PS – Hey we’d love to hear how your new year is going to start! Share with us today on Facebook!!

We have a map of the world in our beautiful building that represents how far spread our professional life coaching connections reach. To explain – we have pins on this world map that represent the location of our coaches and other pins that represent where their clients are located in the world. When you stand in front of this map you have an appreciation of how far reaching the potential for influence is. We call this the ripple effect. It’s truly quantum because the more ripples we create through connecting and inspiring others to be the best they can be is reinforcing the belief that people with passion CAN change the world…and our connections are growing, thus the pool of ripples spreads further and further across this magnificent earth.  Sends thrills up my spine just thinking about it!

And yesterday evening was another example of how far reaching the ripple effect is when we held our annual Christmas party at The Coaching Institute. Not only did we have local Melbournites attend, we also had the absolute pleasure to welcome coaches and partners who came from interstate! I mean that is beyond awesome! How much passion and commitment do you have when you decide to make the journey all the way from interstate to spend time with the community? One heck of a lot is the answer! And we also had new students yet to start their journey also attend – talk about passion and purpose! So a huge thank you to all those who did make the trip as well as the beautiful messages we received from those unable to make it. And yes we did have a ball!  

And during the night we learned of how much community effort and passion can create momentum and change. We were very proud to be able to celebrate how a massive effort by our community has now raised sufficient funds to purchase a school bus for Nigerian children to get to school, along with a matching contribution from our Founder and CEO, Sharon Pearson. Can you imagine just how much this generosity will positively impact the lives of these young Nigerians?

Think about this for a moment. For the first time ever they can do what the rest of us take for granted every day. They can go to a community place called school where they are welcomed, they can learn and grow and create a future that is far more positive now. All because they are able to travel the long distance that at one time was just not an option. This is a defining moment and no doubt one that is a potential catalyst that can change their life forever. This is indeed a reminder to us here in Australia how fortunate we are in living here and having the privileges that we so often take for granted.  And this is just one of the many efforts that have come through this community so I put it out there as a reminder of what is possible…anything… as long as you believe.

I know that you and I are attracted into this community because of the opportunity to give and pay it forward. In fact it’s one of many things that we love. What is even more rewarding is how this professional life coaching community is ever growing. Just now we’ve gone into the classroom to welcome our latest group of new students who are very excited (and a bit nervous in a good way!) as they start their Foundations of Coaching Success weekend. It’s so rewarding to see more people investing in themselves so they can create a life that allows them to make a difference to something far bigger than them. It will be such a pleasure to be able to support these new coaches as they stretch and grow. They may not know it now. Their journey will take them to places beyond even they can imagine and they will create far greater change than they ever knew was possible!   And that’s a great thing isn’t it?

Did you come along to our party last night? Share with us on Facebook and tell us your experience. And enjoy your weekend and make a difference. Kate Welk

So, just how fertile is your garden as you train to be a coach? Recently my husband and I spent a considerable amount of hours in our ‘vege’ garden removing weeds and other nasty stuff that had grown over the cold winter months through neglect. We did this so we can plant it out with a beautiful choice of vegetables that are going to produce luscious healthy organic fruit for the summer. Now, we live on an acre and have a fair amount of space that is specifically fenced off for this purpose so it did take time and commitment to transform that space to what it is now. Physically demanding work that certainly raised a sweat, taking a lot of grunt work to achieve the result we were after. It took so much more effort because we had ignored it over the past few months when we’d decided on other priorities.

Watching the garden go from an overgrown unproductive patch of earth, choked with weeds, to this beautiful, healthy, weed free enriched and mulched environment, ready to accept that which we have planted, was a great exercise in seeing how focus, work and commitment can transform something unproductive into something productive. We also agreed is that it’s important to keep it this way so we chatted about what that was going to take to achieve the results we’re after. We decided what level of regular maintenance that it would require of us, as a team, to maintain what we have now, as well as nurture and grow those plants that we have just put in.

And this got me thinking how parallel this experience is to how prepared we are to commit to our own growth and transformation on our own journey. I know you’ve heard this before yet have you actually asked yourself the question? And if you have, what is your answer?  Just how much commitment do you have to your own journey? How much physical effort, sweat, focus, and ‘grunt work’ are you prepared to put in to get the results that you want?

Back to our vege patch for a moment. During our winter months we don’t tend to grow much in this area. There are some magnificent hardy herbs which tend to grow all year round and we do harvest them however it’s the rest of the garden that we don’t tend to plant out. When we sat back and chatted about the results of our recent efforts we made a commitment to keep the garden maintained even if we don’t plant it out during winter. We agreed that this means a commitment over the colder, chilly months, to maintain the environment in whatever capacity was required to keep it healthy and ready to be planted out in the summer. This means potentially heading out when it’s raining, when the cold seeps into your body, when we’d much prefer to be warm and cosy inside the house, and do what is required to be done so that our garden continues to thrive and be healthy.

So, this begs the question doesn’t it? Looking at your own progress…ask yourself what level of commitment is it going to take you to create a flourishing, healthy garden as you train to be a coach? How prepared are you to work hard to establish a healthy weed free foundation of fertile ground, put in the right ingredients into the soil so that you are able to plant the right seeds that are going to grow and flourish? How prepared are you to step out in the cold winter months when the wind is biting, to make sure your garden remains healthy, and when you’d much prefer to be doing something far more comfortable? How prepared are you to research what is healthiest for your garden, so that your plants are free from toxic chemicals? How often are you weeding, watering and nurturing, with love and patience, so that your garden produces the results you desire? What time and effort are you prepared to put in to get what you want?

We are looking forward to that first time when we bite into a luscious ripe tomato, that has that special home grown smell, and to know that it is through a consistent effort we’ve created this result.

What is the state of your garden currently? What do you need to do to create the environment you need to grow and transform? And what are you prepared to do to make that happen? Share with us today on Facebook. (By the way, any excess vegetables are gladly shared with those who are interested – we’re happy to share the reward! ). Have an absolutely fabulous Friday and weekend. Kate Welk