Your Coaching Business: Charge What You’re Worth?!

Are you worth $10/hour or a 10 million dollar net worth?

This inquiry makes no sense.

It’s like asking if a sunflower is worthy of sun to help it grow and thrive.

How much sun?  How hot?  How many days of the week?  Which days?  More or less than neighboring sunflowers?  Are you kidding?!?

Your Coaching Business: charge what you’re worth – as a sunflower charges its worth?
Your coaching business: lessons from a sunflower!

If you’d like to enroll more clients, more consistently, then drop this connection between your fee and your worth.  Now.

Commit in this moment to knowing your intrinsic value and priceless worth.  

Commit to doing the numbers for your business to set your fee.  Make your fee an investment that calls your client to commit to themselves.

If you’d like support in living your commitment, we are calling a few courageous coaches to joining us in the small-group Thriving Coaches, Client Enrollment Immersion Program.

All the details and to apply . . .

Spiritual Growth: Creator/Owner Mindset – Choose, Commit, Consecrate

Choose:
To select from a number of possibilities.

Commit:
To promise or engage oneself.

Consecrate:
To declare sacred.

We create our own lives when we choose, commit and consecrate, no longer the victim of whatever or whomever comes our way.

My 18-year-old nephew, Jared, is staying with me for awhile as he gets started in his first job.  When he isn’t working, or sleeping, he’s writing rap lyrics.  For hours every day.

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One page, from one of many notebooks.  The words flow, without a single hesitation or cross-out.

He could be playing basketball, running the streets, playing video games, attending college, chasing girls or choosing from all the possibilities presented to a high school graduate.  He’s chosen to write rap lyrics.  Page after page, notebook after notebook.

He engages himself every day.  He is committed and devoted.

He has declared this work sacred.  He is mowing lawns to earn the money to buy recording equipment.

Before he came to stay with me in Colorado, he lived in southern California with his parents, where he grew up.  When I visited, he seemed a bit aimless.  Watching him today, I am humbled by his creator/owner mindset.  He is charting his course and working toward his dream every day.

What about you?

In what area of your life, are you feeling called to choose, commit and consecrate?

Creator/Owner Mindset: What If No One Is To Blame?

I’ve spent a fair amount of my life angry at or disappointed by other people.  When I read in Greg Baer’s book, “Real Love,” that both anger and disappointment indicate a lack of real love – unconditional love – I got mad at him and put the book down, none too gently!  Mad because I knew it was true.  And, mad at myself because I live so far from unconditional love so much of the time.

Spiritual growth: Real Love by Greg Baer

Thank goodness I’m a pragmatist.  One day it dawned on me that being mad at someone else and being mad at myself don’t give me the life I desire.  

Even when I don’t love as fully as I would like, how does loving even less – being mad – help me love more, live more?

What if I quit blaming?  What if I practice acceptance and compassion when I feel disappointed by others?  What if I notice that feeling disappointed by others always indicates disappointment with myself?  What if I then remind myself that I am devoted to a life of love, freedom, generosity, expression, acceptance, compassion and joy?

I am reminded of a line from “A Course in Miracles,”everything is love or a cry for love.”  What if, moment by moment, day by day, I use any anger or disappointment as a reminder to do what works?  Choose love instead.

Spiritual growth: A Course in Miracles

How about you?  Care to join me? 

Simple.  Not always easy.  With the pause of a deep breath, possible.

Post your own reflections, comments or spiritual
growth progress in the comments . . .

Spiritual Growth: Am I a Victim or Creator/Owner?

Steve Chandler writes extensively on the distinction between victim and owner.  Recently, within a few days, I gave myself the opportunity to look in this mirror several times!  I noticed myself behaving as a victim when I thought, “nothing can be done.”  I felt myself take ownership when I began to create a possible new way.

How often do we hear victim language:
“I can’t because . . .
. . . of the economy.”
. . . he/she wouldn’t like it.”
. . . I don’t have the money.”
. . . I’m not sure of my schedule.”

Victim language and mindset is the norm.  Most people live from the victim mindset without even realizing it.

Perhaps 5 to 10% of people consistently live from the Creator/Owner mindset.  Which explains why far less often do we hear:
“I’d love to, you can count on me because . . .
. . . people need my services more than ever in this economy.”
. . . I’m excited about this project and I’m committed
to making it happen.”
. . . I will get resourceful and find/create the money.”
. . . I will make the time.  You can count on me.”

Spiritual growth lessons from a master, Jasmine

The newest addition to our family, Jasmine, teaches me every day about being the creator of her life!  My spiritual growth involves allowing her to choose the great outdoors most of the time – even when I notice she rarely looks both ways before crossing the street!

My life and business are getting better every day as I continue to expand my awareness around the times I’m still living from a victim mindset and I make the shift to Creator/Owner right in that moment.  I recently realized that judging myself when I notice myself speaking or acting as a victim is a subtle way to stay in victim!  When I am in Creator/Owner mindset, I am compassionate and accepting of what is, even as I am “upgrading” what is!  

How would your life and business radically shift if you made a commitment to yourself right now to step fully, with both feet, into the shoes of the powerful Creator/Owner that you truly are?

Conscious Choice: Whatever the Question, Love Is the Answer

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have the good fortune to live less than a ten-minute walk from the “I Have a Dream Memorial” in City Park here in Denver.  Since I walk by it several times a week on my walks through the park, I often reflect on the short life and huge legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

This weekend at church, I learned something new about his message of love.  He talked about how he didn’t always like someone or like their actions, but he knew he was called to love them. 

I’d never thought about liking and loving that way and it resonated deep within me.  Bringing love to situations that I don’t necessarily like calls me to act from the better part of me.  If I see all of my words and actions on a continuum from the darkest/meanest part of me to the lightest/kindest part of me, then I chose to make a practice of choosing the love end of the spectrum more.

While it certainly isn’t always easy to love someone or some situation that I don’t like, I absolutely know it is worth the spiritual practice and spiritual discipline.  I am deeply and humbly grateful for the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.  His message inspires me to do my part in leaving my own legacy of love.

Would you like to join me?  What message is calling you right now?  How can you more fully live something that you value, something that calls to you as yours to do?  Feel free to post your answers in the “Comments.”

Clear intention: Quantum Leap to the Person You’d Like to Be, part II of II

Last week, we looked at making decisions as if we already are that incredibly successful and fulfilled version of ourselves.  What choices does she make in a day?  How does he think about himself?  What daily practices allow her light to shine more fully?

Here is a delightful role model story for us – about Bobby Fisher, World Chess Champion.  I first read a bit about his story in Steve Chandler’s transformative ebook, “How to Get Clients.” 

Fischer became the World Chess Champion in 1972 when he beat Boris Spassky.  While Fischer and Spassky had similar skill sets, Fischer also prepared for the chess match by swimming laps under water.

Spassky, an overweight smoker, viewed chess exclusively as a mental game.  Why focus on taking care of your body, when you use only your brain for chess? Because of his swimming, during the chess match, Fischer had more oxygen going to his brain than Spassky.

The more we understand the body/mind/spirit connection as Bobby Fischer did, the more we succeed in all areas of our lives.  Tending our body, mind and spirit gives us more energy and increases our availability to give.  We are more creative, positive and clear thinking.  We listen better, solve problems with more ease and grace, react more slowly and respond more fully and thoughtfully.

In my fourteenth month of practicing Kundalini yoga, I still feel a bit stunned by (and deeply grateful for) how much this weekly practice has strengthened me physically, clarified me emotionally, sharpened me mentally and softened me spiritually. And, I’ve lost 13 pounds!

As I quantum leap to a whole new level of supporting my clients as their right-hand business partner and spiritual business/life advisor, as well as their transformational coach, I am thrilled to make choices that call forth the best of me – body, mind and spirit!

What about you?  What, who, are you being called to?  What new choices can you make to support this New You?

 

StrengthsFinder™: Full permission to do lots of the fun stuff

One of my favorite aspects of the StrengthsFinder™ assessment
involves receiving full permission to do all the things that feel most natural, most easy, most fun for me.  If you haven’t yet taken the assessment to learn your top five natural strengths, I highly recommend it!

The Gallup folks who developed the StrengthsFinder™ assessment define a strength as “near perfect performance in an activity.”  While “near perfect performance” seems like a high standard, I have noticed with my own strengths over the years that I do, indeed have near perfect performance and it’s nearly effortless!  How cool is that?

I recently had this reinforced in a simple, yet powerful way  while getting a birthday card for my brother-in-law.  I sometimes find him hard to buy for, but this time I had an idea.  He lives near the beach in San Diego and just bought a second home in Maui.  He loves the beach and the ocean!  I wanted to find him a birthday card about his birthday being a great day at the beach.

One of my top five StregthsFinder™ strengths kicked into gear: Individualization, which involves loving noticing and responding to the specific uniqueness in each person.  I can’t always tell what excites my brother-in-law, but in this case I knew my birthday card idea hit the bulls-eye for him.  Except that there wasn’t a card in the greeting card store with that message and image!

Now what?  Well, I love making torn-paper cards (my own Individualization), but I wasn’t at all sure he would appreciate the hand-made card.  I felt excited about the idea, so I decide to proceed.  And I loved making the card and the finished product.  I mailed it and forgot about it.

Until a few weeks after his birthday, when my sister told me that my brother-in-law loved his card so much that he wanted to frame it!  That brought tears to my eyes.  I love that me being me, doing what I love to do naturally and easily had impacted him so strongly . . .

What would each of our lives be like if we focused every day on doing more and more of what strengthens us, what we are naturally gifted at, what we love to do?

Spiritual inspiration: from within (day 18)

This morning as I was listening to a Michael Beckwith recording I noticed myself scanning his ideas for something to spark my blog post.  Then, I read an ezine from my friend, Tama, with the same thought in the back of my head.

Finally I noticed the spot of anxiety inside me.  Instead of taking in Michael and Tama as nourishment for my soul, I was busy looking for something amazing to share with you.  As if that amazing thing had to come from outside of me.  As if nourishing me isn’t enough.

The anxiety has subsided as I realize offering you a slice of my process is way more than enough!  Please enjoy this slice as you revel in YOU being way more than enough . . .

 

Spiritual inspiration: Obama calls me to a better version of me (day 5)

Listening to Obama address Congress and the American people tonight, I felt called to do my part for humanity.  I’m not a civil-servant type, I dislike groups and until Barack Obama somehow crossed my radar screen about a year ago, I had zero interest in politics.

What strikes me about him again and again: he was born to do this very tough job.  He is clear and unwavering in who he is, what needs to be done and getting about the business of doing it.  And, inviting each of us to join him in doing our part.

I’m so new to this political thing, I don’t actually know what my part is yet.  However, having the honor and priviledge of serving as a business and life coach, I am not new to calling people to the best version of themselves.

So, for now, I ponder the question, “how can I take a stronger stand for that in which I believe?”   

Positive mental attitude – not just a concept (day 3)

While listening to Michael Beckwith this morning, the concept of choosing my reality soaked into my bones a bit more.  He said something like, “Circumstances don’t create our reality, our attitude does.”

This may be the thousandth or ten thousandth time I have heard or read this or some variation of it.  Yet, today I got it that I want to choose my attitude even when it’s more challenging for me. 

I almost always have a fantastic attitude with my work – except if something technological malfunctions, or even hiccups.  Then I am sure my world as I know it is coming to an end.  I almost always have a superb attitude in my personal life – until my sister or my sweetheart says or does something I don’t like, or worse, something I judge.

So, what if I took the opportunity with a technology hiccup to breathe, know that all is well and take a short walk?  What if I focused on the opportunity to learn about that technology or the opportunity to connect with the techno genius helping me?  What if I focused on the opportunity to love even when I don’t like?  What if I examined my judgment of another to see what is crying out for love in me?

What if I consistently and consciously make the choice for freedom, rather than bondage to situations that don’t seem to be going “my way?”

Twenty-five years ago, when I read Victor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, I first came to understand the importance of choosing our focus and thoughts.  If he kept himself alive in a Nazi concentration camp by focusing on hope for the future, surely I can hold a positive mental attitude when my email goes down for a few hours.

I’m now challenging myself to override my initial, knee-jerk reaction to consciously choose a positive mental attitude every time I start to fight something/someone. 

Ah, that may keep me busy for awhile . . .