What’s the very next step?
Do you know someone who is wired to ask, What’s the very next step? Someone who seems to have action and results in their DNA. I have to admit the very next step is not my natural state. I can get overly focused on the whole enchilada. On wanting to know all the steps involved […]
Continued...
Warning: These undone To Dos are robbing you
A To Do list… Need backup system for computer Bags of clothes for donation piled in closet Call phone company about echo in phone line Replace broken tile in backsplash Overflowing junk drawer Burned out light bulb in closet Figure out how to use budgeting software Clean out the garage Recaulk bathtub Get referrals for […]
Continued...
What happens when you don’t have the experience for what you want?
The other day I was thinking about what lead me down the path of entrepreneurship. After maxing out my growth in a couple different roles for a company in Chicago, I applied for a stretch position in strategic account management. It would be a new arena for me. One that would use my current skillset, […]
Continued...
Who else wants to break free of this fallacy?
In philosophy there’s this thing called the is-ought fallacy. It boils down to this: Because something is or has been it ought to be. If you’re like me, you have to let that sink in for a minute. The is-ought fallacy is at work when we assume that because things are a certain way, they […]
Continued...
“You’re trying to get people to overhaul their lives”
I was having a “let’s get to know each other” coffee with someone I’d only said hello to at a couple of networking events. We were ten minutes into our conversation when she said something that stopped me in my tracks: It sounds to me like you’re trying to get people to overhaul their lives. […]
Continued...
Do you have the urge to go smaller?
A friend said, I’m downsizing a dream. It turns out he’s letting go of a long-held dream to start his own business. Instead, he’s repackaging and repurposing that old aspiration into joining a small technology startup as an employee. While it won’t be his own business, he’s getting in on the ground floor and will have […]
Continued...
I have to have all the answers
When’s the last time you said, “I don’t know”? Has it been awhile? Do your think admitting you don’t know signals weakness? Do you fear saying I don’t know makes you look less competent or even stupid? Going through life with the mindset you should have all the answers is asking for trouble. You’re one question […]
Continued...
What if you’re creating the wrong results?
It used to be a struggle to create the results I wanted in my life. I’ve always been a big fan of setting goals, so that wasn’t the problem. No, something else was going on. I would set a goal and take action, but then struggle to gain traction and sustain momentum. It turns out […]
Continued...
Are you thinking of the wasted years?
The other day someone shared, I hate being a CPA, but that’s what my degree is in and I’ve worked in the field for 8 years already, so I really can’t make a change. Oh, the disheartening weight of that mindset. This type of thinking is a cognitive misstep that behavioral economists call “sunk-cost fallacy”. […]
Continued...
Mini Mission—Define success for yourself
It’s energy-draining trying to live—and live up to—someone else’s definition of success. You invariably come up lacking. Or perhaps you achieve some coveted level of success—this size paycheck, that title—only to find you feel sort of empty inside. That’s what happens when we’re lazy about defining success for ourselves. It’s not hard to see how […]
Continued...
The how will be revealed
We don’t always know the smooth, straight path forward. We may not know it will take 42 steps, in this order, done this way. We often see only the destination in our mind’s eye when a journey begins. We don’t fully see the way or understand the means and manner. It’s OK. It’s OK some […]
Continued...
The present would be perfect IF…
Lately I’ve been trying on this mindset: The present is perfect. I have to admit, I’m still practicing this one, still wrapping my mind around it. Because there’s a part of me that wants to say, Yeah, but… The present would be perfect IF… It’s a whole other thing to say the present is perfect—regardless of […]
Continued...
Enough with the self-imposed obstacles
I was working with a client who has wanted to write a novel for the past decade. She’s had numerous starts and stops along the way—many times when she managed to sit down and produce a page or two, but then lost steam. The novel had resurfaced again in our coaching, and we explored whether […]
Continued... Mini Mission—Edit your life
Ever been handed an edited version of something you’ve written? Notice how deleting a word here and sentence there makes the whole thing flow more smoothly? How editing makes it easier to read and understand? Makes it better. Well, our lives are like that too. When we edit to remove the unnecessary, a new coherent whole […]
Continued...
4 reasons you’re not achieving your goal
A client recently wondered, Why do I keep having the same unrealized goals year after year? We’ve all experienced that disempowering feeling of setting the same goal—yet again. The one that’s left us stymied and frustrated in the past. The one we say we want to achieve, but fail to gain any sustainable traction around. […]
Continued...
