What We Hold-- Holds Onto Us

SIG: Energy Work and Coaching: The Next Wave
Host: Rhona Post MA, MCC, Certified CI Practitioner
December’s Topic: How What We Hold-- Holds Onto Us

My meditation teacher, Michael Gregory (www.mindfulnessmeditationcenters.com) provides straightforward guidance for mindfulness practice. Watch your breath. Observe yourself as you observe your breath. Although simple in theory, breath watching can be challenging as we are constantly pulled toward our senses, qualifying what we think, feel, see, hear, and smell. We are captivated by our stories. I think of my mind as a large screen television with access to more than 150 channels. Whether I’m watching dramas, horror, documentaries, commercials, or re-runs about my life, I’m pre-occupied with my narratives.

I am not alone. Our stories explain why we do what we do, how we see the world, who we can trust, who we should avoid, what we want or don’t want, etc. Not to mention the many hours of the behind-the-scenes interviews we conduct where we berate or deliberate with ourselves, act as the hero or the victim of our stories.

It’s a merry go round, for sure, and some of us want to get off. Why? We want more peace, more joy and a greater sense of equanimity.

The purpose of the Energy Work and Coaching SIG is to provide coaches with another vantage point from which we can work. Using an open forum approach, we explore topics that will help us coach from a strong centered presence, using our intuition to guide us to work more deeply. We practice with a variety of somatic, energetic and ontological coaching tools. Our goal is to foster community—a place where our unique gifts are received. The more we model what is possible for our coaching clients, the easier it becomes for them to take the risks necessary to transform their relationships to their stories.

In November, my coaching colleague, Sandy Mobley (http://www.thelearningadvantageinc.com/) and I led a discussion about the power of positive thinking as it relates to changing our neural programming. We practiced with several tools, including the GAP, Length, Width and Depth (http://www.strozziinstitute.com/) and a loving kindness meditation. 

Rhona Post, MCC

December’s topic is all about holding patterns—from the physical to the emotional clutter keeping us from experiencing joy. As a Core Individuation practitioner, I have learned to energetically remove holding patterns so that my clients feel whole. During the month of December, I am offering a discounted rate to ICF coaches for a healing session. Please call or email me at rpost@thehealercoach.com. I look forward to our SIG call Monday, December 19 at 11 a.m. (New York).


For More Information: Contact: Rhona Post via email at rpost@thehealercoach.com or via telephone at +1.941.554.8466. You can also find me on Facebook or Twitter.

Stop following the herd!

If you have you ever gone furniture shopping, you will relate to this story. My husband and I were in need of a new bedroom set. So, one day, we set out going from one furniture store to another, searching for that “perfect” bedroom set. After five hours of going from store to store, we finally found the “one” but because it was more than what we had budgeted, we decided we would go home and sleep on the decision.The next morning, we awoke to discover that we BOTH had forgotten which store we had found that one particular bedroom set that we both loved (and no, we did not write it down…as that would have been the smart thing to do!).

WHY could we not remember which store it was? Because most furniture stores look and “act” alike. They carry similar furniture, most (if not, all) finance your purchases with their credit departments, they have delivery and set up options and sales people that follow you around like puppy dogs. They all follow the same play book. That was until IKEA came along. IKEA looked at what all the other furniture stores were doing and then...did the OPPOSITE. IKEA carries very distinctive low quality, low cost, Scandinavian furniture. As other furniture stores try and sell you on the longevity of their furniture, IKEA sells you on the fact that it won’t last long which allows you can “change your furniture look” often.

As you walk around the IKEA, you write down the aisle and bin numbers of your products and then venture into their warehouse where, you, not a salesperson, retrieve your furniture parts. Yes...I said parts. Then, what about set-up, you ask? Not at IKEA. You take home tons of boxes, unwrap everything yourself and then put it together, piece by piece, following their so called “directions.” And as far as salespeople, well, let me know when you find one of those too! But what they do have is babysitting for your children and a gourmet fast food restaurant for customers with picky taste buds. The experience starts the moment you walk into the store. And today, they are one of the most highly successful and profitable furniture brands out there, with millions of LOYAL customers (I am actually one of them!). Why? They broke the mold and gave customers what they truly wanted (which is not necessarily what customers always tell you they want!).

So the lesson…Be different…be very different. In some shape or form…

Just be Different.

You can differentiate via price, features, services, niche market, and/or customer service, to name a few. To be successful, you must distinguish yourself from the herd. Find your differentiator (I call it your black jellybean – people either love them or hate them and they do not appeal to everyone (that’s ok!) but they always stand out from the other jellybeans). GO FOR IT!

Gail Nataupsky founded The Republic of Engagement in 2011 with the clear and passionate vision of improving the lives and experience of all business owners, employees and customers. With THE REPUBLIC Of Engagement, her attention is focused on the success of her clients as reflected in their business growth, their achievements in their personal lives and their overall happiness. As an expert in evidence-based strategic engagement, Gail teaches business owners how to solve and overcome business challenges and prosper from the opportunities. Professionally, she holds a B.A. in history from Boston College and a graduate certificate in Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design Currently, she is working on becoming a certified professional coach from the world renowned leader in coach training, the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC), and a certified Energy Leadership Index (ELI) Assessment and Energy Leadership Development System coach. She is a Certified Marketing Specialist, a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF) and a member of the Internet Marketing Association (IMA) Please visit her blog at http://republicofengagement.wordpress.com/ or feel free to email her at Gail@RepublicOfEngagement.com.  

How's your business plan looking?

December is Write a Business Plan Month. If you have a business plan in place, take time this month to review it and make any changes you have wanted to make. If you don't have a working business plan, take time to write one!

For those who have a business plan in place, what sorts of tips can you provide those starting from scratch? What resources do you recommend?

Are You in Love With Your Coaching Business?

The below post is by Jayne Warrilow, a 2011 ICF Annual International Conference speaker. Watch for posts from other 2011 conference speakers on the ICF blog over the next several months.

Many people have talked about the importance of loving what you do for a living. Yet for many of us, the reality is quite different. Yes, we love the coaching but what about our business? Somewhere between our dreams of achieving our ambitions and the practical realities of actually running a coaching business, we lose our passion. We lose touch with the very thing that could lead us to success and instead find ourselves chasing the money, or simply following the path of least resistance. If this is you, rest assured its never too late to fall back in love with your coaching business.

As a business owner you have a tremendous opportunity to embrace what you do with passion. You are truly without limits. If you are like most coaches you probably became self-employed because you liked the idea of more personal freedom. You wanted to be your own boss and had some great ideas you wanted to try. In the early days, I bet you were full of passion and excitement. All you could think about was your business - it was an exciting time. However since then, you will have been through a lot. You've worked hard and will have received some level of rewards. Your love of the business will have ebbed and flowed. Ask yourself now, are you still in love with your business? Is it time for you to rekindle the flame?

Passion is key. It acts as the rocket fuel to success and propels those who would otherwise slip into mediocrity to the top of their field. Here are some suggestions for you to reconnect with your original passion:

1. Get present: You are unlikely to achieve success if you lose yourself within your business. Too many coaches work so hard and such long hours that they forget to sit back and enjoy their success. Get present. Bring yourself into the now and realise everything you have accomplished since the day you first began.
2. Know your why: Remind yourself why you went into business in the first place, what were your original dreams? Get back in touch with your initial motivations to remind you of the bigger reasons behind what you are trying to achieve.
3. Discover the magic of flow: Think about the energy you bring to your business. You are giving off certain messages via your energy whether you realize this or not. Your personal energy is fuel for your business. Don't allow anyone or anything get in the way of you being who you know you can be. Find your flow!



Jayne Warrilow

Set your performance meter high. Great quality of service, impeccable integrity and a caring attitude towards your customers will always attract referrals and repeat business. If you follow these suggestions your clients will notice and they will begin to reflect your passion back to you. If you do this right you won't be the only one to fall in love with your business, your customers will too.

Jayne Warrilow is CEO of Resonant Coaching, specializing in advanced level training for coaches. Jayne’s powerful work which she has successfully implemented in the C-Suites of global organizations, integrates a holistic, energetic approach into coaching ultimately leading to resonance, to the next level of mastery and beyond. For more information: www.resonantcoaching.com.

How can you give back?

This time of year is often synonymous with feelings of gratitude and thankfulness. While you count your blessings this year, consider those ways in which you might be able to serve others this holiday season…and beyond.

Regardless of how crowded your schedule is, volunteer opportunities abound everywhere. Consider the organizations in your community that run on volunteer manpower…how can you help them? For you, it may be offering your services via pro bono coaching. For others, it could mean volunteering your time to serve (be it a soup kitchen, a nursing home, an orphanage, or animal shelter).

What is it for you…how can you give back? If you already regularly volunteer your services or your time (or both), what do you do? Do you have any advice for someone trying to find a way to get involved? Share your feedback in the comments section below or over on our Facebook page.