Broth, soup or stew – where are you?

The below post originally appeared on Joanna Bennett’s blog, Minimalist Self, on November 1. Joanna is a student at Adler Learning in Toronto.

No, this isn’t a post about cooking.

Although, if food could be used as a metaphor about choice and the quality of the menu items we pick daily, then perhaps this is a recipe for discovery about ourselves!

At Adler last week, we engaged in a variety of creative exercises to assist with our coaching studies. One morning we were handed a sheet of coloured art paper and a few pastels. Our task was to create the cover of a book we were going to write in the future about our past 5 years as professional coaches. Not only an excellent visioning tool to use with clients but what a great way to design our own future!

The title, “Broth, Soup or Stew – Where Are You?” came to me in the previous week when the term ‘soup’ came up a few times. Is a client comfortable sitting in their own ‘soup’ or is it slowing them down? When discussing scenerios that could be worse than soup, I said “they are stuck in stew!” Since clients come to us to accompany them as they embrace an exciting new path, I thought of broth as a healthy choice to sip on – or inhale in one gulp!

So as a coach, I ask: Where are you?

I love soup. On a beautiful autumn day, homemade cream of [insert root vegetable here] satiates my need for something comforting. I could improve the nutritional value by making soup with yummy lentils! (low on sodium of course!) Regardless of content, we’ve all heard about soup being good for the soul. I’m gripping a spoon in one hand and the bowl with the other, head bent over blowing off the steam.

Some days however, I want to fill up on stew. Chunky ingredients stuck together with dumplings ideally, paired with a hearty glass of red wine. I’m in winter now, lights out, the winds are howling and hurling snow at the windows. Candles are burning low and so am I. Sometimes it’s necessary to go underground and hide out. It may also become difficult to remember what life has to offer. I leave a light on at the door to remind me of the way out.

So what does a a simple, clear broth offer me? Not a lot of sustenance. Doesn’t support a spoon or even cling to it. Broth can easily drop in temperature. But since I can drink it from a mug, my hands can wrap around it to keep it warm longer. I don’t even need a spoon. If it becomes stale, I get up, go to my kitchen and reheat it. Requiring only one hand to hold the vessel, I can transport it to a cozy chair by the window. As I pause to look out at the trees, I am mesmerized by the dancing colours. I look down at my broth and see reflections of my environment. This place makes the most sense to me.

There are times when we need to sit still. Hopefully, there are just rare occasions when we need to hide. For the creative, resourceful and whole human being, building momentum on our mindfulness allows for conscious appreciation of what we have and where we are going.

I think I just made myself hungry! Time for lunch.



Joanna Bennett

 Joanna Bennett is a highly creative person who desires living as consciously as possible and engaging with those around her. After many years of 'naval gazing' as an actor and the sometimes solitary work as a freelance sign language interpreter, Jo is embarking on a new career that embraces moving forward in this valuable life and allows her to have meaningful conversations with others. With the goal of becoming an ICF certified coach, Jo is thriving on the education at Adler Learning in Toronto! One passion that does tie together all careers and the values above is her love of writing. For more thoughts on mindfulness with a focus on self-employment, please subscribe to her blog: http://minimalistself.wordpress.com/.  

Three easy things ICF members can do this week

So you belong to the ICF…but are you really maximizing your membership? This occasional topic series will highlight those things you can do to ensure you are making the most of your connection to the ICF.

1) Are you aware of the ICF Resource Partners? ICF Resource Partners offer discounts or special pricing to ICF members on their various goods and services. Currently, there are 15 partners offering such resources as audio services, insurance, and everything in-between. Learn more about each and how they can help grow your business.

2) Do you know about the member-only tools and resources at Coachfederation.org? Various marketing materials exist at Coachfederation.org that can assist in growing your business. Examples include: Top ten indicators to refer a client to a mental health professional, How to write an effective press release, and Tips for an online media room. These items are saved on a page called Assets and Tools. Take a look at available Assets and Tools.

3) Are you using the ICF logo in your marketing initiatives? If you aren’t, you should! The logo is downloadable at Coachfederation.org and is a great way to show the world your affiliation with the ICF through your website, business cards, e-mail signature, etc. The logo is available in different file formats and in color or black and white. Download the ICF logo.

How are you maximizing your membership?

Ignite passion!

I. Care. For. Three simple words that can reflect so much. In late 2010, then ICF President Giovanna D’Alessio, MCC, shared her idea of the “I Care For” campaign with the ICF membership. Drawing from the association’s branding work at the time, ICF members from across the world shared that “they see themselves not only as part of the ICF community, but also part of something much greater.”

Everyone on this planet—coach and client, has something that ignites passion. Be it a favorite charity, a local cause or effort, or some other service to humanity, everyone has something that can spark emotion—and ultimately, action.

The best part about “I Care For” is that each of our individuality shines through. What I care about may or may not be what the next person over cares about. But if we all do our part, we are all helping in our own way. And it subsequently makes the world a better place. [Remember, no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. (Aesop)]

So, what is it for you? What ignites passion in your life and how are you feeding it? Share it below in the comments, write on our Facebook wall, tweet us or shoot us an email at icfpr@coachfederation.org.  

Words to live by…

Taking a cue from ICF guest blogger Laurie Lawson, we asked our Facebook fans the following question in September: “coaches, what is your favorite quote?”

The response was tremendous! If you are a collector of quotes, the below pool will serve as an excellent source.

“As long as you are going to be thinking anyway, think big.”—Donald Trump (Sinead Moffatt)

“Do, or do not. There is no try.”—Yoda (Vickie Gray)

“If you love what you do you will be successful.”—Albert Schweitzer (Jurgen Domacassee)

“I care not what the others do, but I care very much about what I think I do!”—Theodore Roosevelt (Elina Giachali)

“You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an exhuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world.”—Sheila Graham (Christa Lynn Colletti)

“Be where you are right now.” (Demyan Rossouw)

“Don’t ask yourself what the words needs. Ask what makes you come alive…and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” (Robben Salyers)

“Whether you think you can, and if you think that you can’t, are correct.”—Henry Ford (Germán Portilla Vallejo)

“No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.”—George Washington Carver (Jeremy Flagg)

“The point is to understand, not judge.” (Cynthia Grinfield)

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”—Jung (Mine Kobal Ok)

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”—Lao Tzu (Susanne Cordes-Hoelterhoff)

“Screw it, let’s do it!”—Richard Branson (Katerina Kanelidou)

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”—Albert Einstein (Gildardo Aguilar)

“Sometimes you have to lose your mind to come to your senses.” (Christel Seierø)

“Forget the failures. Keep the lessons.”—Dalaï Lama (Zohra Dali)

“A maior conquista do homem, é vencer a si mesmo.”—Platão (Joana Darc A. Silva)

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”—Robert Frost (Karim Fayad)

“What you reap today is a result of what you sow yesterday. So what are you sowing today for tomorrow?” (Simon Yap)

“When you really want something, the whole universe conspires helping you achieve it.”—Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist (Christine Haugseth Andersen)

“Coaching begins with trusting that the coachee is ‘capable’.” (Bhaskar Bhattacharya)

“Live to make your lifetime a statement of who you are—not what you feared.” (Marcus Milukas)

“Spontaneity must be well planned!” (Wolfgang Spenke)

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”—Mary Oliver (Merle Rockwell)

“If you can dream it, you can do it!”—Walt Disney (Elisabeth Piene Espenes)

“Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” (Deborah Higgs)

“My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of Man.”—John F. Kennedy (Mattia Rossi)

“Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly. But the bumblebee doesn’t know what, so it goes on flying anyway.”—Mary Kay Ash (Caroline Charron Stolzy)

“No regrets.”—S. Waugh (Wayne Timms)

“It is never too late to be what you should have become.”—George Eliot (Pierina Curties)

“Get the best people and train them well.”—Scott McNealy (Paul Morrall)

“A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.”—Max Lucado (Paul Morrall)

“Leaders grasp nettles.”—David Oglivy (Paul Morrall)

“Use your life to change the world.”—Oprah Winfrey (Elvira Hopper)

“Accomplishment and success are often the result of commitment and perseverance rather than skill or talent.”—George V. Valkenburg (Elaine Tong)

“The harder you work and the more focused you are…the luckier you become.” (Paul Morrall)

“You can’t ask for a commitment greater than the size of your relationship.” (Clare Sauttner)

What about you? Do you have a favorite quote or words you live by? We’d love to know—share it with us on at Facebook.com/ICFHQ.

My recent ICF travels to Japan and South Korea

On October 7, ICF President Ed Modell, PCC, presented “what is coaching and the benefits of being an ICF member” at the American Chamber of Commerce Japan in Tokyo. His presentation included live coaching demonstrations and targeted human resource directors from large multi-national corporations and coaches in attendance.

On Saturday, the ICF Tokyo Chapter hosted a Global Coaching Forum in which Ed presented the value of ICF membership and the credential, ICF standards, the Global Coaching Study and Minimum Eligibility Requirements. Dr. Linda Semlitz addressed the psychological first aid in disaster recovery. The presentation included how coaches could provide appropriate support to people facing difficulties after the recent earthquake, tsunami and radiation.

A total of 70 coaches and personnel from coaching schools and human resource managers were in attendance. The forum ended with a party that went on through the evening celebrating coaching in Japan.

Finally, there was a meeting held that included myself and Ed, as well as key stakeholders from the coaching profession in Japan, including the ICF Tokyo Chapter, six coaching schools, a special interest group (SIG), and other groups. The conversation was around changes to the ICF Credential, membership eligibility requirements and other concerns affecting coaching.

Leaving Japan, we travelled to South Korea. The ICF Seoul Korea Chapter partnered with ICF Korea to host a one day coaching conference. Over 100 coaches, coaching school personnel, human resource managers and others attended a day coach learning. Ed Modell presented on “the value of ICF and the credential.”

Ed also did two coaching demonstrations to show the power of coaching. In addition, a panel of six PCC coaches told the audience why coaching was important in their lives and profession. Ed was also able to tell his life story about how he became a coach and his own personal transformation into coaching.

The coaching conference was a huge success. Members in both Japan and Korea were grateful that we came to visit them and honor them as members of the ICF global community of coaches.

Don Whittle is the ICF Director of Membership at ICF Global. He can be reached at don.whittle@coachfederation.org.