Who are you meant to serve? Finding the courage to be true to yourself.

Who are you meant to serve? The process of getting really clear on this can be quite a journey.

Caterina Barregar of Imagine Life Coaching is a perfect example of what happens for many coaches who keep asking, “Who is my ideal client? What am I really meant to do?” A graduate of the Passion Into Profit program, she volunteered to share her story about moving more and more into alignment with her true passion.

Check out this interview by clicking the image below.



Developing your credo isn’t just an exercise – it’s a journey. On your journey, you must find the courage to be true to yourself, to find your passion and your love, and to embrace the entrepreneurial mindset: to say, “How can I turn that passion into profit?” For the sake of sustainability and living a life that you love, you must be true to yourself. Caterina is a great example of that. It's been a journey, but today she is solid about how she wants to make a difference in the world – and she knows how to communicate that to others. That’s what it takes to turn a passion into profit.

Passion Into Profit Coach Challenge: Ask yourself what is my life story? Who am I perfectly designed to serve in this lifetime?

Teresia LaRocque MCC, is the Director of Entrepreneurship and Business Building Mentor for the Erickson Business Center – www.ericksonbusinesscenter.com at Erickson College International www.erickson.edu. Teresia is a pioneer in the booming profession of personal coaching, the first recipient of the International Coach Federation’s Master Coach Credential in Canada and cofounder for the Vancouver International Coach Federation chapter. She is the founder and facilitator of the Passion into Profit Program, a customized business building program for coaches and is committed to supporting coaches to take their talent and passion for coaching and make their entrepreneurial dreams come true.

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I Break For Success

“Stop” is probably not something you frequently say to yourself and your clients. It is a dirty word and a radical concept in work cultures where ‘powering through’ is an expectation, a badge of honor, and in some cases, an addiction.

An opinion piece in a February issue of New York Times should be the spark of a work and lifestyle revolution that turns “stop” into our battle cry and marching orders. The article, Relax! You’ll Be More Productive by author and productivity expert Tony Schwartz, is packed with exciting data about the benefits of taking breaks in all shapes and sizes. Here’s a sampler of what got me break dancing:

• A 2012 study found that sleeping fewer than six hours per night is the best predictor of job burnout.
• Air traffic controllers who napped an average of just under 20 minutes were more vigilant and had better reaction time than their non-napping counterparts.
• Longer nappers who nodded off for 60-90 minutes did as well on memory tests as those who slept a full eight hours, according to a nap researcher at the University of California-Riverside.
• Here’s my favorite one: An internal Ernst & Young study last year found that, for each additional ten hours of vacation a staff member took, her or his end-of-year performance scores improved by 8%. This same study said that frequent vacation-takers were much more likely to remain with the company.
• Despite the above, in 2011, Americans did not use six of their vacation days, and in 2012, that number skyrocketed to 9, according to a Harris Interactive poll (EU readers are shaking their heads in disbelief right now).
• Better performers work in intervals of 90 minutes and never work for more than 4.5 hours per day, so say researchers at Florida State University. This may be due to daytime energy rhythms that have many of us cycling from alertness to fatigue every hour-and-a-half.

So, why aren’t we napping on the job, getting the nightly sleep we need and taking the vacation we earn? If we want ourselves, our clients and those who work for us to be more productive and perform at a higher level, this data along with many other recent and well-researched findings say, work less!

Or at least, work smarter.

There’s another compelling reason to take timeouts. Breaks can prevent stress symptoms such as muscle tension, eye strain, bad moods and anxiety from turning into back pain, headaches, poor communication, refrigerator raids, panic episodes and low quality sleep.



Brief breaks rock, too. Take this 3-minute time out with Jordan Friedman’s Quick Calm, deep-breathing exercise.

Why don’t we conduct our own experiments? For those of us who sit in the driver’s seats of our work lives, let’s plan and take regular breaks for a couple of weeks to see if we realize the same payoffs as the subjects of the studies sited earlier. If we do, we need to make breaks permanent and influence others to try this new way of working for themselves and those who work for them. Fortunately, more and more, culture change has come to workplaces who’s leaders have put the breaks on nonstop work habits that many can’t kick on their own.

Continually armed with the latest data and break-taking success stories from workers and employers, we will win the battle for lower stress and greater success.

I leave you with this triumphant statistic: The French, on average, take more time off from work than any other people, and they are consistently ranked as the most productive in the industrialized world. Les miserables? Not anymore.

Jordan Friedman, a.k.a. The Stress Coach, is a global stress management speaker, trainer and former director of Columbia University’s health promotion program. His Stress Coach U program trains coaches and other professionals to teach their clients and students stress reduction techniques (www.stresscoachu.com) Jordan is the author of The Stress Manager’s Manual and co-author of The Go Ask Alice Book Of Answers. He provides free how-to videos, exercises and other resources for coaches, trainers and stress- relief seekers at www.thestresscoach.com. Copyright 2013 Jordan Friedman. Published with permission.

What do you choose? Fear or Joy?

Can you relate to that terrible imagining? 

You know how you're watching your child fast asleep; just a little baby, and you're thinking how blessed you are and how much you love him? 

And then your thoughts wander to how you can barely remember what life was like just a few months ago, before you had kids. 

And then you watch him breathe and suddenly imagine he's not breathing… 

And then you get really scared and imagine all the terrible things that could happen to him…

I think we all do this. I know Brene Brown talks about it in her amazing books. 

Here's the thing though, I realize that we do it in our business as well.  It's not just about the people we love or the things we care about…it's a kind of 'giving in' to the fear.

What will happen if I don't get more clients?
How will I survive if this latest idea doesn't work out?
How many times can I bounce back after I fail?
How can I be so sure that this will work?

These are very natural fears that come with the courageous act of having your own business.  The question is how can they be managed? Or disappear?

Just the other day, I was talking to a business owner about the power of finding your story and how it's an amazing way to beat old sabotaging ideas and fears. She said, yes, "I get that logically but how do I really begin to live it?"

I explained that we tell stories all the time and that they really define our reality. It's all in our stories. Think about it, every time we have any kind of meaningful experience, we tell it.  And what we tell is completely subjective; we choose everything about the story. The strange thing is that then we tend to imagine that it somehow just 'happened' to us and we had absolutely no control. So we allow our stories create our reality.

And that's good news. The minute you start paying attention to your stories, you can tell more empowering ones; stories that are not about fear and crisis, stories that are about possibility!

So next time you catch yourself telling a story that is based in fear – catch it, watch it, and notice that it's simply your story. You can tell it – or not. You can choose to tell a story that serves you well; a story of joy, a story of beauty, a story of blessings and a story of possibility. 

Which would you prefer?

Lisa Bloom, PCC is founder of Story Coach Inc. and the Certified Story Coach Program.  Download her ebook ‘Using Stories to Get Great Clients’ at http://www.story-coach.com.

Inside the Session: Intuition vs. Coaching?

The Issue:
I feel that my job as a coach is to expand, inspire, encourage, champion, and challenge my clients to new levels. So, what do you do when your “intuition” tells you one thing and the “coach” tells you another?

The Background:
I have a client, who over the past two years, has been working as a Team Leader.  The next logical step for their career path is a Team Manager.  Unfortunately, the company will phase out their particular project over the next few months and have suggested that my client consider an ex-pat position in the Caribbean.

The Options:
This three-year ex-pat position would come with the possibility for Team Leader within 12-18 months but no prospects of being a Team Manager. 

The Challenge:
Together, we explored my client’s “major life” goals for the next 3-5 years. The following goals have been identified (amongst others):

1. To Start a Family with Partner
2. Have/Adopt Children within the next 1-3 years
3. To Become a Manager in 2013 or latest 2014
4. Take an Ex-Pat Position

The Mental State of Affairs:
It became clear, halfway through our first discussion, that my client was adamant that this ex-pat position would be a perfect fit for them.  While the red flags were raised in my gut, the coach inside was immediately perplexed.  I thought: it could delay all of your afore-mentioned goals by at least three years, possibly even including the Manager position.  What gives?

My client admitted to being scared about losing the income altogether.  I asked if they had more than a years’ worth in savings (my client does).  I reminded my client that they are in a better position than most.

I then reminded my client that it might be interesting to respond to the two to three weekly requests they receive from recruiters.  My client did not feel reassured and physically grew uncomfortable and indignant.

Shortly thereafter, I discover my client also maintains some confidence and self-worth issues wrapped up in this whole situation—more specifically, my client doesn’t feel worthy of a Manager position. 

My Intuition:
My intuition immediately saw my client as settling for this position because it was comfortable.  My intuition urged me to invite my client to consider all other options prior to making a final decision.  I felt (and still feel) this could be a mistake for my client’s future and family life based upon their goals, objectives, and volunteering endeavors.

My Coaching:
The coach inside me viewed this situation as more of a hiccup and I wanted to challenge my client to be daring, take a leap of faith, and explore any and all options.  In probing more, my client divulged that there is a good chance they would have the opportunity to learn other functions integral to being a Team Manager down the line.

Several times, I checked-in to ensure I was pushing THEIR agenda as opposed to my own.  The response was always, “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.”

The Homework:
I invited my client to contact two recruiters AND be open to any and all positions that may present themselves.  My client was very resistant.  I then explained my reservations as their coach: 1) To challenge them beyond their comfort zone; and 2) To remind them that other goals might be delayed and/or compromised.  I felt that this task would not only challenge my client to think outside the box, but it would also allow the opportunity to explore some self-worth and confidence hesitations AND it would assuage both my coaching and gut instincts.  Win-win!

The Resolution:
Though my client is showing more confidence, they are still leaning toward the ex-pat role.  However, my client admittedly understood and appreciated my encouragement and support to remain open to all other options.  In the coming week, my client will most likely accept the verbal offer for this position.  Within that conversation, I have invited my client (“Homework”) to be clear and express their goals (personal and professional) over the next three to five years to their new manager to ensure they are both on the same page.  Who knows what will happen?

Intuition vs. Coaching:
So, what do you do when your “Intuition” tells you one thing and the “Coach” another?
Quell both sides.  Remind yourself of the delicate yet playful balance between the feeling (intuition) and the experience (coaching).  Listen to your intuition.  Just because you listen to your intuition does not necessarily mean you need to follow it.  Instead, allow the information to better enlighten your assessment thereby supporting your client as their coach.

My Intuition still feels that this could be a mistake.  The coach inside tells me that it would be my client’s choice, from which to grow and learn.  As a coach, I will stand for my client as much as possible.  As an intuitive being, I will gently offer and explore all alternatives.

It’s only the third session, we have time.  Stay tuned for the update.  I’m sure it will be fascinating!

By Seth Santoro. A first time self-help author, coach, blogger, public speaker, aspiring TV host, and producer, Seth’s vision is to Inspire the World, One by One, to Smile From The Inside.  He has a great deal to say, the basis of which is Know who you are, Embrace who you are and Be who you are - no matter what the circumstance or what your past – and you can heal from anything.  Seth’s first book in a trilogy series is “How I Learned To Smile From The Inside,” available now on Amazon. Learn more about Seth http://SmileFromTheInside.com/, http://smilefromtheinside24.blogspot.com.