Christine Duvivier, Executive and Leadership Coach
Christine is CEO of Positive Leaders, LLC. Her organizations’ work which helps to unleash the full potential of future leaders by focusing on their strengths. Her other business is Impact Partners. Impact Partners works with mid-sized and large companies to affect positive change through executive coaching and the development of leadership teams.
http://positiveleaders.com
[podcast]http://womenssuccesscoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/8-20-09-christineduvivier-final.mp3[/podcast]
Is it Time to Write Your Book?
This is a guest post by Lisa Tener, author and book coach.
Have you noticed how many people are writing books lately? Maybe some colleagues and competitors in your field have recently become published authors. Do you wonder if becoming a published author is for you?
A book can help you start a new business or take an existing business to the next level. It can help you position yourself as an expert in your field and open up new (or bigger) opportunities in public speaking, media attention, joint ventures and more.
Evana Maggiore, Author of Fashion Feng Shui: The Power of Dressing with Intention, has told me that she often hears from new person who found her on the internet, read her book in a day and immediately signed up for her training program with a several thousand dollar price tag. Even those who don’t sign up for training often look for a fashion feng shui consultant who can help them dress their mind, body and spirit for powerful results. Evana’s book is out there attracting a following for her own business and businesses of FFS Consultants she trains 24/7—even when Evana is on vacation.
Aspiring authors tend to to talk about their book to anyone and everyone—friends, family, people at cocktail parties. Mum’s the word. I’m not going to tell you they’ll steal your idea. That is extremely unlikely. The fact is, though, that the less energy you project outward about your book, the more you focus your energy inward into the writing. Talking about your book can take the place of writing it. Keep it quiet and write, write, write.
But wait. Before you just start writing mounds and mounds of stuff that someday you’ll have to wade through and organize and figure out how to put it all together into something coherent, take a deep breath and begin to plan.
Without a plan, how do you know what to do and how to get there? Everyone needs a plan. Plan your time; plan what you need to do; plan how to research your market before you begin; plan what you’ll do when you run into snags. Plan how you’ll get support, as well as any expertise you need. Support can come from a friend, colleague, writing cohort, coach or writing class. Expertise can come from people in your market (potential readers), editors, a writing coach, agents, publishers, colleagues and experts in your field.
Above all, have fun and stay connected to your passion for your subject. Writing a book, getting published and hearing from readers about how the book made a difference in their lives can be a peak experience. The more connect with what excites you about the subject, the more fun you’ll have.
Lisa Tener is a published author and book coach. She teaches on the faculty of Harvard Medical School’s CME publishing course. Lisa has been interviewed on ABC World News with Peter Jennings, NiteBeat and PBS-TV and quoted in USA Weekend, Glamour, Family Circle, Body and Soul, Fitness, the Boston Globe and dozens of other publications. Her clients have been interviewed on Oprah, Montel and much more.
To sign up for her FREE teleseminar, Write Your Book: The First 5 Steps (next offered September 9 at 8:30 pm ET) e-mail Lisa at Lisa@LisaTener.com with the subject: “Sept. 9 seminar, new.” You can visit her website at www.LisaTener.com. And sign up for her blog at www.LisaTener.com/blog.
Calling All Heroines
This is a guest post by Susanna Liller, The Heroine’s Coach.
A heroine is a woman who is willing to stretch herself, who comes out of her “comfort zone” on a regular basis to try new things, risk, challenge herself, do what she has to do even if it scares her – even if it scares her a lot.
If this describes you then know you’re on a journey that has been undertaken by many women before you. You might know it as The Hero’s Journey, the term coined by Joseph Campbell, the famous author and mythologist, and others to describe the pattern or storyline discovered in myths and legends down through the ages and in stories and film today.
The hero or heroine’s journey story goes like this. The heroine is in “ordinary life”. Things are running along as they usually do, until something happens…there’s a “call”. This can be an event, a person seeking her out, an inner urging…a call to leave “ordinary life” and to enter an “unknown world”, an “adventure”. The heroine crosses the “threshold” and is out of her comfort zone and into the new world – what ever that might be.
A “mentor” appears, – someone who guides her, helps her, gives her encouragement and she continues on. Stuff happens – good and bad. Campbell called this part the “belly of the whale.” It’s tough. The heroine is tempted to quit but she doesn’t.
The heroine has many tests and challenges on her journey. These are tests of her courage, her resolve, her belief in her own ability. Ultimately, she is confronting her fears (her dragons) and she has to make it through, slay her dragons in order to really grow, to be transformed, to develop into a more actualized human being.
After the heroine has completed her tests, she returns home, back over the “return threshold” to her normal life, but she’s changed. She’s wiser and has gained gifts that she can then share with others. Her transformation will affect all those around her.
Do you recognize you in this storyline? I hope so because all these stories, legends, movies, myths are written to emphasize the fact that this is, indeed, the story of human growth and development. This is your life! This is how we come into ourselves – by stretching and venturing out into the unknown. It’s frightening to leave what we feel is safe but when we leave and test our abilities we learn that we are our own safety.
If you’re looking for empowerment, confidence, a boost to your self-esteem, then adopt the heroine’s journey as a lens through which to view your life. Life isn’t a bunch of random moments, – it’s the time-honored heroine’s journey! It all has a purpose – to get you to grow, to stretch those believe-in-yourself muscles and realize that you’re important, needed, a heroine who has gifts to share with the rest of us. And if you share them, the world will be a better place.
Please wake up to your own “bigness”! The world needs all the heroines it can get!
Please visit my web site Retreat Calendar for information on The Heroine’s Journey Retreat…Connect with Your Power. Bonnie and I will be co-facilitating this retreat in October in beautiful Kennebunk, Maine.
Irene Sinteff, Career Coach, Trainer, Consultant
Irene Sinteff is Director at Irene Sinteff Career and Human Resource Services and Senior Trainer and Consultant at Lee Hecht Harrison. She assists people through their job searches and career transition. In this interview, Irene gives some great tips for women who are currently looking for a new career or position.
Irene can be reached at 508 230 0367 as her website is currently under construction.
[podcast]http://womenssuccesscoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/8-18-09-Irenesinteff-final2.mp3[/podcast]
Life Lessons Learned from Trail Running
The heat and humidity of this summer pushed me from my normal running routine on the road into the cool shade of the woods. Trail running is a new experience for me and I realized today as I navigated around the roots and rocks, streams and mud, that trail running can be a metaphor for how we live our lives and if we pay close attention, there are lessons to be learned here in the dark solitude of the woods.
Here are some of my thoughts:
- How comfortable are you being lost?
Yesterday I ventured down a new path deep into the woods and realized after running 45 minutes that I was totally lost.
Do you trust your instincts to bring you back on track with your life when you feel lost?
Is it OK to feel somewhat lost and without a compass?
Do you continue to follow the path even though you are lost with the hope that it will lead you someplace new and exciting or do you turn around and retrace your steps and stay in your comfort zone?
2. How willing are you to stumble and fall?
Today I tripped 5 times. Navigating around the roots and rocks is a challenge especially for a novice like myself.
Do you always take the safe path?
Do you allow yourself to stumble at times?
Do you forgive yourself if you fall; pick yourself up and continue on your path with a renewed energy?
3. How do you face obvious challenges?
When the path I’ve chosen becomes a steep hill with rough terrain, I have a choice. I can stand at the bottom of the hill and strategize how best to make it to the top. I can run directly up the hill as fast as I can to achieve my goal or I can choose a circuitous route that carefully takes me around the obstacles, knowing that it will take a little more time to reach the summit. OR, I can choose different approaches at different times under different circumstances.
What do you do?
4. What do you do when you are suddenly faced with unanticipated challenges?
I thought the trail I chose to run was a good one but suddenly I was faced with a path that was barely passable.
What do you do?
Do you push yourself forward regardless of obstacles?
Do you return to your comfort zone and retreat?
How do you handle life’s surprise challenges?
And finally, an important question:
5. Is it possible to stay focused on the task at hand and still be present in the overall experience?
I thoroughly enjoy the experience of trail running, feeling the sweet fresh air on my face, hearing the sounds of nature, the peaceful solitude of it all. I want to be intimate with the experience yet I also know that if I lose my focus for a second, I can easily trip and injure myself.
Is it possible to do both?
Is it possible to navigate our own lives with a determined focus and goal and also be intimately present in each daily experience?
I welcome your thoughts and comments.
Give Yourself a Pep Talk
Do you ever wonder how elite athletes like Tiger Woods or Roger Federer stay focused; how they manage to maintain their peak performance? I marvel at their ability to recover after a bad shot or a lost match; their resilience and ability to let go and forget their poor performance and come back with strength and fortitude.
How do they accomplish this? Well, almost all professional athletes work with coaches to re-program their thinking. Successful athletes think positively and use positive self-talk and affirmations to build their self esteem and confidence.
Athletes, like many of us, are subject to memories of previous events where they fell short in some fashion. These memories of past failures affect the present state of mind and cause us to believe that we will repeat the failure when presented with the same type of scenario. Sports coaches helps athletes to recall early images of success and focus on the positive to build basic confidence. They often assist athletes with creating positive self-talk and affirmations to counter the negative thoughts and feelings. This helps athletes to believe in themselves and stay focused on success.
We can use the same methodology to be successful. When you work on your own positive self-talk and affirmations stay focused on the immediate goals at hand and stay in the present. Recognize the negative thoughts when they occur and reprogram your internal dialogue to positive statements.
Give yourself a pep talk and you will achieve your goals. Focus on your previous successes and believe that you will win again.
Deidre Merritt, Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant, Owner of Nutritional Merritt
Deidre helps families and especially busy moms to discover the joy and rewards of cooking healthy meals. She helps her clients with shopping lists, menus and healthy recipes that kids enjoy.
Her website: http://nutritionalmerritt.com
[podcast]http://womenssuccesscoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/8-4-09-deidremerritt-final.mp3[/podcast]
Promote Yourself With Passion
My first corporate job interview was for a health care management company that was looking for someone to manage their 30 physician cardiac rehab center. At the time, I was recently divorced with two young children and I was looking for a 9 to 5 job. In my interview, I didn’t talk about my business experience because I had none. I didn’t talk about my resume or skills because my background in education was not relevant. I spoke about my passion for cardiac fitness. (I was an aerobics instructor). I talked about how their mission to help patients transition back to a normal life post cardiac events resonated with me. I shared my personal story about my Dad who had a heart attack in his mid-fifties and how we dramatically changed our lifestyle to accommodate his new exercise and diet regimen. I believed wholeheartedly in what they were doing.
Long story short: I got the job! and a year and a half later I was managing eleven rehab centers for this company up and down the east coast. This was the beginning of a very successful corporate career for me. Though I was not conscious of what I was doing during that interview, I was promoting myself with passion and purpose.
This is a lesson that I share with all my clients and speaking audiences. If you are in a job interview, talking with a potential clients or making a sales presentation, it is important to connect with the passion and purpose for what you do. When you are authentic and enthusiastic about your job, your potential job, your product or services, people respond in a positive manner. People want to work with someone who is not only competent but has energy and passion for what they do. Wouldn’t you?
-
20 Minutes For $20
20 Minutes of Interviewing Coaching For Only $20...
Present yourself with confidence!
