There is common idiom that states, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Like many sayings of its kind, this one probably has some meaning that has been lost in antiquity. But there are so many ways in which this one is just wrong.
In fact, this saying is potentially lethal to your business if you subscribe to it either on purpose or inadvertently.
Relationships simply require presence.
As I look back on the week of coaching, I try to do a bit of a panoramic scan of my sessions and unearth the key nuggets that would be instrumental for this writing. I am a coach who wants to hone in the positive and optimistic in life. This week, however, had me dealing with a lot of clients who got burned. Not by fire, but rather by an individual or a corporation.
It is very common to be hurt by people. What we do with that hurt can shape us.
What one word would you use to describe how you are doing so far this year?
Would you have to narrow it down to the various compartments of your life? Would you feel one way about your personal life and another about your life at work?
Are there certain parts of your personal life that are doing well and others that aren’t? Is it the same in your business? Do you compartmentalize these various aspects of your existence or do they morph together, giving you an overarching theme to how you are living?
These days when someone asks me “how are you?” I chuckle a bit internally because the answer to this simple question is potentially one of the most complicated, convoluted responses. It’s no great wonder that the pat answer to this is “fine.”
You really can change how you think. The question is, do you want to?
While attending an event with some very successful people recently, there was much discussion around the idea of change. Not whether the world is changing (that’s a given), but rather, can we change how we think and subsequently behave?
When I endeavored to write the book Reality and Hope, one of the initial projects I had to complete was to take what I had written in the past and find commonalities that we could eventually turn into chapters. If I were to do this again, based upon what I have been observing recently, clearly one chapter would be on Change. Specifically, what it takes to make a sincere and authentic change in life.
Every person we coach desires some kind of change. If there’s nothing about your life or business you want to change, then for goodness’ sake do not get a coach!
How much thought, energy, and effort has gone into helping others find some mystical key to success? If you were to scour the internet looking for resources on how to become successful in your work or in your life, you would undoubtedly find thousands of ideas, strategies, tactics and suggestions.
I must say that I am often skeptical of such advice, partly because “success” never seems to be defined the same way by any two individuals. For many people, success is some number, some amount of money. For others it is some level of achievement or stature or title. For still others it is a feeling of peace, or a belief that you are helping people.
However you define it, one key element has got to be consistency.
