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.
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.
I often read about how important it is to be happy. Happiness was one of the core convictions of our founding fathers – although I suppose one could argue that our right to pursue happiness is the true conviction. Either way, I have observed people lately in my coaching who seem to possess the mystical trait of happiness.
The challenge that arises with happiness is that we live in a fallen, broken world where disease, destruction, pain, and death are unavoidable. How are we to stay “happy” in light of that?
I have a client who is smack in the middle of a battle with stage IV Pancreatic Cancer. Most of us needn’t have any training in the field of oncology to know that pancreatic cancer is not a good thing. This client, however, is showing me the depths to which a human soul can go to fight an enemy and to ultimately be the conqueror irrespective of the physical outcome.
The ability that this person has to care about others, even in her condition, is a testament to the profound good that people can do. In a simple communication to me recently, my client sent me a list of all of the things cancer CANNOT DO, and when I got the list I knew I had to forward it out to you.
I have participated all week in an annual event that we call the Building Champions Experience. As I reflect back on the week, I have once again learned so many invaluable lessons it is difficult to pick one and write about it.
Patrick Lencioni’s talk on being transparent was epic. Mike Hyatt’s review of how he views life planning, priceless. I may choose to go into those at some later time, but what is on my heart this morning is the people who are here.
My coach has asked me to take more time to pause and think. Especially in the morning.
Pause.
As I first considered this, I thought he was off his rocker. It seemed impossible for me to take any time to think and meditate. I wondered if he understood my predicament – how busy I was, and how many things I had going on. I wanted to tell him that to pause and think would be a gigantic distraction for me.
