Filed under: Courage
He lied to me. Basically, he told me I would “never” lead a normal life if I did not get the surgery. This was nearly 20 years ago and it seems as present as early morning today.
I was told that he was one of the top five surgeons in the entire world. I respected him. The accident had occurred a few weeks earlier and to this day nobody really knows why it happened. I had been in the intensive care unit for eight days and the blood clot could have traveled to a lung. It was nearly fatal for me. After the clot cleared I was told by the Doctor that I would never be the “same” and that I would not enjoy the activities that I so loved up until my late twenties. I was scared. I felt vulnerable. I needed to trust someone as to what to do? When have you been in a situation like that?
Have you ever felt the pressure of a decision that would radically change your life? Do you have a decision like that right now? When I consider the relationship between choices and leadership I look at a few elements. One, I want to do my diligence. What is the information that I need to make a solid decision? How many of us have been in a situation where the evidence on either side of the choice is equally compelling? It can be disarming to say the least. It’s confusing because both sides of the results have upsides and downsides. Who do you trust when you are faced with this predicament?
You trust your Self. As life and business leaders we all have an equally powerful ability to attune ourselves to our gut. To listen to that very still quiet voice deep inside that resonates with knowing and truth. The truth from this voice may not be true for anyone but you. There may be really smart experts that “tell” you your voice is absurd. Is it really? Is it really crazy to consider that you are self referential? Why not you? What are thinking? Do you feel that kind of centered attunement is reserved only to a few illumined gurus?
I think not. I feel you are the expert in your own life. Once you have gathered the important information on a tough decision in your life or business; trust your gut. That’s right. That little belly that hangs out a little bit over most of our belts has a powerful voice deep down inside. There are two important keys to “gut listening”. One you must trust yourself more than you trust other people. If you trust other people more than you trust yourself you will tend to listen to the opinions of others rather than this fabulous voice inside. This is not to say, “I am going to be radically stupid and ignore council from others”. NO not at all. It means at some point you must take some action and following your gut takes courage. It takes guts to follow your gut.
Secondly, you must learn to listen to this level of intuition. It will require being grounded and quiet. Sitting long enough to ruminate (I love that word) on what “feels” logical and intuitive all in the same breath. That is wisdom. When the heart and head come together we are listening to the belly within.
So there I was, sitting on the edge of change outside the hospital room. I wanted to make the “right” choice. There was nobody with me at the time. I was scheduled for the body altering surgery the next morning. What the hell should I do? I got quieter than my own fear. I found peace was still deep down inside. Once I got to that sacred place inside, the voice boomed at me like James Earl Jones. It said; “You don’t need to get the surgery” and “You will be fine without it”. There was nothing but clarity.
I trusted that voice. I marched back to the 10th floor of the hospital; in fact I took the stairs. I walked in unannounced and blurted to the world renowned specialist. Sir, “while I appreciate your advice on my having this surgery”, “I am choosing to not go through with it”. Let’s just say he was not happy. I really cannot blame him. After all, I screwed up his schedule. He reminded me of the looming doom in my life if I did not move forward with the surgery. I know he believed it. I don’t condemn him for a thing. I also know I trust my life decisions with me.
As mentioned, nearly 20 years have passed since that day. I have done thousands of yoga classes, rafted in class five white water, run endurance races, triathlons, rock climbed in the Andes, Tyrolean traversed beautiful gorges, lifted weights, sky dived, skied big bumps, snow shoed up 14ers, etc. Most of those things would not have been possible if I would have said no to me and yes to another person’s advice.
What’s valuable in this message for you today? How can you trust your gut on a decision in your life? Life and business Leadership requires guts.
Loving,
Stephen McGhee
He cried. He did not cry from sadness, he cried out loud from pure joy. His cry pierced through the mountain air with instrumental perfection. Most of us have been taught not to cry for any reason. At seventy five years young he chose to abandon the rules and he sang aloud with all his might. I felt myself chuckle deep down inside. He looked up slope at me and asked? “Have you ever just been so happy you cannot contain it?” I laughed out loud. Yes, I have; I said. Then, I leaned back and let it rip. I was tentative at first and then my voice echoed throughout the lands. YES was all I said, and again YES. It was guttural and strong and amazing. Who gives a rat’s ass what anybody thinks? We both turned our skis down the mountain and sang out loud in perfect harmony. We both yodeled down the moguls. It was a beautiful moment.
My ski buddies and I met Dr. Jamieson that morning on the chair lift. At first he annoyed me with his enthusiasm. I mean he practically invited himself to spend the day with us. Within a few minutes we were all caught up in his pure joy. Leaders do that. They get people into the Spirit of things. Life Leaders share unabashedly and they share the deepest enthusiasm for the things that tickle our Soul.
How often do you share your inspiration in this way? Sometimes we are good at it and sometimes we are not!!! When we don’t share it, it’s usually because we think we might look silly or stupid or different than everyone else. Some of us tend to think that cynicism is intelligent. That’s rubbish. Cynicism is based in fear not intelligence. Consider that being positively intelligent and finding leader like solutions requires more wisdom than jumping on the negative Nelly band wagon.
However, today is a new day. Today is the first day of spring and the flowers are blooming and guess what 92% of us have a job. Is there something to celebrate? I say YES there is much to celebrate. Even if you don’t have a job, you do have a computer to be able to read this….so things aren’t that bad are they?
Each of us has something wonderful to share with others. We have moments of victory in our lives and businesses. Most of us work hard for those wins and then we act as if we are not great. Let me remind you of something. You are brilliant. You are huge in the world of winning. Think of the millions of things that you had to do “right” just to get to where you are right now? You are good news in motion. You are a bundle of spirit wrapped in skin and bones.
Would you like to know one of the biggest secrets in the world? Really, take a breath and slow down and consider the secret I am about to share with you. The secret is YOU. You are the best kept secret in the world. I believe its time to share that secret with others. I mean come on YOU; the planet needs you to shine. Not later, but right now. Based on non-scientific evidence there are 100 times more gloomy doom folks than inspired people like YOU.
If you don’t see it in your Self, then nobody else will see it. I remember times in my life where I felt others “should” recognize me. I have learned it does not work that way. You must recognize yourself and share that recognition with all those around you. Once you recognize the great secret, then others will begin to get hip with your yodel like nature. Some people will want to squelch you for your sharing. It’s Ok; those people do that with most everyone. It’s not really YOU they are squelching. Those people are squelching themselves. Just like me being bothered with the joy of Dr. J, because his brightness made me feel dim. I was not appreciating him at first, because I was not in the mood. Well shame on me. Then, I got over myself and joined him. That was a good choice.
So I invite you today to become the Yodeling YOU that you are capable of. Sit back and consider how you could positively influence others in your life by being more optimistic and sharing it with others. Let’s start a movement today. This movement will connect all of us together in a symphony of optimism.
Have an amazing week…no matter what!
Filed under: Best of The Get Real Blog | Tags: miracle leader, personal growth, stephen mcghee
His eyes got a little moist when I asked him the question at lunch last week. What’s the one thing you have learned from this whole experience? He already knew the answer, as if he had already given it great thought. He said: “I have learned how much I love my wife” and “how committed I am to her” and he continued with deep and sensitive conviction, “I love my Life.”
He had made a point of being with her in as many doctors appointments as possible. There is no ego in that. That comes from deep caring. It comes from the wisdom of transformation. It comes from giving and serving another beautiful human being. It comes from finding a thread of hope in the worst of a situation. It comes from disciplining the Spirit inside of us no matter how bleak the situation may be. It requires strength. It requires a deep love of life and mutual respect for the Shadows and the Light. It requires being detached to how I think it “ought” to be.
Some of us will use the crap in our lives to grow something. We will learn from life and we will grow. While others will let the weeds take over. If you look into the eyes of another human being, you will see it. You will sit with some people this week and there will be a depth of Spirit and meaning. These people have taken the situations in life and “used” it to grow. Others, you will see this week will have hollow eyes. They will have grown cynical and resigned.
The wonderful thing is that each of us has the same opportunity. The possibility of growing from the hardships in life and business is a powerful attribute of Life Leadership. This kind of leadership will spread through our lives with great alacrity.
The tendency is to want to have a beautiful garden without any challenges. I am learning that leaders use the challenges in their lives to grow something that feeds our very sense of being. All of us, for the most part; want it to be easy .We want it to smooth and graceful. While I feel that is a powerful intention, it’s just not always going to happen that way.
Sometimes “stuff” happens. It’s ok. It happens for all of us, as nobody alive on the planet is exempt. Notice my language. It happens FOR all of us. I have found it usually happens FOR me when I most need to be aware.
Sometimes dealing with tough times requires “not knowing”. We are all living in the field of “not knowing”. This field grows something every day. It requires seeds of action. It requires using “everything” in our lives for growth.
I believe the trick to a great garden is planting seeds, watering those seeds, nurturing them, talking to those seedlings every day, pulling out weeds, and visualizing what the field will look like one day. As human beings we have this choice each day on every little thing.
My friend that I lunched with knows this. I can tell you he knows this because I could see it in his eyes. While I would pretty much guarantee he would prefer to have seen his wife “well” all these years, he cannot change the reality of what they have dealt with. What he can change is how he views what has happened.
Attempting to change reality is foolish and childish. Taking the reality of a situation and using it to deepen the meaning in your life is powerful and courageous. You choose. You lead.
This week, I invite each of us to ask one question of a tough situation. That question is: How can I use this FOR my growth?
P.S.- Without gardens we would all go hungry.
Filed under: Courage
My heart skipped a beat as she walked into the room. I could not take my eyes off of her. There seemed to be a knowing that went beyond words. My heart opened and the feeling that began to move through my body was warm and wonderful. I want to meet her. It felt as if I had known her from before and yet I knew we had never met. What should I do, I wondered? My stomach was feeling like I was swaying on turbulent ocean waves. Should I get up and walk over to meet her?
Then, like an ice storm the fear came. What if she says no? What if I offend her? She may not find me attractive? I might be embarrassed. I will look like a fool if she already is in a relationship. The other people in the coffee shop might laugh at me?
How many of you can relate to the following experience? Some of you may have felt that way before in other scenarios. The fearful feeling tends to sneak up on us. It can show up in many different ways.
Perhaps you are in a meeting and you know the solution to the problem. Nobody else can see the solution because they are stuck in stinking thinking and trying to be right about the “way it is”. As life and business leaders we must learn to abate the sinking “icey” feeling and speak our truth. If we don’t speak our truth or reach out our hand to life…it can pass us by quickly and decisively. Then, we can look back on our years of life with a sense of complacency.
Consider that in most of those situations, the moment will never be the same again. Those moments come and go and it requires courage to “stand” up for our beliefs or to say yes to an intuitive feeling. Many times feeling like a coward can help? What you say? Most people think cowardice is a bad thing. No not really, because most people pretend to have it all together. They are just cowards in disguise. Those people are just as afraid as the next person. The difference is they don’t want to look bad, because they are so invested in looking good. This requires tremendous false energy. It is a waste of creativity.
The person that is cowardly…like the lion in the Wizard of Oz isn’t worried about looking good and will tend to try more things than the person holding on to some false identity. Think about it? Kids are great at speaking out…or trying new things. They are not generally worried about doing it right. They learn that latter from the adults.
I promise you the courage will come forward for you. As a coach, I am constantly inviting (pushing) my clients to go to the edge with their courage. We grow from these moments. We grow from the experience regardless of the outcome. We grow if we are willing to take the step. You don’t need to know the sequence of steps; only the very first one.
I have heard it said that “spirit meets us at the point of action.” I believe that to be true. It makes sense. Spirit is not stupid and why would spirit move for me while I sit on my butt.
So, I took a deep breath. I stood up and walked over to the table. I knew not what to say. I reached out my hand and spoke: “When you walked in this coffee shop, my heart opened and I saw you as the most beautiful woman I have ever seen”. My voice was steady. Suddenly, I felt light hearted and clear. I said, “I could not leave here today without at least meeting you.” She smiled and we began a conversation. It’s a good thing I was a coward on that day. If not for my cowardly lion I would not have met Leslie and we would not be engaged to be married.
This concept applies everywhere with everything we do. It applies with our kids, our business, our relationships, our money, our health, our sense of adventure. Courage is needed everywhere. Fear sucks and courage rocks.
What will you do the next time you need to find your courage?
For a lifetime of courage, go to www.clubfearless.net and join members from 15 other countries.
Filed under: Personal Transformation
She let go. She fell deeper and faster than ever before. It was scary at first. There is always a fear in letting go and then there is the resulting freedom of it. The feeling of inspiration and enthusiasm was pervasive. She was free again. I watched it happen. I think she had been hanging on for awhile. I don’t know exactly what she was hanging onto? I know we all hang onto things that aren’t always good for us. I know I have done it. Perhaps as she let go – so did the rest of the group. Yes, as I think of it; so did others in the room. They needed to let go too, because watching her get free was positively infectious.
Her boss had “wronged” her many times. She had been passed up for a promotion and some would say betrayed. I listened to her story about how she had been negatively influenced by her boss. She said “It’s just not right.” I said “why don’t you leave” and she said “I need the job and therefore I must stay.” Ok, I can understand that kind of thinking. I don’t agree with it and I understand it. It seems like your stuck and you don’t need to be stuck. The only one that makes you stuck is YOU. I have been stuck before and I remember feeling like being stuck had nothing to do with me. It had to do with someone else. In this case, it had to do with her boss. The problem is, since it had to do with her boss; she had no power to change it. So, I decided I was going to assist her to see that it had more to do with her than her “bad” boss.
I continued teaching my session for the day, as I knew the information I was sharing was going to sink deep into her “being.” After a few hours of sharing about leadership, I could see her thinking. Have you ever watched when someone starts to see something differently? It’s almost as if I could hear the wheels turn. I added a little lubrication to those wheels when I talked about letting go. The concept of letting go got a whole chapter in my book: Learning to Believe the Unbelievable: Living Life as a Miracle Leader. It deserves a whole chapter because so many of us are hanging on to things that do not serve us.
Once the moment was right, I asked her? “What could you let go of today?” She looked stunned. Me? Yes, you. “What could you let go of?” “Oh, I could let go of my need to be right that my boss is so wrong?” Ok, I said. There was a pause. It was a wonderful pause. The kind of pause that Spirit fills the room with. Have you ever felt it? It’s like a warm breeze and she was breathing it inside of her self imposed limitations. It was beautiful. I remember my eyes getting warm and moist. Then, it happened. She let go. Her smile was a floodlight of possibility and the entire room of participants was looking at her. “Wow” one guy said. She was illumined with the thought that she could literally “let go” of thoughts and resentment from the past. It all seemed to happen in a minute and a half.
It’s not a new concept, it’s just particularly challenging for some of us. There is freedom in letting go. There is intelligence in letting go. You can’t do anything about most of it anyway. Don’t let it eat you up, just give it up and consider the value in forgetting and forgiving. Onward as it were.
Today, I invite you to “let go” of something that does not support you. You know, the one thing that is stealing away your essence and energy. Be done with it – dismiss it like you would some idiot flipping you off on the freeway. Just be done with whatever it is. You will be glad you did. You will notice the space that was taken up by that negativity will move new energy into your body, mind and spirit. You will begin creating something new and good with that renewed space.
If you would like to learn more about letting go, for this week only, you are welcome to download a complimentary of my Learning to Believe the Unbelievable. Just CLICK HERE and read the value of letting go. I encourage you to do it now.
Enjoy and please let me know your stories of what you create from letting go.
Filed under: Best of The Get Real Blog
Anger can be a good thing. Yes, anger if used appropriately can be healing. We are afraid of anger in our society. It makes us uncomfortable and we tend to do everything we can to avoid it. Now, for clarity and to avoid lots of “angry” email – I am not talking about rage with a hunting knife kind of anger. I am talking about stuffed fear. I am talking about the emotion that steals our creativity and freedom. Do you people that hold back their anger to avoid how they really feel when they are ticked off? This is not good for us.
Withholding upset is a bit like holding a beach ball under water. It’s really hard work and takes tremendous energy. To fully understand “being” angry we need to appreciate where the anger is actually coming from. Mostly it comes from us feeling betrayed or misunderstood.
In my life, when I have felt that someone did something “to me” or they “should” have done something different, I can feel hurt or afraid. When I feel hurt or afraid and I don’t express that in the moment, it can become stored deeply into my body, mind and Spirit. I don’t want that to happen. What I recommend to my clients is to “tell the truth fast,” which involves honest feelings as they occur. If I do that there is less chance of misunderstanding.
I was working with a group this last week that had some misunderstandings about many things. There were people in the room that had deep feelings that had not been expressed. I was working to bring the group into alignment on how to work better together. However, it felt sticky. As the facilitator, I felt as if I was walking up a muddy river. Have you ever felt like that? It’s hard work, and good leadership involves holding a safe space for people to communicate.
As the meeting progressed I was inwardly praying. That’s what I do, when I don’t know what else to do? It works for me. Anyway, I was praying that something miraculous would happen to assist the team to come together. Finally, with about a half hour left in the meeting a brilliant member of the team spoke his truth. He had not said anything up until that point in the meeting. My experience was that his approach was not exactly graceful and it was powerful. His passion (anger and passion can be very closely tied) filled the room as everyone listened intently to his feelings about the meeting, the past, and his frustration. Once he finished – other members on the team began to share the truth about how they felt. Was this comfortable? NO – one person called it stressful – and yet I wonder how much stress is involved in carrying all that frustration inside of us day in and day out.
I was actually grateful for the brief outburst .It was honest. It was not politically threatening. I was real. The meeting took a turn for sure. From my view, it needed to happen; and that team will be better for it. I know it. I am certain this team can be more effective by speaking the truth more honestly. They will be more effective. They will go home more present with their families.
As we strive more fully to create miraculous results in our lives and business there will be times to just get “ticked” off. It’s ok .Say it – and let go. Be responsible for sharing how you feel and don’t get too glued to blaming others. Think about it? It actually requires tremendous trust to get angry with others.
My experience of it, is that once we give ourselves that permission we can get on with the business of moving back into being loving again. Once we love our work, our teams, our spouses, our brothers, we can create. Having stuffed frustration never works. Passion is part of living with conviction. Leadership involves strong convictions for transformation. You show me someone that gets angry from time to time and I will show you someone that cares. Have you ever been angry when you did not care?
With conviction,
Stephen McGhee
Filed under: Personal Transformation
When I was in the 5th grade, I raised my hand quite often. I wanted my teacher to call on me. I also wanted the other kids in class to like me. I can remember feeling “call on me, as I think I have the right answer”. I wanted to have the right answer to everything. Sometimes my hand was in the air when I wasn’t sure I had the right answer. It didn’t really matter at that age whether I was wrong or right, I just wanted to play. However, as time went on the kids with the right answers were always praised for being “smart”….the teacher continually asking: Who’s got the right answer? Over time, my hand was not so quick to dart into the air. I began to question whether I had the RIGHT answer. It starts early doesn’t it?
On the same note, when is the last time you saw a game show? Millions of dollars riding on the right answer. Joseph “if you can answer this last triple bonus question” you will be rewarded 50 million dollars and live happily ever after”….however,” if you are wrong the groan from the audience is going to be loud and boom through your ears for eternity. You essentially will be a loser through the sands of time”. People don’t really say that out loud and some of us are thinking things like that.
We are rewarded for being right. We are praised for it. Think about it? How many of us like to be wrong? In leadership we take a different view. In leadership we use everything that happens as a way to learn and grow and we create a culture where everyone on our teams or in our families is encouraged to seek solutions even when we are not sure of the right answer.
Ok, so “hold your hollies” for a second. Some of you reading are having an egoistic moment right now. Is this nut leadership dude telling me that he wants me to be wrong? No, I am saying I want you to be wrong. I want you to be creative and innovative. I want you to create a team and family that are willing to speak out in the world.
Recently, I was leading a strategic team planning session for a mid-level corporate team. I asked the question: What is most unique about our product? There was silence. There was no answer. The tension from 22 really smart people was…”what if I don’t answer accurately”…I might look silly. I could be wrong if I answer. The silence continued and the culture of that team continues to be stifled as they believe that only right answers are acceptable.
My council…is to play a bigger game. Have some fun exploring possible answers or solutions to everything. Most of the time there is not a one “right” answer to anything. There are typically a multitude of right answers and many times I must explore the wrong ones to uncover the right ones.
Ok…so relax. Each of us is big enough to own when we are wrong and I don’t see any value in being right all the time. Consider this on a more personal level. .You are in a conversation with a loved one and you are positioned on being “right”. What’s the typical result of that conversation? The result is generally constriction and people shutting down the mode of communication. Over time, people just assume there is no opening to really communicate and shut down before the conversation begins. This is dangerous.
Recently, I was coaching a person that was pretty dug in on being right. She was not very happy, but dog gone it…she was right about the situation. I remembered the wisdom of a teacher of mine as the words poured out of my mouth. Listen…”would you rather be right about being right or would you rather be happy”. You choose.
Have a happy week.
~Stephen
Filed under: Empowerment
How many of us went to college because we were supposed to? How many of us actually studied something that makes a profound difference from day to day? I got my undergraduate degree in finance. I thought I was supposed to have a degree that was tangible and you could take to the bank. I learned about Micro and Macro economics. I learned about Keynesian thought. Was it helpful? Sure it was. However, as I got more interested in leadership, I began to see what really created a bank account. That bank account has made me wealthy…at least in terms of relationships with others. This is the emotional bank account. This account has high leveragability. I have found my “return” on investment is high no matter what the economy is doing. How is your emotional bank account with the peeps in your life?
Once I got into the world more, I could see that I needed some different skills. Those skills were perceived as less valuable to the financial world. I looked and found a school that I thought would make the biggest difference in my business and my work with other people. That degree came from the University of Santa Monica www.gousm.edu and has revolutionized the growth of my bank account. (in terms of money and emotions) What USM teaches is the inner relationships and the inner world of each of us. I graduated with a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. It pays me dividends every day!!! I know some of us might be rolling our eyes right now? This is too soft….too touchy feely…Get real dude.
Ok, let me get real. The relationship you have with your Self is the most important relationship you will ever have. Further, that relationship will be a direct projection or reflection of every other person in your life. What? This is crazy. You mean, How I relate to others is a direct reflection of how I see myself. Simply put…Yes. What does that mean exactly? It means that if you are a super jerk to the world, you’re a super jerk to yourself. It means if you are consistently angry with others, then you are pretty consistently angry with you. Yep.
Now, let’s get back to money. The economy stinks right now, right? Right!!! It’s true that all of us are impacted to one degree or another as it relates to the economy. So, it’s true that all of us must deal with that as a reality of our lives. Banks are scared, companies are letting people go, people are not investing in the stock market, etc. I can’t change that. I can’t change those facts. However, I can change how I relate to all of that. I can create an “inner economy” and begin to build wealth inside myself about who I am and what I am willing to contribute to the world. In fact, in my opinion there has never been a better time to do that. There has never been a more important time for any of us to invest in our inward education. Those people will stand steady through the economic mess. Those people will draw on the inner wealth that they have created and look to serve the world at this time.
What am I talking about essentially? I am talking about Leadership of life and business. Not one of us is exempt from the outer circumstances of the economy. Not one of us individually responsible for the economy. I can’t change the economy by myself. But you can change the inner economy that you have going on. You can change that individually, because it is individual. Now, what do you suppose would happen if we created a movement of people willing to make that change? What would happen if ten million more people changed that inward state? That would impact the outward state. People would move from fear and begin to trust again. We would trust the economy again because we would trust ourselves again.
What do I recommend? Take care of you today. Don’t wait. Do at least one thing today to create a more prosperous “inner economy”. Be generous. Be wealth in your mindset. Don’t submit to the sinking feeling of the masses. Pull your awareness upward and see what happens to your Wells Fargo Account.
Filed under: Empowerment
“The chief danger in life is that you may take too many precautions.”
~Alfred Adler
Have you ever been in a rut? I don’t mean the kind that requires a four wheel drive and a winch to pull yourself out with. The kind of ditch I am referring to is the kind that sneaks up on our creativity and joy – the kind that can suck the love right out of us. It usually begins with doing the same thing over and over and expecting something different to happen. Ruts are deceiving. They can look and feel like they are easy to get out of. The problem is, some of us have been deeply entrenched for so long we don’t know it. That’s why I am here. To gently or not so gently remind you of rut free living. (There’s a whole section in my book on this). Getting unstuck requires the willingness to do something different. That can mean looking silly, bad, or like an idiot. Most of us would rather die than look “stupid.”
Most people stay comfortable because it’s easier. I think comfort is to be found in a soft couch not so much for leaders. If you really want to expand your life and your awareness you might want to consider getting a little edge in your life. What does that mean? It means your willingness to try some new things, have some tough conversations, and embrace feeling like a “weeble wobble” sometimes. Life is meant to be dynamic. It’s how we are built. We are built for change. We are adaptable. Life and business leaders understand this. It’s really not something we have to learn…we already know it. It’s natural.
My best friend Todd organized a night snowshoe trip to a yurt last weekend. For some people, the trip was easy…just another walk up a snowy mountain. For others, the journey involved some blisters and some whiney moments. However, the whole way up and down the mountain there was nobody stuck in a rut. The laughter, companionship, and the embrace of a moment in time were evidence of positive expressions. Does that mean all of us need to go snowshoeing? NO not really. It means as a leader you might want to have your team do something new and different. Perhaps you ask your admin how she would solve the cash flow crisis? It means as a leader of your family you may want to break the routine. Perhaps you stay up all night and watch old movies. Maybe you need to spend some money on something frivolous. YOU will know what you can be/do to step up and out and more fully into life.
Now, clearly I can’t lead others if I don’t experiences these kinds of stretches in my own life. I actually have a daily check list to keep myself on track with my leadership. One thing on my check list is to do something that stretches me each day. I mean something that keeps me edgy so I can lead myself. Once you have mastered that, then I encourage leading others to do the same.
For example:
I called my coaching client/friend Tom this morning. We were supposed to meet in my office for our coaching session. I told him to meet me at the yoga studio at 11:30 AM. Has he ever done yoga before? No, not really…see that’s the point. By tomorrow afternoon Tom will have participated in an advanced yoga class. I will make sure of two things. One is that he is safe and two is that he gets to look silly in the class. I will look silly with him. Is there value in that? You decide. Living Life as a Leader involves stretching ourselves inwardly and outwardly.
I have a saying that I think you can deposit in your leadership account? It goes like this: “A stretch every day keeps the ruts away.”
If you are ready to take a powerful step to rut free living, check out this powerful club that Steve Chandler just launched. It’s called Club Fearless and it is designed to specifically keep you out of your rut. It’s for people who want to express their awesome and unlimited natures with passion… courageously jumping right over any ruts that may get in their way. (After all – the only difference between a rut and a grave is a few feet.)
What would you do in your life if you had no fear? I am working on that one…and Steve Chandler’s work and Club Fearless work are getting me there. If you are interested in making a difference in your life and the lives of others I recommend you sign up for the today. www.ClubFearless.net
Blessings,
Stephen
Filed under: Coaching School
Ready to move way beyond surviving in this economy and learn an approach that will have your coaching, consulting or speaking business not only thrive… but even double and benefit from the apparent financial crisis? As a recent graduate of the Steve Chandler Coaching School, I was able to more than double my income in 6 months without “marketing” but through the power of engaging in conversations -conversations that deeply transform.
While the Stephen McGhee Coaching Prosperity School will focus on doubling your income in 2009, you will also discover your truest value as a coach and how you can apply that as a service to the world. We will focus on a strategic initiative to manifest your Impossible Dream (if you choose too).
What can you expect if you choose to join this school?
You will learn how to take a coaching relationship and transition that relationship to take on Corporate Coaching Contracts within the Organization. I am currently negotiating a 200K contract with one major organization. You will have a guest speaker that will heighten our awareness as coaches and help us all discover the true Spirit of Coaching.
You will learn a process called “Leading from Zero” that you can use with your coaching clients/consulting clients. This is a mind blowing process that has opened many doors for me… and allowed me to raise my fee to 50 K this year. You will appreciate sharing this concept with your whole world.
I will also lead us through a process of acceptance. This process removes any judgments or limitations that may be in the way of y our greatest expression as a coach.
You’ll learn how to build a prosperous practice and fearlessly charge by result. How to get clients, how to get bigger and better clients, how to expand services for existing clients, how to increase fees without losing business, how to manage time and resources so your practice can be stress-free with plenty of time off….etc.
There will also be another big incentive…like the Amazon award for most improved coaching practice.
In my six month school for coaches we will address the only thing standing in the way of stronger fees…fear of what people would think. That fear can be eliminated by learning communication skills for fee discussions. Learning and practicing.
Most coaches don’t understand what they are truly worth to their clients. Even when the client reports a major financial breakthrough because of the coaching, the coach doesn’t get what happened. Can you relate to that? I can!
Each week you’ll report your progress to me (and the other eight coaches), you tend to think all that week in terms of progress creating results. You know you’re going to be reporting it, so you think more about it and how to achieve it. It becomes your creative theme. When you have no such path of accountability you slide back into past habits.
You will be encouraged to create a very specific project that will revolutionize your coaching practice and we will actually have measurements, objectives, and strategies that are leveraged within our own group.
The coaching school will kick-off in person in Denver, CO on May 29th and 30th, 2009 and then again in November 20th and 21st, 2009. Each day will end at 5:00 PM. I will take a group of us on a wonderful hike the afternoon of May 28th if your travel plans allow for this. (This won’t be just any old hike, as it will involve some wonderful learning along the way…you will love it.)
CLICK HERE for more information
Or contact me directly via email: Stephen@McGheeLeadership.com
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Stephen McGhee.
