Transitions Life Coaching Blog

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2010-04-30T08:50:00.001+01:00

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New Year quotation

2010-01-01T17:47:00.001Z

“Now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been...” ~ Rilke

Happy New Year everyone - may 2010 be your best year yet!

Warmest wishes

Jackie

The Wealthy Author Christmas Launch

2009-12-15T21:29:00.002Z

My publishers, Debbie Jenkins and Joe Gregory, are doing a special Christmas launch with over £150 of bonuses when you buy just one copy of their new book - The Wealthy Author - before Friday 18th December. You'll get a print copy of their acclaimed book, as well as loads of bonus content, ebooks and resources all authors and budding authors will love. You also get a 30 day membership at Publishing Academy.

This launch is limited to the first 200 people to buy because Debs and Joe want to ensure all their new customers are well looked after.

See http://www.publishingacademy.com/129-10-5-14.html

The Wealthy Author has been causing a stir amongst publishers and non-fiction authors because of its radical, and undeniably effective, approach to winning at the publishing game. The authors' (sometimes brutal) honesty about what it takes to succeed makes welcome reading whether you're a budding author looking for your first break or a published author wanting to take your sales profile and income to the next level.

However, before you rush off to buy the book it's important that you know who this book has been written for because if you're not that person then it won't matter if you want to get your hands on this information.

The Wealthy Author is NOT for people who...

1. Think a book should just do well because it's 'good' and marketing is no task for a 'proper' author
2. Expect somebody else (publisher, publicist, bookshops) to do all the work to promote their book
3. Just saw the 'wealthy' bit of the title and think making money as an author is going to be easy
4. Want yet more theory but are not willing to follow this up with action

The Wealthy Author is for you if...

1. You are serious about writing a non-fiction book and want to get it right first time
2. You have a book in print (self published or with a mainstream) but sales are disappointing
3. You believe that the success of your book is down to the actions you take, not the wishes you make
4. You are a 'successful' author but are frustrated you still need the day job to survive

Right - this email is getting long so I won't take up any more of your time. Here's the link again http://www.publishingacademy.com/129-6-5-10.html

Happy Reading!

Jackie

For budding authors

2009-12-13T20:33:00.002Z

My friends Debbie Jenkins and Joe Gregory will be launching their Publishing Academy in a big way on 15th December but in the meantime they've permitted me to share a free Webinar entitled: 6 Essential Steps for Becoming a Wealthy Author. If you've ever considered writing and publishing a book then I'm sure you'll find the 6 steps outlined in this short video very informative: http://www.publishingacademy.com/129-2.html

Please note that because they're going to be offering loads of freebies as well as a copy of their new book, The Wealthy Author, on 15th December, I suggest you hold off buying their book until you hear from me again then.

Warmest wishes
Jackie

When Life Hits a Bump

2009-11-22T17:52:00.003Z

When Life Hits A Bump - guest article by Trevor Emdon

There's an old Chinese saying that goes, "The road before you is clear. Why, then, do you throw rocks in your own path?"

Good old sages! They think they're so smart. (Well, they were, probably). But regardless of how they got there, those rocks and bumps in the road still have to be navigated until we learn to stop throwing them! If indeed we turn out to be the rock thrower at all!

So what do you do when life hits a bump? As I see it, you've got a handful of choices. Which do you choose most often?

a) You throw your toys out of the pram and protest loudly that your life just isn't working.

b) You seek all the sympathy you can milk from it.

c) You retreat for a while into quiet contemplation until a new solution pops up.

d) You seek out someone who's overcome a similar bump and ask them how they did it.

I imagine we both know quite a few people who'd opt for a) and/or b). They, of course, won't only not solve your problems, they'll just give you high blood pressure and perhaps even earn you the label "loser" for your reputation. But since you're reading this post, I can safely assume that a) or b) wouldn't be your choices.

I freely admit I used to choose those. The world had to conform to my ideas or it was wrong! All I had to do was persuade about five billion, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and nine other people to see things my way, and I was home and dry!

These days, I'm more mellow and less proud. Perhaps that's because I have less time left than I had when I was young and impetuous. If I'm going to get the world moving, I finally realised I don't have to reinvent the wheel.

It's not only not shameful to ask for help. It's a requirement if you're going to live to your fullest. You simply don't have time to solve all of life's tribulations on your own if you're ever going to fulfill your dreams. Option c) is certainly useful and will sometimes work. But option d) is where I'd go first.

You can find such help from books, maybe a Youtube video or another website, or, of course, a real live coach.

But until we get to Chinese sage-hood, I'd remind you of one important thing. Both you and I have less time left than we did yesterday.

About the author: Trevor Emdon, aka the "Wizard of Wisdom" writes and creates, (from his very soul), self help and law of attraction programs, such as "Stop Worrying And Grow Rich" (http://tinyurl.com/yacj92n) one of his most popular, as it is about how to attract money.

Career change resources - using social media

2009-11-13T11:20:00.002Z

Here are some useful links to information on how to use social media for your career change.

1) Improving Your Job Search Through Social Networking: http://bit.ly/2NiEvK

2) CNN Money writes "Facebook your way to a new job?" http://su.pr/AVzCHg

3) Three Tips for Social Media Management: http://su.pr/1aixlx

4) Article about someone getting a job through Twitter: http://bit.ly/uxzQh

5) Great advice on tweeting for job seekers: http://ow.ly/vFUm

6) Two lazy LinkedIn invitations that can Burn Bridges: http://ow.ly/vukz

7) What you say online IS your personal brand! http://su.pr/1iGGBR

8) 100 Twitter feeds to help you land a job: http://bit.ly/r1cF8

9) Book - "How to Find a Job on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Other Social Networks" by Brad and Debra Schepp. http://tinyurl.com/yhxt6eh

10) Top 3 Reasons People Don’t Use Social Media for Job Search: http://ow.ly/zQJZ

Follow me on Twitter for more career resources, tips and quotes! http://twitter.com/MyCoachJackie

Have a great weekend!

Jackie

Coaching Resources - the 3 levels of coaching

2009-11-07T16:23:00.001Z

Coaches - what do our clients want from us? Sometimes the brief is straightforward –a client wants a job promotion or to de-clutter their house, and we will work with them to find a technique that they can use and to develop a plan of the steps they need to take.

But so often there is more to it than that, and our clients actually have deeper needs, which they may not have realised or articulated, and which require different interventions than pure goal setting. The client may have fears around achieving the promotion and the clutter in the house may be a symptom of some other issues. The coach who focuses solely on having the client set some goals and feels a failure when this doesn’t happen or the client subsequently takes no action, may have missed the ‘other stuff’ – the area that I call ‘coaching for the soul’. My coaching supervisor once described this as the columns supporting the bridge that spans the gap between where the client is and where he or she wants to be. Nice analogy!

I discuss this with all the coaches I mentor – it is so important! In his book Supercoach, Michael Neill writes about the three levels of change. When I read this, I realised that this elegantly explains what I have been talking about in the mentoring sessions and applying in my own coaching.

Michael calls level one ‘traditional’ coaching and it’s about ‘change in a specific situation’ or getting ready for a particular event. This can be straightforward goal setting: to succeed at a job interview, run a marathon or communicate a difficult message to a member of staff. Coaching at this level may be structured around the GROW model, and the result is the client having a step-by-step plan for getting from A to B (building the bridge), and/or a specific technique for a specific situation.

Level two involves working in a specific life area, such as sales, presentation skills or confidence. The client will take away a range of strategies, and maybe increased skills, which can then be applied throughout that area so they are more effective and successful in a variety of situations.

Level three is my ‘coaching for the soul’ level, which Michael Neill has named ‘global change’. This level involves transformation for the client; new perspectives and different ways of seeing themselves. The client will be exploring the way they are being in the world, and their relationship with themselves. It’s this work - which brings about personal insights, increased self-awareness, and a shifting of beliefs - that can be truly life changing, which will have a long lasting, profound effect on every area of the client’s life.

Why do I think it is so important to understand these different levels? Firstly, to be aware that clients have different requirements – some will just have a clearly defined goal and require an action plan, and that’s fine; others do need to deal with the obstacles and limiting self-beliefs. Secondly, it is so that coaches can see that they haven’t failed if a client leaves without a tangible goal – the new self-knowledge they have gained may be of much more value to them and will have an ongoing, positive impact on their lives, and those around them.

Career change resources 24 October - CV tips

2009-10-24T17:14:00.004+01:00

I've been posting more useful career change tips and resources on Twitter - here is a further selection, all connected with CV writing.

1) Pimp Your Resume: 5 Cool CV Tips - http://bit.ly/nYmRA
2) Resume Building – 8 Tips For On The Job Resume Building: Don’t Wait until you are Out of a job to update your CV http://bit.ly/iN0v7
3) Why Shouldn’t I Write My Own Resume? Asking a professional for help with your CV: http://bit.ly/GVBFB
4) Three Resume Rules for Baby Boomers: For job seekers over 50 worried their CV dates them: http://bit.ly/NwBBC
5) For help with your CV, visit http://bit.ly/45V2Xa
6) Should you lie on your resume? http://bit.ly/Rok0u
7) Is Your Resume Presentable? http://bit.ly/3owSRp
8) Cover Letter Tactics That Give Your Cover Letters an Unfair Advantage: http://bit.ly/15ZwDn
9) Avoid the Cardinal Sins of Resume Writing http://bit.ly/2kG9CX
10) Quick and Easy Tips to a Resume and Cover Letter: When you submit your resume to a recruiter or prospective employer: http://bit.ly/qvrDw

Follow me on Twitter for more career resources, tips and quotes! http://twitter.com/MyCoachJackie

And if you are at the stage where you are thinking of changing career but don't know what you'd like to do instead - I offer a career coaching programme aimed at helping you find the work you would LOVE to do - visit http://www.transitionslifecoaching.co.uk/career.php for further information, then contact me for a free consultation.

Have a great weekend!

Career change resources 8 October

2009-10-08T11:19:00.002+01:00

Here's another selection of useful articles for those of you looking to change careers.

1) Are you ready to change career paths? http://bit.ly/MSVFc

2) How to Gracefully Leave a Job: Just as every story has an ending, so do jobs. http://bit.ly/3vGoPK

3) Eleven businesses you can start at home in your pyjamas. http://ow.ly/pSwL

4) The top 5 reasons why resumes fail: http://bit.ly/iBFYP

5) Resume Rules for Baby Boomers: For job seekers over 50 worried that their CV dates them: http://bit.ly/NwBBC

6) Write catchy cover letters to get job interviews: http://bit.ly/lzb52

7) Improve your chance of interview success - 4 Top Interview Questions and YOUR Best Answers: http://bit.ly/140mhj

8) Finding a job without prior work experience http://tinyurl.com/nj267q

9) Good book: The work we were born to do, by Nick Williams. http://tinyurl.com/yc9gnu5

10) How much enthusiasm should you show at a job interview? http://bit.ly/k0Ug2

Monday Motivation - 28 September

2009-09-28T09:06:00.001+01:00

“I have always grown from my problems and challenges, from the things that didn't work out. That's when I've really learned.” ~ Carol Burnett

Career change resources 23 Sept

2009-09-23T12:45:00.004+01:00

I’ve been posting some useful career resources on Twitter – here’s a list of 10 of the articles and websites:

1) Tips For Successful Interviews: http://bit.ly/28lt57
2) Considering a Career Change? Prepare Before You Leap: http://tinyurl.com/mmoapo
3) 7 ways to improve your CV when applying for jobs online: http://is.gd/3iWZ2
4) Looking for Resume Templates for WORD? Visit http://bit.ly/QK1Xq
5) For a chart to help you assess your current job satisfaction, visit http://tinyurl.com/ptv3q5
6) If job hunting seems a tad challenging right now, here's 100 Career Coach Blogs to get you through the Recession: http://tinyurl.com/nemqac
7) My 10 Top Job Hunting Tips By Zale Tabakman: http://bit.ly/3gLq1v
8) Tips on how to write a career changing CV: http://www.ehow.com/how_5338517_write-careerchanging-resume.html
9) Interviewing is Scary - Ten Tips to Help You Prepare: http://bit.ly/2jDuA
10) 5 keys to considering a career change: http://tinyurl.com/n3x6e5

Follow me on Twitter for more career resources, tips and quotes! http://twitter.com/MyCoachJackie

Monday Motivation - 21 September

2009-09-21T21:19:00.003+01:00

"When you've exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven't!" ~ Robert H Schuller

Monday Motivation - 13 September

2009-09-14T14:06:00.000+01:00

“When difficulties are overcome, they become blessings.” ~ Proverb

Follow me on Twitter!

2009-09-07T19:25:00.004+01:00

At last I have managed to set up my Twitter accounts! Now the challenge is to resist spending too much time reading all the tweets - there are so many fascinating postings, such great resources!

For coaches interested in mentoring or supervision, follow me on http://twitter.com/MentorCoachJAF Here you will find useful tips and links on coaching techniques, recommended books, marketing articles to help you build your coaching business, various resources and some great quotations.

And for career tips, more quotations, EFT resources, and general personal development/life coaching information, check out http://twitter.com/MyCoachJackie

I look forward to connecting with you!

Warmest wishes
Jackie

Monday Motivation - 7 September

2009-09-07T19:24:00.000+01:00

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful. Welcome it in every face, in every sky, in every flower." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Monday Motivation - 31 August

2009-09-01T17:55:00.000+01:00

“If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled. If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” ~ Lao Tzu

An A to Z of personal development - decision making

2009-07-15T15:31:00.002+01:00

“It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off! You cannot make progress without making decisions.” ~ Jim Rohn

So often in our lives we have decisions to make. There are various techniques that can be used to aid the decision making process and I’m going to briefly run through a few of them in this posting, as part of my A – Z of personal development series.

1) Think about how you have made decisions in the past – what strategies and thought processes worked, what didn’t, what supported you, how did you handle the outcome.

2) Will your decision be in line with your values? This is so important – if your decision does not honor your values, you could self sabotage your choice, or fail to fully commit to it, and then you may feel bad that you haven’t achieved what you set out to do, or lose faith in your decision making abilities.

3) Flip a coin! This isn’t as frivolous as it sounds, as the idea is to find out what the reaction is to how the coin lands – is it disappointment, relief, a pang of fear, happiness or excitement? All these responses can give you clues into what you really want and into your underlying emotions. **

4) Work through this set of questions for each decision you need to make:

*What happens if you do
*What happens if you don’t
*What doesn’t happen if you do
*What doesn’t happen if you don’t

5) Imagine you have made the decision, (and can’t go back on it) then reflect on the emotions you are experiencing, what your initial thoughts are, who you would first tell and what you would say to them, what you are most looking forward to, and what it could be like in a years’ time. Then do the same with the alternatives. **

** my thanks to Michael Neill for these two techniques.

Additional resources:

1) In Debbie Ford’s book The Right Questions she poses 10 thought provoking questions, such as: “Will this choice propel me toward an inspiring future or will it keep me stuck in the past?” and “Is this an act of self love or is it an act of self sabotage?” Clients I have worked with on decision making have found it very useful to consider all of the 10 questions – the answers often provide a new perspective and valuable insights.

2) In her book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, Susan Jeffers suggests that one of the obstacles to decision making is our fear of being able to handle what happens to us as a result. However, if we can have the attitude that every choice we make will contain possibilities, together with the faith that we will be able to cope with what happens, then we can make decisions without being scared our choice will be wrong or that we will make mistakes.

"Whenever I'm faced with a difficult decision, I ask myself: What would I do if I weren't afraid of making a mistake, feeling rejected, looking foolish or being alone? Remove the fear and the answer comes into focus." ~ Oprah Winfrey
"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." ~ Neil Peart
"It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires great strength to decide on what to do." ~ Elbert Hubbard
"Decisions are easy when values are clear." ~ Unknown
"I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision." ~ Maya Angelou

Monday Motivation - 22 June

2009-06-22T21:01:00.001+01:00

“There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.” ~ Leonard Cohen

Monday Motivation - 1 June

2009-06-01T18:49:00.000+01:00

“Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” ~ Les Brown,

Monday Motivation - 25 May

2009-05-25T12:39:00.001+01:00

“You all have powers you never dreamed of. You can do things you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations in your own mind as to what you cannot do. Don't think you cannot. Think you can.” ~ Darwin P. Kingsley

"There is nothing you can't do, if you set your mind to it. Anything is possible." ~ Rick Hansen, Wheelchair Athlete, Speaker and Author

A Thursday blessing

2009-05-21T12:16:00.001+01:00

“May you choose to see beyond life's storms, to uncover the blessings that the rain brings, and during all of life's twists and turns, may you always choose.” ~ Michelle Sedas

Monday Motivation - 18 May

2009-05-18T12:54:00.001+01:00

"When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free." ~ Catherine Ponder

Who will you forgive today?

Monday Motivation - 11 May

2009-05-12T10:33:00.000+01:00

"To a happy person, the formula for happiness is quite simple: Regardless of what happened early this morning, last week, or last year - or what may happen later this evening, tomorrow, or three years from now - now is where happiness lies." ~ Richard Carlson

Monday Motivation - 4 May

2009-05-04T15:57:00.000+01:00

“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them – every day begin the task anew.” ~ Saint Francis de Sales

Monday Motivation - 27 April

2009-04-27T16:09:00.001+01:00

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results." ~ Anon