6 Ways to Awaken Vision & Activate Potential

Vision awakens your purpose. Vision activates your potential.

Heard a good word today that confirmed what I know to be true about vision, purpose and action. There are frequent conversations in the world, on the many social networking sites that we are all apart of around vision and the importance of having one. And, I would offer that there is no point in having one if you are not prepared to be in A.C.T.I.O.N toward your potential.

The word action is key in awakening the vision within each of us. It requires the following six elements and when you apply them, you WILL awaken your vision and activate your potential.

Achievement focus - In other words, keep your eye on the prize. If you build your dream on unstable ground, it will crumble. To have stability, you need clarity and to speak what you want from your heart. Focus on achieving that heart's desire, write it down and keep it in front of you.

Curiosity - It seems as we age we lose (or set aside) that bold curiosity that motivated us as children. That curiosity kept our dream alive as we explored and asked questions. Try adding that back into your daily life. Be curious about the things you have always wanted to achieve, accomplish, attain or attract. Even if it is a little uncomfortable, get curious again!

Take responsibility - Perhaps the most difficult for some to acknowledge and the most important to our success and clarity of vision. When we play the victim or blame game for the current status of our life, we shut ourselves off from possibility. To be open to knowing and owning your full potential, take a look at the places you have offed responsibility for life onto someone or something else. Own it, forgive it, let it go.

Inspire - Think for a moment how many people have left an impression on you. Got the picture? Now ask yourself, what would my life be like if I lead that kind of legacy now? When we work to inspire others, we become more focused on our purpose vs. the benefits. It is a new creative element to action that I am happy to inspire in you today. Seek to inspire to receive overflow.

Overcomer Mindset - Consider looking at the box in your path as opportunity to propel you forward vs. something to stop you. To do that means to continually be looking at what is possible. Being an overcomer in action means staying activated for what's next.

Never accept second best- This is the 'who are you giving sanction to' piece. In life we give up our authority to others rather instantaneously, or quickly. It gives the authority of our potential to someone else's control. By not accepting second best, and affirming what "is to be," moves you toward the vision and/or the goal. It means that you are enough and that you have what it takes to get what you want. It means you are in the fullness of YOUR personal power.

Try some action this week. There are great resources all around to support you finding your vision and purpose. And it is important to get activated toward identifying what you really want as you define your vision and activate your potential.

Coaching Questions:
* What one Action Step will you apply this week?
* Who can you pull in for support in honoring your self in action?
* How do you use Bold Curiosity currently?
* Who have you given sanction to in life that may have detoured you from your potential?

4 Steps to Avoid a Communication Breakdown-Part 1

We have all been there. In the middle of what we believe to be a good conversation, expressing our side, giving our input and right before our eyes something explodes. It leaves us wondering, 'how did this happen?'

The scenario is not uncommon. It happens in our relationships, it happens in our offices, with our friends and family. It happens on the phone, it happens at the grocery store and even driving our car. Whether we are communicating verbally or in writing, a communication breakdown can happen at any moment.

In a work setting, many people just think that by ignoring the breakdown, the problem will miraculously go away. Others feel hopeless that no matter what they try, nothing will work and they are left to feeling defeated with no control. Some may take on the challenge of addressing the breakdown upfront only to retreat to their corner when met with opposition.

In a family or personal relationship, often times our communication strategy is to simply get what we want with least impact as possible. But what happens overtime is that we stop talking all together because the path of least resistance only creates avoidant behaviors.

While communication is an art form in and of itself, it is not as difficult as some believe it to be. The key to good and clear communication is to always be willing to speak on the side of truth. Often times the age old adage that Less is More rings true with how we communicate. Our emotions can drive the tone and flavor of the simplest of messages leading to total upheaval in our work and family.

To assist you in developing a new strategy that supports good communication, we have outlined 4 easy to implement steps that you can start using today. Today we will detail the first two of the steps to support you in transforming the way you communicate.

1) Identify your Motive - Just as you do when you get in your car to drive, you have a motive and a plan of where you are going, and how you want to get there. The motive is key to the success of your trip, it impacts the choices you make and the outcome of the effort. Communicating is no different. You have a motive, whether clearly identified or not, and you will have an outcome. The success of the trip is also impacted by the choices you make. Good and bad, right and wrong. The key is understanding your motive in such a way that the plan or course you choose toward your outcome is the most efficient and effective. While you can't always avoid the speed bumps or pot holes, you can make course corrections and adjust your speed to ensure a safe arrival.

2) Speak from a Place of I not U - With your motive clear, and your plan mapped out, it is always best practice to speak from that place of I - not YOU. That means we choose our words, just as we do our course of action, carefully. We focus on explaining what 'I understand,' or 'I need,' or why 'I am confused.' The party on the other end of the communication will most always receive what you are saying more openly when you aren't pointing a finger at them. When we use words that focus on fault finding and blame, asserting that 'you did this' or 'you don't understand,' we put people on the defensive. Recovering from a defensive stand is one of the most difficult communication barriers to overcome. By keeping the focus on what you need, want, understand and desire - the you is on you, not them.

Tomorrow we will cover the final 2 of the 4 steps to avoiding communication breakdown. With these simple to implement steps in your toolkit for success, you will most assuredly see marked improvements in your relationships at work and home.

Coaching Q's: What is your communication strategy? On a scale of 1-10, how successful do you feel with your communication skills? What (if anything) do you want to change about that?

Don't Let the Holiday's STEAL your Joy!

The holidays are a special time to be together with our family and friends. They can also be a time of introspection....a time to reflect on what is most important to us in our life.

Oh – who am I kidding.

For some people, the holidays become rushed....filled with too many social events and not enough time to rest and rejuvenate. We feel out of balance. By taking a little time to ourselves, we can enjoy the holidays even more.

Don't let stress steal the joy from the season. You will greatly appreciate the health benefits when life returns to normal.

The holiday season should be a happy time, but are you just too tired to smile?

• Waiting in long, slow lines everywhere.
• Cooking all day and all night long for that big feast.
• Cleaning, decorating, gift-wrapping, traveling, socializing--just thinking about all that work makes you want a holiday from the holiday.
• Add to that the daily pressures of your job and your family and the financial and mental strain from trying to find money to buy gifts for everyone and pay the mortgage, the car note and the utility bills, and you got a major bout of seasonal burnout.

Stressing out during the hectic holidays wears down your immune system and leaves you open to colds, flu, headaches, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart attacks and a host of other health problems. Not to mention that stress can aggravate existing health conditions and ruin what could be a joyous time for your and your loved ones.

Save time, money and your sanity this holiday season by trying these stress-busting strategies:

* AVOID THE SUPERHERO SYNDROME. Wonder Woman and Superman were only Comic Book characters. It's time to hang up the cape!

* DON'T PROCRASTINATE. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong if you wait until the last minute.

* BEAT THE CROWDS. Shop during off-hours so that you won't have to battle stressful holiday crowds and stressful holiday traffic.

* Traveling? CHECK IN EARLY. - check the Web first for flight status-get prepared with a back-up plan.

* RELAX. Spending just 15 minutes alone each day can give you the rejuvenation you need to handle daily stress

* Laugh often - it's the best medicine on the market

* Rest - get a solid night's sleep, you will be richly rewarded after the Holiday's

* Spread Holiday Cheer- give it away for free, a smile goes a mile

We know that when we take the focus off ourselves, our situation our pressures and task lists, and focus our energy toward something that will bring goodness to others, our own self efficacy increases, our own self-worth and hope enlarges and we expand our awareness from self to others. That is truly what the holiday’s are about any way right?

Acronym to remember! S.T.E.A.L

Start Today, Eager to Allow Laughter to infect each day this Holiday season.

Coaching Exercise

What will you do this season to reward yourself?

How will you build relaxation into your holidays?

How will you plan to share the holiday cheer with others this season?

What do you notice about yourself and any lingering Super Hero syndrome you may have?

How do you feel about asking for help this season of Joy and Happiness? What do you want to change about that?

Will you write out your plan for the season, make it plain, so that you avoid procrastination and stress to infiltrate your holiday's?