Power of Giving Gifts of Coaching

Dear friends, family and esteemed colleagues,

I would like wish you all a happy holiday season and soon to be New Year! This is one of my favourite times of year – the air is crisp, the ground is (almost) white and a new year is about to begin!

Three years ago I wrote an email to you all about ‘Giving the gift of Coaching’ and this year I write in a similar vein. This email is about giving a different kind of gift this year! Over the last few years I have coached over 80 different clients (over 750 hours) and truly believe in its power. I have seen changes in my clients’ lives and in their perspectives of the world.

A coach does not give advice; coaching opens the door and unlocks the vision we all carry within us. It is a unique partnership that concentrates on both the present and future through conversation and in-depth questioning. The agenda is always informed by the client and their situation; the coach acts as a source of inspiration, motivation and security.

Coaching is the key to revealing one’s full potential on a personal and professional level. Using a holistic approach, a coaching partnership focuses on and nurtures all facets of one’s life to help them attain complete fulfillment, balance and happiness.

Here are a few testimonials from my past and present clients:

"Quinn has restored my confidence not only in myself but in my abilities…”– Gavin, London, 25

“Quinn's coaching is powerful; she is insightful, dynamic, inspiring and wise. I grow and gain new perspectives and tools each time we talk.” – Marney, New York, 41

"What I love in particular about Quinn’s style of coaching is that she is very honest and straight to the point...” – Sophia, London, 23

“When Quinn was my coach she had this innate ability to play her role just right. She would let me have my time to feel lost, and then via observations, questions, encouragement she helped me find the strength and answers within myself to take action and to take a chance.” – Vanessa, London, 34

As both a Youth and Business coach, I work predominantly with clients ages 14-35. If you know of anyone who would be interested in a coaching session with me, or who you would like to give this special gift to, please get in touch.

I wish you all the very best in 2011 and look forward to hearing updates from you!

Quinn Simpson
Youth and Business Coach

Power of Crows

I swear the world would be a better place if we all were as dedicated as Joshua Klein.

Crows - who would have thought!?

Power of a "Quote"

A good friend sent this to me the other day.

I loved it.

"I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time."

-Jack London

Power of Alice

Alice is 106 and still living out her passion, her element....her flow.

She glows and it is incredibly inspiring.

For her, "Music is G-d....in difficult times you feel it especially - when you are suffering."

Needing a bit of inspiration? Take the time to watch this video by clicking HERE

Power of a "Gift"

This just brought tears to my eyes.

What a gift it is.

Power of Security

We live in a society that depends on "security". Our “permanent" jobs and contracts give us the feeling of security and stability...but I argue that what we feel isn't real. They are figures of our imagination. Our sense of security is false, at best.

On the train back from Newcastle this week, I ended up sitting across from a lovely man. In his presumably late 40's, he told me all about his job working with insurance. He spoke of a lot of success and prosperity - many years of loving his work and achieving his ambitions. However, later in our journey, he dove into how he was impacted by the recession.

He lost his job.

After years of laying off others, being in control and "secure", he was made redundant. Shocked, horrified and unstable...he was forced to start over and look for work.

Six months later - he is back on it - meeting me on the train home from a day working in York.

Even on that very train, I watched people sit in other peoples seats even when they were CLEARLY marked RESERVED. You see, that’s just it, nothing is reserved.

Nothing is unchangeable and completely stable – that’s the beauty of the world.

This also means it’s all in our heads…and THAT, my friend, we do have control over.

Power of Taxi Drivers and the “good’ thing

How much do you love taxi drivers? On a scale of 1-10…I would probably have given them a 6 (or even lower in Toronto).....

However, my view of taxi drivers changed last year when I was moving back to Toronto and stressed about leaving London. I was sad, confused and tired. Then I met Nadin. I told him about how I was feeling and he said, “After two minutes of being in my taxi, I promise, you will feel better”. Reluctant, I got in. Minutes later I felt like myself again.

We had a great conversation about life, happiness, sadness and all the trials and tribulations, but one thing he said will always stay with me.

He said, “The good about the good thing is that its good and you can enjoy it. The good thing about the bad thing is that sooner or later, it will end and it will turn into a good thing.”

Power of Human Detour

Recently I was asked by an old friend, Jamie Slavin, to be apart of the Human Detour website! What a great initiative. If you go to the Health and Wellness section and click "heal" you can check out some great videos by several doctors, coaches and myself.

Also, Jamie is featured in the "nourish" area as she is a nutritionist!

Either way, this site has the potential to be incredibly powerful. ENJOY!

Power of Unmasking

Everyone is weird.

I suppose ‘uniquely different’ would be a better way of describing it, but the reality is, no matter how different they are, they all hide their weirdness.

Often people wear 'masks' and pretend to be something very different from what they actually are.

I clearly remember as a child people coming up to me saying, “you’re weird” and at that time, I wasn’t quite sure whether I was being praised or ridiculed.

Either way, I shrugged it off and stayed the same.

Later I began to understand the word - defined as "of a strikingly odd or unusual character; strange".

So people thought I was crazy and wacky… so what? Yet I couldn't figure out why their faces were always shocked as they told me.

At the age of 8 I put on my first (and last) mask. I thought I had to be just as cool as the cool kids…so no matter what they said, I agreed. No matter what they did, I followed.

I was a complete ‘loser’ until the day I realized it was exhausting to wear a mask, so I took it off and suddenly my “I don’t care” attitude granted me the status of being “cool”.

I have been wearing the 'cool' mask – also known as the “I don’t give a sh#$” attitude - for as long as I can remember. I present myself as confident, and am therefore treated in the same way.

So, why don’t you try taking off your mask?

You may like your new one a whole lot more.

Power of the ‘Systems’

Recently I read a book called ‘Don’t Waste your Talent’ written by Bob McDonald and Don E. Hutchinson which takes the reader on a journey towards creating their ‘Personal Vision’.

The most poignant message of the book was about how deeply our ‘systems’ affect us and our life choices. They use the word ‘system’ to describe the many social groups we are a part of, like our family, our school, our place of work, the city we live in and so on.

Often we get so caught up in assuming the role our ‘systems’ want or need us to be that we forget to look inside ourselves to ask , “Who do I want to be?” or “What is the role I choose?”

These social systems become structures which heavily influence and in as sense, determine our actions. We don’t want to disrupt the social world by acting in a way that threatens the structure ….right?

Wrong!

I say….

Why not push the boundaries?

Why not step out of our comfort zone?

Why not change the system or the structure everyone else seems to follow?
Sometimes it feels like society writes us a script, and we simply read from it. So are we just followers of everyone else?

Through my work as a coach I see the affect that our ‘systems’ can have, if we let them. It feels like people are programmed by their systems to always take the right “next step” – from going to university after high school to having children after getting married. But is that what we TRULY want?

Perhaps your answer is yes….but don’t just assume it to be YES. Ask yourself. Question the system. Don’t just be a follower.

Take control of your life and get what YOU want out of it.

Power of Hawn

She is one powerful woman.

Inspiring.

Very worth listening to.

Power of Will (POWER)

For a dear friend of mine, 2010 started with devastating news. The love of her life, the man she knew she would eventually marry, William Hicks, had a life threatening brain tumour and they needed to operate immediately.

Stunned. Scared. Uncertain. We all hoped for the very best and the best is what we, and Will, all received.

Looking back to May 2008 when I first met Will in Brussels, I knew he was something special. Katie, my friend, was there doing a masters and I had the pleasure of spending a week with the two. We visited all the "spots" of Brussels - including the park and bench they sat on during their first date.

In all my life, I have never seen a love quite like theirs. It's just so obviously real and easy. I felt like I was meeting an extension of her - and in a sense - it was like I was re-meeting Katie.

But this is not a story of love.

This is a story about Will(power). Over the last few months of Will's 'battle' or more like victory, through all the radiation and chemo, he would send out regular updates. His positivity, bountiful spirit and love of life kept me in awe - full of admiration.

Here is a small taste of that spirit –

"Hey Tumor, You want to dance??? I want to Tango..This FRIDAY. Bring your best shot Mofo :)…The good doctor is confident he can remove the lil f**ker in its entirety once again. Since its solid, as opposed to the last time when it was more cystic/fluid filled, we are able to use stealth MRI guidance...sounds cool right...That's because it is!!! Minutes before surgery they'll attach a bunch of cool electrodes to my brain, and use what was described as a 'miini pitch fork' (hilarious) to radiologically mark several places in my brain in order to pinpoint certain areas as well as mark boundries to keep me from losing any functionality...Ya we're getting high tech in this fight.

Winston Churchill once said "Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.” While that truth may be hard to bear, I want you to know that I am prepared to continue the fight and bring the pain to this speck of malignant brain. Victory at all costs…..Today's been a wonderful day. Ma, Jaq-o, Lil, and Aunt Ann came over, and Father Griffiths blessed me as we prayed for a successful surgery and victorious road ahead. The Koch family came and hung out for a bit too. I am feeling absolutely unbeatable and if you cant tell I'm freakin AMP'D....lets do this. Please continue to pray, smile, and send positive thoughts our way. United we are UNSTOPPABLE.”

– Will Hicks

Last month, Katie and Will were married in Chicago's Botanical Gardens on a perfect summer day – it was stunning.

Each guest was given a bracelet with WILL POWER engraved in it. Worn proudly, each of us felt privileged to be apart of the 'power of will' movement.




Touched by his energy and warm smile, I am inspired.

Cancer is nothing to be afraid of, it is something that must be conquered.

I learned that from both my father and Will.

Life is precious and worth fighting for.

Power of True Love

I think in one way or another...we all wish for something like this.

It's just so real....easy.

Love at 81, after 62 years, is a beautiful concept.

Power of "That guy"!

Several months ago a friend of mine showed me a website he called the 'that guy' page. It turns out it was simply that - a page full of images of all those character actors you can't remember by name, but when you see their faces you say, "Oh, THAT guy"!

What does it really mean to be a "that guy"? A washed up character actor? A failed career? Not quite good enough? An unmemorable name?

I argue it is none of the above.

Each and every 'that guy' has had a career to remember and be proud of. They are all accomplished and talented - they just didn't wind up on the cover of People or perezhilton.com (thankfully!).

Being a 'that guy' implies you are worth remembering but you chose a path with less stand out moments.

Yesterday, a memorable (or unmemorable depending on how you look at it) character actor and infamous 'that guy' passed away. Maury Chaykin was in over 150 films and TV shows over the last 35 years. He was my mothers ex-husband, he was Uncle Maury to my brother and I....

he was a 'that guy' and one I will never forget.

Power of 4.44 Length Videos

One word: wow.

Power of Returning to Paris

Since the first time I came to Paris in March 2002, I have returned almost every year. This is the first year I have come in May and what a delight. The tulips are out, the sun is shining and the air is crisp and warm at the same time.

Although I have never lived here, each time I return it feels like coming home. I get a fresh perspective on my life, time to think about where I am going and as they say "smell the [tulips]".

It is so important in our world to take time for YOU. So many people ask me what the secret is....and its simple. To be honest, I wouldn't even call it a secret.

Its be YOU and give yourself TIME to yourself.

You are the only person you have, so hold on. Enjoy it.

Power of My Charity

I started a charity in October 2008!

Over Summer 2009 we ran a filmmaking project in Ghana - for more details go to www.akosia.org. !

Enjoy the films below!

Making the Show - Akosia Productions from Quinn Simpson on Vimeo.

The Good Children - Akosia Productions from Quinn Simpson on Vimeo.

Power of Homelessness

I think her story is worth hearing.

Power of Elections

Last week I watched THE FIRST ELECTION DEBATE in Britain where the three running candidates for Britain's next Prime Minister attempted to persuade and influence the audience.

None succeeded, in my opinion. (Though Nick Clegg won a bit of my heart)

What I love about debates is watching people stand up for what they believe in. It's beautiful.

Although elections often divide people (families, groups of friends and work colleagues), it can also bring them together.

That is the true beauty of an election.

I look forward to voting....and I hope you do too.

Power of Curiosity

James Camerson.... a curious boy....a huge success.

Power of 'Thinking'

Power of Programming

Some food for thought:

Power of Saying "YES"

Throughout my whole life I have always found that I "spread myself too thin" and I find, in general, that my life always has about 1,00000 different things going on"

I find it extremely difficult to focus on ONLY one or two projects.

I'm like the Queen of "projects".

So the question I'm led to, time and time again, is why?

Do I love to "please" people?
Is it because I love doing everything?
Is it because I can't say no? Alternatively, is it because I love saying YES?

And so after much consideration, I decided, I AM A YES WOMAN!

Have you seen the film YES Man? Well here is the trailer if you have not:



The thing about being a "yes" person is you always get led down interesting roads full of opportunity, possibility and hope!

Plus, its FUN!

Instead of saying NO this week, try always saying yes!

See what happens and HAVE FUN!

Power of a Coach

I will maintain for EVER and always that no one NEEDS a coach but that everyone can benefit from one.

They can give you perspective, help you focus and MOTIVATE you in a way that you can't possibly do on your own.

Even Eric Schmidt of Google claims that "everybody needs a coach" (which you can check out by clicking HERE).


And if you are looking for a coach check out www.lifecoach.com

Power of Being Productive

I was inspired once more...