Power of Refusal

At a BNI (Business Network International) networking event in November I was given a pin that had this powerful phrase on it.

“I refuse to participate in a recession”

Later that day, I looked around the room at a diverse group of 450 business men and women proudly wearing these pins.

It is through this “rejection” of the recession that their businesses are flourishing, and will continue to do so.

When the world says jump off the cliff, do you listen? Do you just follow in line?

OR…

Are you the type to listen to your gut/instincts?

I believe that by ‘saying no’ to a recession you can override the setbacks that everyone around you may be enduring.

It is your choice – so take responsibility for your life.

If you cannot change the conditions around you, change the way you perceive the world.

You ALWAYS have control of that.

Power-ing Forward

In 2007 I had several major loses like the loss of my father to lung cancer and the breakup of my three year relationship.

Though on a more positive note, I gained a Masters degree and loads of life experience.

Yet, somehow looking back it feels like 2007 was a year of loss.

It was during 2008 that I felt ONLY gain. I can hardly look back and see any loses at all. I believe I went from great experience to great experience. I learned a lot and truly felt satisfied.

But what's the point of looking back?

What could I possibly do with the information written above? Sit and smile? Or cry? Or ponder the meaning of gaining and losing?

I often find through coaching that people LOVE looking back, telling stories, and not to mention, they love going over the same scenario over and over again looking for what they may have missed.

In some cases it is important to look back IN ORDER to move forward...but most of the time if we looked through our eyes and not through the back of our head we would gain the momentum to carry us onward.

However, the fact remains clear-we all love to wallow in the past. So if you're going to allow yourself to do so, give it proper time.

Sit down and write. Or share with a friend.

BUT, ask these questions:

What about my past is so interesting in the present?

How can I use my past to send me forward?

What will I do differently as a result of my past experience?

At the end of the day, the simplest way to live is for the present. Enjoy now and get excited for what is to come.

The past is just that…past.

Power of Being ALIVE

A good friend of mine sent me this quote today and I really wanted to share it.

"You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book, or you take a trip, and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom (when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death):absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death."

-Anis Nin


Are you ALIVE?

Power of Rebellion

On the tube this evening, I saw a man wearing black patent leather pointy shoes with red trimming. I just had to tell him how much I loved them, which of course, sparked a conversation about the rest of the shoes in his closet.

From the gold dinosaur skin shoes to the lilac boots to the ‘old red ones’ – he seemed to have them all. Confidently, he explained that he had been to a job interview earlier that day. As a result, he had made an effort to dress moderately appropriate, except, allowing himself the shoes as his rebellion.

They may have just been a wacky pair of shoes to some, but to me they illustrated the importance of uniqueness and rebellion.

I will never forget that man or those shoes.

He was a man who truly left footprints on my heart.

Power of a Phrase

I arrived in Berlin one day before New Year’s Eve 2009 with a few good friends and as we arrived we saw four words written in bold on the side of a building.


HOW LONG IS NOW


Not a conventional question, not quite a sentence, but a very powerful phrase.

Shortly after this incident, the phrase HOW LONG IS NOW became the theme of our trip. During our disoriented time in Europe there was never a moment when time felt ‘normal’. It was as if we had lost touch with reality and were living IN THE NOW. We couldn’t escape it. Time was irrelevant and thus we went back to surviving on basic needs – we ate, drank and slept.

It was so powerful knowing that the words written on that wall could affect us in that way, not to mention that the words were in English and we were in Germany!

On the walls of my bedroom I have several quotes written out – my favourite of course, Eleanor Roosevelt’s “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”. Then “This, too, shall pass”…. which lightens up darker days and makes bright days even brighter!

I also have a quote by Albert Einstein written above my desk, that is “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere”.

So what power can words have?

What role do they play in your life?

Power of Coachquinn.com

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WELCOME TO 2009! May this year bring you laughter, love and happiness.

Last month my official website www.coachquinn.com went LIVE and I am very excited to say the least! I hope you have had a chance to take a peak and play around!

If you have enjoyed reading my blog, sign up for my free monthly newsletter!

I want to leave you with a quote I read recently...

"Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable are the kind who do nothing."

-William Feather

Are you the type that waits around until everything is "just right"?

How about NOW?

Or even, HOW LONG IS NOW

Power of Christmas

Snowflakes flutter from the cold winter sky; they are on the ground again. Rosy red cheeks find warmth by crackling fires; we can all feel the Christmas vibe.

BUT, what is different about this Christmas?

Who will be there?

Who can’t make it?

Who do you wish could be there but simply cannot?

Acknowledge how Christmas 2008 will be different than all the years past and CELEBRATE THAT!

Enjoy its uniqueness.

Cherish this year for what it is, instead of what it cannot be.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you all!

Warmly,

Coach Q