INCREDIBLE AWARENESS

I recently was a panel member for a webinar called, “Highway to the Unknown Zone” with the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Coaching (anzicoaching.com), talking about the concept of one’s “comfort zone” and how to step outside of it, or more appropriately, how to “stretch” it.

My approach on the panel was to provide more of a definition and research-based approach, while providing some practical tips for professional coaches to use with their clients, and on themselves.

I started with describing that there is a difference between “stepping outside” the comfort zone as compared to “stretching” it.  It’s important we get the terminology right.

Here’s why:

The term, “comfort zone” has been around since 1908 when researchers first identified the need to achieve “optimal anxiety” to create change.

Before getting there though, it’s important to understand that your comfort zone is a behavioural space where your activities and behaviours fit a routine and pattern that minimises stress and risk.  It provides a state of mental security.  When you’re in this zone, you get some obvious benefits such as regular happiness, low anxiety and reduced stress.

However, it might also leave you bored, unchallenged and maybe even with a sense of lack of fulfilment.

Ideally, you want to push the boundaries of your comfort zone to something called the “Stretch Zone” where you anticipate and are exhilarated by trying something new and different, you have an appropriate level of challenge and are willing to take some risks.  This is the optimal level of anxiety to create change and grow yourself personally and professionally.

However, if you take too big of a step outside your comfort zone, or stretch it too far, too fast, then you enter the “Panic Zone” which can leave you feeling fearful, tense, exhausted, fed up, overly-anxious, frustrated, tired, and possibly disinclined to try it or other stretch exercises again.

While doing my preparations for the panel discussion, I uncovered some interesting points about comfort zone, which I bet you’ll find to be some good talking and reflection points:

Men typically register as having a larger comfort zone than women.

Your comfort zone can shrink or grow over your lifetime.

Those people who have stretched their comfort zone on a regular basis, tend to earn more money.

The top 1-2% of successful people register with having very large comfort zones and are very comfortable with taking risks and trying new things.

When you do stretch your comfort zone, you’re likely to experience these benefits:

You’ll be more productive.  Your comfort zone kills productivity and helps you fall into the “work trap” where you feign being busy to not try to push your own boundaries.

You’ll have an easier time dealing with new and unexpected changes because you’ve already experienced them and worked out ways to cope.

You’ll find it easier to push your boundaries in the future, because you know you’ve done it before and are therefore capable.

You’ll find it easier to brainstorm because you’re willing to discuss risky ideas.

 And here are some strategies you could use to experience more stretch in your comfort zone:

An “inspired” approach (some goal you’re moving toward without a lot of fear) can be identified by asking these questions:

What makes you feel comfortable now? (this is your comfort zone now)

How could you stretch that by 10%? (this helps you just nudge the edges into the “Stretch Zone”)

What are you really likely to gain by that? (the minimum you could expect for the minimum amount of risk by getting to the middle of the “Stretch Zone”)

What else might you gain? (what else you could gain if you’re willing to be a bit risker and stay at the outer edges of the “Stretch Zone”)

What’s the greatest possible gain? (and might involve the greatest amount of risk up to the edge of the “Panic Zone”)

A “motivated” approach (you’re focusing on something you’re trying to move away from, such as a fear of something, and therefore your goal is the solution) can be identified by asking these questions:

What’s the worst that can happen and how could you reduce that risk or deal with it? (this is exploring what the “Panic Zone” might deliver if you went too far, and forces you to think now if it’s a solvable problem or not)

What else could go wrong, but not so severe, and how could you reduce the risk of that? (this is exploring the outer edges of the “Stretch Zone”, but it doesn’t necessarily involve panic…and forces you to think of solutions)

What is really likely to go wrong and what are the solutions? (this is within the “Stretch Zone” from the middle back to the edge with the “Comfort Zone)

What is NOT likely to go wrong…or in other words, what excuses are you making up and can now just get rid of because they’re irrational? (This is identifying what your “Comfort Zone” really looks like)

Some other strategies that might be helpful include:

Do different things every day.  Just change your routine in small ways, or possibly some big ways every now and then.

Take your time making decisions.  Consider other alternatives, solutions to problems and new benefits by taking a different approach than your first response.

Trust yourself to make snap decisions.  Although it sounds like a contradiction, you may find that you’re getting caught up in trying to imagine all that could go wrong, and spending a lot of time doing that, that you end up missing opportunities to try something in the moment without all the negative fear-based internal dialogue.

Stretch yourself in small steps.  Look for ways to stretch yourself by just 10% instead of leaping to 50% or greater risks.  Remember, if you step too big/far before you’re ready, you could end up in the “Panic Zone”

Go back to your “Comfort Zone” every now and then so that you can recharge and reflect on your experiences.  Without this, you may not be learning as much from your efforts, and you could also burn out from over-stretching.  Imagine working out at the gym or doing other physical exercise.  If you push too hard you could end up injuring yourself, and rest is one of the most important parts of physical fitness.  It makes sense that you need to rest in your “Comfort Zone” from time to time so that you’re ready to stretch some more later on.

Make stretching your comfort one a habit in itself, such as continuously looking for things to try that you’ve never tried before.

Finally, one online article I found included an interview with David Van Rooy, Walmart’s Senior Director of International Human Resources Strategy and Operations, where he identified six lessons on comfort zone.  Here’s his wisdom (which I’ve just briefly summarised):

You will let perfection go – no one is perfect.

You will inspire others – others notice what you do.

You will have no regrets at the end – because you at least tried.

You will define yourself authentically – because you’re no longer conforming to everyone else’s norms and pressure.  You follow your own lead.

You will gain control – you set your own rules.  You do it because YOU WANT TO, not because it’s expected of you.

Your life experience will be fuller – stretching your comfort zone can create euphoria and self-respect.

And a great tool (which has been scientifically validated) you can use to measure your own comfort zone can be found at www.whatismycomfortzone.com.  If you can measure it, you can manage it!

I trust there are some useful gems in all of this for you.  That said, if you feel you need some additional support while stretching your comfort zone, consider working with a professional coach.  By the way, I’m one and I’d be happy to help!

Cheers, Noel

A client sent me this after our coaching session this week (and I have their permission to share this here). 

We were discussing how important it can be to surround yourself with a "Cheer Squad", but not just people who constantly cheer you on and say positive things.  Instead, a group of people who celebrate with you and also help you recognise your strengths and encourage you to use them, even when things aren't going so positively.

So, we came up with a few key points about a Cheer Squad:

They're always paying attention to the game, and not just what you or your side is doing, but what the other players are doing, what the crowd is reacting to and so on.  They don't cheer just for cheering's sake.  They adapt what they cheer to what's happening.

They provide emotionally appropriate responses to the game.  They're super happy when things are going well, and they show empathy (not sympathy) when things are not.  The continue to find the right encouragement to help you along, and which is appropriate to the situation.

They ensure their emotionally responses are visible.  They're not keeping it to themselves.  They're including you and potentially others, so that you feel they're truly connected with you and also that they're recruiting others to support you in your game.

And they stay connected to all the players and spectators.  You may be the primary player they're focused on, and they're also focusing on ensuring others around you are also supported.  By working to create the best environment for the whole team, you and everyone else achieves more and comes out of the process feeling more satisfied.

This model could be interpreted and adapted in so many different ways. 

It was just pretty special that my client and I had this conversation, that I could be part of the cheer squad, and that this model was drawn up and sent to me afterward.  I was so inspired by the usefulness of this for my client that I asked for permission to share it.

I trust this will be useful to you in some way as well.

Enjoy!

Cheers, Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach

A dear friend and colleague of mine sent me a card the other day with this photo.  It just goes to show that sometimes you need a coach to help you with the "self-help" process!

Noel Posus - Master Coach

I post daily on Facebook, but not quite so often in Tumblr or my business newsletter. 

While reflecting on the numerous things I've posted lately, I picked the below six as ones that I think will be of most value to the most people, and I wanted to be sure I shared them with you here.

Please also share these with others.

1.  Why you should keep a journal at work - click here to read.

2.  The Secret to Always Winning - click here to read.

3.  27 Productive Things You Can Do in Five Minutes - click here to read.

4.  30 Things to Start Doing for Yourself - click here to read.

5.  From Reactive to Proactive Management - click here to read.

6.  The Psychology of Your Future Self - click here to watch the video.

I trust these resources will prove highly beneficial for you and others.

If there's ever a resource you need or support in achieving your personal, professional or business calls, please reach out to me through the Incredible Awareness website.

Cheers,

I am committed to sharing with the world, as freely as I’m able to, information and resources that I use in my coaching, workshops and speeches, particularly where this information is likely to help others to help themselves.

I have been doing a significant amount of work the past few years on resilience, and in particular, helping people increase their resilience intelligence.

What is resilience intelligence?

It is the proactive and strategic effort you put in to changing your current paradigm about resilience from one of “bouncing back when stuff happens” to recognising and enhancing your current strengths and abilities in terms of your overall sense of wellbeing “before stuff happens”. 

With this paradigm shift, you may find that you don’t need to “bounce back” as far, or potentially at all.

I’m happy to share this workbook with you, and I’d be even happier if you shared it with others.

My only three requests are:

1.  Do NOT post the workbook online anywhere.   It’s mine to post.

2.  If you share this with others, please make it a private conversation where you offer to share this with them, and if they give you permission, then do so.

3.  Please respect my intellectual property and do NOT use this resource for your own commercial gain or copy from this and place under your own brand.  I trust you will respect this.

If you would like a copy of the “Increasing Your Resilience Intelligence Workbook”, simply send me a request through the contacts page at www.IncredibleAwareness.com.   

This does NOT add you to a mailing list, I promise! 

(If you want to sign up for the monthly newsletter, you can do that on the home page.)

I’ll personally send you an email with the PDF of the workbook within 48 hours.

Many thanks for your dedication to your own development as well as your efforts to help those around you develop further.

Cheers and love,

Noel Posus

Director and Master Coach – Incredible Awareness Pty Ltd

I'm so excited about this year's World Business and Executive Coach Summit!  To start with, there are three weeks of FREE sessions in the pre-summit!

To find out more, click here.

Here's the rundown for the pre-summit:

WEEK ONE

Howard Morgan - "I am taking over from another coach - what do I do to ensure success?"

Taki Moore - "How to scale your coaching business...fast!"

Joseph O'Connor and Andrea Lages - "What is a question?"

Laura Belsten - "Accelerate growth in your coaching business by coaching social + emotional intelligence"

Karl Corbett - "INTRO: What every coach needs to know"

Gary Henson - "Wishful thinking is not a practice building strategy"

Richard Barrett - "Evolutionary Coaching: An Introduction"

Andrew Neitlich - "That's exactly why you should hire me: A clinic on overcoming objections from coaching prospects during sales conversations"

Shirzad Charmine - "Saboteur Assessment: How to change your client's life in five minutes"

John Leary-Joyce - "Systemic team coaching for high performance teams - understanding team dynamics"

Ian Day and John Blakey - "Challening coaching - going beyond traditional coaching to face the facts"

Dave Ulrich - "INTRO: Becoming a better coach"

To find out more, click here.

WEEK TWO

Peter Hawkins - "Coaching supervision: Latest developments and future challenges, including new methods for supervising team coaching"

Doug McKinley - "The jazz of coaching"

Hendre Coetzee - "Designing a comeback journey and coaching for 'turn-arounds'.  Developing resilience in your client and their teams using behavioural and brain-based methodologies"

James Flaherty - "Integral leadership: Building resilience, openness and creativity in leaders"

Brian Undershill, Prescilla Gill, Julie Maloney and Jennifer Wallace - "INTRO: The next wave in executive coaching"

Janet Harvey - "Generative thriving: Professional soverignty is key"

Lisa Ann Edwards - "Three keys to success"

Jim Kouzes - "The truth about leadership"

John C. Maxwell - "My definition of success"

Natalie Tucker, Krishna Kumar, Susan Meyer, Aileen Gibb - "Living the IAC Masteries - Are you really coaching?"

Philippe Rosinski - "Coaching across cultures: Leveraging cultural differences for creativity, unity and purpose"

Judith Glaser - "INTRO: The key to success in life and business is to become a master at conversational intelligence"

To find out more, click here.

WEEK THREE

Gran Soosalu and Marvin Oka - "Evolving your client's world - multiple brain coaching for transformative change"

Marshall Goldsmith - "Why we don't do - What we know we should do - and how we can start improving our odds on getting better"

Lisa Bloom - "Storytelling - The key to successful leaders and coaching with impact"

Ann Betz - "Why your clients need neurocience - the power and impact of understanding how the brain works for both your own confidence and your clients' greater engagement"

Jane Creswell - "Award winning internal coaching at IBM: 16 years and counting"

Jeremy Ridge - "Raise your professional game in your executive coaching practice"

Dorothy Siminovitch - "The path toward coaching mastery: The coach as awareness agent in service of client development and change"

Jayne Warrilow - "The resonance code: Raising the frequency of the coach/client connection"

Ian Brodie - "Grow your email list - win more clients"

Mary Beth O'Neill - "Calculating the ROI of your executive coaching"

Pamela McLean - "The coaching advantage: Cultivating self as coach"

AND that's just the free three weeks of the pre-summit!

Imagine what the rest of the summit will be like!!!

I recently did an interview on 612 ABC Brisbane specifically looking at what Life Coaching is and how it can possibly help someone going through a mid-career crisis.  Here's the link and please feel invited to share with others where you think this information may be useful.

Interview on 612 ABC Brisbane

As always, please also feel invited to contact me through my website if you have any specific questions or needs.

Cheers, Noel

A dear friend and colleague of mine has recently been diagnosed with an inoperable stage four cancer and some of his medical team are talking about “months” left, and they’re urging him to rest, relax and enjoy life as much as he can in the time he has left.

My friend and I speak nearly every day, often via email, about all sort of things, with the most common theme being, “Not only does the world need an empathy revolution now, but I want to see this happening before…”

What my friend and I so clearly see, and so many others around the world have come to understand, is that there is an “empathy deficit” on the planet.

There has been some astounding research showing that empathy levels are dropping by 50% or more over the past few years and decades (depending on what area the research is looking at).

This is having an impact on politics, business, legislation, the environment, social welfare, animal welfare, human equality, gender equality, marriage equality…and the list goes on.

Where once the common opinion was that the world is going to (insert your favourite profanity or similar word here) because of greed, the science is now showing that it is far more an effect of a lack of empathy.

98% of humans are capable of empathy.

So, why are we using our capabilities less often, less effectively and less for the common good?

Some argue that it’s because we have a very “Me! Me! Me!” culture.  This is quite possibly true, and I’m confident there are many other factors.

I have come to the conclusion that my work on this planet is largely now going to be focused on how to increase empathy levels in action, in every possible way I can.  This will become a cornerstone of my coaching work for years to come.

I’m sharing this with you because I’d like to invite you to consider the role empathy plays in your life, how you receive it, how you give it, and how it influences the decisions you make.  I’m not judging you.  I don’t want you to “judge” yourself.  I am asking you to reflect.

And more than just reflect, if I’m going to be totally authentic here.  I want you to consider where you could act upon those reflections.  What can you do more of the same?  What could you do differently, and how?  Most importantly, what could the impacts be for not only you, but OTHERS, in ANY context, ANYWHERE and possibly EVERYWHERE?

If you would like to know more about the concept and practice of empathy, let me introduce you to one of my new-found heroes (and many thanks to the friend I told you about above for bringing my attention to this person). 

This extraordinary champion of empathy is Roman Krznaric.

Here are some great links to get you started:

“How to Start an Empathy Revolution – TEDx Talk (video)

“The Power of Outrospection” – RSA Animate (video)

“Empathy: A Handbook for Revolution” (book)

 “Is Australia losing its empathy?” (article)

In closing, the word “empathy” is being searched for on the Internet at a massively increased rate over the past few years.  This can easily be argued as the representation of the need people have for more empathy to be demonstrated.

The world needs more empathy, and possibly an empathy revolution.

What will you do to be a part of the revolution?

Will you help make this happen now, so that my friend will see it before...?

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you choose to reply to me. 

And finally, thank you in advance for whatever you decide to do with this posting, and especially if you choose to share it with others.

  Cheers,

Noel Posus

Director and Master Coach

Each year at this time, Sydney hosts the party of the year – the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras!

And every year, people routinely ask the question, “Is Mardi Gras still relevant and necessary?”

It’s a great question for us to explore, not just from a GLBTI perspective, but from a larger humanity and society perspective.

As you know, I’m a professional life and leadership coach, and this posting will explore the many life lessons we can learn from Mardi Gras.

·      Acknowledge – We have come a long way as a society to be able to have a far closer-to-equal standing with other members of our larger community.  Have we achieved full equality?  No.  But we have significantly closed the gap in many respects.  We have become stronger, learned more, discovered how to overcome obstacles, presented our arguments better and have inspired others.  So, the life lesson here is to regularly take a moment to reflect on all the strengths that you have made stronger over the year and celebrate those.  When we forget what we’re good at, we’re less likely to use those skills.  When we celebrate our strengths, we accomplish a great deal more for ourselves and others.

·      Community – It’s not just the GLBTI community that has achieved so much.  There are many other groups who have as well.  And throughout our shared history, many of these groups have helped each other.  This isn’t just celebrating what we’ve achieved for ourselves in Australia, but what we have all achieved by working together and standing up for each other.  The life lesson here is that we never have to work alone.  We can help ourselves by helping others.  We can give, support and respect others, without any need that they’ll make similar choices in kind, yet they often do.  We share common goals if we only take the time to learn what others need and come up with ways of working harder and smarter together so that individuals and groups don’t have to work so hard on their own, as that’s inefficient and isolating at the very least.

 ·      Awareness – Although the GLBTI community, in some parts of the world, have achieved great things and made exceptional progress, there are still numerous places in the world that need our attention, support, guidance and voices.  Some countries are not only lagging behind in ensuring all people are equal, some are conspicuously moving backward.  There are too many places (even one is too many!) that still sentence people to death and carry out regular executions, simply because of their fear of someone else’s sexuality, or worse, perceived sexuality.  Laws continued to be passed sentencing gays and lesbians and those who support them to life in prison.  GLBTI teen suicide rates are still extraordinarily high.  The HIV/AIDS epidemic is still rampant, and the world needs to remember this and that it’s not a “gay thing” but a human illness, which doesn’t discriminate.  There are many other areas of awareness I could mention here, but that’s not the point.  The point or life lesson is that it’s critical people all over the world expand their awareness of important issues about people, politics, the environment and appropriate human behaviour.  From this increased awareness, people are able to make wiser choices, and follow these up with effective and constructive behaviours.  Making “progress” is not the goal, and therefore it’s incredibly important to continue to motivate/inspire internally/externally to keep moving forward until the actual goals that make us a better species are achieved.

 ·      Gratitude – Mardi Gras is a wonderful time to demonstrate our gratitude.  This includes being grateful for:  our achievements, our strengths, our community and those who support us and sacrificed for us, the people who have worked so hard for what we enjoy today, the people who have left us and the people who have joined us.  We’re grateful for all those who have “come out” and shared their stories.  And grateful for those who stood strong next to us as we told our truth.  We’re even grateful for those who haven’t come out as yet, because we know they’re watching, paying attention, and whether they ever say so to us or not, they can see that their hopes for a better future are possible…and hope is infectious!  We remember all of this and we’re grateful.  The life lesson here is quite simple: Be grateful.  Write down what you’re grateful for; speak it out loud to yourself, and then to others.  Although you may feel you have a long list of things that are still not ideal, when you acknowledge what you have to be grateful for, the other list doesn’t seem as daunting or impossible.

 ·      Mindfulness – We have a responsibility to be mindful of the choices we make about the words we speak and the actions we take.  No individual, group or community has the right to tear down someone else, another group or community simply in order to elevate itself.  There are times that our words and actions have hurt others and been disrespectful, just like others have hurt and disrespected us (when we chose to feel that way).  The life lesson here is that we ALL can choose to be better than this.  We can care enough to learn about others’ views, listen and respect their right to their beliefs.  That doesn’t mean we condone the behaviour.  There is a difference.  We can speak up respectfully and professionally and recognise the value of all relationships within a society, to better ourselves and potentially inspire others where we have the ability, and the permission, to do so.

 ·      Celebrate Life – I mentioned earlier all the people we’re grateful to, including those who have left us.  What a wonderful way to celebrate their lives than to throw the biggest possible party around where hundreds of thousands join in.  The life lesson is to remember and celebrate everyone who has touched your life.  They’re not truly gone as long as we keep their spirit alive in our hearts, the parade route and the dance floor!

 ·      Permission to Play – Finally, one of my favourite parts about Mardi Gras, is how people come from all over the world, from just about every type of community, and get dressed up (glitter, sequins, a frock, leather, jeans, animal costumes…whatever happens to bring cheer!) and party up a storm.  I particularly love meeting straight couples who love to share their story about how this is the one time of year they let their hair down, throw away all of their inhibitions, and just enjoy one of the most light-hearted events with like minded revellers.  I’ve also met people in their 60s and 70s who decided late in life that it’s time to party more and they come to all the events and dance their orthopaedic shoes off!  Bless them!  What a wonderful life lesson it is to give yourself permission more often to sing, dance and play in whatever format that takes and wherever the mood strikes!

In closing, I just want to express my gratitude to you for not only the support and love you have demonstrated in many ways to me over the years, but also to others.  And in particular, thank you for reading this, reflecting on it, commenting and sharing it if you wish.  You rock!

If I can ever be of service to you, your group, team, business or community, whether in a paid professional capacity or not, please feel invited to reach out to me.

With lots of love, Happy Mardi Gras!

Cheers, Noel

Noel Posus

Master Coach and Director

Incredible Awareness Pty Ltd

www.IncredibleAwareness.com

https://www.facebook.com/IncredibleAwareness

Here's the latest Incredible Awareness newsletter including lots of resources, an interview of me on Australian national television, and my latest blog and Facebook posts.

There is always that inevitable question at dinner parties and other occasions where you meet new people: “And what do you do for a living?”

When I respond that I’m a “Life Coach”, or sometimes I use the phrase, “Leadership Coach”, the conversation nearly always turns to, “So, what is that?  What to you do?”

In a recent such experience, the conversation took a particular turn where we discussed that one of the things I’m often engaged for, is to help a coachee become a “better person”.

Sometimes, it’s their organisation that is trying to make them a better person, which is fraught with lots of ethical dilemmas and competing agendas and definitions.  However, it’s when the person themselves decides that they want to be a better person, by their definition and for their own reasons, that coaching becomes quite interesting.

Rather than take you through a typical such scenario, I thought you might be interested in a series of coaching questions so that you could explore this topic for yourself, within your own framework.

These questions are in two parts.  The first is understanding how good you are now and why.  The second lot is about identifying what “better” means for you, if you want it and for what reasons.

Ready?  Here goes:

You’re Good Now

·      What makes you a good person now?  Consider all of your values, beliefs, attitudes, attributes, strengths and behaviours.  Please feel invited to create as long a list as possible.  This isn’t “bragging”.  It’s simply taking a realistic stock-take of who you are now and how you show up.  You’ll need to be able to do this step if you want to have a baseline to measure what “better” could be in the second lot of questions.

·      What decisions do you recall making that have led you to become the “good person” you are now?

·      How have you developed to be that good?

·      What benefits have you personally gained from this?

·      What benefits have others gained from this?

 You Could Be Better

·      A simple place to start this section is asking yourself, “If I were a better person, what would that look like?”  You may wish to just do some “free writing” on this and see what comes up.

·      If you could measure what “better” is, how would you measure that in your own terms?

·      How would you personally benefit if you were a better person?

·      How would others benefit?

·      It’s also important to look at the previous question from another perspective: Who, if anyone, is being disadvantaged, or possibly even hurt, by your current values, beliefs, attitudes, attributes, strengths and behaviours, and how is that happening?

·      In response to the previous question, what, if anything, do you want to be different about that?

·      How would you achieve that?

·      Who do you need assistance or support from in order to become better?

·      How will you ask them for their help?

·      How will you report back to them on your progress?

·      How will you celebrate your progress as well as overall achievements?  (This links back to the first lot of questions where you need to be able to recognise what makes you “good” now.)

·      Final question:  What are you committing to?  If you don’t commit to anything as a result of these questions, you may only be operating on “intent” to be better, which isn’t the same as committing yourself to a course of action which is likely to deliver positive results on the intention.

 If you found any of these questions challenging and/or would like some support in reflecting and then acting on these, please consider speaking with your coach and/or other support networks.

As always, you’re invited to contact me directly where you think I may be of service to you.

Cheers,

It's wonderful to be able to make this book available again as we launch our revamped Incredible Awareness website.

You can download this book for free here.

This e-book is an editorial about the coaching industry as well as a useful resource for both individuals and organisations considering coaching as part of a bigger development solution.  Additionally, members of the coaching profession will also gain value from this book in a variety of ways including challenging ourselves to be better.

Sections include:

What is Coaching?

The Death of Coaching (what’s wrong with the coaching profession)

Long Live Coaching (what’s right with the coaching profession)

Is Your Organisation Ready for Coaching?

Are You Personally Ready for Coaching?

Coaches – Are You Commited to Survival?

Interviewing Your Coach / Coaching Provider

Appendix: Understanding Life Coaching

The contents of this book may be controversial.  That’s cool.  This is done to engage in a lively debate about coaching, its effectiveness, the players and how all of this can work better.

You can download this book for free here.

With our complete website redesign (getting rid of old sites, consolidating, and relaunching our beautiful new Incredible Awareness website), we have also made available again, The Personal Balanced Scorecard!

The Personal Balanced Scorecard is an experiment in synergy!

Synergy The interaction of two or more forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual efforts.

I have long been inspired by the work of Drs Kaplan and Norton in their creation of the business model, “The Balanced Scorecard”. I was curious how I might create a life coaching framework based on their original design. After working with lots of clients and colleagues on this, I have created The Personal Balanced Scorecard.

The E-Book takes a big leap from the original model of creating business strategy that starts with a vision and moves into measurable objectives in the perspectives of Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process and Learning and Development.

Purchase now for just Aus $39!

The Personal Balanced Scorecard is a self-paced life coaching strategy tool that works from establishing the personal vision through to the identification and realisation of objectives from the perspectives of Impact, Relationship, Internal Operating System and Learning and Development.

This experiment has just started (although it’s taken two years to get to this stage). So, I welcome your ideas and feedback about how to improve The Personal Balanced Scorecard and how it can help you personally, or if you’re a professional coach, how it can be enhanced to support you to help those you serve.

There are nearly 300 pages in this book and HUNDREDS of coaching questions to explore. Some readers may choose to just read it on line, while others may want to print it out and work through it like a personal development workbook.

However you choose to work through this tool, I’m confident that you’ll receive great value from the experience.

What’s included (areas of exploration and benefits):

A brief explanation of the original Balanced Scorecard this was inspired from

A simple outline of the relationship between our four perspectives of Impact, Relationship, Internal Operating System and Learning and Development

Explore the impact you want to have in your own life, the lives of others and other environments

Explore the relationship you want to have with yourself and others

Explore how you want to operate in terms of living your values, applying your strengths, improving your wisdom and much more

Explore all the areas of learning and development you feel you’ll need to be personally operating at your best

Develop clear objectives in all four perspectives

Brainstorm and confirm the best possible measures of success for you

Set clear milestone and ultimate achievement targets so you know exactly what you’re working toward

Develop robust strategies to achieve what you want in every area of your life

Create a visual map to keep you inspired and focused on your path

Confirm the strategies to keep you accountable

Schedule reviews to measure your increased knowledge, skills and behaviours

Make commitments to celebrate every milestone and achievement you’ll reach

Connect with additional resources to help you along the way

The Personal Balanced Scorecard is only Australian $39.00 inc GST.

Invest in your own development today by clicking here to go through our PayPal checkout.

I know you’re going to love this valuable resource tool!  And I look forward to getting your feedback about how The Personal Balanced Scorecard enhanced your own journey.

Cheers, Noel

Our award-winning coaching tool, The Wheels of Life, is once again available!

We took down the old site and migrated everying to our primary Incredible Awareness site.  This took a little longer than anticipated.

Quite simply, The Wheels of Life works with the very basic coaching model of:

1) raising awareness, 2) making decisions and 3) modifying behaviour – by focusing on the first step with incredible detail so that the following steps are much clearer and supported by a logical measurement tool.

It is the simplest way of opening the awareness conversation with a client (or even with ourselves). Essentially, it’s a snapshot of our whole life as we see it today.

And we’ve developed numerous specialty Wheel of Life tools to explore various aspects of our life and being at a deeper, more meaningful level.

Regardless if you’ve been coaching for years, or brand new to this exciting industry, the Wheel of Life tools will easily become the foundation for your practice and your “coaching tool of choice” for nearly every client you work with.

You’ll receive private access to the customers-only Wheels of Life page on this website which includes all of the following:

65 instructional videos on how to use The Wheels of Life.  That’s over eight hours of learning!

13 ebooks on the various wheels

- Foundation

- Health

- Knowlege and Learning

- Social

- Financial

- Family

- Partner

- Partner Within

- Career

- Business

- Giving to Others

- Giving to Self

Numerous case studies for each of the wheel types

Blank templates you can download and use yourself and with clients