Business – Trueblisscoach's Blog

Planting Seeds

January 20, 2012 By trueblisscoach 2 Comments

the wise gardener plants seeds of opportunity even when there is snow on the ground

In life and in business, opportunities and possibilities are abundant. Laying the foundation for opportunity however, requires vision, discipline, commitment and often forgotten but very important, patience. A clear vision of what we want. A disciplined mind to keep us focused on achieving what we want. A commitment to strike a balance between taking action and pausing. And this is where patience comes into play. Often times when we are planting seeds for new possibilities, we need to take a pause. The pause can be as important as the action. The pause is a time of reflection. It is a time for questions. It is a time for learning. The pause requires patience. And patience, as we’ve often heard, is a virtue.

We are all gardeners. Gardeners in life and or in business. And as gardeners, we need to find that healthy balance so that we are planting seeds throughout the year rather than making it an annual event. If we have a vision for what we want to accomplish, we need only to plant the seeds. Take the time to create a plan, to determine the resources we have as well as the resources we need to acquire. We need to be open to questioning our plan and our motives as we continue. This only creates further clarity. Take a pause when needed. Take stock of the seeds. Do they align with our vision? How might they be even better aligned to support our overall goals?

And then watch. I invite you to sit in the bigscreen theatre of life. To believe. To watch as our seeds sprout. Our “ideas” and “hopes” and “dreams” come to fruition but first we must plant the seeds.

Best wishes for healthy sprouts!

Glo

Filed Under: Goals, Life Tagged With: Believe, Business, Commitment, Discipline, Goals, Life, Patience, Vision

Why Feelings Matter

January 9, 2012 By trueblisscoach 6 Comments

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

I’ve heard this quote from Maya Angelou so many times and every time I hear it, it brings a different meaning and a different memory. It’s no big secret. Some people are comfortable openly discussing their feelings and expressing emotion and some people are not. I’m at work! I don’t want to talk about my feelings or emotions! Who cares how I feel or how you feel? I do. I care. And you may too.

Our feelings and our emotions play a big role in how we make decisions, whether we realize it or not. When we say something feels right or feels wrong, we are relying on our intuition to guide us. When we make decisions, we may look at the facts first but when it comes to the heart of the problem or the issue, we rely on our morals and ethics. Even for those who typically make decisions based on logic and reason, often there is also that inner voice telling you what is good or bad, true or false, honest or dishonest. Life is life. Business is business. It is rarely, if ever, made up of simple checks and balances. Sometimes, it’s just plain complicated. As author of Defining Moments, Joseph Badaracco Jr. says, sometimes we’re making decisions between right and right. We all experience these ”defining moments” at one time or another. These moments define who we are. They speak to our personal values and they show the world what we believe in. These moments bring emotions to the forefront and they shape our character.

As Maya Angelou says so well, “people will never forget how you made them feel.” When you think of the people who have played a positive role in your life, have you ever stopped to think exactly why these people made you feel good? Were they trustworthy? Loving? Supportive? Did they challenge you? Did they bring out the best in you? What have you learned from these experiences that shape who you are and how you treat people? Have you ever gone back to tell someone what a profound impact they had on you? How do you think that made them feel? Has someone ever done that for you? Wow, what a feeling that is!

Howard Gardner wrote a book in 2007 called Five Minds for the Future. He speaks of the disciplinary mind, the synthesizing mind, the creating mind, the respectful mind, and the ethical mind in leadership. If you are interested in learning how to stimulate your brain in a new way, it is a great read. It also speaks to the relationship between emotions, feelings, respect, and ethics. These combined, act as a guide for treating people well and help us when making important decisions.

Hopefully this post made you “feel good” and brought back memories of people who treated you with respect and made you feel good!

With gratitude, Glo

Photo Credit

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Business, Ethics, Leadership, Life, Respect, values

Do you believe in miracles?

November 28, 2011 By trueblisscoach 2 Comments

Photo Source

One could say that miracles are like magic. Some believe, some don’t, so what. Well, the so what factor happens to be very telling. It is telling of who we are as individuals. What our personal values are. What brings meaning to our lives. It is telling of how we make decisions.

Life today is complex yet simple. Business today is chaotic yet inspiring. Tiny miracles pop up out of nowhere it seems and surprise us. These miracles create small change and massive change in both individuals and in organizations. These tiny miracles create insights often leading to wisdom.

The laws of nature … describe the ways in which the world—including, of course, human beings—works when left to itself, when not interfered with. A miracle occurs when the world is not left to itself, when something distinct from the natural order as a whole intrudes into it. (Mackie 1982: 19–20)

But alas, you must believe. You must believe in what is possible. You must accept that it’s ok not to know the how part of the equasion. A difficult task no doubt. You must get comfortable with not being right. Easier for some than for others. Not everything in this world is a result of cause and effect. For instance, you must believe that what you say and do truly matter. And it matters because at the heart of what we say and do is our personal integrity. But to believe that anything is possible, that miracles do occur and often when we least expect them, because a butterfly flapped it’s wings in another part of the world, this is to believe in miracles.

“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein

Miracles are all around us. We just need to open our eyes and hearts in order to see and feel them.

Note: Many of the ideas from this post were generated through the work of Margaret J. Wheatley’s, Leadership and the New Science.

Cheers, Glo

C (2011) - True Bliss Coach Gloria Higdon

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: Believe, Business, change, Integrity, Life, Miracles, values

Inspiring leaders to do good

March 28, 2011 By trueblisscoach Leave a Comment

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Capitalism in North America is at a turning point and the rate of change that is happening in the world today is a clear reflection of our need to evolve with it. Stores that offer used goods are opening in droves. GM closed down Hummer. Children today look for the recycling boxes before the trash. Global decisions based on environmental impact and sustainability are increasing exponentially. We, as human beings, are going back to our values systems. We are inherently interconnected yet we have often been living our lives disconnected. The need to “look” and “lead” from within, to question and to define our purpose is at the forefront of becoming who we are. Life is becoming yet again more meaningful. We are the architects of our lives.

We are looking for options, multiple choices and win win situations. But we panic. We rush around from problem to problem trying to clean up the mess while creating more. We’ve lost sight of what is important and we all want it back. It is through deep reflection that we create the needed space for inspiration and it is through inspiration that the choices begin to unfold just like dominos. The universe is abundant with choice. We, as humans of the universe, are abundant with choice. When we view the world and each other in this new and powerful light, we are filled with solutions. We are replacing problem solving with solutions. We are replacing fear with hope. We are replacing chaos with calm. We are replacing stuck with potentiality.

Leaders have not only the ability, but the innate desire to create sustainable change and find what matters to deepen our existence. Forging through new pathways in a world whose heart has been closed. To touch the lives of many with love and compassion while bringing meaning, is to perform open heart surgery in homes, organizations and classrooms in both developed and underdeveloped countries across the Globe. It is through the simplest forms of opening our hearts and giving that we generate a buzz. Supporting people to discover their truth and to define their legacy is simply giving them the brush. Possibilities emerge bringing forth a kaleidoscope of color enabling simple portraits to become grand masterpieces.

What might be some of the ways that Leaders today can use these choices to generate inspiration in all of humanity so that inspiration to “do good” becomes contagious?

Cheers, Glo

Filed Under: Coaching Services Tagged With: Business, Inspiration, Leadership, Life

Where is Your “Go To” Place?

February 11, 2011 By trueblisscoach Leave a Comment

Do you have a “go to” place? A place that you can go to when you need to unwind and destress? It doesn’t necessarily have to be a place that you visit physically, perhaps it’s an image or a feeling or some sort of ritual, sport or hobby. Today it seems that so many people are running all over the place with so little time to relax let alone reflect and just enjoy. While the running can be fun, it can also be so draining! Often times it’s not until we stop that we fully realize the toll this is taking on us mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Having a “go to” place is like having a little secret hideaway. It’s your own personal vision of bliss. For some people it’s by the water, some in the mountains, some at the Spa, the golf course, fishing, painting, gardening and the list of these special places goes on and on. Whatever does it for you and provides you with a mini escape from the hustle and bustle of a busy career and life, take a few minutes today and celebrate that sacred place.

We’re all looking for that healthy work life balance it seems. Between busy careers, family life and social commitments, we try to cram in exercising (the body and the brain) and any hobbies we enjoy. We stretch ourselves a million ways to Sunday and then collapse exhausted. Although that perfect balance is different for everyone and we all have different responsibilities and desires, having a quick and dirty “go to” place is good for the soul. Even if the relief is short, it is something. And that something may be so compelling that you’ll make the time to visit it more and more often. Do you have a favorite “go to” place?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Bliss, Brain, Business, Career, Life, Vision

The Truth About Competition

September 29, 2010 By trueblisscoach 2 Comments

When we think of competition we tend to think about business or sports competitors when in fact, competition is a part of life whether you consider yourself to be a competitive person or not. We compete with ourselves if not with others to get better grades, to do a better job, to be better citizens, to lose weight/gain weight and the list goes on and on. We may even conjure up images of individuals and organizations that are doing the same thing as we are. But are they? Are they really doing the same thing? Providing the same value? Leveraging the same strengths? Striving for the same goals? Having the same outcomes? I doubt it.

For a variety of reasons we might be programmed to think they are better than us. They are monopolizing the relationships we share. They are winning the business. They are winning the promotions. They are getting too close to the people in our inner circle. There is a reason for it. They are flat out making us insecure.

What if you had a shift and spent your time and energy viewing competition as a source of value? If you got to know your perceived competitors up close and personal would you view them as a resource when making important decisions? If you viewed them as potential partners rather than competitors, would you have the opportunity to serve and help more people? You may even learn that competitors aren’t actually competing with you. They are sure to be doing something that is different and that something different may truly help you or those you can’t help at some point. Your greatest source of competition is internal, it is within.

There is an abundance of opportunity in this world. The world is changing at an incredible pace and we need to change with it. I invite you to be honest with yourself and embrace competition as a source of value.

Filed Under: Goals, Life, Professional Coaching Services Tagged With: Business, Integrity, Life, Life Purpose, values

Is Social Media Creating a More Emotionally Intelligent Society?

August 8, 2010 By trueblisscoach 2 Comments

Ah yes, Emotional Intelligence. Those two words often get the scrunched up face reaction by people who either don’t believe in it or don’t understand it or both. Dr. Reuven Bar-On developed one of the first measures of Emotional Intelligence that used the term Emotion Quotient. He defined emotional intelligence as being concerned with effectively understanding oneself and others, relating well to people, and adapting to and coping with the immediate surroundings to be more successful in dealing with environmental demands.

With Social Media being such an important part of life and business today, the opportunity to engage with others through various mediums such as facebook, twitter, MySpace etc. has only increased by leaps and bounds. The benefits of being active on these mediums are multiplying rapidly. Not only are you able to connect with people and businesses that would otherwise be out of your reach but you have a simple and non-threatening way to practice your social interaction skills or to sit on the sidelines and watch and read. Relationships are being formed in droves, cross country and across cultures globally. The world is becoming smaller. For someone who is normally shy or reserved, they are suddenly provided with a “safe” place to air their thoughts and speak their mind freely. After all, something going out to the twitterverse has the opportunity to be shared by more than 75 million tweeters!

In today’s world where we have so many new things coming at us all the time and we are surrounded by information, is social media a perfect outlet? An opportunity to meet new people online and to engage in both meaningless and meaningful chatter? To share stories, pictures and passions. Is our society becoming more emotionally intelligent as a result of it? Are we creating a greater understanding of others by connecting with them emotionally and at a level and through a medium that is “safe”? Are the next generation learning the importance of empathy through the many individuals and organizations that use their social media feeds to run campaigns for great causes? Are we creating an environment that allows us to use our interpersonal skills while boosting self-confidence for “real life” meetings and presentations? How many parents today are using social media as one of the methods to interact with their children? How many Professors and academic institutions are using these tools to interact with their students? How many organizations are using them to connect with their teams globally?

The ability to interact and have an impact on a global level is available to us and for free. It’s really quite remarkable!

Cheers,

Glo

Filed Under: Emotional Intelligence, Life Tagged With: Business, Emotional Intelligence, Relationships, Social Media

Entrepreneurs at Heart

April 1, 2010 By trueblisscoach Leave a Comment

I had the amazing opportunity yesterday to speak to Professor Bruce Firestone’s class of Entrepreneurs at Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa. The subject of the presentation was the link between Emotional Intelligence and Business Success. I must confess that I was so caught up in the students enthusiasm both on the subject itself and business in general that on the drive home my head was racing with new ideas! They’ve inspired me! Oh Oh! Many in this group of 3rd and 4th year students already have active businesses of their own, eagerly looking for ways to improve and grow. It was truly a very inspirational group to be with. I’d like to thank all of the students and Prof Bruce for the nice comments, emails, tweets and DM’s. It was absolutely my pleasure!

Due to the number of questions and fascinating sharing of stories and examples of Emotional Intelligence, I missed the last two slides of the presentation. One contained suggested reading on the subject: My blogsite is a good source of information specifically for the assessment tool, EQ-i, that we discussed at great length. There are also sample reports and more detailed definitions of the subscales that the Bar On EQ-i is measuring. If you’re still looking for additional reading and ways to develop your EI, I highly recommend 2 books: The EQ Edge (Dr. Steven Stein and Dr. Howard Book) and Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead With Emotional Intelligence (Dr. Daniel Goleman).

For those of you from Professor Firestone’s course who were interested in 1 x one hour pro bono coaching session, please feel free to contact me via email. I am offering this session to you for the month of April and it’s not an April Fool’s Joke!

Lastly, I wanted to share this UTube video with you which is inspiring, creative and fun for Entrepreneurs and Nonentrepreneurs of any age. Enjoy!

http://bit.ly/unr2v

All the very best!

Glo

Filed Under: Emotional Intelligence, Speaking Events Tagged With: Business, Emotional Intelligence, Entrepreneurs

Planting Seeds

the wise gardener plants seeds of opportunity even when there is snow on the ground

Why Feelings Matter

Do you believe in miracles?

Inspiring leaders to do good

Where is Your “Go To” Place?

The Truth About Competition

Entrepreneurs at Heart

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