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Monday, October 29, 2007

How to Master the Top 5 Challenges to Breathing in Freestyle

The most common question I hear in the triathlete world about the mysteries of swimming efficiently usually involves something with breathing. In freestyle, it is the first step to get your body position right. Then, for many, you throw in breathing and everything goes haywire! This has to do with lack of balance, using your head instead of your core to breath, and a few other factors.

Here are the top 5 challenges in learning how to breathe in freestyle, along with the remedies on how to get over these:

1. Not Getting Enough Air. There are a couple of reasons this typically happens in freestyle. First, make sure you breathe out all of your air before you rotate to take a breath. When learning, some people try to exhale and inhale while they are rolling to the side for air. There simply is not enough time for this! Your exhalations should only be in the water in the form of bubbles. At first the timing may seem difficult, but eventually you will get used to it. Second, you may be sinking as you breathe. Make sure you are rolling to the side to breathe, and not rotating your head and looking straight up. Practicing the side kicking and shark fin drills, as discussed in The Complete Guide and in the introductory 4-session online clinic you get by signing up for the Tri Swim Coach newsletter will also help you with this challenge.

2. Extended Arm Sinks While Taking a Breath. This is mainly a balance issue. While you breathe to one side, your other arm should be extending. For many swimmers, this extended arm pushes down into the water (elbow drops) and they are sinking while trying to inhale. The side kicking and shark fin drills will also help to improve this. Another drill also discussed in the materials that will help with this challenge is the fist drill, which forces you to not use your hands, therefore improves your balance in the water.

3. Speed is Sacrificed because of a “Pause” While Breathing. A typical scenario is that you feel like you're cruising along just fine and then you take a breath and it feels like you've just lost all your momentum. To remedy this, when you breathe, concentrate first on breathing to the side (as in #1), then on having your mouth parallel to the water, instead of over the water. The latter will take a while to master, but once you do, it will take care of the pause, and improve your speed overall.

4. Difficulty breathing while navigating in a race. You need to look up to see where you are going, and at the same time grab a breath. How can you do both? Start with bilateral breathing (breathing on both sides every 3 strokes). This will help you to see about where you are without lifting your head up as much. When you need to lift your head up to sight, try not to look straight ahead- this will make your hips sink and throw you off balance. Instead, take a quick peek at your target, roll to the side to breath, and bring your head right back down into position.

5. Sucking In Water While Taking a Breath. In practice, this will sometimes occur because of #1 and #2 above. In a race, the waves may cause the inhalation of water instead of air (bilateral breathing will help here as well). The drills to practice to improve balance and avoid this unpleasant occurrence are the side kicking and shark fin drills, as well as the one-arm drill. To perform the one-arm drill, swim a full stroke with one arm while your other arm rests at your side. Breathe on the opposite side of the stroking arm. This is a difficult drill and takes some practice, but it will pay off! For more and to view this and other drills, see the Full Package from Tri Swim Coach.


About the author:
Kevin coaches masters and triathlete swimmers in San Diego, CA. He operates the website www.TriSwimCoach.coma resource for beginning through intermediate level triathletes looking for help with swimming. The site features a free email newsletter offering tips and articles on triathlon swimming. Kevin has also written an electronic book titled “The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming” which is sold on his website in downloadable form.

The Courtesy Stroke: How and Why to Master One of Tennis' Most Crucial Skills

In Tennis, as an introduction to mastering all ball placement and a variety of strokes, the courtesy stroke should be learned. This stroke is a forehand volley with a half swing, used to start the ball for a rally or to get it back to the opponent before service. It allows the player on the opposite court either to catch it in their hand on the first bounce, or to get it into play for the rally.

The ball flight of the "courtesy stroke" is an upward arc over the net. The ball is not hit forcefully, and will land nearer the service line than the baseline. A tennis player has use for this stroke from the first day he wields a tennis racquet to the last day of his tennis career. Champions, warming up before a match, start the ball to their opponents with the courtesy stroke. Coaches use this stroke in setting up the balls for their pupils. Since ball fetchers are a rarity in most tennis matches, the courtesy stroke assists the players in getting the balls back politely to the server before each point.

Note: It is decidedly impolite to start the ball, or retrieve it by tossing it up in front of the face, and hitting it in a downward direction over the net. Too frequently the ball will not clear the net, and if it does, the bounce is usually difficult for the opposite player to handle.

The technique of the courtesy stroke will aid the beginner in learning the true forehand drive, as well as a variety of other strokes, for they have the following points in common:

1. Grip.

2. Body position.

3. Horizontal racquet swing.

4. Body moving toward the net as the stroke is made.

However, it is also important to note the differences, which do not affect the learning of the true forehand drive, are:

1. The length of racquet swing is cut down. The racquet is swung back only to a position opposite the right thigh.

2. The ball is hit on the volley (before it has bounced).

3. The ball is started with a toss by the player, instead of coming from the opposite side of the net.

4. The ball is hit when it is farther forward toward the net, and slightly lower than it is in the usual forehand drive.

5. The ball flight is slightly more in an upward direction.

6. The ball is hit with less force.

Step by step, here is how to perform the courtesy swing:

1. Stand with the left side toward the net and the racquet held out horizontally opposite the right thigh.

2. Hold the ball in the left hand, pointing in the direction of the right net post.

3. Toss the ball out toward the right net post, about two feet from the body, at thigh-height (half way between the knee and waist.

4. Immediately step toward the net on the left foot, letting the racquet swing forward to contact the ball before it has dropped to knee-height.

5. Let the racquet finish at shoulder height, out in the direction of the ball flight.

The simplicity of this stroke allows for good results in accuracy of ball placement as long as the ball toss is correct, and the racquet swings in a horizontal plane.

Most beginners can master the stroke during the first tennis practice. Beginners having difficulty will be found to be tossing the ball badly; taking too wide a back-swing; or not lining up the center of the racquet with the ball. Often these beginners will prefer to let the ball bounce before hitting it. This is not advisable, since the bounce should be reserved for the true forehand drive, wherein a full backswing is taken, and more force is applied to the ball than should be used on a courtesy stroke.

Here are some common faults to watch out for:
1. "Hitting" the ball rather than "stroking" it, caused by jabbing at the ball and stopping the racquet half through the swing.

2. Taking racquet back too high, and following through too low. Result is a netted ball, or a chop stroke.

3. Getting too close to the ball so that a cramped elbow action swing is taken.

4. Taking the backswing too late, so that the forward swing is made hurriedly.

5. Starting the forward swing too soon, so that the ball is hit before it is opposite the body.

6. Dropping the racquet head below the wrist, a scoop stroke resulting.

Practise on the courtesy stroke is worthwhile, for once it is mastered, it will never be forgotten. Learners should use this stroke continually for starting a rally, and in sending the balls back to the server before each point. Mastery consists of the ability to place the ball accurately to the forehand or backhand of the opposite player for rallies; or to place it so that the server can catch it in his hand on the first bounce without moving.

About the author:
FREE information on how to play Tennis like a professional. Expert tips, tricks and advice all for you. It's FREE! Click here: www.FreeTennisSecrets.com

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Important Life Coaching Advice For Children

I have just returned from my twelve year old step-daughters parents evening. It was an interesting hour and I believe my daughter has learnt quite a lot from the experience. The teachers gave her some important life coaching advice which I will write about in this article.

My step-daughters name is Taryn and she is basically a very bright and well behaved child. One of her faults however is that she just does enough, she is not naughty at school but does not give one hundred percent to her studies.

Before we attended the parents evening we had the opportunity to read her school report. Taryn thought this report was very good as she was above average in her year, this was certainly borne out in her recent examination results. What annoyed both me and her mother was the regular comments that Taryn does not ask enough questions, that she does not contribute enough in classroom discussions and that her homework seems rushed.

We were also aware that even though the exam results were good, that they could have been even better as she did not do any revision. We told her that even though she was above average that we were not happy with some of the comments made which suggested that she could and should have done even better. Taryn was not happy by this and had quite a big strop thinking that we were just being cruel.

Taryn loves to play sport and has been a regular in the netball and athletic teams. The first teacher she took us to see was her sports teacher who Taryn assumed would be very happy with her. This teacher first asked how we as her parents thought Taryn was getting on, in general at school. We voiced our concerns and the teacher agreed as she had read the whole report and was also not that pleased with it. She looked at Taryn and told her that in sport she always gave one hundred percent and asked her why she did not have the same attitude in Maths and English. Taryn did not know what to say and seemed quite shocked. The teacher stated that even though sport is important, the other subjects should come first and that if she did not see a marked improvement over the next few months, that she would drop her from the netball and athletics team.Next was the English teacher. He told all of us that Taryn was very clever but that she needed to take more of a pride in her work. She needs to check what she has completed before she hands it in, as the only real errors she makes are just silly mistakes. He believed that even though Taryn was in the top thirty percent that she should be in the top ten percent.

All of the teachers we met gave Taryn the same message. Do not accept second best, always give one hundred percent, spend less time on the computer and more time reading and revising.

By the end of the evening poor old Taryn looked shell shocked. She now understands what to do and certainly does not want to be kicked out of the sports teams.

I was more than pleased with the schools attitude and believe that Taryn has been given some important life coaching advice.

Stephen Hill helps to promote a number of websites including:

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Life Coaching Regulation - Myth Debunked

This article dispels the myth once and for all, that life coaching will become a regulated profession.

As the author of the "Truth About Life Coaching School Accreditation" article, I get a significant amount of email from readers who are looking to enroll in a Life Coach training program, asking my opinion about various aspects of the life coaching profession and training. When I wrote the article I imagined that I might get feedback from both sides of the issue. Instead, to my surprise and delight, the article is linked to and quoted by numerous other coaching authorities and schools. Every email I have received has been in support of the views I stated. I am excited to see that so many others admit the truth as well.
Tip! A Life Coaching http://www.alifecoaching.

A few days ago, I received an email from a reader who inquired about the likelihood of professional regulation for life coaches. This reader had been a private Christian school teacher and was drawing a comparison between teaching credentials and coaching credentials. She asked for my opinion about whether she should take a secularly accredited Christian course or an uncompromised, bible-based, Christian curriculum, which is what I believe from her letter, she desired.

The reader wrote, "I have a degree in Christian Ministries with 30 hrs of psychology/counseling, and I am looking at PCCCA and trying to decide if I should seek accreditation through their organization (which I prefer) or should I seek secular/bible-based accreditation simply because the day may come when we are required to have secular certification."

Before I tell you my answer, I will just add that certification applies to what coaches receive and accreditation refers to a school or program itself.

I responded "Thank you for your letter. I understand your concern. Coaching however is different (from teaching). #1 - No life coaches anywhere in the US are, or ever have been regulated - unlike the teaching profession. #2 - It is every bit as unlikely that coaches will be regulated as consultants being regulated, because there are too many types of coaches (read coaching niches) and thus no way to standardize requirements. Even if the government tried to do this, legislating coaching would not be possible or practical for anyone. #3 - IF and I say IF it came to regulation, someone trained as a Christian Life Coach could practice for remuneration the way that Christian counselors now do... by being ordained.
Tip! All of the sudden the barriers for individuals came tumbling down, now Life Coaching become aligned with human nature and everyone is happy to learn how to succeed and apply the principles themselves. But, with one major advantage, a Life Coach is still there for the individual if one is needed.

So for Christian Life Coaches, regulation is a mute point.

The only folks who discuss and try to create fear about regulation are the secularists, meaning secular accrediting organizations and their accredited schools and graduates. Is there any surprise here?

The enemy works with fear as his #1 weapon.

Further, fear of regulation is but one major way for secular and secularly accredited Christian programs to market themselves. No doubt the secularists believe what they say. But note how close they came to getting your enrollment fee, based only on fear.
Tip! You can review more on Life Coaching options and other very useful information on the ‘A Life Coaching' website, visit www.alifecoaching.

Please be aware that not all programs that call themselves Christian are created equal. Those that are accredited by secular organizations must comply with secular standards. I know of at least one secularly accredited Christian program, whose leadership tells students that when coaching non-Christians, not to mention their own faith. If a coach were not true to the God they serve and themselves, how could they be true to their client? Even as a non-Christian, one would have to ask, "How authentic and valid would such coaching be?" Coaching after all, is a relationship built on truth and honesty!
Tip! [ii] Deborah Munson, 'The Life Coaching Craze and the Church,' http://www.assistnews.

The coaching school you mentioned in your letter, PCCCA (www.pccca.org), the Professional Christian Coaching and Counseling Academy, trains coaches to be able to offer excellent service, as they are biblically required to do. (The bible instructs Christians to do everything as unto the Lord, study to show yourself approved and most importantly, to seek only the counsel of the godly.) Among Christians, excellence is the goal, training is the process and certification is the by-product.

If you are a Christian seeking coach training, ask yourself these questions:

1 - What can a secular program give me that God can not?

2 - Is there more power available to me by using secular concepts. assessments and forms, or through the Holy Spirit?

3 - Do I believe God is my ultimate provider? And if so, is there any reason to believe that God would send me less clients or not allow me to prosper if, having the choice, I honored Him with my training?

I hope the answers to the above questions are obvious. If not, I encourage you to pray that those answers are revealed to you. Your destiny may well be determined at these crossroads.
Tip! Simon Clarke has over 15 years of experience as a writer, entrepreneur and business specialist. He is also the founder and Director of the Life Coaching Institute and the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors: both industry leading training providers in Australia and overseas.

As I have stated previously, I recommend that potential students not be persuaded by gimicky advertising, high fees and accreditation. Look for the best school for you. Period.

The author, Emery Hilton-Goode is a freelance writer specializing in entrepreneurial strategies and career training. You may contact the author at diamonglo@aol.com.

How Life Coaching Can Transform Your Life

You know that you've settled for the consolation prize when you achieve all of your goals and they don't make you happy. One day I was sitting in a plush hotel in Auckland. I had just completed a successful tour of speaking engagements and seminars and I had written two very successful books yet all I could think about was how far removed my life was from my original plans.

The worst thing about that time in my life was that I didn't know what I wanted. It was only later as I formalised and worked through the Ten Steps, which is a life coaching process I teach that I realised that we always know what we wantonly sometimes our dreams get buried beneath a mountain of hurt feelings and disappointments. Rather than face another disappointment or more pain, we delude ourselves into thinking that we don't know what we want. I was no exception.

As I worked at transforming my life I gave up a successful business to start another which was a financial disaster. For a period of time after that I kept making one mistake after another, losing more money and confidence in the process. While on the outside things appeared bleak, this time in my life motivated me to do the work that I do today.

Life often presents our greatest opportunities under the guise of problems and I was aware that I'd created my success before and I knew I could do it again. However, this time I decided I wanted a formula, a step-by-step process that I could use to create what I want, so that I wouldn't keep making the same mistakes.
Tip! You can review more on Life Coaching options and other very useful information on the ‘A Life Coaching' website, visit www.alifecoaching.

As I experimented with and lived the Ten Steps my life began to flow and change for the better. I experienced synchronicity where the right people and the right opportunities seem to appear out of the bluethe reality is that we attract them when we are congruent with our thoughts, words and actions. Over the next twelve months I achieved more personal goals than I had in the previous five years, I now wanted to help others who were lost and confused as I had been.
Tip! You know what, the only people I know who search for terms like 'coaching' or 'life coaching' are..

The foundation of the Ten Step process is living your life's purpose. Many think of their life's purpose as something they want to achieve, some people say, ‘I want to help others' or, ‘I want to teach'. These are very valid goals, but they are only one part of your life's purpose. Your goals are not you. Your purpose is being the person you choose to be, you demonstrate this choice through your actions on a daily basis. Who you choose to be is the code of honour that you choose to live by.
Tip! Life Coach Leo A Life Coaching www.alifecoaching.

Knowing and living according to your being values has a twofold benefit. Firstly by making a commitment to demonstrate your being values on a daily basis you have a very clear code of ethics and standards to live by, this makes it easier for you respond positively to the ups and downs of daily living. Secondly, by choosing to act on these values you break the pattern of reacting, and this is how you change old beliefs and create new beliefs about yourself.

Let me give you an example of how this works. If a person cuts you off just as you are about to drive into a parking spot, think about how you want to act. If you reacted you might be tempted to make a rude gesture or give them a black lookyou could let another person's actions spoil your day. Or, you can act like the person you choose to be and look upon this incident as an opportunity for you to demonstrate being kind and generous. Over time you'll feel so good about yourself.

When you react you give your power away. Life coaching is about assisting you to break this pattern. A good coach supports you in gaining clarity and making whatever changes are necessary so that you too can create a life you love.
Tip! Perhaps the best endorsement of the effectiveness of life coaching comes from those who have experienced it firsthand. Successful writer and now life coach herself, Marlee Huber of Washington State remarks, 'I cannot adequately express the joy that I am feeling as I move forward in my mission.

When you change your perception of the world, the world in turn changes its perception of you,then anything is possible.

Anne Hartley is the founder of Hart Life Coaching and the author of four books, Love The Life You Live, Life Lessons, Love Your Money Love Your Life and Psychology of Money. Anne started her career as a single mother of two working from her kitchen table. She now runs a life coach training and publishing business and is committed to making a difference by teaching individuals personal empowerment skills.

Search Engine Optimisation Tips for Life Coaches and Other People Working in Coaching

That's the question on everyone's lips: How do I get my website on page 1 of the search results? But what if I know nothing about SEO?

There are two ways to achieve this:

Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
Natural Listings

What's the difference? Open up a new browser and go to www.google.com, then type life coaching into the search box and hit 'Search the Web'.

Near the top of the screen, you'll see a light blue box with about three search results. Now look in the top right hand corner of that box and you'll see that it says 'Sponsored Links'.

Cast your eyes to the right hand panel of the page. What do you see right at the top? 'Sponsored Links'. This is PPC advertising. I'll explain how it works in a minute.

The rest of what you see on the screen is called Natural Listings. These are the sites that Google ranks as important - the ones that out of approximately 18.7 million sites, Google think you'll be most interested in.

How do the search engines work out which ones you're looking for?

There are lots of different ways that they work it out, but here are the two that you'll have the most control over:

Keywords
Links

Let's talk about Keywords first.

Essentially, these are the words that describe what the site's about. So if your site is all about telephone-based career coaching for women returning to work after a baby, you'd include very different keywords from a site that was about face-to-face small business coaching for accountants in Preston.

People are getting more savvy when it comes to searching for information on the internet and they are being more and more specific about the keywords they search for. And that's one of the reasons that I keep telling you about the importance of having a niche.

You know what, the only people I know who search for terms like 'coaching' or 'life coaching' are......coaches or people who want to train as coaches.

And if you go down the PPC route for top search engine positionings on these search terms, you'll just be paying for other coaches to visit your site. Typically, you need to pay over £1 per click to rank highly on Google's PPC advertising - called Google Adwords - for these terms, so this could be an expensive exercise.

If you try to compete on generic search terms, you'll struggle unless you've got the budget to invest in good Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) support.
Tip! Perhaps the best endorsement of the effectiveness of life coaching comes from those who have experienced it firsthand. Successful writer and now life coach herself, Marlee Huber of Washington State remarks, 'I cannot adequately express the joy that I am feeling as I move forward in my mission.

Your clients are more likely to search for more specific things like 'career coach Manchester', 'marketing advice for personal trainers' or 'Executive Coach Sales Director'.

It's much easier to niche your site and compete on the more targeted keywords.

For example, go to www.google.co.uk and put in 'career coach manchester' and see what happens.

Rather than competing with almost 19 million sites, there are now only 241,000 sites containing those keywords, so it shouldn't be too hard to get your site higher up the rankings.
Tip! I was more than pleased with the schools attitude and believe that Taryn has been given some important life coaching advice.

When you're putting your keywords into your site, you need to put them as early on in your page as you can. So for 'Career Coach Manchester' it should be in your page title, your first headline (h1) and in the content of your first paragraph. Then keep using the keywords throughout the site.

If you get the right keywords, the search engines will see the site as relevant to the search. But how do you get them to think that your site is important enough to rank highly?
Tip! This has also helped to keep the cost of Life Coaching down to a level affordable by every average person.

Your links.

The more relevant inbound links you can get to your site, the better. This is where other people's sites include your URL (e.g. www.yourwebsite.com) and description on their website.

In the search engines' eyes if other sites link to yours, then they must think it's a good site. So if lots of sites are telling their visitors about your site, it's more likely to be an important website.

The easiest way to get inbound links is through reciprocal linking. That's where you agree to swap links with another site - you'll put a link to their site on your website if they agree to do the same for you.

Or you can get your site listed on online directories - some are free and some are paid for. Usually this is on a reciprocal basis as well. If you want to be listed on their directory, you need to link back to their site.

Something to be aware of is that if a highly-ranked site links to yours, your site is regarded more highly than if the link came from a lower-ranked site.

How do you tell if a page is ranked highly?

Download the Google Toolbar, which will give you the Google Page Rank (PR) for each site you visit.

For example, www.marketinghelpforcoaches.com is ranked 4/10 by Google which is quite high for a coaching website. (Google's own page about their Toolbar is also ranked at 4/10).

OK, finally, PPC advertising.
Tip! A variety of Life Coaching certificates, diplomas, and degrees are available, including Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS), Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS), Master of Arts (MA), and Master of Science (MS). Life Coaching colleges and universities specialize in training professional psychologists, therapists, counselors, human resources personnel, and educators for developing into the Life Coaching profession.

Does advertising work? Offline, the results can be patchy, but online, if you know what you're doing, it's ideal. Why? Because it's very targeted and you only pay when you get results.

Pay Per Click works on a bidding system, so you specify the maximum amount you're willing to pay each time someone clicks on your advert and you also specify your daily budget, i.e. what's the maximum you want to spend each day so that your spending doesn't get out of control.

The two main providers of PPC are Google Adwords and Overture.

They both work in the same way, but Google is a lot faster - you can have your advert up and running in about 15 minutes once your account is set up. Google is probably the best place to test your keywords and the effectiveness of your advert before rolling it out on Overture as well to pick up search engines like Lycos, Yahoo and MSN.

To explain the inner workings of these advertising methods is beyond the scope of this article. The best thing to do is to go in and have a play around as both have good help and tutorial functions.
Tip! It started out as a simple idea - show the undoubted link between something as thoroughly modern as life coaching - and the wisdom of the ancient sages. After all - so many of the best coaching quotes are from hundreds or even thousands of years back.

Hannah McNamara helps life coaches, business coaches and executive coaches to be more successful. She combines her 15 years Sales & Marketing experience with coaching techniques to make Marketing fun. Coaches can sign up for her FREE Marketing mini-course (delivered by e-mail) by visiting http://www.marketinghelpforcoaches.com

Turn your speakers up!

Life Skills and Decision Making: Coaching Your Teen to Think It Through

The teenage years are a test, for parents and for teachers, but most of all, for the teens themselves. Teens are constantly being tested on life decisions, and they need a lot of guidance at a time of life when they least want to hear it. But much of the time teens are amazingly wise about the issues we worry they will not be able to handle. The trick is to guide them, while allowing them to hold on to that independence they so value.

You can guide your teens by coaching them to arrive at the smart and sensible answers they already know, and just have to discover within themselves.

Here are nine questions you can pose to your kids to develop the process of thinking through their life issues. These questions work in just about any situation, such as peer pressure, school achievement, and dilemmas that come with hard to make choices.
Tip! Life Coach Leo A Life Coaching www.alifecoaching.

Pick one or two. Don't overload. Sometimes one key question opens the gateway for your teen to reach that "Aha!" moment and do the right thing for his or her life.

Questions for your teen to reflect on:

1. Can you give your full commitment to this plan?
Tip! [ii] Deborah Munson, 'The Life Coaching Craze and the Church,' http://www.assistnews.

2. Where would you like this decision to take you?

3. What will you do when there are temptations to do something different from what you have planned?

4. What will it feel like to meet this goal?

5. How can you keep remembering that there is a better way to think about some things? [...when you feel yourself slipping.]

6. What will happen when / if you don't follow through? How will you help yourself make a correction?

7. What can you tell yourself if your resolve begins to weaken and you need a confidence boost?
Tip! When you react you give your power away. Life coaching is about assisting you to break this pattern.

Final Tip: Sometimes teens need a mentor or an adult they respect, who is not their parent. It does not diminish your role as a parent. What is happening when your teens seem to respect the opinion of others though you would have said the very same thing? They are working on the normal adolescent process of growing away from you. The behavior of teens can be very confusing. Remember your teen is exploring how to be with and without you as an integral part of his or her life. If your child does work with a mentor type person, it is a good idea for you to know who the supporting adult is, but once you have trust in that person, stepping aside may be a great gift to your teen. If you do decide to encourage your teen to find a mentor, here's the question to plant:
Tip! I was more than pleased with the schools attitude and believe that Taryn has been given some important life coaching advice.

8. Who is a person you feel comfortable going to, to talk things over when you need a sounding board?

Parents, don't expect feedback, but welcome it. You will get your best feedback in the results you see.

Ellen Mossman-Glazer M.Ed. is a Life Skills Coach and Behavioral Specialist, specializing in Asperger Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, ADHD, and learning difficulties. Over her 20 years in special education classrooms and treatment settings, Ellen has seen the struggle that children and adults have when they feel they don't fit in. She now works in private practice with people across the USA and Canada, by phone, teleconference groups and email, helping parents, educators, caregivers and their challenging loved ones, to find their own specific steps and tools to thrive. Ellen is the author of two on line e-zines, Emotion Matters: Tools and Tips for Working with Feelings and Social Skills: The Micro Steps. Subscribe for free and see more about Ellen at http://artofbehaviorchange.com. You can take a free mini assessment which Ellen will reply to with your first action step.

On the Path: Life Coaching for Small Business Owners

One of the distinctions that sets coaching apart from other types of consulting is that coaching specifically addresses the client's sense of who they are in the world, and helps the client make life choices that are aligned with their personal values. In my opinion, there tends to be a split in the psyche of America between personal and career development. If you look in the index of your local telephone company's Yellow Pages ™ you can easily find "Business Services" and "Counseling Services." In my local directory, I notice that the business advertisements use a lot of words like, "strategies," "leadership," and "business planning." The counseling listings include, "addictions," "crisis," and "mental health." All of those services are valuable, but where does the over-worked owner of an independent business, who is getting burnt out, and rarely gets time with loved ones, go for support? What about the sole-proprietor in a specialized service industry, like an alternative health practitioner, who is just starting to grow their business and wants to do so in a way that honors their belief system? What kind of support is going to best suit them?

It seems that many of the business consultants are geared towards the needs of larger, more corporate companies. In general, consultants are the resource one might use to learn how to set up and run a business or to delegate specific tasks to, such as webmasters, accountants, and the like. Counselors on the other hand, are the resource one might use for changing behaviors and healing personal issues. The small business owner may not need help managing a large executive staff, nor have terribly difficult personal problems for which they need to receive therapy. But that doesn't mean that they don't need personal support as they go about making the changes necessary to have a successful and profitable business. One of the beautiful things about coaching is that it addresses the client as whole and complete person. Life coaching may include the development of practical business skills, but it also includes the development of the person who is creating the business. Coaching is not just concerned with what a person does, but coaching enhances who a person is being while they're going about the tasks of daily life. It's personal empowerment in action.
Tip! Traditional therapy and Life Coaching can complement each other. However, if a therapist is using coaching techniques, it is best if the client knows that a coaching technique is being applied.

According to the Small Business Bureau's report, Small Business Economic Indicators for 2002 "Small firms represent about 99 percent of employers, employ about half of the private sector workforce and are responsible for about two thirds to three quarters of the net new jobs." They are the creative pulse of America. Ignited by the spark of wanting to make a difference in the world, and the desire to live a life of freedom, entrepreneurs start off passionately. However, the creativity that motivates a small business owner to go into business in the first place often gets dampened as the daily administration of the business takes over. There is so much to do: formulating the business, structuring the business plan, implementing the plan, and still trying to maintain a life. What started as a quest for freedom and the ability to control one's destiny, has now become a chore of monotonous practicalities and financial struggle, leaving the business owner with even less freedom then before they started. At what point does the business fail? Maybe the business owner just finally gives up and quits. Is it that the owner didn't have a viable idea? Did they not try hard enough? Tough times? It would be presumptuous to second guess why so many new businesses close, but the small business owner would be wise to gather as much personal support as they can to keep themselves energized and on-target. The American Dream is possible, but it doesn't come easy.
Tip! I live my life from appointment to appointment, I do life coaching for a Youth Work organization called Youth Vision. I could quite easily fit 4 or even 5 appointments into a day…at a push.

As a coach, I love to work with entrepreneurs. There is a special magic in the creativity that inspires someone to begin their own business. A business can truly become a "calling," as the owner walks a path that leads to spiritual growth and provides benefit to the community. I admire people who create meaningful lives, and are willing to face the challenges that come with following their inspiration. Some challenges however, can intensify to the level that they become "spiritual wake-up calls." When a business has gone flat, profits are non-existent, and the business owner's personal life has diminished, I believe it's time to stop and revaluate before the business goes into a fatal downward spiral. At this point I think it's imperative to work with the business owner directly. If the owner isn't happy, if their energy is low, they're not going to be in a creative solution-oriented state of mind. This is going to have a negative effect on everyone around them, both at work and at home. Albert Einstein said that solutions to problems cannot be found at the same level of energy that created them. Simply "trying harder," or "doing more" may not only be impossible, it may be ineffective as well. For the most positive results, it is essential for the business owner to revitalize their health, relationships, and to feel inspired again.
Tip! Life Coach Leo A Life Coaching www.alifecoaching.

Inspiration, "in spirit," is the revitalizing flow of new energy, awareness, and ideas. Like a breath of fresh air, inspiration allows us to feel alive. When I am coaching a client, I inquire deeply into what is most inspiring to them. Through a process of questions, self-inquiry, and sometimes professional assessments, my clients begin to remember who they really are and to get their priorities back in order. We might discuss their values, life purpose, or simply what it is that they want to create. What I find is that people respond more creatively and productively in business when they are first taking care of themselves. Inspiration and motivation go hand in hand. There is a natural tendency to want to take action when one has the rush of creative renewal. That is the perfect time to set business and personal goals, especially within the context of the client's stated priorities, and who they want to be in the world, beyond any experience of what they have done (or not done) thus far.
Tip! In Life Coaching, the focus is on the present and the future. Coaching clients may have already experienced therapy and will therefore expect the same type of experience.

Having a renewed sense of purpose and commitment is vital to moving forward again, but that does not mean it will go unchallenged. Here is where coaching is especially valuable. For new results to occur there has to be a well-conceived plan and follow-through on implementing the plan. There is a natural tendency to repeat old patterns. Change does not usually come from insight alone. In my opinion, that's why a lot of self-help techniques and seminars don't work. Lasting change is an internal process that results from direct experience, and really "getting it" for one's self. There are slow and fast ways to integrate transformative learning, but the change must be internalized for it to work. As a coach, I walk my clients through the process of implementing the changes they want to make. And although it doesn't make challenges any less likely to occur, coaching increases the self-mastery of the client and helps them align their decisions and actions to their stated goals. Over time, things get smoother. Choices become clearer. The small business owner is supported and empowered to make professionally savvy decisions, sourced from an intuitive knowing about what is right for them, instead of acting and reacting unconsciously to circumstances. Immediately, the client is living from their values on a daily basis, resulting in personal satisfaction at the end of the day. The split between personal and career development begins to mend.
Tip! Because there are no universal standards for the life coaching profession, there are no universal standards for schools. Also, because well-paid coaches generally work in a niche, those niches are such that they are developed by the coach independently of any training they might receive.

Since I'm a coach, I will end with a question: What would the world be like if everyone felt personally fulfilled in their work, satisfied from being recognized for their gifts and talents, and also had abundant quality time with their loved ones? Do you think the world would be different? Would your life be different? If anyone has the power to create a paradigm shift in the balance between personal life and work, it's America's small business owners—and that change needs to begin with the owners themselves. A professional coach can help you keep your sense of self while you journey on the path that leads to your success.
Tip! I was more than pleased with the schools attitude and believe that Taryn has been given some important life coaching advice.

Jaya Schillinger "The Turnaround Queen" at http://www.InspirationInc.com is a certified life coach & small business consultant with over 20 years of business ownership & management experience in the fields of personal development, health, and beauty.

How to Get More Referral Business in Life Coaching

Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to grow your coaching business. It's free, or at most costs very little, yet very few coaches use it to anywhere near it's potential!

Consider this: if you got just one referral from each one of your clients, over the next 60 days you'd double your client base! What would that mean to your potential income and how many more people would you be helping in supportive and uplifting ways?

So, how do you maximize word of mouth? Here are 5 Steps you can take now…

1. Really appreciate your clients and let them know consistently you value them This is the most important, yet overlooked element of creating endless referrals. Many businesses focus more on profits than on people. Focusing on profits alone can be detrimental to success and ‘Word of Mouth' success comes from looking beyond just profit into how you can enrich your customer's lives.

Action: At least once a month, take the time to communicate to each of your clients and show them you appreciate them. Send them something of value, something unexpected, a bonus report, a special piece of news you just found. Make it relevant to them and do it regularly.

2. Create an exceptional experience each time they deal with you or your company If you can make doing business with you an exceptional experience, your clients will want to tell a lot of people. People want amazing experiences!

Here is an example: There is a Life Coach in Brisbane who has a special relationship with a city coffee shop. Once every 8 weeks he invites his clients to a ‘brains trust' meeting and the coffee and cake is on the house. Every client that attends gets a card and a voucher from the coffee shop owner to say ‘Thank you for joining us today, we would love to see you again soon'. The voucher is a ‘buy one get one free' coffee voucher. So they are encouraged to come back again. And because the coffee shop owner is exposing his business to potential new clients the coach pays just cost price on the coffee and cake his clients eat. Normally about 8 clients attend and the cost is around $30. Just a little extra touch can make dealing with your business that much more of an exceptional experience!
Tip! Relationship coaching is really a form of life coaching that focuses upon your relationship. Unlike traditional life coaching, relationship coaching can be done as a couple rather than just as an individual.

Action: What can you do now to add little things that make an exceptional experience? Perhaps you can use the above example or something similar. Remember, start creating exceptional experiences today.

3. Give your customers incentives for giving you referrals If you're being passive about referrals then you're sitting on a gold-mine. Come up with ways of rewarding your clients for referring business to you. They could receive free gifts, such as a 30 minute back massage voucher for referring a friend or a free Style Cut from an award winning beauty salon. The businesses involved would welcome the opportunity to have new clients come their way and would be happy to give that first style cut or treatment for free if they understand the potential value of a new customer.
Tip! You know what, the only people I know who search for terms like 'coaching' or 'life coaching' are..

Action: Reward your clients for referring people to you. Come up with rewards that will be beneficial to your clients. If you worked with executive clients perhaps a free 30 minute health check at a trusted health centre would be valuable or a voucher to use at an upmarket clothing boutique.

4. Make it easy for clients to give you referrals If you want to get lots of referrals, you must make it incredibly easy for your clients to tell their friends. Don't expect them to go way out of the way to help you grow your business. Make it as simple as possible.

Action: Develop a ‘referral package' that you give to your clients. Ask your clients to be an ambassador for your business as you wish to work with people similar to them. The package would include a letter explaining why referrals are important to you, and a series of referral cards that your client can give out to others. Present it professionally and it will hold more value, more worth.

5. Ask at the right time! When is the best time to ask for referrals? Any time! If you have followed the steps listed above…you've let clients know they are appreciated, you've made dealing with you an exceptional experience, you give them an incentive to share your message with friends and you make it easy for them to do so…..you can ask for referrals at any time.

Action: The key is to do something now. Draft up a letter or e-mail today and just send it off to your clients letting them know how much you value them, who much you have enjoyed working with them in the past and include something that is going to be helpful, useful for them to use, read or understand. Then over the next 4 to 6 weeks develop your ‘referral package' and start to use it. Take yourself out of your comfort zone and take action….because if you don't someone will and what will that mean to your business in the years to come.
Tip! The worst thing about that time in my life was that I didn't know what I wanted. It was only later as I formalised and worked through the Ten Steps, which is a life coaching process I teach that I realised that we always know what we wantonly sometimes our dreams get buried beneath a mountain of hurt feelings and disappointments.

Life Coaching Institute is Australia's leading coach training organisation. Learn more about LCI coach training programs and receive a FREE GIFT at http://www.lcia.com.au/lz

True Life Coaching Success Story

"Hey Man who are you!" I was sitting on a wall next to the Armory Park outside the Peabody Essex in historic Salem when this "Goth Chick". Not exactly Goth, well you do not expect many of them to have a southern accent. It was more than her dress that made her seem out of place, or the accent. For this is Salem, and Salem loves Vampires and things of Halloween, but Red (for that is what I will call her in this article.) seemed a long way from home. Not the one in Tenenesee, but the one in her heart. And she was running out of time to get there. For she was pregnant and if she could not find her way home, her child would not stand a chance.

The night before I had seen an equally strange guy the night before outside a bar trying to sell prescription pharmaceuticals of Red's. Tall lanky sort of fellow. Looked like what Howdy Doody would look like if he grew up in Compton. I was polite and got to know him as well over the next months.

See the two of them rode up from Tennessee on mountain Bikes hoping from shelter to shelter. Nothing new in Salem. See Salem is the Mecca for misfit toys from the country. See paddling your feet down the cobble stones of this mystical city and glancing "Oh My God stares!" at laurie Cabot, One of our local witches, will take away all the pain and injury you suffered from your parents and home towns injustices and discrimination of who you really are. Well it did not work for those young youth heading to the Holy Land during Crusades, and it still does not now. For their idol is still trying to work through the same issues that the lost flock to her to answer.

So we have two more in Salem.

So Red, upon our first meeting jokes for awhile and goes into her life. The Soap Opera of it all, that she loves! Well she is eighteen and pregnant soon to teach her child all of her successes and failures. I have known her all my life, her face shows up in so many in this country. The most recent and closest avatar of her I know is almost sixty now and has suffered her self and her children through what this young girl is about to do. So I snatch the elders ruby slippers from her and try to give her another pair to get her home. "Red, Stop! Now the next time I see you, tell me something good! A good Story!"

Too often people go about and never have conversations with people but tell their story. They identify with the role and not the actor. Being typecast in the same roles, never branching out into other areas. The Histrionic behavior is an attempt to get the self soothing and comfort they can not access on their own. Their parents never gave them the security of the nest so they may learn to know that home is in the heart and it never leaves you. Like the nestling soon learns as he is drop kicked from the bough, you always can return home. Now the older of the two has never found that home yet, but I would like to see if Red could.

"A Good Story, what do you mean?"

Well I explain a scenario that she wakes up from a good night's sleep, the sun is bright on her face as she leaves her tent. She is excited because she is suppose to meet Jon at four and have a pint under the apple trees next to the Custom House. They have some good laughs and walk up the pier to the Friendship Tall Ship in the Harbor. Jon trips after Red pushes him and he falls in off the dock. She laughs her pants off watching Jon hoist his feet out of the mud flats for the tide is going out.
Tip! Because life coaching is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States, with adequate training, students who join this expanding business industry will gain practical skills, knowledge and experience to help guide and empower themselves and their clients. The important framework of any life coaching educational program includes teaching students how to develop their own goals, how to formulate a successful business strategy and how to build reputations.

You start from where they are. But no tradegy of drama! Was the prescription.

It took some time, but eventually she proceed from "You know what he just ...., I know good story!" to " I went to the doctor and he said the baby is healthy and all the WIC paper work is completed and I have not done any of my man's stuff this week.". She was learning.

Then came the day she learned that Jonson and Jonson pill pusher not only cheated on her, but with another guy. Well with my support she contacted her Uncle, since it was her parents who twisted her head on backwards, a good man that always was from another tree than her mother. A good apple. She followed my care and suggestion and got him to drive two thousand miles and haul herself back south.
Tip! When you react you give your power away. Life coaching is about assisting you to break this pattern.

Well, Howdy doody from Compton with his accent and all. He listens well, but is not ready to give up the thrill of tradegy of drama yet. Pills and deals, dealing with missing a child not born yet and a sexuality not blossomed a tulip or rose. He tries but finds failure too much fun. Everyone in their own time.

Yes as Life Coaches we deal with Business Executives, and Start up Entrepreneurs, but we should and can not let the others fall through the cracks. When your left brain has a full belly and cushion in the bank, let your right brain give a little compassion and tenderness.
Tip! I was more than pleased with the schools attitude and believe that Taryn has been given some important life coaching advice.

Rome made this mistake and death and poverty in the end will strike beggar and king alike. Just because some shoes will just give you blisters.

Christopher Jon Luke Dowgin is propietor of Docspond Life Coach Services providing Individual Counseling, Group facilitation, and key note addresses that speak to the heart of the mission while delivering the bottom line finacial growth. Helping millions find their bliss and return meaning to success! Guaranteed 20% improvement in your quality of life aftre the first meeting!

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