Coach Andrea

Coach Andrea’s Intro

It is springtime here in New England!  Trees are blooming, plants are growing and weeds are starting to appear.  This week’s Tip by Simon Tyler reminds us to take some time for light weeding – remove the negative clutter and provide a fertile ground for the growth of what’s truly important in your business and life.

Quote of the Week

“It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”

~ Whitney Young Jr.

Some Light Weeding

By Simon Tyler

I have a great garden, yet would not describe myself in anyway as a gardener, or especially motivated to get to work on a flower bed. However walking around the garden in the sun this week allowed the weeding metaphor to hit me.

Weeds, although not dominant yet, are many and thriving. Within a few weeks they will dominate the beds and prevent the desired plants from flourishing. It doesn’t seem urgent right now to attend to the weeds, but once done the space for growth expands, and even creates the opportunity to add new plants.

You get the metaphor, yes? Our minds, desks, plans, shelves, diaries collect weeds. They seem unimportant and inoffensive until we hit the point where concentration suffers, focus is hindered, we get tired, lose sight of our goal, and the dream gets lost.

It is springtime, time to weed out the unwanted, create some space, allow the good stuff to grow, and the new ideas and initiatives to be planted.

My challenge to you…

Schedule 30 minutes this week to:

• Weed your desk, your diary, your involvement in peripheral projects
• Become mindful of and reduce watching, reading or listening to negative news, negative people
• Fill any obvious gaps with meeting positive and inspiring people

Keep it simple and let me know how you get on.

Simon Tyler is one of the world’s leading business coaches. His work simplifies the lives of business leaders and owners. He is an incisive consultant, inspirational writer, provocative public speaker and master facilitator. To learn more about Simon, visit http://simontyler.com.

Coaching Call To Action

I love when nature reminds us of what we need to do in our business.  This week, in addition to Simon’s recommended activity, consider what else nature is reminding you to consider in your work life. For example: Be in the sun – spend time with those people and clients who “warm” you up.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

Want to learn a quick technique to improve your focus? This week Simon Tyler describes how to apply the same Control-Alt-Delete we use on our computers to our thoughts, to-dos, tasks, etc. Take a few minutes to learn how you can improve your processing time.

Quote of the Week

“The ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence.”
~ Robert J. Shiller

Control – Alt – Delete

By Simon Tyler

One of the first actions I take when my PC becomes irritatingly slow at processing tasks is ‘Control – Alt – Delete’ which displays all the processes that are running and the computer’s memory power working on each of them. Lack of further useful knowledge means I rarely do anything with this information but am always curious about what the processes are, are they important, are they good for me, does my PC need to have them at all?

If you are a regular reader of these tipsletters you’ll have guessed already how much I’ll like and use this metaphor.

Coaching dialogues are often the mind version of ‘Control – Alt – Delete’, uncovering the plethora of processes, thoughts, tasks, to-dos that a client is working on, almost all unconsciously.

In my coaching I have noticed how long the list can go for most of us. Every item uses some of your power / focus / RAM – every loose piece of paper on your desk, notes around the home, calls yet to be returned, waiting on apologies or thanks, active tasks, dormant tasks, old mistakes, new ideas, plans, dreams, doubts.

Our brilliant capacity means much of this goes unnoticed and we go about our day comfortably. As the list grows though, our capacity to be at our best and work on new things and challenges can become exhausted.

I talk about this in my new, just released film, which you can view here.

My challenge for you this week is to press your personal ‘Control – Alt – Delete’. Grab a pen and paper and make the list. Go beyond the obvious. For best results work on this with a colleague (or even a coach!). You may wish to keep returning to your list over the course of a few days as new processes come to mind.

Now review your list. There may be obvious items that use up the majority of your memory power, and that tends to be where we apply our focus. Notice the long, long list of seemingly insignificant things that when combined are taking up space in your capacity. What can you complete, let go of, and action right now? DO IT, you WILL notice the difference.

Consider installing ‘Control – Alt – Delete’ as part of your personal maintenance program.

Simon Tyler is one of the world’s leading business coaches. His work simplifies the lives of business leaders and owners. He is an incisive consultant, inspirational writer, provocative public speaker and master facilitator. To learn more about Simon, visit http://simontyler.com.

Coaching Call To Action

Stop! Set your timer for five minutes. Press your Control – Alt – Delete button and begin your list. When the timer goes off, review your list. What 3 items can you delete? Repeat! What are you learning about yourself?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

I’ve just come back from a week of vacation where my time was very fluid. My husband and I agreed that we would spend the week as if we were retired. Fun! Lots of Self and Inspiring time that Simon Tyler speaks of below. I chose not to participate in Drain time. Now that I’m back at work, I’m going to put time on my calendar for Self and Inspiring so that I continue investing my time wisely.

Quote of the Week

“You have to allow a certain amount of time in which you are doing nothing in order to have things occur to you, to let your mind think.”
~Mortimer Adler

The Return on Investment of Your Time

by Simon Tyler

Many of my clients have such packed schedules; they feel like they are being whipped along in a fast flowing river, with little power to change direction. A frequent result is that some weeks they feel good (and inspired), others they feel bad (and drained) and all points in between. Are you fatalistically allowing the river and its course to have control?

Becoming more deliberate about where you invest YOUR time can in effect become a tiller to steer your journey along your river.

Where do you spend your time?

What is the impact on you during those investments?

Take last week. Let’s say, for arguments sake, you worked 50 hours, what is the split of your time across the following investment categories:

• Self - time in your own space, unhindered, uninterrupted, focused or unfocused, reflecting or in action, just time with you.




• Inspiring – with people or in places that inspire or motivate you, which cause you to think differently, garner new ideas, or feed your reflective time.




• The Turf – with people or in places that is your current ‘turf’, you know it, occasionally challenging, mostly in control of the situation.




• Drain – with people, or places, or tasks that simply take your energy levels right down.

It doesn’t take Sherlock to make the link between your time investment and the feel good or feel bad result.

Become aware, then shift your schedule, minimize ‘Drain’ time immediately. Increasing ‘Inspiring’ time takes a little extra thought and effort, seeking out opportunities. This happens in ‘Self’ time – get some of that, now!

Good luck and keep it simple.

Simon Tyler is one of the world’s leading business coaches. His work simplifies the lives of business leaders and owners. He is an incisive consultant, inspirational writer, provocative public speaker and master facilitator. To learn more about Simon, visit http://simontyler.com.

Coaching Call To Action

Where will you add “Self and Inspiring” time on your calendar this week? If you are already providing this time for yourself, I’d love to hear what you are doing.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

The holidays are over. We’ve taken some time to kick back and relax, and our business and personal goals are set for the year. We’re relaxed, energized and working through what is most important each day. Wait! Is that how you feel? Maybe on New Year’s Day, but today??? Has the stress in your life crept back in or come back with the force of Nor’easter like winds? Michael Neill reminds us that we can control the stress in our life and it may be easier than you think.

Quote of the Week

“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.”
~Dr. Hans Selye

There Is No Stress In Life

by Michael Neill

At some point early on during our work together, my clients often express surprise that I don’t recommend a particular meditation or technique or hypnosis regimen to help them “control their stress”.

While I am certainly not against formal practice of any kind, particularly when it is enjoyable to the person using it, I also don’t see it as a necessary prerequisite for thriving in life. To better understand why, consider the following scenario…

You are relaxing on a beautiful beach. The sun is shining, and a gentle cooling breeze is flowing in over the water. Waves are lapping at the shore, and you are in heaven.

After a time, you decide to catch up on some reading and you pick up a fascinating book. You’ve read this author’s books before, and you’ve always thought the main character was an awful lot like you. Before long, you are completely caught up in the drama of the story, and for the time being, the beach and the ocean disappear as you lose yourself in the novel.

Each time you think to yourself that you’ll put the book down at the end of the chapter and go back to enjoying the beach, the author hooks you in with the seductive promise of even more intriguing things to come, and you tell yourself “just one more chapter” and go back to your story.

Fear and love and anger and laughter and tears become your experience of life as the highs and lows of the story take you on a roller coaster ride in your own mind, and before too long, you’re so caught up in the emotional stress of the book that you think to yourself “I need to do something to relax!”

Fortunately, you’ve got your mp3 player with you, so you pop the headphones in and click on a peaceful meditation that begins with the words “Imagine that you are relaxing on a beautiful beach…”

The reason I don’t promote particular techniques for stress control is because I have come to see a simple truth:

There is no stress in life – there is only stress in our thinking.

When I see that well-being is my nature, the only way I can feel anything other than well is when I am caught up in my own story (thinking). To try and do something to “reduce stress” when it’s my own thinking that’s creating it would be like massaging my toes as a way of reducing the pain caused each time I drop a rock on them. It’s not that my toes won’t feel better – it’s just traveling the long way round.

(I once heard someone ask supercoach George Pransky how he could say that their stress, which felt so real to them, was only a mirage – a trick of thought without any substance to it. George thought for a moment and then responded “Well, it’s a real mirage…”)

So what do we do when we feel stress if we know (or at least suspect) that it’s not real?

One of the most useful things we can do is use it as a feedback mechanism for our own state of mind. If I am feeling stressed, I am out of touch with my natural state of clarity and well-being. And if I know that, I can hold off on putting too much stock into my thinking, world-view, or story until I am “back on the beach”.

Recently, a friend called me to ask for a bit of informal coaching. Her husband had had a heart attack over the holidays, her daughter was unwell, they were having financial issues, and their health insurance was on the line.

Unfortunately, I was caught up in my own drama that week, and I thought to myself that I should postpone our chat until I was in a better state of mind. But based on the way I was feeling in the moment, I knew that my judgment was impaired, and my deeper wisdom urged me along to meet with her anyways.

After she unfolded her story, which included some undeniably difficult real-life situations, she talked about her uncertainty and insecurity for the future. I then unfolded my own story and the uncertainty and insecurity I felt when I looked at mine.

Despite the fact that we made for a miserable pair that afternoon, there was one fundamental difference between us:

She thought the crap she was seeing was actually in the world; I knew that the crap I was seeing was on my own glasses.

We had a nice lunch, she got clear about what actually needed to be dealt with in the moment (which was considerably less than she had been concerned with), and later that evening she sent me this short note:

Thanks for today.
I shall get me back – I just have to be patient.

And therein lies the key to a deeper understanding of stress and thought and well-being and life. If you go outside and it’s snowing, you don’t have to fix the weather. You simply put on some more appropriate clothes or go back inside and wait until the storm has passed. Because no matter how bad the weather seems, the sun is always shining in the background…

Copyright 2011 Michael Neill, author of Supercoach: 10 Secrets to Transform Anyone’s Life. All rights reserved – Read more tips at www.Supercoach.com.

Coaching Call To Action

I loved Michael’s imagery of snowing and fixing the weather having gone through a 12 hour blizzard last week. So perfect! This week, what will you put in place to remember that the stress in your life is coming from your thoughts?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

Generally I’m a proponent of slowing down and enjoying the journey. This week’s tip by Simon Tyler is about the opposite strategy of working and moving a little bit faster than you usually do. When you are moving fast, you don’t give yourself time to think all your normal procrastinating thoughts. You just do it! Quick, set your timer for 5 minutes and read on.

Quote of the Week

“Activity is contagious.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sprint – Accelerating Past Procrastination

I have noticed people I coach, and often me too, circling around an ever growing to-do list. That ream of tasks, big and small, urgent and important. This circling can lead them to feeling off the pace, falling behind and often missing out on the important actions at the cost of the urgent.

This inadvertent delaying tactic can be linked to some bigger unspoken and therefore unanswered questions about purpose, direction and meaning to all these itty bitty tasks. In order to get to that a crucial first step is to recreate some momentum.

Some time ago Michael Neill, (www.geniuscatalyst.com), provided me inspiration in the form of a Julius Caesar story. Putting aside some of his methods and political ambitions it is difficult not to be amazed at the amount he achieved. During his lifetime he was renowned for his celeritas, a Latin word meaning “speed” or “quickness”. Time and time again he would act so quickly that his opponents were caught completely unawares.

The flip side of this was that he would sometimes act compulsively or rashly and get himself into difficulties as a result. But no one was better than he at getting himself out of difficulties again – by the effectiveness and speed of the measures he took to extricate and recover.

You can use this principle of celeritas in your own life.

To do so, simply practise working and moving a little bit faster than you usually do.

This is remarkably effective, because, if you move faster than normal, you don’t give yourself time to think all your normal procrastinating thoughts. If you are moving fast, you don’t think “I’ll do that later” or “I really don’t want to do that” – you just do it.

Try it for a short period to start with. 30 minutes has always been my optimum celeritas time. Set a timer and just go all out to do as much work, of any kind, that you can in that time. Don’t spend any time thinking what to do next, just get on with whatever comes to hand. Sending (or deleting) emails, clearing desk space, responding to meeting requests, go on!

You may be surprised at how much you achieve. And you may also be very surprised to find that instead of being tiring; it is extremely energising to act in this way and can liberate you from stuck feelings. Momentum begins; from there the bigger picture almost always comes into view.

Simon Tyler is one of the world’s leading business coaches. His work simplifies the lives of business leaders and owners. He is an incisive consultant, inspirational writer, provocative public speaker and master facilitator. To learn more about Simon, visit http://simontyler.com.

Coaching Call to Action

This reminds me of the interval training I’ve been doing recently, 1 to 3 minutes of high intensity and then 1 to 3 minutes of lower intensity. Amazing how energized you feel, how effective it is, and you don’t really think about it. You just do it!

If you’ve already tested out Simon’s methodology for the 30 minute sprint and want to try 50 minute sprints (gasp, wheeze), check out my Pounce on a Project below. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish!

What’s New?

Thursday, April 29, 2010 – 9 am to 12:15 PM ET
Pounce on a Project

• “I was able to accomplish so much in 3 short hours!“
• “A great motivator to get a project done!“
• “I was able to get past the dread and get the momentum going by just starting!”

What project would you like to get on top of and accomplish this month? Come to Pounce on a Project IV – - 2010. Join me on Thursday, April 29th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Eastern. We will join as a group by phone and declare what you want to accomplish: starting your spring office clean up, getting your new website finished, or writing an article/blog.

During the morning, the group will gather by phone a few times to check progress and get any support needed to finish with a bang. At noon, the group will celebrate their accomplishments. Who says projects have to be boring and tedious? Bring your lightness and fun and join us for the energization.

To sign up or learn more, call or e-mail me by noon on Wednesday, April 28th. Feel free to share this with friends and co- workers, the more the merrier. (Cost of the program is only the cost of long distance phone calls.)

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

As I am preparing to put together this week’s tip, I am feeling frazzled and pressured.  I am trying to discern what’s calling louder to me, my to do list or the internal chatter going through my head.  And then, Michael Neill’s article jumps into my line of sight providing simple tips on how to quiet your mind.  Perfect!  A process you can do anywhere and anytime to feel more peaceful and relaxed.  May you find Michael’s tips and suggestions as helpful as I have this morning.  Here’s to being alive and enjoying the journey!

Quote of the Week

“When the student is ready . . . the lesson appears.”
~ Gene Oliver

The Fastest Way to a Quiet Mind

by Michael Neill

Take a few moments to try this simple experiment:

Close your eyes for a minute or so and just listen to whatever sounds are going on around you. Be “a rock with ears” – hearing sounds the way a video camera would, without any preference for one sound over another or story about what the sounds mean or where they come from.

If you become aware of any internal chatter, just do your best to refocus on the sounds outside your head instead…

How was that? Does the world seem a bit different than it did a few moments ago? Do you feel more peaceful or relaxed?

One of the things that most people are striving for in one way or another is a quiet mind. Books, audios, and courses abound promising to teach techniques for achieving inner peace, reduced stress, less worry, and peace of mind.  Yet curiously, many of these programs seem to add to the number of shoulds, ought to’s, musts, and have to’s that fill our already noisy brains.

The distinction I have found most useful in relation to all of these ideas came from the theosopher Syd Banks, who pointed out that there is a profound difference between the act of “meditating” and the state of “meditation”.

Meditating is an activity which at its best guides people into a state of meditation – the inner stillness I am referring to as “a quiet mind”. However, if you have ever struggled to maintain a meditation practice (or as I have done, made yourself laugh at the irony of getting mad at the people who are “disturbing your meditation”), you probably know that it’s all too easy to get caught up in the activity at the cost of the state.

(My favorite illustration of this distinction came from my friend Steve Chandler who was speaking at a major corporation about research that showed most people experienced their greatest moments of insight in the shower. After the talk, which was extremely well received, one of the heads of the company came up to Steve and asked him “How long should I get my people to shower each day?”)

Chances are that some of the most profound experiences of stillness, inner quiet, and peace of mind you have experienced in your life occurred far away from the meditation pillow. Walking in nature, sipping a cappuccino, looking out over the ocean, and communing with a cat have all been known to induce a quiet mind, yet the simple secret behind all these activities is this:

The nature of your mind is quiet; the nature of your being is well.

So the fastest way to a quiet mind is not a particular practice, whether spiritual or secular; it is simply to realize the nature of mind itself.

Of course, if your mind is spinning away at a million miles an hour right now, trying to sort out the world, your life, and everyone in it, that’s probably not so much a comforting insight as an annoying one.

“Oh, I see, all I have to do is realize the nature of mind?  Why didn’t anyone just say so? I could’ve saved myself years of practice, not to mention thousands of dollars on books, medication, and courses...”

But stick with me a few moments longer. If the nature of your mind is quiet, then there’s nothing you need to do in order to “quiet” it.  Just let it be and it will return to quiet, all by itself. That’s different from trying to “stop thinking” or even “watching your thoughts”. It’s simply allowing enough space in your life (and in your head) for the “thought-dust” to settle, and then resting in the peace that naturally arises into that space.

Can meditation, exercise, walks in nature, long showers, and communing with cats help? Sometimes. But if you notice that you’re spending more time trying to do self-care than time feeling cared for in yourself, why not just take a few moments out right now to enjoy the experience of being alive?

Worst case, you’ll feel a little bit better and enjoy yourself a little bit more; best case, you’ll drop straight into the natural quiet of your mind and drink deeply from the well of your being.

Have fun, learn heaps, and to quote one of my favorite fridge magnets:

May you always be blessed with walls for the wind,
A roof for the rain, a warm cup of tea by the fire.
Laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
And all that your heart might desire.

Copyright 2010 Michael Neill, author of “You Can Have What You Want”. All rights reserved – read more tips at http://www.geniuscatalyst.com.

Coaching Call to Action

I wonder how much more creative, productive, expressive and wonderfully present we could be if we quieted our mind.  This week before you pick up your phone to make a call or receive a call, before you head into a meeting, before you open your mouth to speak, take a few seconds to breathe, listen to the sounds around you and be quiet.  I’m imagining it will impact how you show up in a positive way.  These steps can also lower your blood pressure, minimize a hot flash, and bring a smile to your face.

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Quote of the Week

“Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
St. Francis of Assisi

The Only Thing You Have To Do Today

by Michael Neill

Over the past few weeks, I have been busier than ever. I have been attending my children’s end of term concerts, working full out with clients, finishing up the manuscript for my new book and preparing to take two full weeks off over the holidays, something my wife pointed out to my embarrassment will be the first two full weeks I have taken off in over 18 years. (Though personally, I think the months I ‘took off’ as an unemployed actor in the early ’90′s should count for something!

Somewhat surprisingly, in the midst of all this activity I have been remarkably productive and remarkably relaxed, something I credit to a simple time management tip I received courtesy of author and speaker Steve Chandler.

Here’s the tip:

1. Ask yourself, “If I was only going to do one thing today, what would it be?”
2. Do whatever it is as if it really is the only thing you have to do today.

While I have long been a fan of ‘single-tasking’ as a way of speeding up by slowing down, I have never before experienced the sense of ease and spaciousness that comes with doing each thing as if it is my only task for the day.

For example, last Tuesday I decided that if I was only going to do one thing that day, it would be to do a bit of Christmas shopping for my wife. Instead of dreading the trip to the mall and trying to get through it as quickly as possible, I found myself slowing down to let cars in at traffic intersections, taking the time to really speak with sales clerks, and enjoying the leisurely process of choosing the perfect gift. Elapsed time from beginning to end: Just under 2 hours. No stress, no fuss, and completely ready to take on the next ‘only thing’ on my list, a few hours writing for my book.

Now imagine how it might have gone if I had approached it in the traditional way. I would have raced to the mall, checking my watch every few minutes to make sure I got back with plenty of time to write and cursing every driver who had the temerity to try and enter MY lane at the traffic intersection. Sales clerks – who needs ‘em! Race through the mall, grab the first thing that doesn’t suck, try and knock off a few phone calls on the way back to the car, realize I forgot my credit card at the shop and have to go back, silently curse the sales clerk (bah, humbug!), and race to a fast food restaurant and get a cheeseburger because I’m now far too stressed to write anything.

Elapsed time from beginning to end: 1.5 hours.

So I may have saved 1/2 an hour – but it would have cost me a few productive hours of writing time, the fun of buying a thought-full present for the woman I love, and about ten points on my blood pressure reading.

**** Today’s Experiment ****

Just for today, do each thing on your to-do list as if it’s the only thing you have to do today. You may find you do a bit less and take a bit longer, but paradoxically get more done and have more fun doing it.

When you finish one thing, take a few moments to ask yourself ‘If I was only going to do one thing today, what would it be?’

When you have completed all the necessary items on your list and moved on to the possible, you just may find yourself doing the impossible – getting everything done and still finding time to relax and play.

Copyright (c) 2009 Michael Neill, author of ‘You Can Have What You Want’ All rights reserved – Read more tips at www.geniuscatalyst.com.

Coaching Call to Action

Such simple advice. I’m working on Michael’s/Steve’s recommendation as I put this Tip together. I keep getting distracted with ideas about other items on my To Do list. To manage that I jot them down and then turn back to preparing this Tip. What I am reminded of in the process is to be gentle with yourself as you are trying new activities and new ways of being. The changes we desire to make may take some time to accomplish.

So, right now, will you take your list of activities for the day and choose the most important one to do? And focus on just doing it? If you are interrupted, perhaps that new item becomes your new “most important” activity for the day or you can add it to your list and go back to your original item. Breathe. Decide. Do it.

Ideas and Information

Message from Santa

Thrill your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, husband, boss or just about anyone with a custom recorded message from Santa! Santa’s custom recordings are great gifts to give to anyone who still believes in the magic! https://santahohoho.net/Message_From_Santa.html

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Quote of the Week

“Energy is the essence of life. Every day you decide how you’re going to use it by knowing what you want and what it takes to reach that goal, and by maintaining focus.”
Oprah Winfrey

The Overwhelm Prescription

by Robert Middleton

I don’t think the biggest pandemic these days is swine flu.

No, the virus that’s going around these days is overwhelm (the American strain is Overwhelmus Americanus). If you’re not sure you have it, here are the most common symptoms:

Feeling buried or drowned by a huge mass of information, ideas and to-dos. The huge mass includes email, articles, Twitter, the media in general, the recession, and probably my Marketing Club.

The general response is: I have too much to do! There’s too much to read! I don’t know where to start! What if I miss something? I can’t handle all of this stuff! Get me outta here!

Look, I understand; I know.

Not only am I infected with overwhelm, I’m one of the carriers. I know that this eZine, and emails from me inviting you to a teleclass, or the aforementioned Marketing Club updates, can send susceptible people into an out-of-control spiral of overwhelm.

But I’m recovering from overwhelmitis, and you can, too.

So, first of all, put down everything else, take a deep breath and take just two short minutes to read my Overwhelm Prescription.

First of all, I’m not going to give you a long list of things to do. I started with that and then thought, “What am I doing? that will only overwhelm people more!”

No, the solution to dealing with overwhelm has little to do with doing, but a whole lot to do with who you are being.

A ton of email, information and projects triggers overwhelm, but they’re not the cause. You are the cause. That is, part of who you are might be called “Overwhelmed Janet” or “Overwhelmed Bill.”

When those triggers happen, “Overwhelmed You” goes into full overwhelm mode. You feel stressed, confused, panicked. Your heart rate goes up and blood supply goes to your limbs for the “fight or flight” reaction. You’re not thinking too clearly. You want to run away, or better, go to sleep.

Overwhelm is simply a reaction that is protecting you from a perceived danger triggered by all that stuff on your desk, in your email box and on your to do list. All that stuff’s not out to get you, but it seems like it!

These days, it’s possible to live in an almost constant state of overwhelm. And if this is the case, productivity plummets, creativity ceases and your business stops being fun.

The best response we usually have to overwhelm is to get organized. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But all you are doing is temporarily removing the triggers. But triggers have the habit of popping up again. You face 100 emails one morning and overwhelm is looming large again, bigger than life.

So, is there an ultimate solution to overwhelm?

Yes, don’t focus primarily on the triggers, but on connecting with another You. Let’s call this “Focused You.” Focused You is more resourceful, more calm, more present, more balanced.

Focused You, is a part of you that is already developed. You have the skills and the ability to act from Focused You whenever you want. It’s just that you forgot. Overwhelmed You took over and reigns supreme much of the time.

If the purpose of Overwhelmed You is to keep you safe from harm, then the purpose of Focused You is to act with clarity and intelligence. Focused you is interested in getting the job done, making a contribution, even doing marketing activities.

When you step into Focused You, even in a chaotic situation with a lot of overwhelm triggers, you can still be calm and centered.

Then you can calmly make your priority list, handle your email, and get on with your work.

Overwhelmed You or Focused You, who will you be today?

The More Clients Bottom Line: Once you’re coming from Focused You, you can take the steps to get organized, create systems, do planning and other things that will mitigate some of the triggers.

But you’ll know that it is Focused You that is in charge and that no matter what happens, you never need to let Overwhelmed You take over again.

Copyright (c) 2009 by Robert Middleton and Action Plan Marketing. All rights reserved. Please visit Robert’s web site at www.actionplan.com.

Coaching Call to Action

Tell me about your Focused You. How does this You help you produce results?

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