Empowering Women
Category Archives: GHC opportunities
Be Part of a Mastermind for Huge Success
In March of 2016, one of the POWER HOUR gals shared her success story on her blog. Jenn Wenzke shared WHY you should be part of a Mastermind like POWER HOUR too. Listen to her thoughts and see if POWER HOUR might be good for you.
Discover the Value of a Mastermind
and Illuminate Your Business & Life!
by Jenn Wenzke
Reprinted (with permission last spring) from Jenn’s Blog at http://sonowcoaching.blogspot.com/2016/03/
Friday, March 25, 2016
My business coach has been telling me for years that the only way I was going to achieve my goals in a timely way was to work with an accountability partner or to participate in a mastermind group. I have to admit, I have tried both and neither one of them helped me break through any roadblocks or achieve any specific goals. The groups lasted for a few months and then eventually faded away.
In a moment of weakness this past February, I said yes to another mastermind group.
It wasn’t until I joined this particular mastermind, facilitated by this particular coach – Kathy Burrus – that I was able to finally understand the benefit and necessity of accountability.
What was different this time?
1. We followed a strict format that was adhered to without exception.
2. I was asked to breakdown my BIG goal into what I wanted to achieve in the month of March – no more – no less.
3. I then mapped out the steps involved to reach my goal and chose ONE part to focus on.
4. Finally I had to explain why I wanted to achieve my goal and what it meant to me personally.
What did I discover during this mastermind?
I live my life completely around the joy of connection. Connecting a person to a person, connecting a person to their dream, connecting a feeling or solution to a problem, connecting daily with God, connecting at an intellectual level, and connecting with nature. What a huge awareness for me. So if I am not connecting one way or another in what I am saying or experiencing, I am just not going to do it! Well if that doesn’t simplify what the steps within my goal should look and feel like. – And that discovery arrived during week 3 of the 5 week mastermind. A BIG game changer!
After week one and two of the five-week mastermind, I waited until the last minute to complete my accountability work for the following week. By week three…..I had it done within a day of our mastermind session and by week four I couldn’t wait for our final session because I was experiencing SO MUCH success. I plan on signing up for another month so that I can tackle a new focus – break it down into doable steps – and see it all the way through to completion!
Have you been part of a mastermind that has brought you huge success. If so, I would love to hear more about it.
Many Blessings, Jenn
P.s. Jenn passed away in June of 2017. But much of what she chose as goals for 2016 were completed because of her desire to leave a legacy for others.
Who Are You Supposed to Be
What if you already ARE who you are supposed to be?
I have pondered the words for several days. Here I am, once again questioning what I need to do to get better- be more. It seems like I should be well past this. I mean I’m—well, old enough to know better.
Once again I feel ‘stuck’.
Often when I work with a coaching client to identify what is causing the ‘stuck’ feeling as they try to move forward, I use the metaphor like…
“Life is a Highway!”
We jump in an imaginary helicopter of sorts and get a bird’s eye view of all the lanes of their life: spiritual, professional, family, personal, physical, financial, social, etc.
Often when they take that perspective on their lives, they can tell which lane has a car with a flat tire that is causing slow down in the other lanes, or they see there was an accident that is causing a traffic jam every where else.
Or they might find that one lane, like the professional lane is going a different direction than the family lane. The difference may be slight, but in the long run, they are not going to end up in the same place. Just recognizing that helps my clients tweak a few changes while they are little to help them get where they want to go.
Good exercise, very helpful on many levels since we are all familiar with the process of planning a journey.
However, the exercise can be somewhat misleading. It can imply that who we are is out there somewhere.
But what if we already ARE who we are supposed to be?
What if we already have within ourselves what we need
to do what we were made to do?
David Benner recently challenged this thought as I reread his book, The Gift of Being Yourself . He writes,
Once we realize this {that we already are what we seek and where we long to arrive}, the nature of the journey reveals itself to be more one of awakening than accomplishment, more one of spiritual awareness than spiritual achievement.
Awakening!
Yes, I’ve experienced this many times during the decades of my life. Moments when I am suddenly aware that my skills and abilities – even my dreams are exactly what was needed.
But that’s truly what they are- moments. Just as sure as I know I’m the right person in the right place at the right time, I become unsure, or at least less sure. However they are not just fleeting moments.
If I’m paying attention, especially exquisite attention I’ve talked about in recent posts, then the truth of each moment teaches me something about myself.
Maybe I learn I have a strength I didn’t know- or need before that moment. Or perhaps I see that I can be very creative and resourceful in other moments.
As I continue to journey on life's highway, I am not 'becoming'- I am awakening to who I am. Click To TweetEven after all my years of life, today I continue to awaken to who I was created to be.
What about you?
Where do you feel ‘stuck’?
What do you think you need to get ‘unstuck’?
What if you already ARE who you need to be and HAVE within yourself what you need to have to move forward?
If you believe this to be true, how does it change your behavior in this moment?
Here’s to both of us- Awakening! and living like we believe!
Be inspired to Be You!
Just When I Told You I Wanted to Be Exquisite!
Have you ever felt that way? You worked so hard on a project or an event, only to have some aspect of your preparations- fail. Or seem too.
That’s what happened to me. And just when I told you that I was going to finish the year EXQUISITELY.
You see I Continue reading Just When I Told You I Wanted to Be Exquisite!
Finish Exquisitely
For the past couple of weeks I’ve written about my ponderings on the word EXQUISITE. You can find those earlier posts here.
But today’s post is the visual example of how paying exquisite attention affects our ability to finish what we have started.
This fall, our daughter, Brielle, ran a marathon. Continue reading Finish Exquisitely
A Close Up Look at THE Exquisite!
Last week I shared with you the wonderful word EXQUISITE. In that post, I defined the term and the different meanings associated with the word. (You can go back to read that post here.)
I had every intention of writing a second blog post related to this because I wanted to think through a concept Jonathan Fields introduced at the TRIBEWRITER Conference I attended in September.
In our journey to hone our voice in writing, but also in our life work, we so often give out, put out, produce only to find ourselves going through the motions, but feeling a void; of running out of ideas, direction or energy. That happens because we are not effectively refueling or putting back into ourselves.
Jonathan challenged us to develop an ‘inner key’ that is more about input rather than output. Continue reading A Close Up Look at THE Exquisite!
Story to Share: Patron’s Last Words
This is Part 4 of 4 in a series of posts I have been writing called "story to share". It is the last of this series, but not the end of the story. In most ways it is a new beginning for me. But I'm getting ahead of myself. If you would like to read the other posts in the series, start here.
Though this is my story, the main character of the Story to Share posts is a woman named Jenn Wenzke; coach, mentor, founder of the So Now Professional Network of Women, and overall, champion of women.
Truly, she championed the woman!
Over and over I have heard women say, Jenn…
saw me
listened to me,
challenged me for more
In his book, Real Artists Don’t Starve, author Jeff Goins calls this kind of person a “patron’. Often we think of the purpose of a patron is the money they might give to help an artist get started. But this goes way beyond the financial support.
All creative workers need:
- influencers that will vouch for the artist to an audience who doesn’t know them yet.
- advocates who see the artist’s potential, believe in their work and give them a chance.
- The right person/or people to connect the artist to the right people.
We need a patron to not only help us decide what good art is, but also help us succeed. Goins. Click To Tweet
I knew immediately as I read Jeff’s description that Jenn Wenzke was my influencer/ advocate/ chance giver/ connector.
She believed in me, challenged me, and supported me. She was a cheerleader, an encourager, exhorting me on more than one occasion to quit making excuses and step up to the mic. She asked me questions others might be afraid to ask and listened deeply as I searched inward for my answers. She wasn’t afraid to tell me when she thought I was off track. Jenn was my coach to the core.
She helped me decide what ‘good art’ in my work looks like and then championed me in the doing of it.
Jenn was my patron!
On June 7, 2017 my friend and mentor, Jenn Wenzke, died after battling the terrible ALS disease that threatened her body the entire time I knew her.
Our last conversation was at her home several weeks before her death. She was so fragile, but still had much to say. We spoke of her health, her family, and of course the So Now Network.. She knew the legacy of that group was in good hands and felt confident it would continue strong. Her one big regret was that her SO NOW COACHING practice would not.
I asked her how I could help. She said, “You need to be coaching leaders. “ I don’t know why I hadn’t specifically identified that before, but it suddenly seemed exactly right.
We continued talking for a while, this time about my business and thoughts I had for my future. I spoke of wanting to create interviews with other women in leadership who could bring value to the women in the GHC community.
Before I got the words out of my mouth, she was shaking her head—actually her whole little body in her great big chair.
“NO!” She insisted. “Your voice. Your message. NOW!”
My breath caught .
I knew this was not just any moment. This was THE moment. The moment that summed up all Jenn had been speaking into me since the first Tuesday SO NOW meeting when we met two and a half years earlier.
Be YOU! Do what you do best! Do it Now! Click To TweetHer situation with ALS made it apparent that life was short. Don’t waste a moment!
Her role as my patron had changed. She boldly launched me out to BE ME in the world!
It is time…
To know my value!
To own my voice!
To embrace my story and the message in it!
To get up on my platforms of influence (all different kinds of stages)!
To make my difference!
NOW!
Over and over, I’ve pondered Jenn’s last words. This is not just a message for me. This is what she has been telling women in many seasons of life. It is Jenn’s challenge to each one of us even now!
This is for all of us who want our lives to count.
Be YOU! Be In-spired! Make Your Dif'rence NOW! Click To Tweet
I want to be like Jenn- not be Jenn, but like her. I want to be authentic, a patron of women who grows a movement that empowers women to be their authentic selves and champions others to do the same.
This is a lasting legacy that I want to be part of in every way possible.
Join me! Be INSPIRED! Be YOU!
Kathy
As a grateful tribute to Jenn Wenzke and all she has done to encourage women in her lifetime, this fall GHC is offering an 8 week ONLINE group called
BE INSPIRED to Make Your Authentic Difference
Use your voice, your message, and your influence NOW!
Registration is open, but space is limited. Sign up today!
What kind of a patron do you need; influencer/ advocate/ chance giver/ connector? May I come alongside you in your journey?
In what ways can you be a champion in the lives of others?
Join me as together we get intentional about
- hearing and using our own voice
- embracing our story and sharing our own message
- stepping up to our opportunities to influence
- now! Before life gets away from us!
Go to the BE INSPIRED page! Sign up today!
Let’s make our difference NOW!
More Story to Share 3
In last week’s blog post (posted above), I started to tell you the story about a woman, a champion, in my life by the name of Jenn. We talked about our value in that post- yours and mine. The three questions Jenn asked me on our very first meeting were…
Do you know your value?
Do you offer value to those in your world?
Are you getting paid what you are worth?
(If you want to know what we said about that, check the link above to that blog post.)
But I also said that when I hemmed and hawed with my answers to those questions, the next thing she said to me was,
“When you are done making excuses, you can get down to your business.”
Yep! That was the bottom line! I was making excuses about why I wasn’t being successful or seeing the kind of difference I wanted to see.
Are you doing that- making excuses instead of doing the things you really want to do?
Isn’t that true of most of us though? We don’t know our value because we don’t realize who we are. I thought I did. I had spent a great deal of time and money going to workshops, reading and researching personalities and strengths seeking to understand, and to help others understand who they were made to be.
We don’t know our value because we don’t realize who we are. Click To Tweet
Yet here I was…
Continue reading More Story to Share 3
Live Out Your Value in 2017
I’m talking a lot about VALUE these days. Mostly that is because a woman in my life dared to ask me these questions.
Do you know your value?
Do you offer value to the people in your world?
Listen in as I share with you some of my insights this summer as I processed the answers to these questions. I invite you to answer these questions for yourself.
Find out more about the Five Day S.N.A.P it Challenge! Register today to get set up for our first S.N.A.P it video on Facebook Live, Monday at 9:00am.
Story to Share 2:The Story Began…
A few days ago I shared the introduction post above with a promise that I would continue the story. It is a story of my champion; a woman who walked into my life and made her authentic difference.
I learned much from pondering this story over the summer. This post is Part 2 of- well, I’m not sure how many more posts it will take to finish the story. Lean in! Listen close! Continue reading Story to Share 2:The Story Began…