I would never be celebrating FIVE years in business with out the help of some significant people in my life. This has been a bigger adventure than I ever dreamed. I didn’t know what an entrepreneur was, let alone how to spell it. I for sure didn’t know what it would take to make this work.
I’ve never been a ‘lone ranger’. I need people to brainstorm with, challenge my thinking, encourage my emotional outbursts, and keep me going when I feel like stopping.
FIVE people I am grateful for:
Five years ago, I sat down with pencil and paper and began to map out a strategy for beginning a new business and opening a coaching practice.
Five years ago, I thought I knew what wanted for my business. I thought I knew what I would be good at and what I needed to do to make that happen. I had a lot to learn!
But this year, I have more clarity about what is important to me, and what steps I need to take to get there. This is not my entire goal list, but here is a glimpse into some of the goals I have set for the new year.
FIVE goals I have for 2016:
Today is our anniversary! It is the 5th anniversary of the day I declared publicly to the world that I was opening a private coaching practice called GREEN HOPE COACHING.
On 1-11-11, I stepped out into a world I had never even imagined until just weeks before, to do something that I hoped would make a difference in my world, because it is so important to me to be doing something that will truly make a difference in someone else’s life. I just never fathomed the possibility it might have for changing mine.
It is times like this that inspire me to take a step back and look at the progress I’ve made.
Today I’m sitting in a booth at Panera people watching mostly. I had visions of writing- a blog, a chapter, even an email, but I’m just not into it. I’m tired! Discouraged! Weary! Yet I’m not!
Do you ever have those days? When you feel like you can’t do the next thing even though you are excited about it. You even like what you are doing!
A college team of girls and their coaches came in for dinner. I didn’t ask if it was volley ball or basketball, but immediately the space around me was filled with conversation.
As I sat watching I reflected back on my own journey.
When you are young, you don’t think about life ending. You are young! You expect to have all of life ahead of you! You live and dream and plan as if there is nothing stopping you.
When you are in your 20’s, you get a job or marriage that keeps you focused. The job wasn’t what you thought it would be- but hey, it’s a job. You marriage isn’t the fairy tale you dreamed it would be, but hey you are in love. You still have the energy and the stamina to tackle anything in your way, so you keep on with determination.
You hit your 30’s and 40’s and suddenly thing gets harder. You get the promotion you thought you wanted and the family you always dreamed of. Now you have trouble remembering what your dream is because somewhere, someone else is telling you what to do. Your boss, the needs of your kids, the bills that must be paid. You can’t imagine what it would look like to stop what you are doing- if you drop one ball the whole thing will be crashing in on you. So you keep going!
You turn 50! You either lost your passion for The job you had or you got laid off. Now you are starting over again. The kids are going to or finishing college, you are prompted to remember the dreams you had when you were their age. You long for that ability to face the future with such vibrancy and freedom.
i’m not sure about the next 60’s on up. I’m not there…yet!
But what happens if at any point along the way- life would end unexpectedly. What if you die? at 94, or 68, or 27, 15 or maybe 8? Continue reading Life’s Too Short!
Yesterday I shared a Part 1 post called What? Me? Worry? You can find it here.
This post is Part 2: the continuation of that post.
My last post, WHAT? ME? WORRY? focused on our need to acknowledge worry? What are the concerns that are holding us back and why? I identified some of my own issues with my current book project. I also clarified which things I can do something about and which ones I need to let go of.
But It’s impossible to forget something, so I must ADDRESS the worry, by REPLACING IT.
I have to replaced my worries.
In my case, I reconnected with my vision for the book. Leisha started it. She handed it off to me. I must finish it because she is not here. Her story is the continuation of a legacy she left to me- and to those who will read it.
In my heart, I can’t NOT do it. It is one way her life continues to influence others.
But, as a coach, I really appreciated that Mr Matthews provided some questions to replace worry; questions that point my worry to a new way of thinking, such as:
Taking those previous steps are all helpful, but have little results without Step 3: Do something intentional. I’m afraid that is where I get hung up all too often. I’m great at pondering about something- but struggle to DO something about it.
So…I’m doing somethin’ about worry!
So…how about you? What are you worrying about?
As the call was ending, Chandler asked Mitch for one parting thought. He said,
“Take what is worrying you and acknowledge that could be the genesis of what you need to be coaching on. Very often the battles we face are the very lessons we teach on to reach the people were put on the planet to help.”
Well, I’ve had a battle! I’m learning some lessons! I’m sharing it with you, someone who may also be a worrier.
Do you need some help in your process? Email me! I’m a COACH!
I would love to help you intentionally design hope for your dreams!
Kathy
Green Hope Coaching with KATHY BURRUS
Also referenced Mitch Matthews from www.MitchMatthews.com
and Chandler Bolt at http://selfpublishingsuccesssummit.com
If you are a regular follower of www.greenhopecoaching.com, you may have noticed that there was a great deal of time that lapsed between my blog on April 28th- and my post last week.
Considering the fact that I am a blogger, that space of time concerned me. You see, it wasn’t just the blog, but I wasn’t writing original content for much of anything, including the book that I told everyone about in my April 28th post.
I must admit I was overwhelmed by the response to that post on my website and Facebook.
I have been overflowing with gratitude. While overwhelmed is not quite the right word, I do have a confession. As the responses started coming in, I found myself writing less and less on the book. Honestly, in the last 8 weeks, I have not written much at all.
As I have pondered my action- or lack of it, I realize that I was worrying!
I just listened in to an interview with Mitch Matthews of Dream, Think, Do over at the Self-Publishing Summit going on with Chandler Bolt.
Mitch talked about how worry keeps us from focusing. Worry strangles the ability to see ahead or to think through options.
I felt the weight of expectations that others might have on me – on this book- and I just stopped writing. I felt paralyzed almost. The more I tried to get in the right frame of mind, the more stress I felt. And if you know me- stress puts me down faster than anything. I spent much of early spring sleeping. Some of you know what I mean.
But Mitch gave a great outline of how to overcome worry. I was grateful to realize that I had been taking some of those steps without naming them. But I did want to share them.
3 Steps to PUNCHING Worry in the face
Step 1: Acknowledge it
Step 2: Address it by Replacing it
Step 3: Do Something Intentional
I had to ACKNOWLEDGE my worry finally.
They are real, tangible things to be concerned about. But Mitch reminded us that most issues can be dealt with and overcome with a little training. Or with knowing the right people to make it happen.
Yet, most people get so caught up in the fear, they don’t acknowledge the fear and overcome it.
There is good and bad worry!
Good worry- keeps you out of dark alleys! It flips the light on so you can see what ‘s out there!
Maybe the thing that causes you to worry is something you need to give attention. Sometimes worry is a precursor to identifying something that will help you do great.
For instance, look at my worries above
Bad worry hold you back like mine was doing for me. There are things that you can do nothing about . That is the worry you must let go of.
So using the worry I have above about how others will receive the book, I have no control over that. I know there is interest from the responses to the April 28 post I shared earlier. But I can’t control how those same people my respond to the book. So I need to let it go.
But how….!
JoAnn Fore, the HOPE Coach, challenged me this week to share a porch story. You know! Those times you develop a listening ear and something beautiful comes from your time in the quiet.
The porch I imagined as I read the challenge was the large front porch at a favorite bed & breakfast we love to go to in Holmes County, Ohio. I have sat on that porch and I have met God there. I have wept there, pleaded and cried there. I have celebrated, dreamed and worshipped on that porch.
But we don’t have a porch like that at our house.
Yet often this summer, I have heard the invitation to “come to the tree!”
The big old tree in it front yard is one of my favorite places to sit. Not only do the branches stretch long to provide shade and protection, but at the base of the tree is a wide, porch like bench built by a friend who has a spiritual gift of service. Out on one limb hangs a swing that reminds me of the precious moments our girls used to spend here. Every thing about this spot says “sweet”!
But today, I went out with Lisa Terkuerst’s book, The Best Yes. I had just sat down to read and was struck with these words.
If we want the Lord’s direction for our decisions, the great cravings of our soul must not only be the big moments ofassignment. They must also be seemingly small instructions in the most ordinary of moments when God points his finger and says, Go there. In doing that, we are companions of God with eyes and ears more open, more about, more in time with Him.
I barely read those words when I sensed I was being eaten alive by the swarm of mosquitoes that we have been blessed with because of the intense rains we have had this spring. I was forced to go inside.
To be perfectly honest, I was a little miffed that I had intentionally set time aside to read, listen, & worship out at my sweet spot and the Lord had seen it unnecessary to call off the insect population. ( I know, it sounded foolish as I wrote it too!)
Now I had to go in the house where I was surrounded by a myriad of duties that needed to be performed; dishes to be washed, table to be cleared of clutter, bills to be paid, shelves to be dusted, etc., etc., etc.!
I
sat in my front room looking at my sweet spot from the window. The place I knew God called me to often. The place I could often hear him best, when I finally quit making lists in my head and let Him quiet my heart.
Once again I had to sit inside and not be free to do the important heart work God called me to!
Then I read Lisa’s paragraph again.
If we want the Lord’s direction for our decisions, the great cravings of our soul must not only be the big moments ofassignment. They must also be seemingly small instructions in the most ordinary of moments when God points his finger and says, Go there. In doing that, we are companions of God with eyes and ears more open, more about, more in time with Him.
God had brought me into the middle of my ordinary moments, to see that even here he is present with me. In the middle of the laundry, the dusting and the bills, He is teaching me once again, He is part of these things too!
So now I’m off to worship as I prepare supper for my “working hard all week” hubby who just called to say he’s on his way home.
I embrace this place of worship and service too.
Thanks to a fresh perspective from my view of my porch like tree!
I just had a birthday! It is one of the middle ones not ending in a 0 or a 5. It’s a non-consequential birthday! Not one we celebrate in a big way. Just another birthday.
But birthday’s always make me stop and think. Perhaps they do you as well. Another year has passed. I find myself asking,
What did I do in the past year that made any difference?
What do I need to be about in this next year to make the difference I was meant to make? Click To Tweet
Sometimes we get caught in the trap of being so busy we don’t stop to ‘ponder’! I love that word ponder because it denotes a slowing down, maybe even stopping to sip a favorite cup of tea. We take time to notice. We look around and see the new buds on the trees and the new blooms in the garden. We breath in the air, still crisp, yet warming. We feel the sun on our arms that have long been covered by winter coats.
Birthdays, Holidays, especially the New Year cause us to ask questions about our life. I know I’m not the only one pondering questions. I talk to many who are. Friends, Family, clients- so many are asking questions like:
Or we find ourselves saying things like:
Even this week as Rennie was listening to the trailer for the new movie Batman vs. Superman (No, I’m not endorsing here- just using as an example) I heard a woman say something like,
“We get so caught up with what we can do, we haven’t asked what we should do.’
How do we know what we SHOULD be doing? Who says what we SHOULD be doing? How do we know when we are doing it? Or not doing it?
Sometimes life gets so busy doing things we feel we SHOULD be doing. But somewhere after doing that for a while, we are suddenly forced to stop and ponder!
Were we so caught up with what we SHOULD be doing, we lost sight of what we were MADE to do? Click To TweetThat’s a question we will be asking at the new group Green Hope Coaching is offering in May!
We will be asking the questions
The actual questions and answers will depend on you!
Cost for the class is $20 per session or $150 if you pay for all 8 sessions by May 1st. (that’s a $10 savings)
will include:
Register by emailing Kathy@greenhopecoaching.com.
Write I’M INTENTIONAL in the subject line.
You have much to offer you world!
You make an extraordinary difference in your world being your ordinary you! Click To TweetEven if you don’t see it!
But … there are many things we can do to intentionally make the difference we were meant to make.
Are you ready to take the challenge?
Join us! Email me today!
I was recently reminded of a little illustration I have used often. It goes something like this.
When you drive home today, you’ve got a big windshield on the front of your car. And you’ve got a little bitty rear view mirror. And the reason the windshield is so large and the rear view mirror is so small is because what’s happened in your past is not near as important as what’s in your future. –Joel Osteen
Ok! There is much truth there. It is important that we get a clear perspective of what is ahead and where we are going. With that in mind we can increase the momentum to reaching our destination. If we spend so much time focusing on our past- we can literally come to a complete halt with any forward movement.
But ya’ll! We have a rear view mirror for a reason! Continue reading Check the rear view mirror!
Recently a new friend asked the common question, “What do you do for a living?”
I hesitated for a moment. Thoughts flashed through my head of the past couple of weeks. Of conversations I’ve had with clients and friends. I know what my job description is, but is it what I actually do?
I became a life coach because I got to help people, particularly women, identify where they are and where they want to go! One of my favorite things to do is to partner with someone to create an action plan for their dream.
However, recently I’ve been more of a Psalm 77 coach than a life coach. Have you never heard of a Psalm 77 coach? Yeah, me neither. I just made it up!
Here’s why I use the title Psalm 77.
When I start working with a client, I often ask just two questions.
1) What do you want to talk about today?
2) What do you want to have to feel successful in this session?
If a client can answers those questions at the beginning of the session, we can make incredible progress.
However, what I find most often is before a woman can accomplish what she wants to be true of her, she has to grieve what isn’t!
It sounds something like this! Continue reading What do you do …?
