Tag Archives: life coach

Be Inspired!, influence, Jeff Goins, Jennifer Wenzke, life lessons, make a difference, So Now Professional Network of Women

Story to Share: Patron’s Last Words

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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!

Grateful for our PATRON, Jennifer Wenzke: Kathy with Jenn and Beth Boehr Miller, So Now Business Awards 2016

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 Tweet

Her 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!

#lovelytracesofhope, grief, healing, Hope, influence, LIFE, Lovely Traces, make a difference

A Book to Proof

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I was sittting at the Arby’s across from the mall in the area that is all window. People watching at its best.  The sky was clear with the exception of a few, very small, very white clouds slowly drifting by.  What a beautiful day!

Every thing about this moment was life-giving. Even the woman Continue reading A Book to Proof →

fear, make a difference, Questions?, Relationship Issues, stuck, worry

Defining STUCK

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make a difference
This morning I looked up the definition of STUCK.

It is an adjective, a word that describes.

The Cambridge dictionary defines STUCK as :
unable to move from a particular position or place,
or unable to change a situation:

Examples of this are:
This door seems to be stuck.
I hate being stuck at a desk all day.
Ty got stuck with doing the laundry.
Hmm?
As I look back over the words we used to describe STUCK in the last post,  (you can read it here), I think that definition works.  We do tend to feel like we are unable to move from a particular position or place when we are consumed with fear, worry, anger, and perfectionism.  Or when we are confused and lack purpose or direction.
Many times we feel,  and sometimes, are unable to change a situation when we deal with rejection, or financial fears, or relationship issues.
Even in the wake of the current events in our world we feel  STUCK; uncertain of what to do that will make any difference at all in the chaos.
Add to that the myriad of messages that are part of our stuck place:
  • I’m not good enough.
  • You never finish anything
  • Who do you think you are?
  • I can’t do it as well as _(fill in the name)__so why bother!
  • Who would listen to me anyway?

Whew! We can get pretty deep in STUCK without even trying.

The problem is that when we get stuck and don’t know what to do, we often do nothing.
We are afraid that if we try to talk with our friend who rejected us, it will only make the situation worse, so we do nothing.
The financial situation we are in is so big and we can’t see what else we can do, so we keep doing the same stuff that got us here in the first place, or we do nothing at all.
We know we are not as good at something our competitors does so we throw up our hands and do nothing.
Fear is paralyzing!
Worry is exhausting!
Even boredom is draining!
The outcome of STUCK can be more STUCK!
OR
STUCK can be the motivation we need to spur us on to make a change.
So what kind of STUCK are you?
STUCK STUCK?
or STUCK MOTIVATED for CHANGE?
Leave a comment below- not for us, but for you to be honest with yourself about where you are.  That’s where we have to start.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
P.S.  How do I know so much about STUCK?  Well, let me tell you how… in the next post.  See you then.
P.S.S. Don’t forget to declare:
STUCK STUCK?
or STUCK MOTIVATED FOR CHANGE
Broken, fear, Green Hope Coaching, make a difference, Questions?, Relationship Issues, stuck, worry

Coaching on Stuck

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FROM STUCK TO MADI had a delightful Saturday morning with an inspiring group of women at the Grace Church, Perrysburg, OH for their REFRESH & RENEW Conference recently. Wanted to share with you some of what we talked about at that event.

We spent our time together refreshing our viewpoints about ourselves, our story and our view of God.  We renewed our vision about the kind of difference we wanted to make in our lifetime. But we started with some honest talk about the ‘real’ of life.

As a life coach and former pastor’s wife, I’ve talked with a lot of women over the years.  There have been two reoccurring themes that continue to come out in those conversations.

  1. I want to make a difference with my life.
  2. I’m stuck.

Does that sound familiar to your story? You want to make a difference.  You want to influence your world for good through your life in your lifetime.

But you are stuck!  Or you have been!  If you aren’t stuck, or haven’t been, you will be so we might as well talk about it. You know what stuck feels like. Stuck has kept you from making the difference you long to make.   So before we talk about the kind of difference we want to make let’s talk about the obstacles to it. Continue reading Coaching on Stuck →

Fresh start, GHC opportunities, Goals

TAKE FIVE to Make Your Goals Happen!

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5 yearsIt’s the middle of January!  How are you doing with New Year’s Resolutions? Need some help?

In celebration of our 5th anniversary, we are offering a TAKE 5.  Five Private sessions designed to assist you in having your best year ever. 

Before January 31st, schedule five 50 minute sessions weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly to take place before May 31st.

Together we will TAKE 5 to:

Continue reading TAKE FIVE to Make Your Goals Happen! →

business, GHC opportunities, Goals, Green Hope Coaching, Juli Slattery, LIFE, Linda Dillow, Tribewriter

FIVE Goals for 2016

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5 years
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:

Continue reading FIVE Goals for 2016 →

business, Goals, Green Hope Coaching

Do You Know What Today Is?

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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.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.

Five years ago I knew:

Continue reading Do You Know What Today Is? →

dream, Goals, influence, life lessons, Living Intentionally, Other Coaches, Questions?, worry

Doin’ Somethin’ About Worry!

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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.

Coaching as I goBut 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:

  • Who is the one person that might be influenced by this book?
  • What does success look like for this project? In a year? In a month? in 2 weeks?
  • What can I control?
  • Can I influence it?
  • Or do I need to let it go?

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!

  1. I wrote to my LOVELY TRACES prayer team and asked for their support.
  2. I’m joined this Self-Publishing Summit and I’m learning from others who have been there.
  3. I’m blogging to you- to not only share what I’m doing, but what I’m learning in the process.
  4. I’m writing a little every day.  I may not be able to spend the day- but I can spend a few minutes developing a thought or researching a concept.

So…how about you? What are you worrying about?

  • Acknowledge your worry
  • Address and Replace the worry
  • Do something intentionally

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

dream, Goals, influence, Leisha's Hope, life lessons, Lovely Traces, Other Coaches, Questions?, Uncategorized, worry

What? Me? Worry?

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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.

  • Nearly 13,000- yes, that many 0’s- were reached with that post thanks to several of you who shared the post to your own Facebook friends.
  • 1,200 of those friends visited my website and actually read the blog post.
  • Over 350 of them engaged with me some way; leaving a message, a prayer response, a memory, a picture.
  • plus there were almost 75 others who signed up to support me and the project with prayer.

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.

What- Me-Worry-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.

  • What am I concerned about?
  • What if I’m not a good enough writer?
  • What if I can’t tell my deeply personal stories of my life in a way that helps anyone?
  • How will the book be received by others?
  • Can I really pull off the cost- both money, time, etc.

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

  • I can take classes and workshops to become a better writer.
  • I can work with close friends and coaches to help me tell my story in a way that is full of hope for others.
  • I can break down tasks of writing or research into smaller chunks of time.  If I do a little everyday, it won’t be so overwhelming and yet I can make a great deal of progress in the long run.

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….!

TO BE CONTINUED>>> Click Here! 

Part 2: Doin’ Something about Worry!

business, Fresh start, GHC opportunities, Goals, Green Hope Coaching, LIFE, Living Intentionally, Marriage Vision, Pay Attention, Questions?, Relationship Issues

Before the Resolution!

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What keeps us from Keeping our New Year’s Resolutions? 

  1. We make resolutions or goals that are NOT true to ourselves.

Often goals are task oriented- which is great for the task oriented person who loves to check off a list of things done, who does a task for the sake of the task needing to be done.

But that doesn’t work for the person who is relational at the core- like me.  I don’t do things just because they need to be done.  I do them because it affects a relationship I care about.

Simple example, a task oriented person does the dishes because they need to be done.

A relational person does them because their spouse or their family benefit from having them done.

 So lets use ‘health’  as one of our resolutions for 2015, because chances are it is on everyone’s list to some degree.   The task oriented person will likely choose that goal because they see that this needs to be done to do life well.  The relational person will choose this goal because they want to be in the lives of the people in their world.

 Now I know that is over simplifying  because many of us have a bit of task and relationship in our personality.  But understanding this about yourself can be very freeing.   You begin to realize you are not right- or wrong- just different.

 A question you can ask is  Continue reading Before the Resolution! →