The Stage of Life

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Life Coaching Tip
Have you ever sat down with yourself and had words?
Seriously. Have you said to yourself that this is Life?
This is it!
This is our Life.
It’s not a dress rehearsal.
The curtain is up and you are on stage.
Are you playing the part you really want?
Are you in the Chorus?
 Are you backstage?
Perhaps you’re hiding in the dressing room – finding the courage to go on.
Or are you centre stage feeling the glow and warmth of the spot light?
Or are you sitting in the darkened audience watching life go by?
Once the curtain comes down – that’s it!
That’s our life over and done. The show has finished and there is no encore.
How is it you want people to remember your performance by?
So sit down with yourself and with your personal director. Is there another part you have dreamed of playing – new lines to say or new scenery to explore?

Wherever you are, coaching can help you create your own show.
Go on. Play. Audition yourself for your dream role.
I believe you’ll get the part!

A Metaphor for Life

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Coaches often use metaphors in their work and when this this little metaphor of life landed in my in tray in Brighton from my cousin – I thought I’d share it with you.

“When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle, when 24 Hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee story.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. 
When the class began, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. 

He then asked the students, if the jar was full. 
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. 

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. 
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

‘Now,’ said the professor, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – Family, Children, Health, Friends, and favourite passions – Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car. 


The sand is everything else – The small stuff. 

’If you put the sand into the jar first, he continued, then there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. 

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So…

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. 
Play with your children. 
Take care of your health and well-being. 
Take your partner out to dinner. 

There will always be time to clean the house put the rubbish out.

Take care of the golf balls first – the things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.’

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. 

The professor smiled. 
’I'm glad you asked – 

- It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, 
there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.’

In Conversation with Julie Mann

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Julie Mann

In this blog is an interview where therapist and voice over artist Julie Mann asks me about my journey into coaching and how de-cluttering can clear up your life.

Graham’s Interview

For more information about Julie’s work see www.habitfixer.com.

Space for Life

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One thing I love about Life Coaching is that every client and every session is as unique and individual as the next. However one thing that does crop up quite frequently for many clients is clutter. Piles of it. Everyone has it and it really can be a blockage for many people preventing them from moving forward.

It may just be a cupboard or not knowing how to deal with a pile of paperwork – or our entire home. We may think that it’s not that important, but getting in control of these spaces can free up time for more important things in our lives. Space and time to think, dream, create and make personal or professional changes.

However by the time we notice it or it is brought to our attention clearing it can feel like such an overwhelming job that it is difficult to know where to begin.

So I have created a ‘Space for Life’ Coaching and De-Cluttering programme. It’s the perfect way to coach you out of clutter and into a clearer place where you have space to live and grow. This unique life coaching programme is delivered in partnership with Brighton based style consultant Alex Moore.

Have a click on the ‘De-Cluttering’ tab to see how you can create Space for Life. Or contact me in Brighton using my online form.

Email Time Tip

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Emails are the greatest single interruption in todays world

How much time to you spend on your emails each day – and how much does the preoccupation of emails affect your other tasks?

So here’s a tip that I have found useful.
Check your emails twice a day. 12 noon and again at 1600. Make sure that your email is switched off in-between these times to allow you to focus fully on other tasks. When you check emails try using a timer – (a digital kitchen one from a pound shop is ideal) – to focus and concentrate on clearing your inbox in 30 minutes or 60 minutes – or whatever is a reasonable stretch for you – this will help to prevent you from drifting off into other corners of your computer or the web.

Set up a personal auto responder that says something like “ Thank you for your email. I am currently checking and responding to emails twice a day – 12 noon and 1600 hrs. If you require immediate assistance please call or text me on my mobile 07555 123456.”

Never check your emails first thing in morning

This can change your life. It’s a small action but has an enormous effect.
Instead complete your most important task of the day before 11.00

Enjoy your weekend
What happens if you find something urgent in your inbox on Saturday morning that you can’t address until Monday morning? Even if your inbox scan only lasts a few seconds the preoccupation and forward projection for the following 48 hours effectively reduces your experience of life and your weekend. It means that you really didn’t get the best value out of your time off.

Get present to Life!

Dare to Change?

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This inspirational video “Dare” reflects coaching brilliantly – how we can hold ourselves back and finding the courage to take that leap to change. (It was made as an advert for the clothing brand Saga). You will need to turn the sound on.