Have you ever noticed in your life that sometimes you grow more than other times?  This week's blog is all about the number one tool for personal growth - your journal.

Thinking back to the times when I had big changes in my life, I can't imagine making it through without writing my thoughts, feelings, and concerns on paper.  The act liberates your brain to think about solutions, different perspective, and emotions once you know you have your trusty thoughts down in your notebook.

Journalling has helped me train for marathons, change careers, change how I felt day to day (burnt-out to hopeful), among countless other things.

If you are looking to gain some momentum, make a change, or get clarity on your life then you need to up your self-reflection and journaling game.

So what are some important questions to yourself in your journalling practice?  Here are a few of my favorite:

• What went really well today/this week, and why?
• What went really wrong today/this week, and...

Hello!  

This past week I've gotten some questions about high performance from a few different people, and thought to share a few situations I've found high performance helpful.

The framework us certified coaches use are to find heightened and sustained levels of clarity, energy, courage, productivity, and influence to help advance a certain part of your life.

For me, it helped me run my first marathon; I needed to figure out how to train and what to do, generate enough energy to go out and do it, take the bold action to sign up for the Chicago marathon, and get my family and friends onboard to cheer me on through it all!  

Or the time when I quit my corporate gig to start a business.  I needed the claitry to know what I wanted and what I needed to do, the ability to manage the stresses of jumping from a stable paycheck into the unknown, leaving the corporate gig, working on what would make me successful, and convincing people I could help them through my business.

...

Show me your closest 5 friends or associates, and I'll be confident in guessing how you will behave.  The old adage "guilty by association" many times is true.

So, how are you actively building the tribe or community you would be proud to show your friends, family, or the world?

This week's video was inspired by my good friend and coach, Lisa Pezik.  I met Lisa at a networking event a while back, and we hit it off.   She has a wonderful message to help women grow in business, and great energy that is uplifting.  

I had the distinct honor to spend about an hour with her on her podcast (link here) this week, and I absolutely loved it!  If you are on my email list, I'll send you a link this Thursday when it's live.  If you are not on the email list, make sure you sign up so you get the email!

Helping Lisa serve her audience got me thinking about how fortunate I am to help you, and got me thinking about building our tribe even more.

I think it comes down to...

Ever struggle with figuring out if it's time to switch jobs, companies, and/or projects? 

In this video, I share the thought process I would go through with a client on making a big life change.

For those that want a quick summary, here are the five criteria I use to help me evaluate a big move:

1. Will this help me build skills I'll need for the future
2. Will this help me focus on a few things, more?
3. Will letting this go bring me more joy and happiness, or free me up to experience more joy and happiness.
4. Will letting this go help free me to spend more time with family and friends?  Will the new thing prevent me from spending much time with family and friends?
5. Will I have a backup plan if the new thing doesn't work out?  How can I mitigate any risks from ending this project, or starting a new one?

You can rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on each of these questions if you are trying to decide between two opportunities.  The one rated higher is probably the...

Hey There!

Trying out doing the weekly video on YouTube live, and planning to record there for at least the next month and post the video here.

This week's video is about a question I often get from my coaching clients - "How do I feel more confident at...", or "How can I feel enough for...".  

I've been there in my life at times, and chances are there have been times where you have struggled with feeling confident in your life, too.

When we are not confident, we cannot perform at a high level.  We become overwhelmed with the challenge, we become distracted, we feel out of control of our lives, and we can't struggle through the tough parts of the task. 

Fortunately, confidence can be generated!  Here are my five ideas to get more confident when you need it.

1. Consistency 
2. Challenge
3. Agency
4. Acceptance
5. Consistency  :)

Check out the video for more context.  Hope you enjoyed this post, please feel free to comment or share this post, and check you folks...

Im pretty excited to have picked up a cool book today, called "Become a Supple Leopard" by Dr. Kelly Starrett (check it out on amazon here.

I was introduced to Dr. Starrett from my good friend Jim, which made it cool to see him appear on some of my favorite podcasts.

So, what in the heck is a supple leopard?

What it breaks down to is being able to move with flexibility, and without effort.  Having a tech gig where I am constantly sitting has not made Mr. Shawn Buttner very supple.  So to better take care of my body, I decided to start implementing more movement training into my workouts.

The basics of the book are this.  The human body should be able to move, with full range, in some basic patterns.  You test how you can do these basic moves (like a complete squat without weight), and if you can't then you have some mobility to repair.  Check out Kelly's mobilitywod videos on youtube to see some of the magic yourself.

I'll keep you guys posted on some of the...

Have you ever struggled with not getting results despite how much work you have been doing?  Long hours, no promotion.  Diet and exercise, no weight loss.  Awesome relationship, no passion.  You get the point.  

It is inevitable we will come upon challenge while going after our dreams.  For me, I have been working on building my coaching practice, putting in tons of work, and sometimes feel like I am not making any progress.  

Have you ever felt this way, too?

What can you do to make sure you are progressing, or "moving the football forward"?

Here is how I think through sticking through it:

1. Keep consistence or discipline - If you show up and do the work, eventually you will make progress.
2. Honor the struggle - if you know struggle is part of the process and life, you can move past it quicker and not get caught up on it
3. Remember the worthy outcome - If you believe sticking through the challenges will lead to good things for you, you family and...

I often get questions about books that might help people get ahead in work, relationships, or life.

This week's video is all about three of my favorite books to recommend. 

Have you ever felt like you were out of your element, didn't fit in, or out of place?

I used to feel all three of these back when I started my first job.  I moved to Arkansas from the Chicagoland area, and didn't know many people.  Everyone was great, but it just didn't feel like home.

It impacted how I showed up at work, and in my social life.  I wasn't happy.

Luckily, I had some mentors who helped me move past with some great advice.  For me, there are three things that can help you feel more connected, more engaged, or more part of the community if you ever feel out of sorts.

1. Ground yourself in Gratitude 
2. Figure out what you want
3. Go Help Someone Else

The next time you are struggling to fit in, try one of these and see if they help!

If you are curious about high performance coaching and how to move forward to a more advanced level, check out the video here.

Have you ever put off doing something you knew would move you forward towards your dreams or the life you want?

Starting that new business?  Having that tough conversation with the kids about keeping their room clean?

Same for me.

I spent 5 years on a 2-year plan right out of college, trying to figure out what I wanted to do and building up the courage to actually leave the comfortable corporate gig I had.

Most times people delay because of three things: fear, lack of confidence, and lack of clarity.

 I was afraid of leaving my known corporate job because I had over $70,000 of student debt and didn't know how I would keep up with the payments.  I was afraid that the next gig I could get wouldn't be fulfilling or would be even more stressful than my corporate IT job.

I was not sure I could get another job, or if I could ever figure out a way to get rid of my student debt.

I had no idea what I really wanted for my career.  Up until getting the job at Walmart...