Synthesis Coaching

Detour Adventure: Part 2

In my last post I shared the beauty of seeing things from a brand new perspective. Now that you've tried my Detour Adventure, I'm curious to know what happened.

If you're like me, the Detour Adventure has gotten you re-energized and new ideas are percolating.

All this great energy is just TOO good to waste....so here's what I want you to do:

• Jot down all the new ideas that are surfacing. Don't edit them or judge them as "bad", "good", "totally unrealistic:, etc. Just do a data dump to get everything out on the table.

• Sort through all the ideas and take note of similar ideas. Pull together all ideas that are related and group them together.

• Pull together totally dis-similar ideas. Weaving unexpected pieces together often produces amazing breakthroughs.

• Write down the new sparks of ideas that result from this exercise.

Now get into action:

Pick a small task that you feel is doable. Why? This gives you that "feel good" feeling when you accomplish a task and helps to keep the ball rolling.

Be aware of how you have now shifted into another place that feels new and bright.

Notice how new perspectives naturally open up into new avenues. If you'd like help through this process contact me and together we'll embark on a Detour Adventure. I can't wait to see where we end up!

 

Searching for Your True Calling? Look for Your Aliveness

Today, I decide to mix it up and chat with you rather than write. Enjoy!

Break Your Ruts of Routine with a Detour Adventure. It's easy!

 

My Monthly Tarot landed in my inbox as usual, at the first of the month.

I opened the email to find a picture of the Hanged Man along with the following request: "This month look at The Hanged Man. At first the person in this image may appear uncomfortable, but upon further inspection we realize that he is just giving into gravity and going with the flow".

I was shaken up realizing that I had made a huge assumption, and like many assumptions totally wrong.

I saw The Hanged Man hanging upside down from a tree and assumed he was fighting his situation and anxious, worrying when and how he would be free. (If you take a close look at the image you'll see that he is not fighting...in fact he seems to be just hanging out).

But here is what shook me up into a revelation: The Hanged Man is a symbolic tool asking me to look from a different perspective—like upside down :).

Try it out.

The result is that you end up looking at the same situation but with fresh eyes. You may discover new elements that you never saw before, even if nothing changes.

Or better yet, try a solution that I opt for in for my own life, and one that I advise my clients—to embark on a Detour Adventure.

What's a Detour Adventure? It's a way to shake yourself out of the unconscious state we all fall into and see your world again with fresh eyes. You know what I mean....how many times have you driven to work and had no memory of the drive? It's totally normal because we all go on auto-pilot after a while and  develop ruts in our routines.

So, how do you dive into a Detour Adventure?

• Take another route to your yoga class.
• Shop at a different grocery store in a different town.
• Read a book about a subject you know nothing about.
• Vary your routine—treat yourself to a break in your day by walking the dog at lunch instead of as part of your morning routine.
• Learn a new skill new like sailing, pottery, knitting, scuba diving.
• If you've been wanting to call a friend who you have talked to in a while....be spontaneous and just pick up the phone and do it.

Here's your Detour Adventure challenge: Try out a detour a let me know what you discovered after you re-discovered your life with fresh eyes! And keep an eye out for my next post where I share what to do with all your new discoveries!

To your adventures to transformation!

 

 

 

 

 

Thrilled to be a contributor at award winning She Takes on the World

She Takes on the World took home the Stevie Award for "Blog of the Year" in NYC.

I'm thrilled to be one of a handful of leading women business owners who are contributors.

Check out a few of my posts here and leave a comment or two:

Is Your Business Stuck? Try This Brainstorming Exercise

Top Five Reasons to Celebrate Business Wins

I really appreciate you being part of my community of women who believe that transformation is an adventure.

To your own adventures to transformation™

 

 

Are You Always Moving and Going Too Fast? Try a Soul Adventure

I had an amazing session with Carrie, (not her real name), a few weeks ago. She's bright and a super-charged high achiever.

She was talking SO fast and jumping from topic to topic SO fast,that I could hardly keep up with her....and I was just listening.

Whew!

What we discovered together was that after all this excitement, accomplishment, and activity  she really needed to change gears and s-l-o-w down.

Sounds great when we tell ourselves that...but if you've ever tried it you know that actually doing it can be a whole lot harder. We kind of get "addicted" to the pace and the constant multi-tasking - we can even experience a high from it. Yet, unless we unplug and regroup we can actually drain ourselves and end up with nothing left to give.

My solution to Carrie was to go on a Soul Adventure. 

Give yourself permission to indulge and do those activities that feed your soul. For you that might mean taking a hot bath, reading a novel instead of a business book, chatting with an old friend on the phone. It matters less what you do and more about how you feel.

Carrie decided that she would use her Soul Adventure by pretending that she was on vacation and could be spontaneous for one week. She found herself listening to her own body and taking a nap in the middle of the day and browsing around in her favorite gallery BEFORE she went grocery shopping and paid bills online.

I know....I can hear you saying, "but I'm not on vacation and have a job to go to and a family to take care of." Yes, I know that's true but I'm asking you to carve out time for yourself to fill yourself up again and recharge.

Want some hands on help to embark on your own Soul Adventure? Reach out to me....you'll not only leave your session inspired but with a fistful of resources and tools to spark your journey.

To your adventures to transformation!™

 

 

 

YES, Realizing Your Dream Can Be Easy

Sometimes I have to pinch myself.

I used to do marketing in NYC for financial firms and spent my days commuting back and forth to a corporate cubicle. Those were the days when balance transfer offers were all the rage. Yet, my life purpose hardly seemed to be helping people get into debt.

Today my life is vastly different. I'm working with amazing women to help them transform their own lives—and every day is an adventure! Changing lives is SO much better than helping people amass more and more debt, don't you think?

I'm loving the impact I'm having on my client's lives—not to mention that my work keeps me on a path to continually growing, evolving, and transforming my own life. I went from dreading change to thriving on it!

What about you? Does change sound too hard... so instead you just keep putting up with the status-quo?

Making a change actually can be easy, especially with the right support and tools along the way. None of us can do it alone right?

If you need a little more motivation, listen to what my client's say about their own transformation in their own words:

"...Thank you so much for all your help and guidance to get me to this point of my journey to transformation. I am taking it in baby steps, but it feel right and it feels like it is really going to happen!"
CJ Tudino, 401.742.2689

"When I started working with you I wanted to take my career in a new direction. You helped find my passion and helped turn my dreams into reality! I'm now doing exactly what I have always wanted to do, but was too afraid to claim it for myself."
Cheryl Verchot, www.SimplyUniqueDecor.com

"When I started coaching with Karen I was getting ready to leave my 'conventional' job... and move to launching my own business. Karen is phenomenal - from the start she was supportive and enthusiastic, yet challenged me to be my best ...I now see all the myriad possibilities in me and have 'a-ha' moments each time we coach together."
Karen Johnson, Solstice Soapworks, 401.248.1331

Still not convinced it can be easy? Attend my FREE teleclass:

If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes...So What Are You Going to Do? on October 26th from 7 - 8 pm EST.

Make it easy, hard is just over-rated.

To your own adventures to transformation™!

My Real Life "Adventure to Transformation": 75 days until Santa Fe

I'm tickled purple (my favorite color) to share with you that I'm moving to Santa Fe, NM in mid-December — about 75 days from now.

Why tickled? Because I'm actually living my tag, "Adventures to Transformation"'.

We plan on driving across the country to Santa Fe in about 5-6 days with our miniature schnauzer, Zack. Neither my husband nor I have ever taken a cross-country car trip.......so this seems to be offering us the opportunity of a lifetime!

I'm looking forward to having ribs in Memphis, checking out Nashville and Little Rock, and seeing how the landscape changes as we drive along. It's sure to be a real adventure!

Yet, it's a huge move, especially since both my husband and I are "dyed in the wool" Northeasterners.

My move to Santa Fe, like any other change, offers me the exciting freshness of new vistas and opportunities and at the same time a feeling of sadness and loss.

Saying "goodbye" to my community, to the ocean, the beaches, my extended family, my home and property, and to all the myriad of connections that, like a jigsaw puzzle, make up my life is hard. I find myself being quite nostalgic and sad at times....and the next moment feeling the excitement of living in a brand new area of the country. Interesting how both feelings can co-exist. 

I've moved quite a few times before and find that it takes me a good amount of time to settle in and feel comfortable, usually one or two years.

I remember when I first moved to South County, RI how stressful it was to drive down long, windy roads and needing to call my husband, who had lived here for over a decade, to help me when I was lost. Moving also means figuring out all the mundane details of everyday life — determining where you should go to take a yoga class, which grocery store you like to shop at, which dry cleaner is the best, what pediatrician you should take your children to, where the closest hardware store is, where to get the best cup of coffee, etc.

I know that I will be facing all these same challenges again.

Yet, this time something is different.

It's almost as if my "adventures to transformation" has taken on a life of its own and is guiding me. I'm in the flow and trusting the wisdom within this process of change in a totally new way.

Got a big change coming up for you in your life?

To your own "adventures to transformation"™

 

 

 

 

 

My Own Adventures to Transformation™ with Twitter

When I read the recent survey about marketing behaviors for micro businesses at Vistaprint, the statistic that jumped out at me was that 46% were actively using social media.

I’m not totally sure why, but I’ve been dragging my feet about getting into the conversation on Twitter. Perhaps I’ve gotten a bit too comfortable in my comfort zone?

I should know better, it’s my job as a personal and business coach to help my clients embrace new challenges as adventures. And as small business owners we’re faced with doing things we’ve never done every day…and that means being uncomfortable at times. Yet, if we let fear stop us from tapping into new opportunities and learning new skills, our business will suffer.

So the question I asked myself was "Do I really need Twitter?"

"Will it make an impact on my business or is just a fad?"

Edision Research just released a study called Twitter Usage in America 2010 looking at three years of tracking data from Twitter users to determine whether this platform is gaining momentum.  

Here as some findings that can’t be ignored:

• Twitter “awareness” has exploded to 87% in 2010

• Nearly two-thirds of active Twitter users access social networking sites using a mobile phone

• Marketing & business case studies for Twitter far exceed similar usage for social network sites in general

• 51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products

Hey, numbers don't lie...these stats have convinced me to get off my butt and take the leap into Twitter.

Who wants to join me into my brand new adventure? I've got my "training wheels" on and ready to go. Let me know.

 

 

If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes...So, What Are You Willing To Do?

Last night I decided to chill out and watch "Date Night" with Tina Fey and Steve Carell. The set-up for the movie is that their marriage, like those of their book club friends, has become rather stale and predictable. The story takes off when they decide leave the worn-out routine of a date night in suburban New Jersey and instead spend a glamorous evening in New York City.

So, when I woke up this morning I had the quote "if nothing changes, nothing changes" running through my head. Hmmm...I love how The Universe has a sense of humor and is giving me a gentle prod to change up some things up in my life.

I've actually been thinking about wanting to look with a fresh eye at a few areas. I'm wanting more flow and ease in my life, to create new possibilities in my business, to laugh more easily, to worry less, and to just feel in a more centered and happier place within myself.

Nothing is really wrong or bad — it just seems that I've fallen into some ruts here and there. Ritual, which usually serves me so well, looses its impact when it gets quickly reduced to nothing more than an unconscious habit. So, here's what I decided to do to shake things up a bit:

1). Get up 1/2 hour earlier Monday - Friday in order to be ready to focus on my "to do" list that day when my family leaves the house at 7:15 am for work and school.

2). Meditate for 1/2 hour every morning in order to clean out my worry and mental chatter and help me to be more centered and calm.

3). Update my Vision Board in order to spark my creativity and have new, fresh juice to play with. 

4). Exercise for 1 hour each and every day in order to get back some flexibility and suppleness in my body. I'm committing to either walk or bike daily.

5). Use daily affirmations in order to boost my abundance mindset and get rid of my "sticky thinking". I've ordered Chellie Champbell's "The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Daily Stress Reduction" .

Change happens when something changes.

Here's my adventures to transformation challenge: What are you willing to do? Pay attention to the areas you've dropped into the unconscious rut of boredom and sameness. Self Care? Your marriage? A relationship with a friend? How you handle money?

The first two women to post comments and feedback will get a complimentary 20-minute coaching session. Why? Because I'm committed to supporting you to create meaningful change in your life. Hey, if not now, when?

The "Hairy Scary" Adventure of Letting Go

I hung out with my friend Gina yesterday who I wrote about in last week's post. Gina is right in the middle of the "hairy scary" part of change — letting go.

Letting go asks us to release the old before we pick up the new — and not just outwardly but inwardly too. The old and familiar orients us by our connections to both the people and places that help us define who we are.

The familiar is like an anchor keeping you grounded and feeling secure — your favorite bakery, the best Chinese take-out place in town, the yoga class you go to every Wednesday night, the trusted pediatrician that you've built a relationship with after numerous visits. I'd wager a bet that this "circle of relationships" was the result of a process of elimination; the less than ideal Chinese meals, the pediatrician you never saw eye-to eye with, and the yoga teacher who talked too much hindering you from getting into "the zone".

Letting go IS an adventure and like any adventure there are "hairy scary" parts.

When you're in this scary part it's easy to get overwhelmed by fear — terrified actually. I'm here to assure you that the "hairy scary" feeling is normal, even if you been the one to made the decision to change!

Letting go is a lot like the grieving process and has the following 5 stages:

• Denial - Not really believing this is happening.
• Bargaining - Believing you can negotiate your way back to how things used to be.
• Anger - Feeling intensely angry about the unfairness of the situation. You may even start to project anger toward other people, believing it's their fault.
• Sadness - Feeling lost, alone or vulnerable.
• Acceptance - Accepting that things will not go back to the way they were.

Do NOT expect these stages to zip along in a 1-2-3 sequence. Most often they shift back and forth from one stage to the other. One day you're feeling great and accepting the changes when suddenly the rug is pulled out from under you and once again you feel incredibly angry. The next day the anger is gone but you're sad about all the things you're going to miss and leave behind.

Sound familiar? :).

The good news is "YES" eventually you stop cycling through the stages and the dust begins to settle.

Are you facing the adventure of "letting go?" Feeling "hairy scary" and alone?

Like any adventurous journey, it ALWAYS helps to meet up with fellow travelers — give me a shout by clicking the "comments" link below.