Cream of the Crop!

Is that the way you roll??

Number one...The best...The High Water Mark...Tops??

If not, you can be.

Yours in "Excelling" - Coach

Somtimes, we need to...

"Soak" it all in.

Not to "zone out" but to "zone in".

We all need to "soak" on, the big picture of what has been going on in
our lives, and to make a check list of what has worked and what hasn't.

And within the process, we need to "zone in" on what we can do in the
future to continue our success.

And when we "zone in", and follow our plan, we can assure that our
future will become a as successful, and even more so, than our past.

Yours in "Zone in" - Coach

Move it, Move it.

There are times when we need to get going, especially when we face
challenges.

"When the coals get hot, we need to move our feet", otherwise we get
burned.

And "When we are playing with Elephants, we need to move quickly, or we
get stepped on".

Good things to know, because there are times when we need to get going
and look around, instead of playing our own game, in our own time.

Because whenever we are playing a game - we are playing with others.

Yours in "Move it, Move it" - Coach

It's not if...

It's when.

And it turns around...when it's ready.

You know the feeling - watching your favorite sports team...going
along...behind in the score, but deep inside, you know they will turn
it around and win, so it's not if - it's when...and you sit back and watch the
beauty unfold at it's own divine pace.

Just experienced the same thing in my life, with some folks I know.

The recession hit, knocked a little wind out, and once they caught
their breath and started to work with the headwinds, they
are starting to bust out, stronger than ever.

And, it's an honor watching the beauty unfold.

The same in your life - It's not if...it's when.

Yours in "Nice Work" - Coach

What's Clouding your...

Decision?

From time to time, we fail to "pull the trigger" when it becomes to important things with in our lives.

Do we make the move? Is now the right time? Will it it backfire on me, instead of making progress which is intended?

Remember, "No decision is a decision". So we can always stay put...for
a while, or reassess things, to assure a better chance of a positive
outcome - but if we want to get going, we can't do nothing...for long.

Yours in "See above the Clouds" - Coach

Who's Life is it, anyways?

Do you sometimes get the feeling you are not in control?

Are you doing
things you have always done, that you don't like...or don't want to do?

Well, it's time for you to take control and do things your way.

For me...I now cut the crust off my bread...never liked crust, but always ate it - not anymore...and it feels pretty darn
good.

Yours in "Your Way" - Coach

You can always be a Winner and...

...not Always win.

We don't need to interpret every loss as losing, but as giving to that
which does not mean much to us...it's called "Choosing Our Battles".

Life is give and take, a beautiful balance, and even sometimes it's
better to let someone else "win", to help make the world a better place.

As the old saying goes "You can't win them all", you don't really want
to...just remember "The Winner sometimes takes the Loss".

Yours in - An occasional loss:) - Coach

You can do it all...

Just not all at once.

That was the Brilliant phrase our own Esteemed Amara brought back from
the Leadership Workshop - to keep the vocabulary of her team "Top
Notch".

And the phrase really is empowering, when you stop to think a bit.

Because we Can do it all, it's just that many times we get our heads
too full, and try to do it all at once, which leads to discouragement
and sometimes, giving up altogether.

But when we remember, we can do it all, "just not all at once" sure is
an assuring piece of information - to have us keep working our plan.

Yours in "Thank You Amara" - Coach

How would it be...

To have someone say "It sure must be pretty cool being you"?

Sweet, eh?

Well, people notice, not what you do, but how you do it.

Whether you drive a bus, teach, or sweep the streets - it's not what
you do, but how you do it...that makes the difference.

Do we do what we do with flair and excitement, or with a labored
stride, clinging to the ring of the bell, which denotes "quitting time"?

Remember, work is play with a purpose and it's all dependent on how we
play, that makes work fun and worthwhile, and it's what makes others take notice.

Yours in "Must be pretty cool being you" - Coach

IQ doesn't Matter...

But the "I Can" does.

No matter how smart we are, it doesn't replace or substitute for the "I
Can" attitude.

With "I can", we can be lacking in the "smarts" department, and achieve
what we set out to achieve, as we may not know better, and can't see the
obstacles.

As a matter of fact, I have spoken to many that have said that if they
knew all the obstacles before they made great achievements - they
wouldn't of even started.

Many times - with a lot of smarts we can "talk" ourselves out of
achievement, by being able to process too much information and "seeing"
too many roadblocks, that stops the journey dead in it's tracks.

So, it's not how much "smart" we have,

It's how much "heart" we have.

Yours in "Heart" - Coach

A fly in the ointment...

Is never a good thing.

Either is anything that can spoil our attitude by being a nuisance.

But many times, we go through life with that fly in the ointment, or
that pebble in our shoe...souring our every move.

What we need to do is take the time to remove the fly or the pebble
that has been so bothersome, and get back to moving forward and taking
our life to the "Next Level".

If we don't take the time, we have that nagging problem which tethers
us down, not allowing us to reach our potential.

Yours in "Take the Time" - Coach

There are Opportunities....

And there are Opportunities of a lifetime.

When the Opportunities of a lifetime come along, do we recognize it, and if we do, do we seize the opportunity or seize up?

That's the question we should all ask ourselves.

Opportunities of a lifetime are just that, an Opportunity that comes
along once, and once only, in our lifetime - and we can jump on it and
make it ours, or just sit and watch it go by...the good thing, is that
it is our choice, which can also be the bad.

Yours in "Action or Inaction" - Coach

A recipient is a...

Person that receives something.

And we are all recipients, every day, in every way.

We receive weather, conversation, traffic, work, unpleasant people,
pleasant people, information, phone calls etc - we are recipients on a
consistent basis.

Why is it that some of the stuff we receive, can take over our
emotions, and affect our actions?

It shouldn't have to...since upon receiving, we are getting more than
we had before - we should be thankful for all that we receive, as it is
a gift...maybe a gift that we don't particularly care for, but a gift
just the same.

So it may make the best sense to perceive everything that comes to us,
as a gift, some we keep and some we pass on...but being thankful and
grateful for all that comes to us - as it was more than we had before.

Yours in "Gifts" - Coach

Focusing on just...

A few things, sometimes makes the experience better.

No matter what we focus on, the focus raises all of our senses to take
it all in.

Unlike a Buffet...You're eating a crab leg, thinking about the pizza,
and you eat the pizza thinking about the roast beef, and you eat the
roast beef thinking about the waffle....there are too many choices and
they all seem to blend together,.until it all tastes the same.

It can be the same when we are doing anything, with too many choices or
options, our senses can be overwhelmed and our experience and even the
outcome can be diminished from what it could of been, if we just focused on a few things.

So, for a great experience for most of what we do, focusing on the few,
can have a sweet effect on our experience and on the results that follow.

Yours in "Focusing" - Coach

Every Journey...

Has to start somewhere.

Whether the journey it is a camping trip, expedition, or our life.

Planning our journey, for whatever we have chosen, starts with us, and
has no bearing of where we were before, in the past, with the exception
of experience and what we have already learned which can help to guide
us safely to where we want to go.

So we must not let our past dictate the journeys we choose, but just be
an aid, and let our experiences help us for our future ones.

Yours in "Start Fresh" - Coach

The government stated our...

Recession.started in December 2007.

Economics: a period of an economic contraction, sometimes limited in scope or duration as compared to a depression.

Wikipedia:

"Recessions or Crises since the Great Depression":

There were 6.

3 lasted 2 years - and 3 lasted 1 year...so in doing the math,
looks like they last an average of 1 1/2 years.

And the average time in between recessions or crises: 12 years

Things happen, over and over in history, no big surprise - until it
happens.

Yours in "Perspective" - Coach

Should I do this...

Or should I do that?

Decisions, Decisions?

Remember - No decisions, is a decision.

When it comes to the decisions to "strap up" and start moving
forward....the time is now.

Or, we can wait until we are younger, richer, or more better looking.

Yours in "Choice" - Coach

Fired Up?

You bet!

I've been talking to a lot of people lately and their vocabulary has
been changing.

From last years defensive talk of putting their helmets on and
attempting to fend off the blows that the recession have been dolling
out, to "enough is enough" and switching their mindsets, to that of
going on the offensive - and making plans to charge ahead.

History has shown us that the times of greatest resistance has brought
about the greatest opportunity, and the resilience of humanity has
always fought back after the initial shock has sunk in, which has
always turned things around...for the better.

I wonder if the recession had a conscious, it would have known that it
"Poked the Bear" one too many times?

Yours in "Fired Up" - Coach

Starting off the New Year...

Is the Time to plan out our Future!

Using the 2009 Vision Planners is a great way to go.

Writing down where we currently are on page 7 is a great start. Then we
can plan for the year, 5 years and so on.

When we write down where we want to be, or where we see ourselves in
the future and in making our goals, it makes sense to be objective in
the process.

By being objective, or an observer, if you will, allows us to see what
this person called "me" can really do, and what we are capable of..
Don't think of how to get there or the roadblocks that will come along
the way - for those will be dealt with once we start.

Just create the life you want and deserve, and let the process begin.

And If you don't have your 2009 Vision Planner - you can pick one up at
Zappos.com or they are available on the Zappos.com site, in the Zappos
Library.

Yours in "Create Your Future" - Coach

Happy New Year!

This Year will be the greatest ever, when we have our thoughts aligned
accordingly.

And for those of us that need to streamline a few things, we may have
to change some habits.

It's really all about relationships...and this could be a great time to
"break up" with some bad habits.

Doing it all at once, or bit by bit over time, it is our choice and we
may need to work our plan...but deselecting some of our relationships
with bad habits can really free us up and allow our life to prosper and
expand.

After all - every relationship we have with our daily habits, doesn't
have to stay committed.

Yours in "Free up" - Coach