Your Vision for 2015

What is your vision?  If you’re already clear about your vision for the coming year, congratulate yourself for being exceptionally well organized, inspired and on top of your game. 

If your answer is “I don’t know” or you just haven’t had the time or the energy to craft your vision, here are some suggestions for gaining clarity.

1.       Determine the parts of your life to focus on. It’s easier and less overwhelming if you pick a few key areas.  Assess your level of satisfaction in the following: Career/Business, Financial, Relationships – intimate and social, Health & Wellness, Home environment, Personal Growth or Spirituality, Fun & Recreation.  Choose two to four areas that you’re least satisfied with. Focusing on these will bring the greatest rewards.

2.       State what you want. It’s really easy to say, I’m overwhelmed  (or bored) with my job, I don’t like my relationship, I’m broke, my social life sucks, I don’t like where I’m living.  You can start with that, but turn those thoughts into positive intention statements. For example instead you could say - In 2015…

a.       My work is stimulating and manageable.

b.      I am in a loving relationship

c.       My financial situation is improving

d.      My network of friends are supportive and positive

e.      I live in a home that I love.

3.       Be inspired.  If you’re experiencing a lack luster response to creating your vision, it may be that you are stressed or lacking energy.  One of the things I commit to each year is having some downtime between Christmas and New Year for rejuvenation and inspiration.  After a few days of rest and quiet my energy is restored and the future looks brighter.  What rejuvenates you?

4.       Engage your imagination. If you are too focused and analytical when you are creating your vision it’s difficult to see possibilities. If you are stuck on a linear, logical track take a break and engage your senses. Go for a walk, listen to music, get out into nature and breathe deeply.  When your mind is relaxed there is more room for imagination.

5.       De-stress When stressed we become very linear and focused and it’s much harder to access imagination and inspiration.  Did you know that shifting how you’re looking at things, literally, from narrow focus to taking in your peripheral vision calms the mind and reduces stress? Try it.

6.       Use divination tools Throw the i-ching, rune stones, lay out a tarot spread, or pull wisdom cards to guide your process.  This is a great way to shift from logical to creative thinking. For example, at a gathering with friends on the solstice we used the i-ching.  We each asked a question about something we’d like to focus on for the year and the reading gave us insights on how to approach it. 

7.       Share your vision Explore and share your vision with a trusted, supportive friend or partner.  Make it more real by talking about it, seeing yourself in it, feeling the experience of it. Perhaps, you could enlist this person as an accountability partner.

8.       Take Action if you want your vision to become reality your thoughts and statements need to become goals with action steps that you can and will take.   Now you can shift your focus back from expansive and imaginative to narrow and linear to make it happen.

9.       Have fun Choose goals and actions that you enjoy. Or find some way to make the hard stuff more enjoyable. Get help, share the load, and reward yourself for small accomplishments.

10.   Be grateful, always. Appreciating what you have keeps you in a much happier place and validates your ability to have and create more.

Still Need Help?  Hire a coach

Lynne Brisdon, PCC

lynne@livinginvision.com

 

Coaching for Maverick Entrepreneurs Recognized

Lynne Brisdon, CPCC, PCC

Lynne Brisdon, PCC (R) celebrates at
 ICF Vancouver Awards Gala with
Joni Mar,  MCC (L)
and Cheryl Stafford, PCC (C)

May marked a decade of my work as a Business Coach in Self Employment programs and I got to celebrate by having my contribution recognized as a finalist for 2014 Business Coach of the Year at the ICF Vancouver Chapter Gala.  I deeply appreciated the honour and the opportunity to share my story. 

 

When I started working for a Self-Employment Program at BCIT back in 1998 I hadn’t even heard about coaching.  The government funded program supported people transitioning from unemployment to self-employment and I noticed many had challenges making the shift.  They needed more help than the training and business advice we provided.  Something was missing.

We could teach them what they didn’t know about running a business but they were independent and didn’t always like being told what to do. Sometimes our Business Advisers complained that clients just weren't listening. 
 

I saw an opportunity to contribute and discovered coaching while seeking out practical methods to guide people through transition.  I started training right away with CTI and enrolled a few of our participants as practice clients through my training and certification and saw positive results. Rather than advising, I listened to my clients and we made action plans together. In 2001, I earned my CPCC and qualified for an ICF credential.

 

At first, I kept my Program Coordinator job and started my coaching business Living In Vision Enterprises part-time.   Then in 2004 I landed a contract to work as a Business Adviser with a different SE program and asked if my role could be Business Coach instead.  Using coaching methods not only supported the knowledge transfer from training to individualized application, it also advanced the decision making and leadership skills required to succeed in business.

 

What’s more, coaching became a container for building resiliency on the emotional roller coaster ride through that first year in business. One of the 230 odd yearling business owners I’ve coached is Judith McLean of Hi-Q Training Systems. She shared her experience of my coaching for the Business Coach of the Year nomination.  At the Gala she talked about how my customized coaching style worked for mavericks like her. 

Maverick: an unorthodox or independent minded person
synonyms: individualistic, non-conformist, free spirit, original, eccentric
North American: an unbranded yearling

Coaching influenced her through the learning, and continued beyond the formal contract, “With Lynne’s continued whispering in my business ear I now tune into the needs of potential clients, figuring out how to improve bottom lines for all of us.”

A week before the awards event Judith had some tough business decisions to make.  “Despite all of Lynne's encouragement, wisdom and faith, I almost gave up this month.  Staying in business was getting too hard. There was way more money going out than coming in.  I began to doubt if anyone would contract my services.  Then a week ago, my PC froze, my lap top seized up and no emails came through my cell phone.  I had to cancel an event booked for seventy people as only one had signed up”. 
 

“Two things kept me afloat:   First, Lynne reminded me how much I had accomplished in one year. I had pretty slick promotional materials and two associations trusting me with educational planning.” 

 

“The second: I knew that Lynne was being recognized as my Business Coach at the Gala and it would be embarrassing to report that the business had folded.” 
 

So Judith stuck it out. Her technology got fixed and as synchronicity would have it, ten people signed up for her inaugural Respectful Workplace workshop plus she got her first serious fee paying order for mid-June.  

Lynne with PCRS SE Team: Leslie Martin,
Client, Judith McLean and; Linda Lu

Today, the efficacy of Business Coaching in Self Employment Programs is recognized by government funders. My reputation as a business coach has kept me working through government contract changes and program closures.  I truly appreciate how coach training and credentialing gave my career a boost and the enormous contribution I get to make in supporting new business owners.

My vision for the next decade is to continue supporting maverick entrepreneurs and emerging business leaders, in the Pacific Self Employment Program and through my company Living In Vision Enterprises. 

Why Wait... for a better life/career/relationship

Is there something you've been waiting for? Dreaming about? Working toward? Longing for, but for some reason it's just not happening. A better job or career perhaps? You want to make changes but it's.... well.... complicated.

With the pace of life these days, and all the distractions it's way too easy to get sidelined when it comes to making important changes.  

Without a focus on your vision and a clear commitment to taking action steps toward it, another month, year, decade...could slip by.  Maybe you've tried but your attempts haven't worked. 

Read on for tips and inspiration to get moving.

There are many resources available for making changes to achieve it.  If you have been making attempts you have likely come across these. Most involve:

·         Imagining your ideal future

·         Clarifying your vision

·         analysis of your current situation,

·         reflection on what you are prepared to change

·         defining goals

·         making commitments to action steps

·         being held accountable for actions

Still Struggling?

If you are struggling and can’t even get to the vision stage, maybe it’s because you can’t see how to extract yourself from the current situation.  Your vision may be clouded by conflicting needs and wants. When you don’t know how to find the way out you lose hope and your self-esteem may take a beating too.

One client called it a brain tangle that pulled her in different directions, but never forward. Another described it as a cluster of situations that kept her stuck.

Untangling the Mess

For example, when someone is dissatisfied with their career outlook but confused about what direction to take there may be other factors involved. Aside from identifying talents, skills and aspirations, there may be other challenges like a problematic work relationship, or talent that isn’t being recognized. Maybe things at home or personal relationships are complicating the decision making process.    

What’s your biggest challenge?   

Even if it the mass of things you’re dissatisfied with seems overwhelming, you can pull them apart and decide what’s most bothersome. Then you can start taking steps to improve that situation. Although, if the biggest challenge is just too daunting, start with a smaller one first.  Then, as you make progress on it you’ll start feeling better about yourself and the accomplishments you are making.

If you could do something about it would you?

Even if making a change has seemed impossible until now, ask yourself what you would be willing to change.  It might be choosing to stop trying to figure it out by yourself and get help. Maybe you would be willing to share your concerns with someone who could offer a different perspective on the situation. Perhaps you might be willing to examine your beliefs about what is holding you back.

  

Why wait to change?  

Avoidance might seem easier than challenging the status quo or rocking the boat, but really…life is way too short.  Here’s a link to a presentation from a wise spiritual teacher I know called 'Why wait until you are dying?'   

Have a listen. Then if you’d like to find out if working with a coach could help send me a note or call. 

If you don't have time to listen (it's almost 90 minutes) and you know you need to make some changes, soon, contact me.  I'd be happy to talk with you how we can find solutions together.  

Lynne Brisdon, PCC

lynne@livinginvision.com

BC  604 570-0764

WA 360-393-8996