Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Posting via email

Howdy everyone. This time I'm posting this from a motel bed in Redondo Beach, CA, while I'm here on a business trip!

But I wrote a lovely (I think) blog about connection, and then odd little things started happening in my Blackberry with my cool little Bluetooth-connected keyboard, and I just can't risk sending it out into cyberspace with odd little periods and spaces in the wrong places! So it will have to wait, until I return home to check it out and make sure it's right.

Until then, stay tuned...I've started coaching a wonderful 12 year old, and he's teaching me a lot! Talk to you soon....Kristelle
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Photos from my Office Re-Energizing process

For all of you who requested it, here are the photos of my Office, Re-Energized!






Everything has a place, with lots of space in-between!













A new Work Station, all from things I already had.












This is my fountain, now with its own illumination, nicely highlighted. It makes a nice peaceful corner in the midst of all the activity.












The blue colors form a kind of wave throughout the office, with splashes of green here and there.








No more clutter on my board....it's now used for my blogging ideas!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Inside and Outside

I have a new bedroom. And a new guestroom. And a new office....and living room. And I didn't move, I didn't purchase any new furniture, and I didn't spend much at all.

With the inspired guidance of my sister, Erika, all we did was move, remove, or replace. And because of that, my whole house breathes with a new energy. And strangely enough, so do I.

Now, I'm a firm believer in Inside first, then Outside. All change comes from Within, that I know. But how do I explain this??? Does this mean that my life experience is forever dependent on my surroundings? Am I a victim of my home furnishings?

Philip Humbert, PhD, is a coach and one of my favorite newsletter writers. One of his latest issues mentions the concept of a Personal Eco-System(tm). The idea is that "we succeed best when the environment supports us in accomplishing our most important tasks." He's even got a simple free assessment to help you figure out just how supportive yours is (or isn't).

Call it Feng-Shui, call it Interior Alignment, call it what you will, it works.

And looking at it all now, I see that my office (which had been crammed into one corner of the room because we had to have room for an air mattress for potential kids and guests), was not helping me get much done. Now, my office sweeps around the room in a graceful arc from Command Center to Action Center, with a quiet space in the middle for my little fountain, which gurgles happily away, playing with its shadow from the perfectly placed lamp.

So here's a thought...look around your office, bedroom, living room, even bathroom. Do you feel quiet and calm in rooms meant for rest? Are you energized to do more in rooms meant for activity? Are you inspired in rooms meant for creativity? If not, then something's amiss, out of place, or choked by too much stuff.

Want an assignment? Be courageous...change something. Change a lot if you like. Take this opportunity to REALLY make a shift in your space at work, at home, or even in your car. And then tell me if, by shifting your outside, you shifted your inside too.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Rocks and Angels

I guess the first rock bouncing itself down the hill (in other words, my adventures with just starting this blog) has loosened other rocks around me, and I'm hearing exciting tales of other blogs taking shape and new challenges calling you to be a "bigger" you.

Which leads me to the question....are we all energetic catalysts for each other, because we just cannot lead ourselves out of the woods?

As a Coach (who does 99% of her sessions via phone), I love being that energy on the other end of the line...holding the vision when my clients cannot see themselves as the talents, abilities, and wonders they are. And I love it when someone can hold that vision for me (which many of you have done these last few days)!

That's why I think we are all "angels" on this planet, with a lifelong job description of lighting the way for each other, when the other can see only blackness ahead of them. "It's this way....just follow my voice...I can help you down this path until you remember the way again for yourself."

Problem is, sometimes the blackness isn't so abstractly romantic. It looks awfully similar to a spouse leaving you, a parent abusing you, a child tuning you out, a car accident putting you in a wheelchair, or your business falling apart. For my clients, all these times of darkness are not so easily dispelled, and that's where the work comes in to crank up the lantern again from within.

Speaking of which, check out my dear friend Alan Cohen's online video called "The Guru Within". It's just a few minutes, but it's a powerful and delightful message the way he gives it.

I once told my inspirational friend Margaret (founder of the What If? Foundation), that I felt like she was holding up a light ahead of me in the thick, dark, and scary forest, leading me along. She said, "Well, I may be holding up a light, Kristelle, but we are holding hands and walking along side by side." When I look back on that time now, we were probably glowing together, lit from within!

So here's a toast to our fellow Angels, who help us along the way by holding the vision we cannot. Happy Trails to you all...

Monday, August 17, 2009

Thanks to All, and Let's get to It!

Great....the second entry. Talk about pressure! I thought the first was hard to do, now I've got EXPECTATIONS to deal with! Aaaargh! (more on that later...but first....)

I must begin by saying Thank You to all those who read my first entry, and made a comment either here or on Facebook or to my personal email. I really am delighted by what you all shared, ranging from the "You go girl" to the "I expected more"--it was all wonderful learning for me, especially in the numbers that I received. With 8 followers and over 25 comments on just the first entry, I'm pretty floored by it all. This was not what I'd planned....and aye, there's the rub.

In the movie "Julie & Julia", our hero Julie begins to blog....and there's no one there. She writes and we hear her voice in her head, and she knows just what to say that's insightful and personal and daring and interesting. Of course, I was expecting the same experience as I sat to type, complete with soaring movie theme music and dead silence from the other side.

But didn't I say, "tell me what you think"? Yep, I sure did....But the fear that I hid so well, was that I didn't want to stand out, I didn't want to be "seen" and I didn't really want to be told anything other than "good on ya". I've seen too many people I cared about get shot down when they rose above the horizon. So in my world, "Keep your head down" is not just practical advice, it's survival.

This was a complete mystery to my brother Jon, who saw me as a Coach, heard me say that I spoke to groups large and small, and knew that I could write as well. He couldn't understand why I hadn't immediately identified my own "conflict", and he felt I needed one. But I resist conflict most of the time...It's quite uncomfortable for me, and I certainly didn't feel I needed "drama" in my blog. (Thank you to Kate for the timely link to Seth Godin's blog about drama. "Here's a surefire way to get and keep the attention of your audience: put on a soap opera... Paying attention, though, is not the same as buying or respecting.")

After several long emails between us both, he "got" me. He actually was able to tell me my own "Story", which was: Despite the appearance of confidence and capability in other arenas, this internet forum is really scary for me. However, I will NOT keep my head down with this blog....I will openly talk about my personal trials, obstacles, and failures....I will actually welcome comments from people I do not know, and that may include people who would love nothing more than to "bring me down" and bring more attention to themselves. I will bring to you stories and insights from my own clients, and what I have learned from them. And, finally, I will do this "regularly" (I wince at the word), even though I detest discipline. (Pavarotti once said, "People think that I am disciplined. I am not. I am devoted. There is a big difference.")

These are just a few of my Rocks. And still, I am devoted to removing the Rocks in my own Road, and to helping others do the same. Kate mentioned in her comments the concept of "rolling it forward", and I love that! So let the Rocks Roll...and here we go.

More on Wednesday, I promise. (Oh, and by the way, if you want to get these Posts as soon as I write them, I think you have to click on Subscribe somewhere on this page. I don't think being a "Follower" is good enough. Not absolutely sure on that though....I'll try to find out by Wednesday.)

Kristelle

Friday, August 14, 2009

The Beginning

Okay, this is not the start I thought it would be...not the effortless flow of words on the paper, not the inspired ideas bursting forth from my imagination, not the thrill of offering pearls of wisdom from...well, wherever those pearls come from.

It's hard to do this...it's a Rock in my Road!

Rocks are those kinds of obstacles that slow a person down, and at the very least make the ride bumpy, if not downright painful. I like to think that I, as a coach, help people do something with their rocks...grinding them down to powder, burrowing underneath them, throwing them off the side, or building massive earth-mover tires so that these little rocks seem too puny to even notice.

And I realized that I had made writing a blog into a Rock in my Road. Despite all the good advice from my blog-savvy brothers, and the courage of my new-blog-creator sister, it took a movie to move me forward. Julie & Julia, I thank you. I could "see" myself being like "Julie", and so that helps me BE like her. See first, BE after. It's a formula that works for me. "Julie" surmounted all kinds of Rocks in her Road, and she started with an idea.

I haven't yet recognized the great Idea that she did...but I will. And this blog, done every day, will help bring it to me.

Onward on this road...one rock down, who knows how many to go!