What Class Do You Want To Teach?

I was waiting for my number to be called at the Social Security Administration Office earlier in the week. My husband and I were here together - I was going to change to my new married name and as a recent immigrant from England, he was getting a social security number for the first time.

I brought with me my file of Important Papers - birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc…(Yes, I actually have a file called Important Papers - in an emergency I can just grab the one file and run out the door!)

As we were sitting there passing the time, something in my file caught my hubby's eye.  It was my transcript from college, which listed all the classes I took during college, and my grades.  We took a look and got a bit of a chuckle out of it.....here are a sampling of the classes I took over 20 years ago (!):  - Psychology, Philosophy, Communication, Women Studies, Marketing, Astronomy, Small Business classes  - Wow!  I often feel like I'm so far away from that time in my life and yet looking at this….I see how I've always been on purpose!

I can see how I've taken some meanderings in my life, and yet the trajectory path was always very steady. It makes sense now that...."Of course" I am a coach, consultant, and creative spirit working with mostly women entrepreneurs for greater and more meaningful success in their business and lives.

It's always been there.  Just took me a while to explore different paths and versions of the story. So, how about you?  Look back through your life:

What classes did you take? 
What classes did you always want to take?
What books have you always grativated to?
What subjects have you been fascinated with your whole life?
What do they tell you about your soul calling you?
What messages keep showing up consistently?

I know whenever I get a course catalog from a local university or adult education center, I get a tingle.  I just think of all the possibilities inside!  In fact, just tonight I received an email from Emory University with their fall adult learning courses.  I love to read through the catalog listings and dream about taking Feng Shui Gardening, Scrapbooking on the Internet, Comparative Religion, and loads more!  I always look at my favorite catagories (personal growth, small business, women's studies, creativity) and think...hmm, and what would MY class look like?  The one that I would just LOVE to teach? It gives me lots of juicy ideas for the future.

Imagine you have the magic wand (and you do have one, you know!) what would be the class you would just love to teach - if you could teach anything in the whole wide world? Obviously we are in the area of your passion - the stuff that fuels you and lights up your fire!  What is the little step you can do today to bring more of that passion into your life?

It might be to find out what it takes to teach a course. It might be to go take a course. Stretch yourself to take something or teach something that you know excites you! Just thinking about it has you grinning from ear to ear!!

What's the step you can take right now?

On the meandering purposeful path,

Laura

Go easy

I needed to read this excerpt this week so I'm going to assume you might relate to it to...

Go easy. You may have to push forward, but you don't have to push so hard. Go in gentleness, go in peace.

Do not be in so much of a hurry. At no day, no hour, no time are you required to do more than you can do in peace. Frantic behaviors and urgency are not the foundation for our new way of life.

Do not be in such a hurry to begin. Begin, but do not force the beginning if it is not time. Beginnings will arrive soon enough.

Enjoy and relish the middles, the heart of the matter.

Do not be in too much of a hurry to finish. You may almost be done, but enjoy the final moments. Give yourself fully to those moments so that you may give and get all there is.

Let the pace flow naturally. Move forward. Start. Keep moving forward. Do it gently, though. Do it in peace. Cherish each moment.

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie from the blog www.womenatrest.com

Now, Discover Your Strengths

Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton: Now, Discover Your Strengths

Imagine your business activities just flow each day. You enjoy what you do and the specific way you do it. Your activities actually give you energy instead of using all your energy.

This is what it is like when you purposely and consciously use your strengths in your business and life.

As I work with clients, one of the areas we focus on is really getting clear about their personal and professional strengths. Your professional strengths are typically based on a lot of experience in a certain area.  For example, one of my clients came from a salon background. She understands the hair, cosmetics, and well-being business.  She knows the ins and outs, the frustrations and dividends in this environment.

The other type of strength is your personal strength. I find that most of my clients have some self-awareness of their strengths. They might say... "I'm good with people. I like to write. Telling stories is easy for me"...etc....

It's one thing to be self-aware of a few strengths, and another to really get a full picture and then live into it!  What do I mean by "Live into your Strengths?" It's about knowing all your strengths, accepting them, and owning them. Then aligning your business and life around them so you're able to give from your strengths.

A simple and affordable tool for identifying your strengths is the book by Marcus Buckingham, "Now Discover Your Strengths."  Based on years of corporate studies and a Gallup survey, this handy book comes with a code which you use to take an online assessment.  You receive a list of your own top personal strengths and then use the book to understand what each of your strengths means and how to manage (be in a relationship) with someone within each type of strength.

While the book is geared more toward a corporate environment, I have found great success personally and with other individuals using this program.

As an entrepreneur you are probably good at a lot of things.  Let go of good.  Dare to focus only on what you are "great" at - that top 20%!  Delegate, let go, revise everything else. Enjoy the flow and ease that happens when you focus only on what you are great at doing.

My top 5 strengths are:

• Learner
• Maximizer
• Connector
• Achiever
• Relator

A great example of how I used these strengths came up last week at an Advisory Council retreat up at Lake Superior, Minneapolis. (Brrr...) There was an afternoon where we were discussing marketing ideas.  It started out with different people throwing out ideas....groups to collaborate with, buying ad words, and an idea to incorporate adventure travel into our programs.  To me this was a big jumble of different aspects of marketing.

So, I stepped up and drew a diagram on a flip chart and showed how there were different areas of the marketing plan. I helped to segment the discussion and see the flow from one activity to another. 

I did this without fuss, easily, naturally. The impact was a gift to the group - clarity, focus, breathing room, and spacious conversation vs. trying to get all the ideas on the table. 

I've learned that when I own my strengths, it's easy. When I bring together all my strengths of connecting new ideas to people, having intimate conversation about what matters, and simplifying the process so each person can relate - it's truly a beautiful experience!  For me and others. It's a gift.

Get the book and try it out with colleagues, your spouse, family....

Identify your strengths.

See if they resonate.

Notice how they show up in your life and business. Keep track.

Allow yourself to focus here more fully.

Notice how others with different strengths aren't really "wrong" - they are just different. The bonus is that you will find a new appreciation for them as well.

Embracing my Maximizer, Achiever, Connector, Relator, Learner Self!

Laura