November 20, 2010
As a coach, I look for ‘aha’ moments, lightbulb moments – whatever you want to call them. That moment of insight marks a shift in attitude or viewpoint for a client. Some insights keep shining and become pivotal and significant because they happen at just the right time, in the right place. Then, it will [...]
Congratulations to Sir Ranulph Feinnes – conquering Everest for the thrid time at 65 after serious surgery. During his interview on the Today programme and various other news programmes, he said something about goals and vision that struck a chord with me.
He said (and I have to paraphrase here as I can’t find the interview to listen [...]
May 18, 2009
I don’t believe that I’m lucky. I regard competitions, lotteries and the fall of dice with a dubious eye, never believing that I have any chance of winning. I feel I have to do more; that I must work for it and earn good fortune. So I leave well alone.
However, I see with my own eyes that [...]
May 15, 2009
Successful leaders and businessmen have it
Despite the fact that intuition is not valued in our society, we are told that really successful people all have it. Have you noticed that? It is true, of course. So what the hell is it? This is my take….
What it isn’t
First, I want to get a popular confusion out [...]
April 27, 2009
For years I struggled with the concept of meditation. I never did get past the first principle of emptying the mind. Then, when I was training as a coach, I suddenly got it. It’s not nearly as difficult as I thought and you don’t have to sit cross-legged in a silent room.
For anyone who has the [...]
April 17, 2009
I’ve finally submitted my ‘Life after redundancy’ article (it will appear on the jobs.ac.uk website/Career Development soon). Here’s an addition to it.
After a few interviews, I realised that the most interesting and useful question I asked was ‘What is your advice to anyone in this situation?’ I saw that, as people’s experiences and how they dealt with it were [...]
April 3, 2009
Almost invariably, what you don’t want when you’re wrestling with a problem is ‘a solution’. Particularly when you’ve been living with it for ages and it’s been going round and round in your head.
I never fail to be surprised when I’m offered the first piece of advice that enters the head of the person I’m talking to. If [...]
March 29, 2009
I’ve been feeling very uneasy about my bald comment (on the About Melanie page) that I hated boarding school. Not because it’s untrue, but because it’s heavy-handed and unsubtle. Yes, I did hate it. Being there – at any of the schools - and dreading being back there dominated and oppressed my childhood. Why?
I wasn’t bullied, I wasn’t any more [...]
March 10, 2009
A purse-lipped and parsimonious cliche because of the way it’s often used.