Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “Why Your Circle Shapes Your Success”

This was about the Power of Proximity and how those we spend the most time with have a huge influence on us and our moods, our outlook and the expectations we have of ourselves and others.

You can see this and all of my previous blogs below.

And here is an example of the Power of Proximity in action …

I just heard some very sad news and still reeling from it. A friend who was also such an inspiration to me, and so many others, has passed away suddenly. Darren Robson was in incredible visionary Entrepreneur and Founder of the Moe Foundation and on the Global Board of the Association for Coaching.

Moe stands for: Me, Others and Everyone and that sums up what the Foundation is all about. People choose how much they want to pay and when people cannot pay, they are gifted a place.

Through his Foundation, so far, Darren has gifted £3 million pounds worth of Coaching Training and support to people from all walks of life. It all started with “The Dream Factory” for young people to help them realise their dreams. The Moe Programmes evolved and are literally life-changing – and you probably wouldn’t believe that unless you had been through one of them.

Darren was very open about his humble beginnings and losing his mother while he was still young and he and his brother started the Moe Foundation as a tribute to her. Their vision was to help less-fortunate younger people and then it evolved to helping everyone.

I first met Darren when I went through one of his Coaching Programmes and that was such a profound experience for me that it changed the way I work with people, whether it be Coaching, Training, with colleagues and in all I do.

Darren wasn’t a Trainer himself; he has an incredible team of people out there making his vision happen. I was one of the people who co-ran 15 courses in Guernsey and became a lead trainer on the Moe Certified Coaching Programme. The programme is profound. It was gifted to Darren by Carol Wilson and based on self-directed learning and awareness, which is where all the magic happens with Coaching.

So, I believe that if it wasn’t for Darren, I wouldn’t be doing what I do right now in the way I am doing it. I have written before about how one person / leader can have such a profound and positive effect on someone, possibly without realising how much.

Since I heard the terrible news, I have been pondering on all of this. And when we lose someone, we think about the last time we spoke to them and the conversation we had don’t we!

I hadn’t spoken to Darren for a while and I really wish I had. We can get so busy and absorbed in our lives that when we lose someone, we regret that gap of time since we showed them how much we appreciate them.

As all the tributes to Darren pour in, I wonder how many of us actually told him what an amazing human he was while he was here.

So, I take this opportunity to share this with you, so you can take this chance to appreciate those who have made the biggest impact on your life by letting them know how much they mean to you.

“Crazy is not following your dream and living a life less ordinary!

-Darren Robson-

[Founder of the Moe Foundation, DRArete.

Title in his own words: “Chief Storyteller / Firestarter”]

And Darren leaves us with the most incredible legacy that will continue for many years to come.

I will leave you with that thought and will be in touch again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes for your success,

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Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “Who Will you Ride with in the Limo?” This was about spending most of our time, whenever we can, with those who accept us for who we are, inspire us, help us grow and we can be ourselves with.

You can see this and all of my previous blogs below.

• Whether you are an Entrepreneur who is at the seed stage or your business is growing into something amazing and taking off;

• Whether you are an Executive, Manager, Team Leader or Team Member working for a larger organisation;

• Whether you are an independent Consultant or other Professional …

In all cases, to succeed, you will have to grow your network, accept challenges, take risks, be ready to learn from your mistakes and keep the ball rolling.

And asking for help is vital to growing your business and career.

Yet, many professional people are hesitant to seek the help they need. Asking for assistance doesn’t make us less capable – we want to be able to go to colleagues and / or seniors for support. 

Some will say that coaches and mentors are the only way forward, they are impartial and extremely convenient. And … if you have the right Coach or Mentor, they will ride on the bus with you if the limo breaks down! (You will recognise that from last week).

Working with the right Coach or Mentor can only add to you achieving the success you are striving for. What’s the difference between Coaching and Mentoring? Read HERE

[Yes, I am a Coach … at the same time this post is not about selling Coaching]

In any case, in the same vein as last week’s thought, you want to surround yourself with talented people!

One of the most profound things I have learned as an entrepreneur and through working with business professionals is this;

“Hire people to work with you who show the most talent and drive and who may even be smarter than you!”

There’s humility and wisdom in that and, let’s face it; no matter how good you are at building and running a company, you can’t do it all by yourself.

Have you ever heard someone say; “You are who you hang out with?” If you have kids, you probably worry about them falling in with the wrong crowd (and your parents worried about the same for you!).

That’s because those we spend the most time with have a huge influence on us and our moods, how we view the World and the expectations we have of ourselves and others.

This is known as “The Power of Proximity”

So, why don’t we use this it to our own advantage?

When we surround ourselves with positivity, we’re more likely to adopt empowering beliefs and see life as happening for us, rather than to us. 

Just as we benefit when we surround ourselves with people who make us unhappy, sadly we suffer when those in our business or social circles are negative or narrow-minded.

So, we need to frequently remind ourselves that who we spend the most time with is who we eventually become. And, to reach new heights of success, we must surround ourselves with people who not only inspire us, but also challenge us in a positive way. It isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it.

I mentioned a few weeks back that, when I was in a leadership role in the British Airways Training Department, I found an operational manager difficult to be around. Only by arranging to have a coffee and chat did we find common ground and that resulted in an extremely positive and empowering partnership for both of us.

Of course, it doesn’t always work out like that. If not, then we have to navigate our way to be around those positive and inspiring people as much as possible. And this could be online as much as in person.

If you want to know more about this, here’s a good read: “The Proximity Principle” by Ken Coleman.

“If you want to turn your goals into reality faster, then get yourself in proximity with people who are playing the game at a higher level than you do.”

-Tony Robbins-

If you would like to try coaching with me, I invite you to book a free consultation with me to see if we are a good fit. You can choose a time that best works for you HERE 

So, I hope you have a great week and I will be in touch again soon with more thoughts and tips.

Download this FREE Checklist; “The Ultimate Checklist for Mastering Communication” – you can download it HERE

With best wishes for your success,

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Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “A Chrysalis for Transformation” about how loneliness can be a time to transform and grow and also knowing when we need to be around other people.

You can see this and all of my previous blogs below.

So, this week, I’d like to pick up on the bit; “being around other people” and, ideally, this will be the right people in any given moment when we need connection.

And yes, we don’t always have a choice to be around the people we would choose to be with do we and we have to make the best of that!

What we can do though is to spend most of our time, whenever we can, with those who inspire us and who we can be ourselves with. You will already be choosing to talk to certain people and or groups in different situations.

“Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher”

-Oprah Winfrey-

You will know about The Pareto Principle. If not, here’s a brief explanation …

“The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, is a theory maintaining that 80 percent of the output from a given situation or system is determined by 20 percent of the input. The principle doesn’t stipulate that all situations will demonstrate that precise ratio – it refers to a typical distribution”.

In the case of surrounding ourselves with the right people, there will be around 20% who inspire approximately 80% of our output and around 80% who contribute to approximately 20% of our output.

Just like spending 20% of our time and energy on those activities that generate 80% of our income and / or output.

All-too-often when we are less-productive, we are probably spending 80% of our time and energy on the activities that generate only 20% of our income and / or output.

When it comes to choosing the people I want to spend most of my time with, this quote hits the nail on the head …

“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down”.

-Oprah Winfrey-

If you’d like to book a free consultation with me to talk about anything that’s holding you back, you can choose a time that best works for you HERE 

So, I hope you have a great week and I will be in touch again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,

Thrive Coaching & Training – Empowering you to Thrive!

P.S. Download this FREE Checklist; “The Ultimate Checklist for Mastering Communication” – you can download it HERE

Thrive Web Site

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Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “One Intention, Endless Magic!”. This was about how it is absolutely possible to achieve the most amazing things when we put our mind to it by setting a powerful intention!

You can see this and all of my previous blogs below.

This week, I popped into a local café for a quick coffee and bumped into a friend who I hadn’t seen for a while. She is an entrepreneur and has had coaching with me in the past. She was working from there that day because she was finding working from home can get a bit lonely.

It’s true isn’t it. I have found that myself at times when I have worked at home and feel the urge to go to a place where there are people around and a stimulating buzz going on!

Sometimes, we do want that peace and quiet when we want to concentrate and get our head down on something.

And at other times, we can actually feel lonely when we are around other people! We are all different and it’s about checking in with ourselves to see what we need in that moment.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how taking time alone to think can help us to reconnect with ourselves and having time alone can be a very positive thing.

At the same time, I know that loneliness is something that often comes up with professional people, especially as many of us are now working more from home. So, here’s a quote to ponder on …

“A season of loneliness and isolation is when the caterpillar gets its wings. Remember that next time you feel alone.” 

-Mandy Hale-

[Known around the world as “The Single Woman.” In just over three years, Mandy has garnered a massive Twitter following of a half a million people from across the globe].

And a butterfly is symbolic of transformation and growth right?

By the way, my friend in the coffee shop found that talking about her loneliness in that moment completely changed her frame of mind.

*|FNAME|*, if you’d like to book a time to chat, you can choose a time that best works for you HERE 

So, I hope you have a great week – let the wind get beneath your wings and fly!

With best wishes,

P.s. Download this FREE Checklist; “The Ultimate Checklist for Mastering Communication” – you can download it HERE

Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “Mind-boggling Fortitude” about the incredible achievements that human beings make through sheer mindset, courage determination and fortitude. You can see this and all of my previous blogs here in my blog.

If I ask you what is the most amazing thing you have achieved so far in your life, what would that be?

When I ask people that same question on training workshops, often they struggle to think of anything. And yet they find it easier to say what that have not achieved that they think they should have!

Why is that?

Because many people are conditioned to be humble and don’t want to appear “full of themselves” and things like that.

Of course, humility is a good quality to have and many of the most successful people are actually quite humble about their achievements. At the same time, they seem to quietly acknowledge them while playing them down a little don’t they!

There is a very subtle difference between playing down what we have achieved and beating ourselves up about what we have not yet achieved – right?

Did you see what I did there? Yes, I emphasised the “Yet”!

So, a little shift in our mindset can change everything – and then setting our intentions.

If you look back on your life and what you have achieved, what was your intention leading up to that?

How did you put that intention into words?

Sometimes people interpret their intention into some kind of image or vision, especially if they are more of a visual person (if you know about Neuro Linguistic Programming – NLP – you will get that).

For others, it could be a piece of music that reminds them of their intention.

Here’s a definition from the Dictionary:

What is the true meaning of intention?

“An intention is idea that you plan (or intend) to carry out. If you mean something, it’s an intention. Your goal, purpose, or aim is your intention. It’s something you mean to do, whether you pull it off or not”.

So, your intention will be like a goal – at the same time, your intention / goal has to be very meaningful to you, like an anchor that keeps you on track towards where you want to get to.

Like Bob Wieland (who I spoke about last week), how can we achieve such amazing feats in our lives?

We know that it is absolutely possible when we put our mind to it through setting our own powerful intention!

 

“Intentions compressed into words enfold magical power”

-Deepaki Chopra-

[Medical Doctor and writer]

 

If you’d like to book a FREE consultation with me – you can choose your slot HERE 

Download this FREE Checklist; “The Ultimate Checklist for Mastering Communication” and you can download it HERE

So, I hope you have a great week and achieve something amazing, no matter how big or how tiny!

With best wishes,

Korinne Le Page

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Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “Reading the Room” about how the most impactful people are those who listen and read the room. They may say just one thing in a meeting and yet that one thing is the most powerful thing anyone has to say!

You can see all of my previous blogs below.

One of the most impressive people I ever met was Bob Wieland who did a talk when I was living and running training courses in Barbados.  Bob is a Vietnam war veteran who lost both legs to a mortar mine in 1969. He lost them right up to hip level. Of course, we know of many more who have suffered such losses, past and present, some losing all four limbs.

Despite his horrific injuries, Bob became inspired to do a marathon and is the only double amputee to finish the challenging Kona, Hawaiian Ironman race without a wheelchair. He “ran” across America on his hands, taking 3 years, eight months and six days to travel from coast-to-coast. And, over his lifetime Bob has finished many marathons.

He spoke about those who were with him on the race (most able-bodied) and how some of them dropped out. At the same time, he was so humble about that explaining that everyone had their own reasons and he had so much respect for them.

Chatting to Bob after the talk, I was struck by how humble he was, and yet he overcame adversity with such incredible grace and courage. He also finished the NYC Marathon on 98 hours and you can see him cross the finish line here: https://youtu.be/csBt2_L5yTc

I don’t know about you, but I find this such a mind-blowingly impressive tribute to human beings and what we can achieve through sheer mindset, courage determination and fortitude.

What does this tell us as we go about our day?

“Like tiny seeds with potent power to push through tough ground and become mighty trees, we hold innate reserves of unimaginable strength. We are resilient.”
-Catherine DeVrye, The Gift of Nature-

[Best-selling author, winner of Australian Executive Woman of the Year and a Thought Leader]

 So, I hope you have a great week and achieve something wonderful, no matter how big or small.

With best wishes,

Download this FREE Checklist; “The Ultimate Checklist for Mastering Communication” and you can download it HERE

If you’d like to book a FREE consultation with me – you can choose your slot HERE 

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Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “NO Time to Think” which was about why taking time to check in with ourselves is so important because how we think about ourselves affects how we communicate with others. People thrive in a thinking environment!

You can see all of my previous blogs below.

When you’re in a meeting, do you notice who is doing most of the talking? Is it always the same person, or people?

They may be making some excellent points – the thing is though how does that enhance communication for everyone else at that meeting?

If they are just talking, are they actually listening to others? Just saying!

This can create a wall, a block for the others to speak. The consequence of that is that decisions will probably be made by the more dominant speakers in the room and everyone else has to live with those, unless they manage to speak up!

I was in a meeting recently and was observing … there was one person doing most of the talking and dominating the conversation. Let’s call them Person A.

Someone was trying to present to the group (Person B) and A kept talking over them. Not only was A talking over them, they were jumping the gun and telling B what they should be doing when B hadn’t been able to get to that point yet!

When B spoke up saying they would like to finish and get to their point, A said (quite abruptly) that they wanted to be able to talk too and gave B a piercing look.

Well, of course everyone can have their say – at the same time, if A had just listened and waited for B to finish before talking, it would have been a very different conversation.

I’m sure that you have experienced similar situations and you may even realise that you have been Person A at some point!

The most impactful people are those who listen and read the room. They may say just one thing in a meeting and yet that one thing is the most powerful thing anyone has said!

‘We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

-Epictetus-

[Greek philosopher who spent his youth as a slave in Rome before gaining freedom after the death of Nero, under whom he served until around 60 AD].

I’d like to share this FREE Checklist with you; “The Ultimate Checklist for Mastering Communication” and you can download HERE

And, if you’d like to take time to think with me, I invite you to book a FREE consultation – you can choose your slot HERE 

So, I hope this Thought for the Week has inspired you, even in a small way.

Have a great week and I’ll be in touch again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,

Korinne Le Page

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Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “Time to Think” which was about how important it is to give others time to think, particularly in our very busy and distracting World, because people thrive in a thinking environment.

You can see all of my previous blogs below.

Because listening and giving people time to think is so key to communication, I’d like to continue with this theme this week.

One of the biggest complaints in our modern society is being overcommitted and overstretched. Ask people at a social gathering how they are and the stock answer is likely to be; “super busy,” “crazy busy” or “insanely busy.” Few seem to say they are just “fine” anymore!

When people aren’t super busy at work, they are crazy busy exercising, entertaining or taking their kids to sport or dancing classes. Or maybe they are insanely busy playing sport themselves, tracing their genealogy, clearing out their shed or scrolling through social media!

Sometimes people actually find any excuse they can to keep busy so they can avoid taking time out to just think. And research has shown in 11 experiments involving over 700 people, that the majority reported finding it unpleasant to be alone in a room with their thoughts for just 6 to 15 minutes.

Why do you think that is? Is it because we tend to dwell on what’s wrong in our lives? What preys on our minds, when we aren’t keeping busy?

And until there is resolution, or at least some kind of understanding or acceptance, these thoughts reverberate in our heads.

So, when we are talking about taking time to think when we are alone, we are communicating with ourselves! Could you catch yourself having negative thoughts and intentionally turn these around into positive ones?

For instance; if you are dwelling on having too much work and not enough time, could you instead focus on what you have already achieved?

This self-communication is so important because how we think about ourselves affects how we communicate with those around us.

Studies further suggest that not giving ourselves time to reflect, impairs our ability to empathise with others …

“The more in touch with my own feelings and experiences, the richer and more accurate are my guesses of what passes through another person’s mind,”

-Giancarlo Dimaggio-

[Psychiatrist with the Centre for Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy in Rome, who studies the interplay of self-reflection and empathy].

If you’d like to take time to think with me, I invite you to book a FREE consultation. You can choose your slot HERE 

So, I hope this Thought for the Week has inspired you, even a little bit and I will sign off on that note.

Have a great week and I’ll be in touch again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,

Korinne Le Page – Thrive Coaching & Training

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Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “Curiously Listening” which was about listening to understand what another person is really trying to tell us, rather than listening with the intent to reply.

You can see all of my previous blogs below.

As you have probably gathered by now, I have a thing about listening!

I’m not perfect and like any other human, I can be forgiven for those times when I don’t listen as well as I could because I’m stressed or whatever. What all of us can do is to listen as well as we possibly can and strive to be a better listener.

And here’s the thing; when someone is talking to us and we are already thinking about our reply, how well are we actually listening?

If only every citizen of the World listened to each other with empathy and compassion, imagine how different it would be!

Some may ask why it’s so important to listen? I would ask them how they feel when someone really listens to them and gives them space and time to think.

And that’s a real gift.

In one of my earlier blogs, I mentioned a book that I read when I was training to be a coach; “Time to Think: by Nancy Kline.

How can you create and be in a thinking environment where everybody thrives? Here are 10 ways of being with others that generates creativity, good thinking, motivation, open-mindedness towards each other and trust …

Ten components of a thinking environment: –

1. Give your full attention and listen. If you give attention and take a genuine interest in what the person thinks and will say next, they will think better around you than they would if you interrupt them or listen only in order to reply.

2. Create an environment of equality. If you regard the person who is thinking as your thinking equal, regardless of any power differential between you, they will think better around you, than if you see yourself as better than, or less than, they are.

3. Ease. If you are at ease inside yourself, regardless of the degree of urgency and rush outside you, people will think better and faster around you than if you are in a hurry yourself.

4. Appreciation. If you genuinely appreciate people 5 times more than you give feedback to them, they will think more clearly and imaginatively around you than if you focus on their faults.

5. Encouragement. If you encourage people, build with them the courage to go to the unexplored edge of their thinking, by championing their excellence, they will think better around you than if you compete with them.

6. Feelings. If you welcome the expression of peoples’ feelings, and are relaxed in the face of their tears, or anger or fear, they will think better around you than if you race in some way to anaesthetise them.

7. Information. If you offer accurate and complete information to people and if you show respect for them facing what they have been denying, they will think better around you than if you collude with their assumption that what is true is not true, or that what is not true is.

8. Diversity. If you’re interested in the diversity between you and others, the differences both in your group ideas, group identities and cultures, they will think better around you, than if you indicate (however subtly) that being just like you is best.

9. Incisive Questions. If you can ask people an incisive question, one that replaces an untrue limiting assumption with a true, liberating one, they will think better around you, than if you abandon them to limiting assumptions and beliefs.

10. Place. If you can prepare the place where you and they think together, so that it says to them; “you matter”, they will think better around you, than if you allow the place to be intimidating, inaccessible or culturally and aesthetically barren.

It’s from that quality of thinking that people make the best decisions and, even if you only do ONE of these things, you will be improving peoples’ thinking. And you will see that people are grateful for any one of them, any chance they get!

On a Leadership Programme with Thrive Coaching & Training, we will immerse ourselves in these components.

“How far can this person go in their own productive, original thinking before they need mine?”
-Nancy Kline-

[President of Time to Think, an international leadership development and coaching company. She is also a published author and public speaker].

If you’d like time to think with me, I invite you to book a FREE consultation. You can choose your slot HERE 

So, I hope this Thought for the Week has inspired you, even a little bit and I will sign off on that note.

Have a great week and I’ll be in touch again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,

Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “Expectations for Today” which was about how our expectations are at the root of so many misunderstandings.

You can see all of my previous blogs HERE

So, if peoples’ expectations are at the root of so many misunderstandings, I believe that another huge barrier is when we don’t listen well!

We are all human and there are times when we don’t listen as well as we could for a number of reasons such as; our mind being on other things, we aren’t interested in what the other person is saying, we think it’s irrelevant to us, we have a very short attention span, or whatever.

When at a party socialising, we are likely to communicate differently to when we are at work or with clients, right? And in social situations, people are often talking over each other and not listening that attentively to each other.

“There’s a lot of difference between listening and hearing.”
-G.K. Chesterton-

[English writer and philosopher]

“The word ‘listen’ contains the same letters as the word ‘silent’.”
-Alfred Brendel-

[Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer and lecturer]

So, in what kind of situations should we be better listeners then?

I’m sure you can think of many situations and don’t need me to tell you! Essentially, I think most people would like to be better listeners in general and many believe they are already great listeners. Let me ask you a few questions …

1. In conversations with colleagues at work, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much of the talking do you usually do?
2. In meetings, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much of the talking do you usually do?
3. If someone comes to you for advice, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much of the talking do you usually do?
4. If you are giving someone a performance appraisal, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much of the talking do you usually do?

So, you will see in which situations you do most of the talking.

Now, replace the word ‘talking’ with ‘listening’ and ask yourself the same questions.

What did you notice?

“Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we don’t listen with the intent to reply. We listen for what’s behind the words.”

-Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart-

If you’d like to explore this further for your team or yourself, I would like to invite you to book a FREE consultation with me. You can choose your slot HERE 

So, I hope this Thought for the Week has inspired you, even a little bit and I will sign off on that note.

Have a great week and I’ll be in touch again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,

P.S. Download this FREE Checklist: “10 Mistakes that Could be Stopping You from Being a Really Good Communicator“:

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