Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Thank You Posted: 24 Dec 2007 03:02 AM CST Thank you all so much for all of the love and support I get in my work.  Thank you to all those who have ever collaborated with me and to those who correspond with me.  Thank you also to those who contribute, ideas and thoughts. Thank you also to all those who have ever challenged or criticised my work, I have learned a great deal from your challenges. Thank you to all of those who have trusted me enough to come on a course, or to be coached by me, or to hire me to run sessions for their teams at work. Thank you to anyone who has sacked me (there have been a few) or pushed me down an unexpected path and made me change my direction.  Thank you to everyone who has participated in my life so far, whether I liked it at the time or not.  All contributions have been extremely valuable in helping me become the person I am now and I am genuinely and humbly appreciative for every bit. We are the sum of our experiences plus our genes.  Every experience, positive and negative, contributes to us being the person we are today.  If we like the person we are today, or even the person we know that we have the potential to become we can be grateful for every contribution along the way. Most of all we can be grateful to our parents, because they had the greatest influence in shaping our lives.  In addition we can be grateful to our schools and our teachers, to bullies and friends alike.  To supportive bosses and colleagues as well as to the ones who might have made a place so uncomfortable that we had to leave and move on, and find the next thing.   We can be grateful to ex-partners for the lessons we learned about love, no matter how uncomfortable.   If we can learn to love ourselves then there can be no negative experiences, because all experiences contribute to our learning and the journey we are on. I wish all of you and yours the most delicious Christmas and will talk about new year next Monday. With love  nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk To believe in something and not live it, is dishonest. --Mahatma Gandhi This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Total Potential Posted: 17 Dec 2007 02:51 AM CST How many of us achieve our total potential in life? How many of us even know what our total potential is? Out total potential lies across five main areas: 1 - In love and relationships 2 - In work, wealth and contribution to society  3 - In wellness and fitness 4 - In the comfort and inspiration of our lifestyle 5 - In our continual spiritual development There is no absolute level of potential for any of these things and it is not about making comparisons with others.  At some level we know what we are capable of, we know when we can stop searching and feel comfortable, we know when we feel at peace. How would you score your self out of 10, in each of these areas, where 0 is 'pain' and 10 is 'peace'. In love and relationships we are looking for relationships with parents, children and especially our life partner that are loving, aligned, honest and mutually supportive.  The single most empowering thing that we can experience in life is the unconditional support of another.  This is our gift to give and our blessing to receive. How are your relationships with you partner, your parents and your children? Work, wealth and contribution is about what you do with your time, the contribution that you make to society and the rewards you receive by return. Do you love your work?  Do you love the impact that the outcome of your work has on others?  Is your work fulfilling both in terms of income and meaning for you? Our wellness and fitness are about going beyond basic good health to making the most of your physical body through excellence in nutrition and hydration and a suitable exercise routine.   Plus the healing of any dis-ease to the extent that it is possible. Are you as fit and healthy as you would like to be?  Are you as fit and healthy as you could be? Our lifestyle and location needs to inspire us and to be sufficient to put an end to striving.  We need to live somewhere that offers security, comfort and inspiration.  We need our lifestyle to have the space for learning, resting, relationships and fun. Are you happy with where and how you live?  Do you strive for more or different or are you at peace? Our spiritual potential is unlimited and is a lifelong journey of exploration.  Do you know YOUR spirituality or have you accepted someone else's?  Do you understand why you are here and how it all fits together? Reaching our total potential is not about striving or struggling it is about centering our lives around our authentic selves and simply being all that we can be. Achieving our total potential is about creating alignment in our relationships so that they can support us in our quest and we can support them, it is about loving our lives and our work and contributing to society with our time and energy, it is about honouring our body and maximising our energy. In 2008 commit to achieving your total potential. If you want some support for your journey why not come on the Total Potential Retreat in Mallorca or have some one to one coaching. If you want to help others to reach their total potential through coaching or other inspiration take a look at the Authentic Transformation Advance in Mallorca in March and California in April. If you want your business to achieve it's total potential how about total potential training for your staff? Looking forward to helping you make 2008 the best year ever in every way. with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk Most of us seem to be coerced into conformity from a very early age by the dragon of normality. I call it a dragon not because it breathes fire or even because it is particularly nasty but because it is entirely fictitious. There is no normal. There is no right, which is more right than your right. Neil Crofts - Authentic - How to Make a Living by Being Yourself This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Collaboration Posted: 10 Dec 2007 02:24 AM CST I have been looking for a partner to collaborate with for several years and I have finally found Judy.  Judy's work and style is entirely complimentary to mine while our philosophies are almost identical.  I would describe Judy's work as specializing in the "crisis to good" zone, while I tend to focus on the "good to great" area - although we both do the full spectrum as well. Judy founded a service called Second Aid thirty years ago to help people who had dramatic life change imposed on them through events such as illness or injury.  Judy and I are collaborating to offer the Total Potential Retreat, which starts on the 7th of January, in Mallorca. Individually we can make a difference, through collaboration we can change the world. True collaboration requires a very special relationship.  It requires love, trust and alignment.  We cannot expect to have this kind of relationship with everyone we meet, or everyone we have a cool idea with, it is a special relationship - a little like choosing a life partner.  I am thrilled to have found someone else to challenge me, inspire me, teach me and collaborate with me. By way of introduction I have asked Judy to contribute to this weeks e-mail: "Neil kindly asked me to guest the inspiration letter this week.   As you may know he and I are merging our services into an updated form within 'Total Potential'. This week it is helpful to compare discrepancies between how you feel towards what is occurring within you, and the happenings that are reflected back to you from others.   The love and forgiveness that you extend to all those you come across can reflect how well you are growing internally yourself.   If you want some particular characteristic within a relationship with another, then we have to take the responsibility for being able to give that state to others first before it will be mirrored back to us. Being good-humoured attracts good humour, love attracts love, and generosity attracts the generous and so on.  We can conduct a personal inventory as to how we want to appear to others and them to us by listing at least three qualities and monitoring our internal capacity to gift those qualities both at home and at work.   Others will reflect back to us how well we are doing. At the start of the day focus on how you want your life to be for a few minutes while in the shower or brushing your teeth.   Envisage the day, as you would like it to be then as you go to bed at night examine how the events of the day matched up to your criteria.   Gradually with practice throughout the week that which you want to attract will begin to manifest in the external environment.  And if not this week then next just keep on keeping on until it does." Plan an inspirational new year for yourself - why not kick it off with a little time at the Total Potential Retreat to get that clarity of purpose. And give someone a really profound gift this Christmas with a copy of Seven Stages of Authenticity. much love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk 'Until there is commitment, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues forth from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!' This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Distraction and the triple challenge Posted: 29 Nov 2007 09:42 AM CST We are evolving as a society.  As we evolve the challenges become greater, but the choice of outcomes is always the same - transcend or succumb. Right now we are facing a triple challenge - possibly for the first time in history: (We can use Spiral Dynamics to help us to understand the triple challenge (if you are not familiar with Spiral Dynamics you can see a summary here from Seven Stages of Authenticity). The Blue challenge - is the challenge of terrorism and fundamentalism, the battle for ownership of meaning The Orange challenge - is the challenge of peak oil and the loss of the primary source of energy for our economy The Green challenge - is climate change and the maintenance of a natural infrastructure to support us We have faced these challenges before, but never on a global scale and never all at once.  In the biggest picture, it does not truly matter if we transcend or succumb, because something else will come along and take our place in time. However, having come this far, it seems a shame to let it all go, and of course we may feel individually that it matters quite a lot whether humanity transcends or succumbs.  So if you would prefer to see humanity transcend the triple challenge please read on: As Einstein said: "Problems cannot be solved by the level of awareness that created them." The triple challenge will not be resolved by current world leaders.  If we want to see resolution we have to find a solution that works for Blue, Orange and Green at the same time.  This can only be done from a higher level of consciousness, in Spiral Dynamics this is called the Second Tier and Yellow and Turquoise are the first two levels. If we want to transcend the triple challenge we have to evolve enough of humanity to a higher level of consciousness than we are already at and we have to create and propagate the solutions from there.  This is the only way. The challenge in raising the level of consciousness of society is that so many people are distracted into a state of apathy. In 1949 Aldous Huxley wrote this in a letter to George Orwell:  "Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience" What we need to do is to wake ourselves up and to wake up as many people around us as we can.  We need to wake up to our total potential and our true responsibility and engage with helping society to transcend the triple challenge. What can you do: 1 - Engage seriously with your own potential - articulate your life's purpose, release the tensions that hold you back and go for it.  2 - Engage everyone else you know with this project - send them this e-mail if you like. 3 - Engage everyone else you know with their own potential, coach them yourself or get them reading stuff or get them to subscribe to my Monday mails, just do something. How I can help you: Seven Stages of Authenticity is a really easy to use personal development guide book I offer coaching over the phone (with a local rate number for UK calls) or face to face The Total Potential Retreat starts on 7 January  The Authentic Transformation Advance can help you find your own way to wake others up by inspiring them to be authentic. I do coaching and training for businesses to help them realise the commercial and personal benefits of authenticity.  So I can help your company be more authentic too. For more inspiration or to challenge or comment www.authenticinspiration.co.uk Through collaboration we can change the world. with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Dumbledore This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Programming Posted: 26 Nov 2007 02:52 AM CST Millions of people sit down every evening for an hour or two to receive their programming. Some sit down for their programming during the day.  There is even special programming for kids. The programming helps us to adapt to situations, it helps us to find things to talk about with other people, it helps us to show the appropriate emotions or lack of them at the appropriate time. It is done via an electronic box that most of us install in our own homes, many have more than one.  The programming is transmitted into the box and then to the people via changing lights and sounds. This is not some distopic sci-fi fantasy, this is normal life for many millions of people.  Of course far from all of the programming is bad, there is much that is excellent, the crucial thing is to be aware that it is not our own. It is conditioning, like so many other messages we hear. The FTSE in the UK, Dow and Nasdaq in the US, being mentioned at the end of every single bulletin, builds an entirely disproportionate level of mystique and importance around share trading.  Wouldn't global and local: happiness, peace or wellness indices be more relevant? When they say at the end of the news bulletin "that was the news" they give the impression that nothing else of interest or merit has happened.  The TV tells us who is "good" and who is "bad", it tells us which side to be on in any given situation. We invest 12 or more years in our educational programming, learning; that evaluation is done by someone else, that mistakes and failures will be punished by public humiliation, that subjects that qualifications are more important than confidence. Out education tells us to be obedient and to conform. The result of all of this conditioning is that many of us do not really know our own opinion and we lack the confidence to state it anyway. One of the things I frequently recommend to clients is to go on a media detox.  Cut out TV and mainstream news for one month. Then go back to it and see how your perspective has changed. In the spirit of simplification I have decided that all of the stuff I was offering was getting too complicated and I really needed to rationalise things and tidy up - so: Total Potential - All of my public workshops, excluding the Advance, will now be incorporated into a full time retreat.  The retreat will deal with all issues including work, relationships, wellness, crisis and so on as well as stretching participants who want it to a higher spiritual level as well.  Total Potential Retreat starts on the 7th of January at the beautiful Ca'n Pujola in S'Arraco, Mallorca. As a special launch offer anyone booking four nights in January or February, before the end of the year, will get a fifth night free.  It is only €100 or £70 per night so it is comparable with holiday kind of prices.  For more details see the web page or call 0044 (0)7775 658534. Advance - The Advance is a wonderful event that is for anyone who would like to inspire authenticity in others.  We have had cooks, actors, artists, musicians, coaches, consultants, lawyers, designers and others, who all now form a special community of authentic practitioners inspiring others to be authentic in their own authentic way. For 2008 there will be two Advances, one in Mallorca, 5-7 March, and the other in California 4-6 April.  For more details see the web page or call 0044 (0)7775 658534. Coaching - I will continue to do the coaching, which I love.  To witness people transform their lives in exciting and positive ways is so wonderful.  The coaching is either done on the phone or you are very welcome to come for some intensive coaching over a few days - a 'fix' as I call it.  For more details see the web page or call 0044 (0)7775 658534. Corporate work - The corporate work gets more and more exciting with global corporations getting excited about the potential of authenticity at a high level.  This takes the form of both workshops and executive coaching.  If you would like to bring the benefits of authenticity to your business or your employers business give me a call and we can find out what the best way is 0044 (0) 7775 658534 or see the web page for more details. with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk We pay more to be distracted than we do to anyone except the government and the bank. Compare the amount we pay sports and pop stars with the amount that we pay to educators or health care workers, for example. Neil Crofts - Authentic - How to Make a Living by Being Yourself - published by Capstone October 2003 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Stop Posted: 19 Nov 2007 02:58 AM CST We spend so much time being busy - just stop. It is a Monday morning, the start of a busy week (probably) - just stop. As a society we tend to value busyness over thinking time.  We talk about some one being a hard worker, like that is a good thing and we might criticise someone for "navel gazing". We have been conditioned to believe in being busy.  It made sense for those governing us, our bosses at work, the church and the government.  They did not want us thinking too much about things, they just wanted us to be obedient. What this conditioning holds us back from doing is stopping and checking the direction we are going in, because it is the direction we are heading in that will determine the outcome, not the individual tasks. For many of us the direction is around in another loop.  Hoping, just hoping, that somehow it will be better this time around.  The same loop at work, the same loop in our relationships, the same loop in our lifestyle. Navel gazing is good, it helps us figure out where we are going. So stop now, today and do a bit of navel gazing. Stop and think about where are you going with all this busyness. Are you pursuing your dreams and ambitions or someone else's? Stop and think about your relationships - are you being the relationship you aspire to have with your partner, your parents, your children, your boss? Create 10 minutes in your day, while you are waiting for someone or something just to think about the big stuff.  Break out of the loop and start to go in your direction. For a guide book for your journey see www.sevenstages.net I am also really excited to announce the launch of the Authentic Transformation Total Potential Retreat - the retreat will run most of the year at the fabulous Can Pujola, in Mallorca.  The retreat will help participants find and be their authentic selves and have a lot of fun along the way.  Think of it as an authentic activity holiday.  We are taking bookings starting on the 7th of January at only €100 (£70) per night plus food and flights.  See www.authentictransformation.co.uk/transformation/works.html for detials. Really looking forward to seeing you here. with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk Make no comparisons. Be whoever you are. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Awake Posted: 12 Nov 2007 08:18 AM CST Psychologist and hypnotist Charles Tart describes the the sate that many of us live a large part of our life in as being in a hypnotic trance.  Our education, the media, jobs and so on all combine to hypnotize us into a dream state where our lives follow the program that is set by society.   Another view of society as a trance was in the film The Matrix where the programming of peoples minds was represented by the whole artificial experiential world of The Matrix. Within the trance we are sure that this is "reality".  We are sure that there is no real choice.  We are sure that the path we are on is the only one.  We are afraid of challenging the trance. And yet we all awaken, we all enjoy moments of clarity, consciousness, enlightenment, authenticity. From within the trance, these moments appear to be unreal, appear to be false, idealistic, unrealistic. From a state of being awake it is the trance that appears to be unreal. What is real?  Take a look at this clip, before you decide. How would we know if our life was a being lead from within a trance? The clearest evidence of our level of awakeness or consciousness is in the level of responsibility that we feel.  When we are within the trance it is difficult to feel responsibility much beyond our selves or our immediate tribe (whatever form that may take).  When we are fully awakened we feel and act on a sense of responsibility that spans all life the past and the future. Within this it is important to bear in mind that our level of wakefulness varies (and therefore responsibility) with circumstance.  There will always be situations that can bounce us back to our sleeping state.  The journey is abount spending more of our time being more awake. If you feel a big sense of responsibility and your life's purpose is to inspire the evolution of consciousness or to inspire authenticity in others you may be interested in coming to the Authentic Transformation Advance - the last one was "Amazing" - the next ones are in Mallorca in March and California in April - take a look at the video and the web page to find out more. If you want to wake yourself up, from the 7th of January we will be opening Authentic Transformation Why Me?  This is a full time centre in Mallorca where anyone looking for a deeper understanding of life can come and stay for as little as a week or as long as they like for €100 per night excluding flights and food.  Please e-mail for details. with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of the earth. Your playing small does not serve the world. Theres nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people wont feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do... And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As were liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Save the planet Posted: 04 Nov 2007 02:07 AM CST There is much talk of the need to save the planet.  But is this what we mean? Is this the job that needs to be done? The planet will in fact survive.  It is highly unlikely that we could destroy it - although it is not beyond us to try. Also the implication of the word "save" is that somehow the planet got into this mess on it's own and we now need to intervene.  It is a bit like the old joke "I saved a guys life - I let go of his throat".  If we could just stop what we are doing that would save the planet. What we really mean is that we humans want to save ourselves AND our lifestyle.  On the whole we don't actually want to return to a new stone age where we live hand to mouth off the land.   We have made huge progress in many ways and it would be a shame to let it all go and regress.  However it would not be the first time it has happened.  All previous civilisations have regressed, largely through environmental mismanagement and the population demanding more from the land than it could give.   Which is, of course, precisely what we are doing right now. The lifestyle we have created, with relative affluence, widespread travel and awareness of other cultures gives us both the means of our own destruction AND the means to transcend to the next level. This is our choice.  We can choose to continue to rip the plugs out of our life support system or we can choose to use the wisdom we have gained and the wealth that we have accumulated to invest in a peaceful and sustainable future for all. We were not born to destroy, we were born to learn and very often we learn by trial and error.  We can choose to learn from the 'errors' of previous societies or we can choose to become the next one. What we were born to learn was precisely how to live sustainably and peacefully, it is not a trivial challenge and yet we are tantalisingly close.  I believe that the key is for us to let go of dogma, to let go of being ruled by the thoughts and ideas of others, whether they are religious, capitalist or environmentalist and learn to listen to and be guided by our authentic selves. We are all born good, we are all born powerful and we are all born to contribute.  Along the way most of us get confused by the conditioning and dogma of our society.  The conditioning we are brought up with is always and inevitably based in the past, and yet as children we are the future.  We need to let go of dogma and conditioning and focus on the future, focus on solutions that work for everyone.  That is the minimum threshold for any decision - does it work for everyone?  Does it contribute to those with an environmental conscience?  Does it contribute to the commercial bottom line?  Does it honour religious practice?  Does it work for those rooted in authoritarian structures?  Does it work for those seeing the world through a mystical lens?   Does it work for those with an exclusively survivalist world view? In short we all need to evolve as individuals to the extent that we can and, in doing so, contribute all that we can to the rest of society. For more thoughts and ideas about how you can evolve or help others to evolve see www.authentictransformation.co.uk If you want to inspire others to evolve then introduce them to this newsletter and encourage them to subscribe. For an easy to read and practice self coaching manual take a look at Seven Stages of Authenticity. Let me know if I can help. with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk Past is memory. Future is imagination. Reality lies in the now. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Breakthrough Posted: 29 Oct 2007 04:16 AM CDT Many of us go through our lives holding a great big vision very close to our chest.  So close, in fact, that we may not even be able to articulate it.  So close, that we never tell anyone else about it.  So close, that we may never do anything about it. We might also call this great big vision our life's purpose, or core motivation.  It is our unique contribution to the community of life that we are a part of.  It is positive, inspiring and transformative for us and those around us.   One of the worries that holds us back from realising our vision is that we wonder "who we are" to take on such a challenge. Are we good enough?  Are we qualified enough?  Would we be able to do it? The truth is that achieving our life's purpose has little to do with being good enough, or qualified enough or being even  our ability to do it. The truth is that the most important moment in any achievement is the moment of choosing, the moment of committing. As Dumbledore says "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities". Realising our purpose is the inevitable consequence of committing to it. Once we make that commitment then we are opened up to learning what we need to learn, to meeting the collaborators that we will need to supplement our own abilities and qualifications and allowing it to happen. Making this kind of commitment voluntarily, the kind of commitment that will change our life, requires us to perform a little rewiring in our brains.  The way that our brain works is much like pathways in a forest, except in our brain the pathways are called neural networks. The pathways that we use most become clear of obstructions and easy to traverse.  The ones we use less often become overgrown and crowded with brambles and weeds.  Any major learning or change of direction requires us to get the machete out and clear the pathway.   Authenticity is being who we truly are in all situations without fear or compromise and being who we truly are means being committed to our purpose.  When we are aligned to our purpose and can make a living by being ourselves we will find confidence, fulfilment and certainty. Are you ready to articulate your life's purpose?  Are you ready to begin that authentic journey?  If so you may like to join us for an Authentic Inspiration Conference Call at 7.00 pm UK time on the 1st of November 2007 to book and for details see: http://www.authentictransformation.co.uk/events_diary.html If you are ready to go a step further and get the machete out you may like to take a look at Authentic Transformation Works. For further inspiration  For further transformation with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk 'Until there is commitment, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues forth from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!' This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Lust for Life Posted: 22 Oct 2007 02:52 AM CDT We have a fantastic standard of living.  If you are reading this e-mail, then compared to any other period in history and most other parts of the world we are the fortunate ones.  We live in a time of relative peace, prosperity and plenty. Opportunities are abundant for us.  If we are feeling held back from pursuing our dreams by something just imagine how our ancestors felt. Relatively our ability to pursue our dreams has never been greater. This is true for us as individuals and also for us a society. But - there are no guarantees that this window of opportunity will continue indefinitely for either. I read this morning that an authoritative report estimates that "peak oil" passed in 2006.  Peak Oil is the name given to the moment when global oil production reaches it's maximum and then begins to fall inexorably. A great deal of the affluence and opportunity that we enjoy in our part of society is based on the abundance of relatively cheap oil.   I think of our society like an adolescent who has just inherited the family fortune and has gone on the mother of all binges.   Oil is the wealth of our planet which these few generations have inherited and we have not always invested it wisely. One of the positive investments we have made with this inheritance has been in mass travel.  Mass travel has created a generation of internationalists with a far greater appreciation of different cultures and lifestyles than ever before.  It is mass travel and internationalism that creates the connections that make peace possible. If our dream as individuals is happiness and fulfilment then peace and security is an essential foundation. If our dream as a society is continued evolution of our lifestyle and consciousness then we are in a race against time. It is time to grow up.  We must now shift all of our investment away from simple hedonism and fear limitation (war, exclusion, greed) and towards love and sustainability. The recipe is simple, the challenge is to apply it. We must invest as much of the rest of our inheritance as we can in creating truly sustainable energy systems that can sustain the positive aspects of our lifestyle. Every single one of us must commit to a life based in authenticity, love and contribution so that when the crunch comes the response is collaboration and not conflict.  And both as individuals and as a society we must use our energy wisely. We are the fortunate ones - and that is why the responsibility lies with us - with you - personally - now. For further guidance in the wise use of personal energy see www.authentictransformation.co.uk There are still a few spaces on the Authentic Transformation Works event in November - come and find out how you can make a living by being yourself and contribute to the solution for all of us. with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk Past is memory. Future is imagination. Reality lies in the now. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

It is possible Posted: 15 Oct 2007 07:06 AM CDT There always seem to be plenty of people around to tell us that something is not possible (including ourselves).  And if we believe that it is impossible, then it probably is. Conversely if we are prepared to believe that we can do something - we probably can. This is not about abstract hope, this is about actually living with the tension of a possibility, working for it and fighting for it for long enough to make it so. Henry Ford said "If you think you can do a thing or you think you can't do a thing, you're right." Failure, usually has more to do with giving up than to do with a lack of ability - failure and success are choices. Whatever we choose to do, even minor day to day things, we face the choice between perseverance and giving up.  It is how we deal with that choice that defines us. Of course it is not a black and white issue, nor is it about simple repetition of something that is ineffective in the hope that it will somehow magically work out. The most important thing is to hold the positive end goal in mind and avoid getting hung up on a particular route to achieving it.  It is not about the method it is about the outcome. Always focus on the outcome. When we feel that our energy is being wasted we need to remind ourselves of the overall objective and step back to that level, learn the lessons of our frustrations and see what alternative routes might exist to achieving it. Next we need to take responsibility for the outcome and avoid blaming others or expecting them to share the responsibility (although they might). There will be push backs, complications, challenges (often very reasonable), tiredness, distractions and more and these can help us to refine our path and our objectives.  If we do not feel the motivation to push through these challenges then we have to question whether we actually want the outcome enough to make the commitment to have it happen. What do you really want? For more inspiration see www.authenticinspiration.co.uk For support see www.authentictransformation.co.uk with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk "Fulfillment is a by-product of making something that means something. You don't go to a restaurant and order a meal because you want to have a shit."  (misquoted from Banksy - see www.banksy.co.uk" This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Evaluation and Value Posted: 08 Oct 2007 02:50 AM CDT One of the core lessons of our education system is that we are not competent or qualified to evaluate ourselves. What we are taught  is that evaluation is done by someone else, preferably with a red pen and often remotely. The consequence of this is that most of us have no real idea of our self worth and desperately seek confirmation of our value from others.  Once the teachers are gone we look for evaluation from someone else - perhaps a boss, perhaps a partner, often resulting in submissive relationships. When it come to the crunch of actually saying "I am worth this much", in terms of payment, we do not believe in our ability to evaluate ourselves making it very difficult to have these conversations. The truth is that the only person qualified or competent to evaluate our performance or effort is ourselves. The ONLY person who knows how hard we tried is ourselves. The ONLY person who knows if we are telling the truth is ourselves. The ONLY person who knows how close we are to our true purpose is ourselves. If we want to free ourselves from the tyranny of external evaluation, the first step is to understand this simple fact. When it comes to that payment conversation we can think differently.   Our true value, when we are 'on purpose', to ourselves and others is effectively infinite. It is not about being paid a small enough amount so that someone else will be able to turn a profit from our sweat.  It is about contributing all that we can and getting back all that we need. My own purpose is "to heal the world through authenticity".  I know that when I am able to help a team or an individual to ignite that flame of passion, purpose and authenticity in their lives the true value of what occurs reaches far beyond any shift that occurs in the session or any immediate sense of wellbeing and touches everything they touch.   It is not really effective or useful to calculate our value based on the infinite value that we contribute when we are on purpose.  It is more practical to base our valuation on what we need to live an inspired and authentic life and then work back from there, dividing this amount by the time we will be paid for and using that to guide us. For more inspiration or to challenge, question or comment visit www.authenticinspiration.co.uk For help and support putting these ideas into action visit www.authentictransformation.co.uk I have launched a new service this week called Authentic Fix take a look. with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution talk - 07775 658534 write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk May the force be with you Obi-Wan Kenobi This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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