Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Success

Posted: 28 Jan 2008 05:54 AM CST

Most of us want to succeed.  

Many of us end up exchanging our lives and our happiness chasing our perception of someone else's vision of success.

Who's?

Typically it is the vision of success of one or both of our parents, but it could equally be a teacher or some other strong adult role model from our childhood.  The important thing here is, that it is not usually their actual vision, but a confused and corrupted version of it that we have created ourselves.

Most parents just want their kids to be happy.  Sometimes the way that they communicate this is by focussing on their own (often unrealised) ambitions.

Why?

Largely because no one has taken the time to help us work out what our own true vision of success is, and on the whole we do need that help, especially as kids or young adults.

When you hear about people being brilliant and successful, at anything, it is generally because someone helped them work out what they were passionate about and talented at. And then supported them in finding a way to be it, and make a living out of it, sometimes a very good one.

David Beckham, Leona Lewis, Lewis Hamilton, Jamie Oliver, Lance Armstrong, Steve Jobs and so on.

So what about the rest of us, those of us who did not find focus early on?

There is not a moment to loose.  We do not get another crack at this life.

Find out where your deepest motivation coincides with your greatest talent - and articulate it.  Then work out how you can make a living by doing it.  This is your life's purpose, your vocation, your calling, your core motivation. If we can focus our lives and our work where we are at our most motivated and most able, it makes sense that we will also achieve that wonderful combination of happiness and success.

If you are young or without commitments - there  is really nothing to loose, just go for it.

If you are older you may have to think carefully about how to redesign your work, your job or your life to allow for the shift of focus. 

Whatever your situation it is not worth getting to the end of the road and feeling "I wish I had" rather than "I am glad I tried it".

For help in articulating your life's purpose - join the Inspiration Phone in or buy a copy of Seven Stages.

For help in articulating your life's purpose and turning it into a way of making a living - book a one to one coaching session or come to the Total Potential Retreat on the 7th of February.

Or to help others find their authentic way of being come to the Authentic Transformation Advance in Mallorca in March or California in April.

With love

nx


neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator
Authentic Transformation - join the evolution
UK mobile 07775 658534
UK office 0845 6800648
Spain mobile (+34) 606 204 994      
Spain office (+34) 971 673 325
neil@authentictransformation.co.uk  
www.authentictransformation.co.uk

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

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Monday, January 21, 2008

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Down to Business

Posted: 21 Jan 2008 02:37 AM CST

I love business.  I love the energy and the creativity it can lead to.

What I don't like are the consequences of greed and fear based business, the environmental and social damage. 

Conventional businesses are about redistributing wealth from the population and the environment to a few senior executives and shareholders.  The problem with this business model, apart from the damage, is that they are just not very motivating for anyone except the senior executives and shareholders.

I was thrilled when I came across the idea of authentic business six years ago and found that there are businesses that operate on a different and more positive model.  Authentic businesses generate their profit through the pursuit of a profound and positive purpose.  

The wonderful thing about these businesses is that they are better and more successful businesses in just about every dimension.  Typically an authentic business spends about 80% less on motivating people, both customers and staff, than a regular business.

The businesses that I profiled in my first two books "Authentic" and "Authentic Business" have gone from strength to strength as the zeitgeist of society seeks out products, businesses and people that we cab believe in.

Last year another book on authenticity in business was published, this time by Harvard Business School Press, it is called "Authenticity - what consumers really want".

As people we direct our money and energy towards the things we fear and the things we love.  Increasingly we are looking to spend our money on things that we love and trust.   

By extension we have a choice as individuals and as businesses as to how we make our living.  We can either be frightening or we can be lovable, so that people spend their money with us.

Both strategies work, but being loved is more sustainable, more motivating and healthier.

I have worked with authenticity, through leadership, team building, executive coaching, training, marketing and new product development, in businesses ranging from brand new one person start-ups to global mega corporations like Shell and Microsoft.  Authenticity works in all of these businesses.  Even if it is only in a business unit, department or team of a much larger business.  Authenticity is inspiring, motivating, engaging and reliable.

Here is a starter kit to bring authenticity into your business:

1 - buy a copy of Authentic and or Authentic Business.

2 - Join the hosted chat with me on Network 2012 website at 8pm UK time on the 24th of January.  If you are not a member sign up for the free trial and then go to "chat", if you are a member, just go to "chat."

3 - Join me at the Body, Brain and Business conference in Berkshire on the 27th of February.

4 - Call me to chat through ways to bring the benefits of authenticity into your business or organisation.

5 - If you are a coach or consultant and would like to inspire authenticity in others come to the Authentic Transformation Advance in Mallorca or California.

6 - If you would like to bring greater authenticity into your own life join us for the Total Potential Retreat on the 7th of February.

Looking forward to collaborating with you and building your authentic success and prosperity.

with love

nx

neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator
Authentic Transformation - join the evolution
UK mobile 07775 658534
UK office 0845 6800648
Spain mobile (+34) 606 204 994      Spain office (+34) 971 673 325
neil@authentictransformation.co.uk  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"

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Monday, January 14, 2008

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Wow!

Posted: 14 Jan 2008 02:50 AM CST

Do you remember your dreams?

Do you remember the future you created in your mind when you were younger?

Do you remember the inspiring way you were going to make your living?

Do you remember the beautiful place you were going to live in?

Do you remember the loving relationship you were going to have?

Do you remember how you would stay young and fit?

Do you remember the clarity your life would have?

Do remember when you let it go or were your dreams slowly ground out of you by the forces of other peoples "reality"?

But why?

Why do we let go of our dreams?  Why do so many of us settle for compromise?  Why do we stop believing in our selves?  Why do so many of us have to endure the wilderness years?  

And most importantly when can we get back on track and live the life we love?

My observation is that for most of us our youthful dreams are combined with insufficient strength of vision and character and so our youthful is easily hijacked for the fulfilment of the dreams of others, older, stronger and more ruthless than us.

After six years of working with people and help them to re-find their magic, their spark, their life that we can start to  get our lives back on track the moment we decide to.  

It is easy to fall into the belief that building up a life is a linear process of accumulation - work, wealth, home, relationship, kids and so on.  That if it took 20 years to build up the life you are leading then the pursuit of your potential puts the whole thing at risk and it will take another 20 years to recreate.

My experience, both personal and through my coaching work, is that;  firstly, with careful handling nothing needs to be put at risk - except the bits you really don't like.  And secondly rebuilding the bits you replace actually happens with astonishing speed when you are following your passion.

So please - if you feel uneasy with the life you are leading, if you have the feeling that there must be more to life, please do something about it - today.

We had the first week of the Total Potential Retreat last week - wow!  what a wonderful experience.  We had a wonderful group of six people.  The retreat started with a personal diagnostic for each participant from which we agreed a personal retreat programme with each of them.

Each day the participants followed their programme, each morning we came together in a group session to share learning and understand the experiences from the exercises.  The exercises are a mixture of reflective and internal and experiential and external.

Part of the beauty of the retreat was the way that different needs could easily be accommodated in a way that was complimentary for all of the participants.  We had people working on relationship challenges, work challenges, lifestyle challenges and challenges of meaning and worked wonderfully together.

The next intake for the Total Potential Retreat is the 7th of February - it would be really lovely to see you there.

If you are inspired by the idea of helping others to bring their dreams to life and to help people to reach their authentic total potential then it would be lovely to see you at the Authentic Transformation Advance from the 5-7 March in Mallorca or the 4-6 April in California.  The Advance helps people find and design their own way to coach and guide others to be their brilliant selves.

If you want to find out more about this authentic thing and to articulate your own life's purpose then the first step is to join the Authentic Inspiration phone in on the 12th of February.

I will also be back in the UK for the Body, Brain and Business conference on the 27th of February where I will be hosting a table, if you would like to join me take a look.

To see the full archive of inspiration see www.authenticinspiration.co.uk
To book events or buy books that will help you transform your life see www.authentictransformation.co.uk

Please feel free to forward this mail to anyone who you think will be inspired.

with love

nx


neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator
Authentic Transformation - join the evolution
UK mobile 07775 658534
UK office 0845 6800648
Spain mobile (+34) 606 204 994      Spain office (+34) 971 673 325
neil@authentictransformation.co.uk  www.authentictransformation.co.ukk

"He who never risks going beyond his limits should not complain about the mediocrity of his existence." Anon

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Monday, January 07, 2008

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Make 2008 Amazing

Posted: 07 Jan 2008 02:02 PM CST

Lets make a difference in 2008.  

Margaret Mead said  - "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

I like to think that we are thoughtful and committed citizens - and the group is certainly small in a global context.  

I believe that the most powerful and positive thing that we could all commit to, in 2008, is to be as completely true to ourselves as we possibly can be. 

Let us all consider what we feel could be improved about the world we live in.  Write a list of the things that you would really like to see change in the world.  It does not matter how big or how small they are, just write them down so that you have a list of five to seven things that are really important to you.

Then, rather than going out and attempting to change the behaviour of others, let us simply be those improvements ourselves.

As Gandhi said - "You must be the change you want to see in the world".

For example:

If you would like an end to war - commit to being more peaceful and loving
If you would like an end to homelessness, prejudice and bullying - commit to being more inclusive and non judgmental
If you would like an end to exploitation of people and the environment - commit to giving more and taking less
If you would like an end to corruption and dishonesty - commit to transparency and honesty
If you would like an end to ignorance and stupidity - commit to learning more yourself and sharing what you learn.

Be those changes in the most committed and fearless way that you can be.  Without trying to, your commitment will inspire others and as they are inspired to commit, they in turn will inspire others and the world will be changing.

It is six years since I committed myself to the path of authenticity.  I believe that if the world (well, people) could be more authentic we would immediately resolve many of the challenges we face.  I do not believe people are 'bad' or 'malicious' generally, we just get confused and afraid and when we take decisions from a place of fear or confusion the consequences can be disastrous. 

If we are fully authentic we take decisions with clarity and the world is a better place as a result.

For six years I have worked on my own authenticity, challenging myself to understand my truth and to be it in all situations without fear or compromise.  I have also worked with thousands of people both privately and through their jobs to help them to be more authentic.

Today is the first day of the Total Potential Retreat my latest project to help others to be authentic, I am very excited about this as it uses a new format for me and will make it possible for more people to find their total potential through their authenticity.  Since the retreat runs for most of the year it should be easier for people to come.  I hope that you can make it some time.

The next  Authentic Transformation Advance is only 2 months away and if you would like to inspire others to be authentic through coaching or art or consulting or whatever your channel it would be wonderful to see you there.

If you would like one to one support on your journey of authenticity give me a call and we can chat through how the authentic coaching process works.

I also mentioned a conference on the 27th of February that I will be participating in and the link did not work - so here it is in full and with apologies - www.advizory.com/conferences/programme.html?campaign=NeilCrofts

Wishing you an amazing and outstanding 2008.

with love

nx


neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator
Authentic Transformation - join the evolution
UK mobile 07775 658534              UK office 0845 6800648
Spain mobile (+34) 606 204 994      Spain office (+34) 971 673 325
neil@authentictransformation.co.uk  www.authentictransformation.co.uk

Conventional business is about redistributing wealth from the population and the environment to a few senior executives and the shareholders.
Neil Crofts Authentic Business

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Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

2008

Posted: 31 Dec 2007 04:02 AM CST


2007 seems to have been a tough year for many people.  Relationship challenges, wellness challenges and financial challenges have been abundant.

It has been a hard year for us too, we made a big move in relocating to Spain, it has been stressful and has dominated 2007 for us.  Although this may seem like a very different challenge and entirely self inflicted it is not so different in some ways.  

Challenges always give us the opportunity to choose between transcendence and succumbing - in fact the closer we get to succumbing the more we learn and the greater the progress, as long as we manage to transcend.  Transcendence from these challenges shifts us to a new level of being, of awareness and of possibility, if we let it.

If you have experienced challenges in 2007, relationships, wellness, financial or others, you can begin to see these as opportunities.  The challenges force us to ask questions and seek solutions that we may never have explored without being challenged. The payoff is that we have learned valuable lessons and made important changes that will be helpful to us in the future.

Our payoff is that we get to live and work in an inspirational and beautiful place with a supportive and engaged community around us.  What is the payoff that you will get from your challenge?

On New Year's Eve every year we sit down with whoever we are sharing New Year's Eve with to draw our plans for the coming year.  We each get a sheet of A4 paper and a bunch of crayons and we illustrate our objectives for the year.

This will be the fourth year that we have done this exercise and it has turned out to be a powerful way to exert influence over the direction our lives are taking.  Not everything we have drawn has happened as we might have hoped or imagined, but certainly the majority have.  I put my drawing up on the wall by my desk to serve as a regular reminder of my intention and focus and at the end of the year I can see what has been accomplished.

You can see my 2007 drawing on this weeks blog page here.  My big intentions for 2007 were: 

To move to Mallorca finding a house with a guest house in the mountains in the west of the island, and sell our UK house for a good price which we did.  

To do more cycling and get down to 76 kgs (my ideal cycling weight) - I did OK in the first half of the year completing my fastest 100 mile event, but the second half of the year was entirely dominated by moving.  I didn't make 76 kgs.

To progress the Authentic Education project - which has happened, but again the move has slowed things down.

To make a good income from my work with businesses, events and private clients - again the first half of the year was good with the second half being dominated by the move.

To speak Spanish - much improved, but I could not yet claim to speak Spanish - I will carry this one over to 2008.
To get more sleep and manage my time better - this has certainly happened - life is much calmer now than it was a year ago.

To go out walking with the whole family - although Casper is only 2 we do manage this and it is really great fun, even if Casper needs to be carried quite a bit still.

To make TV shows - actually it turns out that these are videos that appear on the web site and on You Tube - but it has happened.  

To have a regular column somewhere - this has not happened, but I have a feeling it will in 2008.

To deepen the loving relationships within our little family - this has definitely happened and is very wonderful.

To evolve my own level of consciousness and spirituality this has happened too and I can see 2008 being a major leap forward in this context.

What is your plan for 2008?  What challenges do you want to resolve?  Where do you want to be by the end of the year?  

I have a feeling that after all of the challenges in 2007, 2008 will be a year of amazing progress for individuals.  I think that the global political situation will continue to be a huge challenge for those who insist on outdated ways of communicating and resolving issues.

There is still time to come to the Total Potential Retreat on the 7th of January.  The Total Potential Retreat will help you clarify your potential in five key areas - work/money, love/relationships, lifestyle, fitness/wellness, spirituality/meaning - and achieve all of them.  Other dates available in early 2008 are the 7th of February and 7th of March.

There are also still spaces at the Authentic Transformation Advance both in Mallorca and California - come and join us to define your own way to inspire others to their authentic potential.

More personal support is also available over the phone with a local rate phone number from the UK or by using Skype or iChat video calls free from anywhere in the world - e-mail to arrange a first free chat just to find out how it works.

Very much looking forward to collaborating with you in some way in 2008.

with love

nx

PS - please feel free to send me your year plan for 2008 if you like.

neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator
Authentic Transformation - join the evolution
talk - 07775 658534
write - neil@authentictransformation.co.uk
act - www.authentictransformation.co.uk

Enjoying yourself involves being where you want to be, with the people you want to be with, doing what you want to be doing as much of the time as possible. I do not believe that this can be achieved without planning.

Neil Crofts - Authentic - How to Make a Living by Being Yourself - published by Capstone October 2003

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