Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Listen Posted: 26 May 2008 02:12 AM CDT We all have the experience of stuff 'going wrong'; the tool you are using breaks in the middle of a project, you hurt yourself or notice you are not feeling 100%, someone makes an observation about what you are doing or the way you are behaving, people start responding differently to something that you have been doing for a while. Much of the received wisdom of our society is that these things are coincidences, "Shit happens" as the saying goes. Another view is that "God" or "The Universe" is communicating with us. A third view is that we create precisely the situations we need, even if we don't think we want then, even if we really don't think we want them. Perhaps all three are true in different circumstances. Perhaps the cause is irrelevant? For example, I have learned very reluctantly that if I train to hard on my bike, I might feel some slight cold symptoms. Eventually I realised that these symptoms are a message telling me to rest, if I listen and rest they go away. If I don't they get worse So this is clearly an example of my body creating the situation I need to help me. Another example of this kind of thing are the kind of stress related illness that are so common. It might start with similar cold symptoms, but if we don't listen and give our bodies the space to recover, the symptoms will escalate. But what about the other stuff? What about when your computer starts acting up when you are trying to get something done, or your car breaks down or someone makes a comment that nags away at you. Perhaps that best way for all situations is to examine them for potential learnings AND potential opportunities. If things don't turn out the way you were hoping, what can you learn for next time, what are the new opportunities created by the space left by 'failure'. If you have an accident or illness and are incapacitated for a while. How can you use the time for self learning? What are the opportunities for different things to do or ways to do things? When you car or computer packs up at the vital moment, what can you learn about your level of dependence or the margins you allow in the way you plan? When the market takes a dramatic downturn and you income disappears, how might you innovate to adapt to the new market conditions? Success can hold back our learning, but challenges can focus the mind and bring new insight and transformation. If you can learn to focus on learning and opportunities you can always move forward, no matter what challenges appear. How are you going to apply this message to your life and your work? If you would like help you might want to consider: Authentic Transformation Day Liverpool or business coaching or personal coaching or self coaching with Seven Stages of Authenticity. Drop me a line and we can work out what will work best for you. With love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution UK mobile 07775 658534 neil@authentictransformation.co.uk  www.authentictransformation.co.uk "Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

You are subscribed to email updates from Inspiring Your Authentic Week To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email Delivery powered by FeedBurner
Inbox too full? Subscribe to the feed version of Inspiring Your Authentic Week in a feed reader.
If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: Inspiring Your Authentic Week , c/o FeedBurner, 20 W Kinzie, 9th Floor, Chicago IL USA 60610

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

What is going to happen? Posted: 18 May 2008 12:54 PM CDT Predicting the future is a risky game, but there are some meta trends going on that are worth noticing and responding to. These trends will affect our lives, our businesses and our children's lives. The trends we are already experiencing suggest more dramatic changes in the way we live over the next 20-30 years. If these predictions sound far fetched just think how you might have responded if you had been told about how the internet or mobile phones would have changed the way we live in 1978. We can respond to these changes in two ways - we can deny them or we can embrace them. If we deny them we will be left behind, if we embrace them we will find opportunities for happiness and fulfilment. Oil - the price of oil will continue to rise. Massive increases in demand from China and India coupled with falling new discoveries means that supply will be squeezed pushing prices up. This is a good thing. A significant proportion of the affluence we enjoy in some parts of the world is based more on the availability of cheap energy than it is on human ingenuity. Human ingenuity is a sustainable resource, oil is not. Higher oil prices and climate change will encourage investment in more creative solutions for transport, heating and other energy than simply digging it out of the ground. Our pensions and disposable income are already being eroded by rising oil prices and it is likely that oil prices will double again over the next two years. If we want to maintain our lifestyle it is time to invest in decreasing our dependence on oil. We need to disconnect ourselves from our addiction to fossil fuels and start creating and inventing our way out of it. Here is an example of how it can be done: www.zerocarbonhouse.com We also need to dramatically change our attitude to travel. Travel is important, meeting people and learning about new cultures is important, it promotes the kind of compassion and ingenuity that we need to live peacefully and sustainably. Isolation is not an option. Commuting and much business travel, on the other hand, is enormously wasteful. Since moving to Mallorca we have found that much of the travel we did in the UK was unnecessary. My work is now more international than ever, with clients from the middle east to the west coast of the US and from Norway to South Africa, virtually all of it is web or phone based and I travel less than ever. Rising oil prices will help us evaluate our travel needs more carefully. Water - is following closely behind oil as demand increases and supply becomes less reliable due to the effects of climate change. Clean, safe drinking water will continue to become more and more expensive. The price of water will become an issue for all of us within 20 years. Now is the time to invest in water saving technologies, such as rainwater harvesting and reusing grey water. We do not need to use precious drinking quality water to flush the loo or water the garden. www.mywaterwisehome.com Make increased self sufficiency in water, fuel and food part of your 'pension'. Work - It is becoming more and more clear that, in many cases, employing people, or being employed is far from being the optimum solution for either party. Being employed instantly creates hierarchy and removes responsibility. As most managers know, managing people is an extremely challenging and stressful job. And most people who dislike their job cite a poor relationship with their manager as part of the reason. There is already a strong trend towards more and more independent working, but for many this is high risk and challenging. Over the next 10 years there will be an increasing movement towards self-employment especially in areas that have traditionally been low paid and manual work. This 'micro outsourcing' will be driven by businesses looking for ways to reduce cost and risk and made possible by technology which will facilitate just in time ordering and reduced cost of transactions. One of the benefits of micro-outsourcing is that it will remove the limits on what people can earn that tend to go with employment. If you employ people - how might you help them to become more independent? If you are employed - how might you propose a higher level of independence to your employer? If you want more support in innovating your business or life to the new paradigm, drop me a line and we can see if I can help. Or come and find out more at the Authentic Transformation Day in Liverpool on 13 June. With love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution UK mobile 07775 658534 neil@authentictransformation.co.uk   www.authentictransformation.co.uk As we are made to conform our personality, individuality and self-confidence is driven out of us. Once we are sufficiently lacking in self-confidence we have to demean others to give ourselves a sense of importance. 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

You are subscribed to email updates from Inspiring Your Authentic Week To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email Delivery powered by FeedBurner
Inbox too full? Subscribe to the feed version of Inspiring Your Authentic Week in a feed reader.
If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: Inspiring Your Authentic Week , c/o FeedBurner, 20 W Kinzie, 9th Floor, Chicago IL USA 60610

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Innovate Lead Change Posted: 12 May 2008 09:36 AM CDT There has been a shift building up over the last years.  And in the last week or two it has really reached a tipping point. Trivia is out, significance is in Marginal is out breakthrough is in Acceptable is no longer enough, delight is the new minimum Every product, service and interaction must inspire and enable development. To simply entertain not enough. We must examine everything we do and ensure that we are living up to the new standards or we will quickly be bypassed and become irrelevant. Whatever we do we must now lead, innovate and change. Whatever you truly believe must now become your guide. Follow you purpose, be guided by your values and do not let the fears and insecurities of others persuade you that you are wrong. If you are not confident in your authentic voice or your authentic leadership find a teacher or the support that will build your confidence. We all need to find the courage to lead and the humility to follow at the same time. Where will you go? Who will you lead? How will you lead? Who will you follow? The direction you go must be defined by your authenticity. Somewhere deep in your heart you know where you need to go, and now is the time to focus on going there. You will lead those around you. Titles and roles are not important. Articulate your authentic direction clearly and others will follow. The how is the most important bit. When I talk about leadership in coaching and workshops, many people associate it with aggression, hierarchy and authoritarianism. This is absolutely NOT what I mean by leadership. Leadership is about compassion not aggression, it is about teamwork not hierarchy, it is about authority not authoritarianism. For more detail on authentic leadership see my recent free e-book. Finding your teacher is equally important, at the new level collaboration and support will be essential for us to be capable of delivering to the standards now required. We all need a teacher with whom we can truly connect so that we can reach our own full potential as rapidly as possible. As part of this new level approach I am partnering with my great friend and colleague Adrian Gilpin to deliver a stunning new leadership event in September in Morocco. If you aspire to the new level of leadership in business or the public sector, this event is one of the best possible opportunities to discover your full leadership potential. If you want to know more about bespoke authentic leadership training or coaching for yourself or your organisation drop me a line. with love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution UK mobile 07775 658534 neil@authentictransformation.co.uk   www.authentictransformation.co.uk Individually we can make a difference, only through collaboration can we change the world This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

You are subscribed to email updates from Seven Stages of Authenticity To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email Delivery powered by FeedBurner
Inbox too full? Subscribe to the feed version of Seven Stages of Authenticity in a feed reader.
If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: Seven Stages of Authenticity, c/o FeedBurner, 20 W Kinzie, 9th Floor, Chicago IL USA 60610

Inspiring Your Authentic Week

Speak Your Truth Posted: 05 May 2008 01:30 PM CDT It is easy to say it and we all know it, and yet truly speaking our truth is often the most difficult thing. Why ? And how can we change this? From trivial things like making arrangements with friends, through work and jobs to love and relationships. It is amazing how often we fail to speak our truth. When we fail to speak our truth we compromise both ourselves and whoever we are speaking to, because whatever results from the lack of truth will be a compromise. It will be less than optimal and possibly even negative and painful. Very often we try to say what we think the other person wants to hear rather than speaking our truth, even when we have very little idea what they are truly thinking (which is most of the time). For example when we go for a job interview or a review with our boss, it is distinctly counter cultural to actually say what we are talented at, what we are great at and use that as the basis for defining how we might work best. Instead we usually accept some sort of compromise. In close relationships with lovers, parents or children, we may have challenge on a particular issue in the past. It has ended up in confrontation, which has turned into an uneasy truce, which may last for years, decades even. Another compromise that satisfies no one and causes stress. When I am coaching people I often ask why they find it difficult to speak their truth. There are two common answers: 1 - Because I don't like confrontation. 2 - Because I don't want to hurt their feelings. OK - well let's deal with both of these. Is it always confrontational to tell the truth? If it is not always confrontational to tell the truth, what makes it not? I believe that on the whole the truth will suit both/all parties better than dishonesty. So the key is to find a way of articulating that truth that works well for all. So rather than having a confrontation, where you might blurt out your frustration or anger. Take a little time to consider the consequences of not speaking your truth and the outcome you truly desire. Then have a conversation to discover the outcomes you both truly desire. A difference in desired outcome is not usually a problem, what is far more valuable and useful is clarity. What we need to practice is creating the space to really think through what our desired outcome is, you might even want to try writing it down first. And use that to have a balanced conversation that is focussed on clarity, not changing the other persons mind, just clarity. This approach is neither confrontational nor does it hurt any feelings. It can be applied in every situation from global politics, to business, to family, to lovers and even with children. I would love to see this happen more often in the world - if you would too, please forward this message on to as many people as you think will appreciate it. IF you want more support with this come and join me for a day of personal transformation in Liverpool on the 13th of June. or e-mail me to find out more about the coaching I do. With love nx neil crofts  - coach, consultant, facilitator Authentic Transformation - join the evolution UK mobile 07775 658534 neil@authentictransformation.co.uk   www.authentictransformation.co.uk "If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." Jim Rohn This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

You are subscribed to email updates from Seven Stages of Authenticity To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email Delivery powered by FeedBurner
Inbox too full? Subscribe to the feed version of Seven Stages of Authenticity in a feed reader.
If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: Seven Stages of Authenticity, c/o FeedBurner, 20 W Kinzie, 9th Floor, Chicago IL USA 60610