positive thinking

Transformational Business & Life Lessons from Winter

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Winter-trees-winter-22173860-1920-1200A few times a year, I have the honor and privilege of training 25 world-changing leaders on how to align your life and business with the seasons and cycles so that you are more successful, more in-the-flow, and all-around happier. (If you’re interested in being at the next training, let me know!).

Whenever I teach this, the room is blown away by the power of living and working in attunement to the Earth.

It is life-changing.

And inevitably there is also some initial disbelief on what the cold, dark, bare Winter could ever teach about life and business.

Most folks shun the Winter and the dark, anxiously waiting for the warm, pastel days of Spring. READ MORE

6 Actions to Improve Your Client Sessions Before the End of the Year

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Even though I’ve been coaching and facilitating transformation for nearly twenty years now, my answer to the question: “What is the one thing in your business that has the potential to make you cringe the most?” would be the same today as it was twenty years.

The thing in my business that has the potential to make me cringe the most is the thought that I am not supporting my clients in the most valuable and masterful ways possible.

This is more important to me than anything else – than marketing success, than visibility, that income.

For me, providing exquisite and highly skilled service, as well as transformation, is BAR NONE.

If you feel the same way I do, then I’m so happy to share this article with you! READ MORE

Your Positive Thinking is Harming Your Clients

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I know, I know – Positive Thinking is a good thing. I admire and have learned a lot from those who naturally have a positive outlook on life. For better or worse, I did not grow up in an environment that modeled any kind of positive thinking. In fact, quite the opposite. I grew up with two immigrant parents whose own parents had survived the Holocaust. My parents trusted no one, always expected the worst, and because of their own trauma, they were perceiving a constant threat of annihilation. It was kind of like living in Catastrophic Thinking Central.

Needless to say, my proclivity towards the negative (& my neurotic quirks!) speak for themselves!

In my early 20s, I learned about the power of looking through more hopeful and happier lenses, and I’ve been dutifully working on my own positive thinking ever since. I find it powerful and very helpful.

BUT.

And this is a HUGE “But”…

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This Coaching Standard Does More Harm Than Good

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Over the summer, I had a private session with a client who had been in session with her healer the week before.

My client was telling me that her Healer had intuited that she needed to go to the beach for a week. It sounded like a good idea to my client because she trusts this healer’s intuition, yet she told him she was feeling stressed out and pressured because she just couldn’t figure out how to make a week away that month fit with her life.

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Love

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Yes, you heard me right: whether I’ve been working with my client for years….or even if we are just at the very beginning of our coaching relationship and I don’t know my client that well yet…first and foremost, I am always going to love & honor my client.

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I was scared to post this….

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In lieu of a full blog post, I wanted to share with you a recent post I wrote on Facebook.

I was scared to hit post on it because I know it’s a little controversial….
and I wasn’t sure if it would trigger some people…
but I ultimately decided to post it because I feel so strongly about it.

It’s about coaching & coaching skills & ethics & so much more.

You’ll see it got some attention and a lot of folks commented very passionately on it.

Here it is: https://www.facebook.com/joanna.lindenbaum/posts/10155812738623437

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Leading your clients when your personal life takes over

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Joanna Lindenbaum and children

A few years ago, while I was leading a group call with nearly 30 women, my parents telephoned me on both my home phone and my cell phone 4 times within about 2 minutes.

I could feel my heart start beating faster as I was coaching. My mother has had MS for 30 years, and there have been many emergencies, hospital visits, and even life-support situations over the years.

A version of me 3 years ago would have tried to ignore her calls until I was done teaching — yet be scared & un-present to my teaching the entire time — because I wouldn’t want to come off as unprofessional.

An even older version of myself would have freaked out completely, told the folks on the call that I needed to reschedule, and then go on to deal with whatever was happening.

Last week, instead, at an appropriate pause in between spotlight coaching moments, I let the women on the call know that my parents had called 4 times and that I was concerned enough to feel I should call back, but that it would only take a moment. I asked everyone on the call to hold for just a minute and quickly called my mom. There was a slight emergency situation, but nothing very serious. I was able to get off the phone in under 90 seconds, return to my clients with full presence, and then take care of the situation at an appropriate time.

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The Struggle About What To Charge

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In this moment, I can’t actually think of any client I’ve ever worked with that hasn’t at some point wondered or (most likely) agonized over what to charge. And I confess, I certainly have grappled with this many times in the past as well.

The question about where to set your rates brings up a whole slew of internal questions and judgments:

How valuable is my work?

What will people think when they hear my rates?

What are other people in my industry charging?

Will anyone buy from me at all?

Am I undercharging?

Am I overcharging?

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My Top 3 Business Blunders of 2015

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1-8-16MistakesI get deeply annoyed and sometimes angry when I see “gurus” pretending that their lives and businesses are perfect because…NO ONE’s life or business is perfect. We all have our challenges, our frustrations, and I am pretty sure we all make our fair share of mistakes.

I always strive to be as transparent as I can with YOU (my beloved community!) because I know that your personal and business growth will accelerate if you know that you are in very good company when things don’t go your way — it will help you refrain from beating up on yourself, comparing yourself, and judging yourself… all things that slow down your growth.

So here’s what you need to know:
I make mistakes.
Lots of them.
Sometimes, after I’ve made them, they are seriously painful.
They may cost me time or money or opportunity or peace of mind.

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Transformational Business & Life Lessons from Winter

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Winter-trees-winter-22173860-1920-1200Recently, I had the honor and privilege of training 25 world-changing leaders on how to align your life and business with the seasons and cycles so that you are more successful, more in-the-flow, and all-around happier. (If you’re interested in being at the next training, let me know & we’ll set a time to speak – they sell out quickly!).

Whenever I teach this, the room is blown away by the power of living and working in attunement to the Earth. It is life-changing.

And inevitably there is also some initial disbelief on what the cold, dark, bare Winter could ever teach about life and business.

Most folks shun the Winter and the dark, anxiously waiting for the warm, pastel days of Spring. READ MORE