After 10 years in business with minimal success, she got crystal clear on how to talk with her prospects and clients and as a result she repositioned her entire business and is now realizing her full potential.
Presenting Bootcamp STAR Graduate – Kim Parrott, Sea Change Resources
Kim is one of our Top 10 students in this past session—the “cum laude” of the bunch who launched her businesses with our support and who is now thriving!
Kim offers executive and team coaching for senior leaders & emerging leaders.
Gratitude
I feel so fortunate to work as a coach and facilitator because it enables me to be my best self, while helping others realize their best selves. As a coach I get to help people identify what really matters to them at both a professional and personal level. As a facilitator I get to help groups achieve results beyond the sum of their individual efforts. That’s fun adventurous stuff, which I’ve always enjoyed.
Some background: I grew up overseas in a diplomatic family in East Africa, Soviet Union, England and Belgium. After college I went to sea for seven years as a coast guard licensed officer aboard square-rigged ships. Eventually my seafaring husband and I moved ashore to start a family. Soon thereafter I launched a consulting business with my mother, which has evolved into what is now SeaChange Resources. My mother continues to be a mentor, partner and inspiration.
Our Quest: Accelerated Wisdom
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” –Isaac Asimov, Writer and Biochemistry Professor
This melancholy quote has been a motivating challenge for us at SeaChange—how do we accelerate the development of wisdom in leaders and teams? The commitment to that quest is embedded in our logo.
If the answers were self-evident, we’d all be enlightened by now. Clearly we’re not. IS there a way to fast-forward the acquisition of wisdom?
First of all, a distinction needs to be made between knowledge and wisdom. At its simplest, the former pertains to the information and skills that a person gains through experience and education. The latter is how well that knowledge is applied.
Wisdom is grown, not manufactured. It often originates from deeply personal experience, usually in the form of a challenge or hardship. It involves gaining a larger perspective that transcends the boundaries of self, in other words, a meta-awareness of awareness itself.
New Applications of Age-Old Wisdom
For the last five years we’ve been designing the Quest for Excellence framework–an intensive learning environment that naturally seeds and feeds wisdom. None of the ideas are new. Indeed most of the elements have ancient pedagogical roots.
The formula is simple: the pursuit of holistic excellence both in input and output.
Where we are breaking new ground is in the integrated application of these age-old modalities to the development of a modern leader.
The original Greek word for wisdom is sophia, which means clarity. Enabling society to gain wisdom apace with the surging knowledge of science is dependent on the clarity of our focus in evolving whole-minded and whole-hearted leaders.
A Lot to Ask
It’s a tall order, we know, and still aspirational at this point. However, that’s what coaching is about—encouraging our clients and ourselves to set beautiful and mighty goals that we can grow into.
There’s also serendipity involved. Several months ago I chanced upon the Coaches Console website while looking for an online calendar tool to share with my clients. I soon discovered that I had bumped into a whole system approach that would enable me to take my business to the next level. An Easy Breezy Bootcamp later I am much further along on my own business quest than I would have dreamed possible.
So I’ll end where I started—grateful to be surrounded by a community of coaches committed to bringing out the best in each other.
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Kim Parrott is the principal of SeaChange Resources, LLC. Kim has 20 years of experience of leadership development, executive coaching, strategic planning and facilitation for a broad range of organizations including corporations, colleges, government agencies and the non-profit sector. She also serves on the faculty of the Center for Creative Leadership, a globally ranked provider of leadership development and research, and is a Senior Consultant for The Cradlerock Group providing leadership training and coaching for multinational companies. Kim holds a in BA History from Yale, a MA in Teaching from Brown and is an ICF certified coach. Kim lives with her husband and two children in Blue Hill, Maine. Learn more about Kim.
“My [Bootcamp] coach helped me reach for [and complete] the missing pieces. You must AIM for success to reach it!”
Presenting Bootcamp STAR Graduate – Laura Harju, Love Coach
Laura is one of our Top 11 students in this past session—the “cum laude” of the bunch who launched her businesses with our support and who is now thriving!
Laura offers love coaching to single woman.
Get on your path towards your Mr. Right
For me love has always been the basic feeling that we want to have to be happy. From my very early ages I was all the time looking for that romantic love and most of the time I was too mature for the boys that I was interested in. At the age of 18 I finally found my True Love. It was magical. It was everything that I had ever dreamed of. At the beginning we were a match, but after a couple of years together I started to notice things where we weren’t a match anymore. In that relationship I learned my love language which is very physical. For my first True Love that wasn’t the way he expressed his love and that became a bigger and bigger issue in our relationship. During our time together we had taught each other valuable lessons but grown apart in the process. Not long after that realization we broke up.
After the breakup with my first True Love I experienced a long row of Mr. Wrongs. I got to the point where I thought that True Love is something one experiences only once in a lifetime. When surrendering to the fact that the only relationship that will last forever is the relationship with myself, I cultivated my self-love and focused on things that made me happy. By doing so I was effectively using the Law of Attraction and attracted my second True Love into my life, a relationship where the Love grows every day! These experiences with Mr. Wrongs, coupled with meeting my second True Love, Markus, is what has shown me my true calling, my purpose in life, which is to help as many people as possible to find True Love in their own life.
How do you feel about finding your True Love? Do you see it as an impossible dream? Do you often think that all the good ones are already taken? Are you tired of jumping from one bad relationship to the next? Have you started to think that you need to change in some way to find True Love? I want to reassure you, that you are perfect just the way you are and that there is a True Love waiting for you! The common mistakes single women make when looking for their True Love which keep them meeting the wrong guys are lack of clarity, inaction and negative thought patterns.
Lack of clarity means that you don’t have a clear picture about your True Love. To get what you want you need to know what it is that you want. When you know the qualities you are looking for in a person, it’s easier for you when meeting new people to notice which one of them are potential partners and which one will maybe become good friends. Every encounter with another human being will give you a clearer picture of what it is that you want. When you are using all life’s experiences in determining your preferences you will find out soon what pleases you and what doesn’t. You want to sit down and write on a piece of paper all the aspects that you want to have in your ideal partner and relationship. Use all your past experiences as a stepping stone to gain more clarity of your likings. When you do know what you want and you start to focus on those qualities in other people, you will start noticing them more and soon the person you are looking at is your True Love.
The inaction that I’m referring to is the thought that “when I meet the One then I will do this and that with him”. But when you want to attract your True Love into your life, the most important thing is to feel good. Then you will get into your life even more things that make you feel good. Other people will reflect back to you the feelings that you are feeling inside of you. And people want to be around happy people. So when you are clear on what it is you want, then it’s time to take action. Do things that bring you joy, make you happy and help you experience those feelings you wish your True Love will awaken in you. Make your dreams come true, do the things that you have always wanted to do, have fun with your friends, do pleasant things on your own, and really live your life and you will find the One who will make your life even more fun, joyful and magical.
With negative thought patterns I mean those unfavorable repetitive thoughts that go through your head when you think about True Love. Those thoughts can be “All the good ones are already taken”, “There’s no such thing as True Love” or “There’s something wrong with me”. If the thought of True Love fills you with negative feelings like loneliness, desperation, fear, unworthiness, jealousy, discouragement, worry, doubt or frustration, it’s a strong sign that there are negative thought patterns hiding behind those feelings. You are a spiritual being and your thoughts and feelings determine a lot of your outer reality. So when you have your list of your preferences ready, it’s important to think about your True Love and feel positive feelings like joy, love, appreciation, passion, enthusiasm, eagerness, happiness, positive expectation and belief, optimism and hopefulness. One easy way to give your desire positive attention is to form affirmations that arise those feelings inside of you when you read them out loud or silently to yourself. You want to keep those affirmations with you and come back to them as often as possible and especially when you aren’t feeling good to get yourself into a better mood. Focusing positively on your True Love will make your days more joyful and love-filled. You will soon notice the effects by encountering people who help you feel those positive feelings, one of them being your True Love.
The mistakes mentioned above are easy to avoid. It’s up to you to take the time and energy to learn and use the tips and tools to avoid them. So go to the Love Coach Laura Harju website and get your Free Special Report where you will get more strategies how to avoid these mistakes.
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Laura Harju is a certified Life Coach and a Love Coach. She assists her clients to identify their True Love, to experience more Love here and now, and to clear out the mind’s obstacles to finding True Love. Laura loves working as a Life Coach because it allows her to contribute to people’s lives in a much deeper way; and thanks to modern technology, Laura can serve clients worldwide! Through her coaching Laura helps single women find their True Love, so that they can share the big Love they have in their hearts.
“You MUST know your WHY to be able to stay the course and see great results. Bootcamp is a full blown Business Building Class set up in bite size pieces, not just learning a software.”
Presenting Bootcamp STAR Graduate – Victoria McCooey, The Divorce Course for Women
Victoria is one of our Top 11 students in this past session—the “cum laude” of the bunch who launched her businesses with our support and who is now thriving!
Victoria offers coaching to women who are going through divorce.
Finding Your Lemonade
When life gives you lemons, it may be hard to see how to make lemonade. But it’s there, if you just keep looking
When I was suffering through my own divorce, I didn’t see a bright side. All I could see was wounded children, a vengeful ex, insurmountable bills, isolation and fear, vacation days spent in courtrooms, guilt, fear and depression. I was in victim mode.
Can you relate? Are you feeling like a victim now? If you are, then you know what it’s like. You’re tired. You’re depressed. Everything hurts. You feel jealous. You believe that the universe is out to get you. You find no joy in anything. You say to yourself, over and over, “why me?”
Ugh. Who wants to live like that? No one. And no one wants to be around anyone like that. Not your friends. Not your family. Not your children. It’s hard to help someone who is feeling sorry
for herself. So you need to find a way to snap out of it. Fast.
One way is to look for the positive. “Impossible,” you say. “There is absolutely nothing positive about what’s happening here.” You may be surprised.
Why me?
It’s difficult to understand why bad things happen when they’re happening. But the reason always becomes clear in time. So you just have to trust that something good is going to come of
the heartache you are feeling now. And it will.
It wasn’t until many years later that I realized why I had to endure a decade-long divorce, suffer through endless court appearances, and begrudgingly spend what could have been college tuition for my three children. It was so that I would be more knowledgeable about more aspects of divorce and how it affects women, and be able to help more women who find themselves in the same situation.
I finally understood how to make lemonade out of my lemons.
I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything. Every single obstacle I faced made me stronger and better able to support my clients. All of that negativity has been transformed into a
positive: a fulfilling career helping women face their own divorce drama and come out better than before. I want you to find your lemonade. I want you to one day take your experiences from this dark, scary time and realize the positive impact they’ve had on you. You will be stronger. You will be smarter. You will be a better parent. You will gain new perspective. You will be better equipped to handle unexpected challenges. You will be a better partner to some very lucky person.
Try to keep this in mind as you make your way through the process. Your lemonade is waiting.
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Victoria McCooey is founder, president and head coach at The Divorce Course for Women. She became a volunteer for the Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and she supported and encouraged the women she met by imparting what she’d learned on her journey. Learn more about Victoria.
“I didn’t get out there to reach my ideal clients because I didn’t feel like I had enough value to offer or know how to do it professionally. Now , after Bootcamp, I have a web site, a free gift to share and a professional manner in which to describe my ideal client and engage them.“
Presenting Bootcamp STAR Graduate – Angelique Beauregard, AB Transformations
Angelique is one of our Top 11 students in this past session—the “cum laude” of the bunch who launched her businesses with our support and who is now thriving!
Angelique offers coaching to overweight, overstressed, overtired midlife women.
7 Reasons Why You Should Make a Family Photobook, Even When You Hate Your Pictures Because You Think You’re Fat
This is the time of year I create my annual Family Photobook for the previous year. So far I have created 16 since 2000 when my second daughter was born. I always have two copies made, one for each of my girls. For now I keep a copy at my house and another at my mom’s, in case of fire.
On the cover of each photobook is my favorite photo of the kids. When I line them up side by side, I see how quickly they’re growing!
Unfortunately there aren’t a whole lot of pictures of me in them. I’ve always hated having my photo taken, always disappointed with how fat I look.
How sad to think that my daughters have so few images of me in their treasured books!
Fortunately, their 2017 book will be filled with photos of me (whether they like it or not!). Since I lost 50 lbs, I love having my photo taken, and I actually look as good in them as I feel.
Here are 7 reasons why you should create your own family photobook:
It creates a record of your family life for future generations (my main purpose). It’s not so much about the photos, but the moments and memories they represent.
It forces you to get your best photos out of your computer, so you can easily look at them over and over again.
A photobook is beautiful and fun to look through, much less bulky than a photo album (and easier than wading through thousands of forgotten photos on your computer).
It encourages you to take better pictures, because you know you’ll be putting them in your book the following year.
It is affordable and easy to do – just Google Search online photo shops for the best deals (Costco is a great one).
The photos they contain are laid out to tell a story. You can create a theme, add text, and change the image sizes. You can get really creative!
More importantly, a photobook builds a meaningful connection between you and the person you’re viewing it with.
So if you are avoiding the camera because you think you’re fat, I’m here to tell you that you CAN lose the weight and learn to love having your photo taken too! Your family will thank you – for generations to come!
You just need to take the first step.
I invite you to sign up for a complimentary “Love Your Mirror” consultation. You’ll have access to my online calendar, so you can choose a date and time that works best for you.
Your Biggest Supporter, Angelique
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Angelique Beauregard is the principal and owner of AB Transformations Inc. Through her one-on-one transformational nutrition coaching, she helps women who struggle with their weight create a simple personalized plan for permanent weight loss so they can finally wear cute clothes, move around freely, and love their bodies. Learn more about Anelique.
Grew her list by 300%!!! From 0 contacts to 300 in less than 10 weeks using the Free Gift she created in Bootcamp!
Presenting Bootcamp STAR Graduate Jenifer Horvath, Heart Lifted Coaching
Jenifer is one of our Top 11 students in this past session—the “cum laude” of the bunch who launched her businesses with our support and who is now thriving!
Jenifer offers whole life coaching for women with children who are tired of surviving and are ready to thrive.
Moving From Surviving to Thriving
As parents, it’s easy to fall into the rhythm of merely surviving. Doing what you need to do to exist and get the necessary tasks done on a daily basis, especially under hardship. We need this survival mode.
Problems begin to appear when we are in survival mode for too long. Survival mode is exhausting, stressful, and emotionally defeating. It causes wear on your mind and body. Signs of being in a state of survival are blaming and judging others. Perhaps we feel inferior, or not in control, so we gossip and have short tempers with our kids. We are overly critical of others and ourselves. Seeing the bad first. We see life as happening to us, instead of for us. We find it difficult to see different points of view and all the possibilities.
To help numb any feelings of disappointment, fear or guilt, we begin to turn to things that take our minds off our feelings. Some people turn to wine, food, Facebook and Netflix to zone out night after night. Others become workaholics or excessive cleaners to keep themselves busy. These coping mechanisms in excess become crutches, so we don’t deal with our emotions and reality.
We soldier on doing the things we think we must do to survive. Not giving ourselves permission to think about how our lives might not be what we want them to be. Planting smiles on our faces to hide that we feel lost. This is survival mode.
Is this all there is to life?
The beautiful thing is that you don’t need to stay in that state of surviving. You can reignite your spark, inspiration, and motivation. You can choose to see the positive and opportunities. You can find what you’re passionate about and uncover ways to enjoy it, while being a parent. You can thrive.
Thriving is an intentional state. Knowing what you really want and why you want it. Purposely planning and living your life, so it’s in alignment with your values.
Yes, it does take work to get there and effort to choose to be your best self every day. The benefits, however, of being in this state are greater energy, awareness, happiness, focus and an even more meaningful life. Thriving creates more thriving. Suddenly, the world opens up to you and ideas you never saw before are there.
As parents, it does mean blending all components of your life – yourself, your family, friends, work and other elements – into a delicious life smoothie that works for you. Everyone’s life smoothie is going to be different. What matters is if it’s working for you.
While our life will swing between surviving and thriving, choosing intentional and purposeful living and personal growth daily will bring you greater fulfillment.
Choosing to Thrive: How to begin
Awareness is the first step in moving into thriving. Specifically knowing where you are now and where you want to be.
Try this life satisfaction exercise to get more clarity on what’s working for you and what’s not:
Identify: Write down the different areas of your life: health, family, career, self-development, volunteering, hobbies, home, spiritual and other areas.
Rank: For each area, rank your satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is a little bit satisfied and 10 is completely satisfied.
Observe: Try not to judge. Simply be honest with yourself and notice what’s sticking out from the ranking. What’s higher? What’s lower?
Consider: If you could change just one area to give your life more overall satisfaction, which one would it be?
Create: With that one area in mind, focus on creating one tiny action step you can take to improve that area. Keep it doable and enjoyable, so you get positive reinforcement when you achieve it.
Using this new awareness, be mindful of how your satisfaction begins to shift with this small step. When you’re comfortable and consistent with incorporating your first action step, ask yourself what might be your second action step.
Creating change takes time but it’s absolutely do-able. Working with a life coach can help you move to thriving faster and easier than doing it on your own. They are experts in getting results for their clients. They not only have the knowledge but most have been trained in the psychology of change and habit making. If you’re really committed to making a change, consider hiring an expert to give you the guidance, support, and accountability, especially for those days that you fall off the wagon. They’ll get you back going quickly.
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Jenifer Horvath is the founder of Heart Lifted Coaching, and a trained Life and Business Coach. Through weekly sessions, she helps moms reduce stress and guilt, in order to be happier, calmer and live a more meaningful life. She has two daughters and loves yoga, brain-science and sipping lattes with friends. Learn more about Jenifer.
“When I started Bootcamp, I didn’t even have a name for my business. It didn’t feel right. With Bootcamp I was able to take the time to get clear on the value of my work and came up with the name. The best way to win in Bootcamp is to TRUST THE PROCESS, use your Bootcamp coach and take one step at a time.”
Presenting Bootcamp STAR Graduate – Nancy Southern, Road Less Traveled Coaching
Nancy is one of our Top 11 students in this past session—the “cum laude” of the bunch who launched her businesses with our support and who is now thriving!
Nancy offers less traveled coaching to those who are overwhelmed, lost and frustrated with what to do with their lives.
“How in the World Did I End Up Here?”
Have you ever found yourself in a new situation and silently asking yourself that question? I certainly have. If I’m suddenly uncomfortable or afraid, my mind is quick to judge or lay blame and I often think I must have done something wrong. Nevertheless, it’s actually a good question to ponder. If I can stop myself long enough to ask it again without the judgment, it can reveal some very helpful insights.
When I got the email from Kate saying I was one of eleven (my favorite number) winners of the Easy Breezy Bootcamp contest, I was shocked and a second question popped up. “OMG, now what have I gotten myself into?” (Just another version of the same voice, right?) Instantly, I remembered that winning is a really good thing, even if it lands me in totally new territory.
Once I got past the shock of it, I followed my own advice regarding such questions. I turned within, took some deep breaths and asked the first question again without the judgment. Not long after I was reminded of a moment years ago in high school. I had read a poem that opened my mind and planted a seed in a profound way.
The message of that seed idea has been a beacon for me many times throughout my life and though my path has included many bumps, pot holes, leaps, tight ropes, detours, crashes and dead ends, I can’t imagine living any other way. Instead I let the answer to the question shine light on the choices I have made, including the mistakes and the celebrations. I could see more clearly how each helped to lead me to be here and now.
Where I am today is just right for me and it’s far more remarkable than any idea of how I thought it should be or how to get here. I wanted to share that poem with you to remind you of all the many ideas, choices, visions and experiences you have encountered or passed by that brought you to being right here right now.
The Path Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I can honestly say it has served me well in living my not so ordinary life in an extraordinary way. If you are a coach or mentor, it’s my guess that yours has been extraordinary too. I am delighted that I have this opportunity to cross paths with you, to say hello with a smile and share a knowing look. We each are doing what we love to do because we want to share the wonders of taking “the less traveled” path with others. And as you know, wherever you or your clients are right now, it’s just right and…. it isn’t the end of the road or even the destination. It’s just the next glorious adventure.
Happy traveling to you and those you serve and thank you for shining your light for others along their way.
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Nancy Southern, MSW is a Healthy Lifestyle Advocate with Purium Health Products. As an artist, life coach and all faith’s minister, her creativity, spirituality and desire to be of service to others is fulfilled. Her objectives are to inspire, empower and to foster personal happiness from the inside out. She loves what she does and she marvels at the ways those she works with make amazing changes in their own lives in ways that also benefit others. Learn more about Nancy.
