Personal Growth from Solution Linx Online Coaching

We're Moving

2011-06-18T09:07:00.000-04:00

WE are on the move and making changes so that you can get all of the coaching tools, resources, tips and stories in one place.

The Solution Linx Team is consolidating 3 blogs into 1 making it easier to access more information - personal growth, professional success and health & wellness coaching in one blog.

Visit Linx to Life Your Way....that's where you will find all posts from now on.
Click here to get to the intro post.

Thanks for being here with us. Make sure you join us there....and share us with your friends.

Spring Brings Sense

2011-04-27T07:56:00.001-04:00

Spring brings with it many opportunities. Because it is the time to get refreshed and plant new seeds, watch growth in nature, an abundance of seminars crop up to help us learn and grow. Whether for business, personal needs, money, health or do-it-yourself workshops - they all have an intended purpose - to make us better.

Having recently connected with this dynamic and focused individual, I would like to share with you some local free seminars that are taking place in the next few weeks. Hope that you can use this information.

Post other interesting workshops or seminars here to share with others!
You can also visit Shannon at www.shannonrickwood.com.

The Voice of Purpose

2011-04-19T06:40:00.000-04:00

Leaders who use the voice of purpose...
....aren’t easily distracted from the intended path.

Their drive and determination fuel their ambitions,
not for themselves, but for those they lead.

How do you know what your voice is? Learn about the Voices of Change at Leadercast 2011 - find a site now by clicking here.

Spring Reading

2011-04-05T11:48:00.002-04:00

I Love to Read! Here are two of my favourite books for Spring. I re-read them each year to get me in the Spring-mood. I find the stories are wonderful, that love blooms like Springtime and it takes me away to an adventure in a time that seemed to enjoy the nature we were given in all it's wonder.
Have you read them before?

I also love to see the movies and catch them whenever I can. I even have them on VHS and DVD!

What books are must-reads for Spring for You? Share them here!

Spring Can Be Everyday

2011-03-29T11:43:00.009-04:00

What make you feel Spring is in the air?
Is it the melting snow or the drizzly rain?
Is it the buds on the trees or the flowers in bloom?
Is it the new clothes that are in the shops waiting to be worn?
Is it returning from your Winter holiday, knowing that you can now enjoy the last few cold days ahead, because the warm sun has reached your core and you can handle anything?

Spring can be everyday. All you need to do is hold onto that excitement that flutters around in your belly when you are thinking of how you will plant your garden, or start to play baseball or soccer, or when you get out for your first run of the Spring in the sunshine.
Take that feeling with you everyday.
Think about it everyday.

The spring in your step will keep Spring with you...always!

Find Health

2011-03-22T11:25:00.003-04:00

Personal Growth can come in many forms - reaching goals, managing time or quite simply, finding health.
Health itself, can be divided into a few categories:

muscle tone
cardiovascular health
lower cholesterol
reduce weight
eating healthy food
eliminating stress
sleeping enough

So many ways to find health. To not look at a healthy lifestyle as part of personal growth would be like leaving out brushing your teeth and still expecting fresh breath. You need to deal with the whole person. Eating healthier, creating a more active lifestyle will help increase your energy, reduce stress and propel your towards your goals in a quicker manner.

Take care of the whole you. That is how you show up in life - one person, one mind, one body - not multiple parts that you can discount or leave aside!

To learn more about Health & Wellness Coaching click here

4 Steps to a Clear Vision

2011-03-15T11:19:00.003-04:00

Which way are you going?
Do you have a clear vision....can you see in your mind's eye, the steps along the way to success?
If not, here are a few things to try:

take a moment to write out your goal and how you will feel when you reach it
write out the steps to your goal - what are the incremental steps, that when put together will get you to your end result
write out your obstacles - anything that you think could get in the way of success and plan how you will overcome this - that way when it hits (if it hits) you are prepared and will not be thrown off course
write out exactly what success would look like so that you will recognize it when you get there

You can also do this while driving - not the writing part, just the list-making in your head.
It also helps to share this with someone who can give you an objective point of view, providing more insight and ideas.

Let me know how it goes!

What Does Your Voice Say?

2011-03-08T11:01:00.001-05:00

Your voice is all about you. It is how you come across to the world.
What you say and how you say it - the words + the tone + facial expression + action = YOU!

What does your voice say? Is it positive or negative? Is it happy or sad? Is it full of energy or quiet and mournful? Does your voice reflect what you are saying ....like, you are saying you are happy but your voice has no tone?

What about your body language? Are you saying you are so upset while looking like you are jumping for joy?

There are many things to think about when we put our voice at the centre of our image of ourselves, at the centre of what others receive from us. To learn more about your voice and how you are projecting yourself to the world, click here for a FREE e-book called 'Find Your Voice'.

I Want My Life Back

2011-03-01T12:19:00.001-05:00

This is the moment that you want to climb on the chair and scream! You have just realized that everything you do is for someone else. You are running from work tasks to home tasks and chores without stopping to take 5 minutes for yourself. You have realized that not one single task actually benefits or develops you. It is time to take your life back!

Yes, life is full of challenges. Yes, family, partners, kids, community commitments all are part of life. What you choose to do versus what you actually are two completely different things. Is life thrust at you and you simply take it? Or does life throw things at you and you choose what you will catch and work with today?

Take 5 minutes, right now, and make a list of everything that you did yesterday. Put an ‘M’ next to everything from which you personally benefited. That includes driving the carpool for soccer letting you spend time with your son and his friends – that is a personal benefit.

How many made the ‘M’ list? How can you re-evaluate the ones that did not to see if an ‘M’ could be applied? Waiting for your spouse at the grocery store, while it felt like a waste of time, gave you 20 minutes to sit and think, reflect and recharge. Did you use the time that way or were you drumming your fingers on the steering wheel impatiently, getting more bothered by the minute.

I am taking the long-winded way to say something ---perhaps is not that we ‘want our lives back’, it’s that we need to look at the activity in our lives and recognize them for the positive impact they offer, not just the time they take up. Can you do that?

What is Soul?

2011-02-24T13:15:00.000-05:00

Do you have one or is it an 'it'? Can you feel it? Can you lose it? Interesting questions that I am sure many philosophers have attempted to answer. It is not a physical state, so hard to prove or disprove. What is your soul? Is it powerful, passionate and why you exist? Is it the love you have for those around you? Is it how you fill up your heart? Or is it in your mind? Or is it found in all the spaces in between?

A little something to think about today!

What are Your Rules?

2011-02-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

We have rules in the world to keep order. People develop rules in their lives to keep order as well.

□ Some rules could be meant to control things, like – you can only have 1 sugary snack per day.

□ Some rules could be made to avoid difficult situations, like – we invite our parents to separate events because they argue too much when they are in the same room.

□ Some rules are made and then re-worked, like – we will go to church every Sunday; we will go to church every Sunday that we don’t have baseball that day; we will go to church when we can.

Rules evolve and change with the way our lives work. When we add kids to mix, rules change or new rules are made up. We use rules to help guide and direct learning and living a positive and healthy life.

Look at your rules. What are they? Have they evolved along with you, or are you holding on to some rules and continuously breaking them instead of letting them evolve?

Window of Opportunity

2011-02-18T15:01:00.001-05:00

You have heard that expression – the window of opportunity – and usually there is something about it only opening for a short while. I am a non-believer in that statement.

I believe that the window of opportunity is yours to create. What you do with the openings, or chances, or opportunities that come your way, create your window of opportunity – and you get to choose what you would like to do at that moment in time.

Rarely, windows are provided to you, or described as such moments before they arrive. The opportunity is what you make out of what you see in time.

Go ahead – make more windows!

Flight Cancelled

2011-02-08T07:11:00.002-05:00

SOOOOO much is involved in getting ready for a trip.

passports
tickets
packing, how much does my luggage weigh, can I bring a carry-on at no charge
organizing at work, deadlines, follow up, key contacts
organizing at home, kids, newspaper, mail delivery etc
books to read, movie to watch

It is exhausting. But eventually, you get there!
And then, they cancel the flight. It is enough to make you lose your mind.
Well, don't!
This is the epitome of what you can 'control' versus what you 'cannot control'.
It happened to us, we arrived at the airport in time to check in and the flight was cancelled because they did not have a pilot. You would think, that being a regularly scheduled flight, not a charter, that people would be assigned...not so much with this airline I guess.
We were able to get onto the next flight and they even bumped us up to first class at no charge.
Key to this: we all kept our cool, when asked how they could help - we honestly told them how, we smiled and said thank you and were polite. No causing a scene or creating mayhem. Kindness and patience comes back to you.
Do you have a story like this one?
Tell it here!

Tackle Fear

2011-01-25T07:32:00.001-05:00

What can you do to tackle fear?

Fear can make us angry, timid, uncomfortable. Here is a quick way to tackle fear:

Break your fear into small pieces and tackle each one individually. If you give yourself an action for each small piece, the fear becomes manageable. While you may never be comfortable, at least you will be more confident on your way through it.

Example: Fear of public speaking, but due to your new job role, you need to speak at monthly meetings to report on team results.

Start with the meeting agenda - how much time do you have to speak?
Understand what is required to be covered during that meeting.
Determine what you can actually say in that time
Write out your notes and practice in the mirror at least 5 times.
Ask your team to listen to you say your part at least one day before the meeting. This helps the team hear what you will say and help you practice in front of an audience with whom you are already comfortable.
Dress professionally and comfortably.
Take 3 deep breaths before you leave for the meeting
Have your notes with you at the meeting to use during your time.
Do your best - say your part.
Ask for feedback after the meeting from a colleague or your boss.
Implement feedback for next time.

It will work!

Visit Solution Linx to Personal Growth to participate in online coaching - Conquering My Fears is a monthly topic!

Get Control of Your Time

2011-01-18T06:57:00.001-05:00

You can work with others to learn new ways to get control of your time. Group coaching is a great way to connect with other people and learn or share ideas for the challenges that you are facing today.

Group coaching is about getting together (in person or by teleconference) with people who have like goals or a common agenda. Group coaching can help open your eyes to challenges and roadblocks as well as successes and milestones that other have reached.

Your progress in group coaching can quickly and efficiently help you move towards your goals. Group coaching is a great way to test out the 'coaching waters' and see if a Personal Growth Coach and one-on-one sessions can help you create the life you want to live.

Other topics covered in Group Coaching are:

Create Your Vision

Get Control of My Time

Ready to Change

Find out more by clicking here.

Find Yourself

2011-01-11T06:14:00.000-05:00

Can you see into a crystal ball...find yourself and like what you are looking at right now?
Can you see your future?
Do you have plans for the New Year?
How are you going to accomplish those plans?

Turn them into goals - measurable goals - and take along a coach for accountability.
Sometimes we create goals and plans, and without an outside, objective partner to help us maintain accountability, we can easily (and quickly) fall off the tracks and miss our journey completely.

By having a coach, we can discover new perspectives, get objective viewpoints, receive challenges we may not have yet understood or even simply get recognition for taking the steps we are currently taking.

A FREE Coaching Discovery Session can help you understand if a coach is right for you - click here to learn more.

My Strengths

2011-01-04T07:00:00.002-05:00

You have strengths. Things that you do well. Things that perhaps you can do better than anyone else. Think through the following questions to create a clear picture of your strengths:

What are your strengths?
How do they make you who you are today?
How did you get those strengths?
How do you use those strengths?

Understanding your strengths can help you to develop an action plan to use those strengths to develop areas you would like to improve.

To learn more about this visit Solution Linx to Personal Growth - there is a whole month that focuses on strengths including tools and resources to help you make the best of what you have.

2011 - Moving into a New Decade

2011-01-01T14:14:00.000-05:00

Happy 2011!

Hope it's a wonderful one.

from the coaches at Solution Linx

Textures of Life

2010-12-28T06:24:00.004-05:00

Life is full of texture if we take time to look at it.
We can look closely or we can look from far away.
We will see depth, colours, shine, bumps, waves, valleys, light, reflections and more.
What we do with the textures will determine the depth of our lives.
We can live on the surface seeing only colour.
Or we can live in the texture and feel the colour changes, the movement of lines, the growth of sensations and the waves that can carry us over the bumps that lie in between.
Our lives are our own.
How we see them can change as we want/need it to.
Help others see their lives as the rich texture they are.

Wishes

2010-12-25T08:12:00.000-05:00

Best wishes for a happy Christmas,

from our family to yours!

from the coaches at Solution Linx

Finding Time

2010-12-21T07:15:00.001-05:00

Don't you wish that sometimes you could turn back the clock? Everything just seems to rush together. Your energy seems to get zapped away just thinking of everything that is on your plate. How do you find time?

Try these few time-finders:

create a to-do list and organize it in order of priority of NEED - then start
look at the daily items you do and determine why you do them. Is it really necessary to have a perfectly made bed everyday or could you use these 5 minutes elsewhere?
try multi-tasking with the jobs you always put off IE: clean out the dishwasher while making supper - it will be ready to load after dinner
try giving a job away to your kids, spouse/partner or team - give good direction and then follow up with recognition and other instruction if required
(this one takes a little longer) make a list of what you do as a routine everyday and eliminate the items that don't make sense to do daily. Do the same for weekly tasks, monthly tasks, seasonal tasks. What, from the list, can you delegate to others?

See what works. If you have other ideas, please share them here!
For more on finding time in a Time-Starved Life - Click here.

Discover You

2010-12-14T06:05:00.002-05:00

How do you go about discovering yourself?
Do you have all of you lined-up and ready to go everyday?
Do you feel whole and full and like every part of yourself is in action?
Is there more to you, you can feel it...and are just not sure where to look?

Explore coaching. A coach will work with you to discover the parts of yourself that you are looking for....new challenges, new career, time management, healthier living, attracting positive energy or even overcoming fear. By having weekly discussions, a coach can help keep you on track and moving towards your goals.

Get a FREE Discovery Session with Lora Crestan - certified coach and discover YOU!
Click here for more information.

Make the First 100 Days of 2011 Count

2010-12-10T13:21:00.006-05:00

Every shot counts!

And according to Michael Jordan

"you miss 100% of the shots you don't take"!

Are you planning your steps into 2011? You will need a routine and tracker for success to get you to your goals. Whether the goals are for personal development or professional success or healthier living, recording and tracking them and your progress will help you reach them with ease.

What if you could track your goals and progress with one easy download?

Click here to learn more.

Make the first 100 days of 2011 count...and the rest will fall into line.

Go ahead! Take your Best shot!

What is the Plan?

2010-12-07T07:04:00.005-05:00

The holidays are right around the corner. Have you created a plan to make your way through them?
There is usually more than one way to get to where you are going.
You will need a plan, of course.
In planning, you will also need to look at what can happen at each fork in the road. Each decision will impact the next step.

I know...I am making it sound difficult. But it's the holidays, and while the holidays tend to bring out the best in people, you will also find that it is a time for memories (some bad, some good) and old heartaches or regrets to come to the surface. Everyone is stressing too, so nerves tend to get on edge.
Be prepared.
Have a plan. Who will you visit? What will you bring? Who will you invite? What will you serve? There are tons of things to look at...so
... make sure that when you plan, you include downtime for yourself. You deserve it!
It will make it easier to enjoy the holidays - as stress-free as possible.

Be the One

2010-12-05T12:40:00.000-05:00

http://

Every year, Solution Linx Online Coaching hosts a fabulous event where leadership speakers are featured via simulcast. The speakers inspire, provoke conversation, focus on change, bring ideas forward and create a motivating environment to put words into action.

As part of a follow up to the Leadercast event, Solution Linx will also host a facilitated discussion on the leadership topics from the past year. You can click here and complete the form to find out more.

You can attend a Leadercast event near you by visiting http://www.leadercast.com/. If you are in the Windsor-Essex County area of Ontario, you can attend at the St Clair Centre for the Arts - click here to find out more information