J. Thomas and Associates, LLc.

www.coach-2-create.com

Welcome back to the next edition of the Coach2C.R.E.A.T.E Coaches Corner. Many people and business leaders who I coach/consult repeatedly share that the biggest challenges they have faced have often come down to the decisions that they have made or felt compelled to make. Inside a new model of coaching, our conversations introduce many of them to create through C.H.O.I.C.E (Choosing Helps Our Individual Concerns to Evolve) where we lead them through the process of:

Making Great Choices

1 Write down the Objective.

What is it you ultimately want to accomplish? Get a new job, move or start a business is not specific enough. The objective should be clearly stated in a way which describes the benefits of achieving the goal. “I want to move to a warm climate where I can engage in outdoor activities year round and simply my life with a lower cost of living.” vs. “I want to move.”

2. Collect Facts: Positive AND Negative

Do your Homework and gather all the information, positive and negative, like and dislike. You are not making the choices here, just a sound assessment of all your options for consideration. There is no rush to get through this critical step. Researcher Paul Nutt states, “Only 1 in 10 choices is urgent. Only 1 in 100 is a crisis. You have time to reflect.” The more time you take to gather all the information, the better your choice(s) is likely to be.

3. List Possible Consequences of Decision

Brain storm all the possible outcomes of each decision and choice. Detach from the emotion – focus on all the possibilities. What would happen if? How would I feel if? Listing extreme positives and negatives at this stage is a good idea.

4. Do a Gut Check

Now that you have completed the above steps, sit in a quiet spot where you will not be disturbed and visualize each scenario you have listed. How does your gut feel? Is your stomach in knots? Is your heart beating with excitement? Pay attentions to what your body is telling you and write it down.

5. Don’t Over Think

Avoid placing judgement on what you have written down. Be open to the fact you might not know, what you don’t know.

6. Make the Choice

Review the amazing work you have completed and tabulate what choice brings you the most favorable results, along with the most positive physical gut reaction. These facts will lead you to the best choice. Remember, the best choice is not the perfect choice. There is no perfect choice.

7. Stick with Your Choice

Once you have made your choice, trust the process. Follow-through with your actions all the way to the end. You don’t want to give up 5 minutes before the miracle happens.

8. Give Yourself Permission to Navigate the Unexpected

Be sensible in the sense you must give yourself permission to navigate differently in the event of an unexpected crisis. Obviously ‘life is happening while you make other plans’, so know that even the best thought out plan will be altered in the face of earth quakes and funerals.

9. Review and Assess

Take time to review and asses your progress often. This will encourage you to continue when you are able to validate positive results, and tweak your direction as needed to maintain forward momentum.

10. No Regrets

Regardless of what you expected your decision to create, congratulate yourself that you made the best decision possible with the information you had available to you at the time. There is not a person alive, and especially some of the greatest successes in history, who hasn’t had the opportunity to learn from a decision.

Following these 10 tips allows you to follow a logical process of consequences based on completion of each task. The answers unfold naturally for you, rather than you struggling to make something fit where it does not belong.

The Rational Planning Model

“The rational planning model is the process of realizing a problem, establishing and evaluating planning criteria, creating alternatives, implementing alternatives, and monitoring progress of the alternatives. It is used in designing neighborhoods, cities, and regions. The rational planning model is central in the development of modern urban planning and transportation planning.”

Remember, making great choices is a skill, and like any skill it can be learned. The more you practice this process of great choice-making, the more skilled you will become at making good choices every day!

Let our coaches go to work for you NOW! Visit our website www.coach-2-create.com and click the link to select a program that works for you and stay tuned to our next Coaches Corner!

Welcome to The Coaches Corner!

Hello Folks, 

Welcome to my  Coach2C.R.E.A.T.E™  Coaches Corner blog. I created this blog as an opportunity to share with people tools, techniques, and wisdom to assist you in understanding the value of Life and/or Business Coaching as well as the extraordinary opportunity and the benefits that come when you are living inside of your Life's Purpose and Passion. What you all should know is that I have been coaching, in one form or another, starting as far back as the 7th Grade answering letters as the "Dear Abby Blabby" columnist for the school newsletter to coaching Little League Flag Football Champions at age 18 with my best friend "Junior" til now guiding and causing professionals and organizational leaders to be effective, clear, and focused on getting what they want in their respective life, business pursuits, and/or careers. 
                                                                                                                          Coach-2-C.R.E.A.T.E. (an acronym for Causing Really Extraordinarily Amazing Things Everywhere) was launched in July of 2010 and has served hundreds of people, organizations, and companies to improve their productivity, increase their efficiency, and effectively complete actions that were often typically left for "Someday or One Day" to happen NOW!

I am a Life and Business Coach! It is my purpose and my passion and its what I am really great at. I wake up everyday excited about the opportunity that I have as well as the privilege that it is for me to be involved intimately in the development of people, organizations, and companies that are making a difference in the world. It is an honor to assist them to fulfill on and be fulfilled by their dreams, aspirations, and goals. As you read my posts, I am crystal clear you will understand my WHY! This piece is dedicated to giving you the reader a clear and definitive understanding of the purpose of Life and Business Coaching.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE AND BUSINESS COACHING?

So what is the purpose of Life and Business coaching you might ask? For me, the purpose of life and business coaching is to put it simply identify abilities, skills, and potentials within a person or company, and help them maximize their potential. Coaches focus on communicating about personal or business goals, creating plans to achieve those goals, and creatively encouraging the realization of goals. Life and business coaching is not a government-regulated profession, although coaches may belong to professional organizations that provide standards and guidelines that members agree to meet and follow.

Styles of life and business coaching are variable, and methods are often as individual as the coaches themselves. Since the goal of a life coach is generally to unleash personal potential, the coach usually guides the individual in identifying and setting personal goals, and then assists in creating a plan for achieving personal goals. The life coach provides open communication, creative encouragement, and general support as the person attempts to achieve their personal goals.

Common personal goals addressed through life coaching include achieving a satisfactory work-life balance, integrating health and fitness into a busy lifestyle, and integrating personal passions into a career path. Unlike more specialized coaches, life coaches often take a holistic, top-down, or inclusive approach to a person's goals. In other words, a life coach is usually open to addressing all aspects of an individual’s personal and professional life.

Business coaches are also interested in maximizing potential, however, their focus is on maximizing the potential of a business or company. Usually, business coaches are employed by businesses or organizations to improve work efficiency or office culture. Unlike life coaches, business coaches are much more likely to specialize, and may focus on professional leadership, executive development, or specific employees within corporate culture.

Life and business coaching is most effectively accomplished through a series of meetings between the coach and the individual or organization. Many life and business coaches, however, share some or all of their methods and ideas through public talks, books, and websites. These alternate resources can provide an excellent introduction to the styles of each coach, and the methods can sometimes be adopted by individuals without the aid of a coach.

Most life or business coaches have received some form of educational preparation and training. Although life and business coaching is not government regulated, there are formal coaching educational programs. Coaches also commonly join professional organizations, such as the International Coach Federation (ICF), the International Association of Coaching (IAC), or the International Coaching Council (ICC). Professional coaching organizations provide some regulation of the industry through their established codes of ethics and professionalism. Members agree to abide by the ethical and educational standards of the organization to which they belong.

Your life is a sacred thing and choosing to take it on to its fullest potential is a journey. I look forward to being a resource to you and others. For more information on our programs or:

How to Get Started and hire your Coach2C.R.E.A.T.E™ Coach:

STEP 1: Go to our website at www.coach-2-create.com and click the link. Pick the date you desire for your Coach2C.R.E.AT.E coaching program to begin,

STEP 2: Pick either a weekly or monthly fee plan* and You will be taken to PayPal's secure checkout to complete the purchase.  

STEP 3: Contact J. Thomas and Associates, LLc.  Coach2C.R.E.A.T.E™ coach  at (267) 259-1385 to schedule your coaching time.