How's Your Ego?

Many people get caught in the trap of living their lives with a wounded ego. Ego refers to our inner perception of the outside world. This means that we can experience the world based both on our most noble and healthy impulses or most toxic and disabling. If our perception is positive, we tend to view our role in the world as interconnected with others and healthily interacting. We base our decisions on the security we feel about ourselves and our sense of balance and well-being. If we function more on the negative side of the spectrum we tend to view the world based on our fears and feelings of insecurity. We might rely on mistaken notions of power, controlling others, need for attention, desire to dominate or yearning for love.

The challenge for people arises in that ego can reflect our most dysfunctional characteristics and we get stuck listening only to that inner voice. If we only listen to the voice that reminds us of our insecurities or hurts then our lives move in a certain direction. Answer the following questions to get a feel for how your ego is working for you.

1. In what ways am I constantly working on being the best person I can be?

2. I what ways do I get my stuff on other people?

3. In what ways do I depend on others to make me happy?

4. In what ways do I help build up others?

5. What is my view of competition?

6. What is my view of winning and losing?

As you answer these questions you will likely see a pattern emerging that will show you how healthy your ego is. Remember that your ego is healthy when you are so confident and secure that you live a great life and help others to do the same. You don't feel threatened by others and you enjoy their success as much as yours.

A healthy ego will tend to stay in balance, reacting appropriately from calmness and kindness. For those of you who already live this way, you know the deep happiness that comes from feeling you're great and appreciating others' greatness as well. You get to be you at your finest and most balanced.

Take care,

Guy

Life Coach Reno

New Years 2009 - Your Juicy Life

Imagine waking up at the beginning of 2009 and thinking about the most juicy, wonderful thing you could ever enjoy eating. Think of how great you would feel and the giddy anticipation of getting to eat it.

Now make the juicy treat your life. Look forward to it, enjoy it, savor it, give it importance, relish it, think about it a lot. You can have a wonderful juicy life by focusing on how great your life can be and the amazing things you bring to the world.

To help get you started on your juicy life try making a list of all the wonderful talents and abilities you have. Write them down on a nice sheet of paper and post them where you can see them. Use this as your guide of all the talents you bring to the world and will use in 2009 to enjoy your juicy life.

All the best,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Success Leads to Success

If you think you will succeed you tend to succeed because you take action and you move in circles that will be beneficial to you. Yet people seem to get stuck in, "I can't succeed mode," more often than they'd like to. It's perfectly normal to feel like we will never break through or achieve our goals but we can have a great impact on how our life moves by simply thinking successfully.

Try thinking about the following things the next time you feel like you are lacking success.

1. What do I want to succeed at?

2. What am I doing today to achieve my goal?

3. What baggage can I shed so I can begin working on my goal?

4. What is one step I can do today to succeed?

5. How will I know if I've succeeded?

6. What will I do to enjoy and celebrate my success?

7. What do I need to do to continue thinking successfully?

Try working through these seven questions and focusing your energy on actually being successful. So much of our success depends on how we view what we do in our day to day lives. If we always focus on what is going wrong we tend to think in a certain way. If we stop and celebrate the little things we do along the way we build a positive reservoir that will help us move forward.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Think It and You Can Do It

It's amazing what happens when we think in certain ways. If we focus only on negative thoughts and what we can't do our life tends to follow a predictable pattern. It can move very differently if we think in brand new ways. One of the biggest challenges for people is to think in terms of success but it isn't difficult to get started. Try the following steps to help you achieve what is meaningful to you.

1. Think of a goal you would like to achieve.

2. Think of the reasons why you can't achieve that goal.

3. Think of dumping those negative reasons in a trash can.

4. Develop new, positive, ways you can achieve the goal.

5. Picture what your life would look like if you pursued these positive paths.

6. Start working on your goal.

You will find that your thoughts are a powerful predictor for how you will do in life. We get results based on what we think we can achieve. Try this exercise each time you feel like you can't do something and begin moving in new and exciting directions.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Achieve Your Dreams

When we dream we immediately entertain the world of possibilities and open the door to growth. Here's what some smart people have to say about the topic.

Henry David Thoreau:

I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.


Anatole France:

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.


Carl Jung:

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.


Carl Sandburg:

Nothing happens unless first a dream.


Elizabeth Gilbert:

The inability to open up to hope is what blocks trust, and blocked trust is the reason for blighted dreams.


You too can pursue your dreams at any moment, it just takes deliberate thought and action.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Lost and Hopeless

People often ask me what to do when they feel lost and hopeless. It's very normal to lose hope at times or feel their is no hope but it's what you do with those feelings that will lead you toward success or lack thereof. Think about the following ideas next time you feel there is no way out:

1. Think of a time when you were not lost and hopeless. What did it feel like?
2. List five things that worked for you to overcome the lost and hopeless feelings in the past.
3. What are five things that are going well currently.
4. What are five things you do well.
5. What is one thing I can do right now to change my situation.

The only way we can redirect our lives is by taking action. Think of these five steps, they will help you re-focus your energy and think about the things you can actually do to improve your situation.

Ever notice that people who mope around all the time tend to get stuck moping? Here's your chance to get unstuck by simply doing something different. Taking action in a different direction makes all the difference.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Enthusiasm and Achievement

So much of what we achieve is directly related to our thought process. If we think we can succeed we tend to move in that direction. If we think we'll fail we limit our possibilities. It's normal to feel stuck and unmotivated but enthusiasm can help us move forward. Here's what some smart people have to say about the importance of enthusiasm.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.


Oliver Wendell Holmes:

It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living.


Sophia Loren:

Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent.


W. Clement Stone:

When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.


Winston Churchill:

Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.


Focus on things you are enthusiastic about and you will open doors.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Getting Past Criticism

We've all been on the receiving end of criticism and, for some people, it can be debilitating and even paralyzing. The good news is you can take criticism, focus it in a different way, and use it to become a stronger person. Here is what some smart people have to say about the subject.

David Brinkley:

A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.


Elbert Hubbard:

To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.


Franklin P. Jones:

Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.


Henri Frederic Amiel:

We are never more discontented with others than when we are discontented with ourselves.


Go out today and fulfill who you are regardless of what others say.

Have a great day,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Smart Dating

We often date based on initial impressions, the rush of excitement that comes from falling in love with someone or being physically attracted to someone. Then we end up wondering why we fall into that trap over and over. One answer that works for people looking to date for quality and excitement is to date smart. Smart dating is when we pick people based on feeling great about ourselves and making smart choices. Here are some tips that will help you date more effectively.

1. Get as healthy as possible. People that feel great about themselves make much better dating choices than those who simply bounce around feeling poorly and selecting partners based on low expectations.

2. Treat yourself well. You deserve to be treated genuinely well. This means someone who lets you be you, who doesn't control you, who builds up your self-esteem and who supports you unconditionally.

3. Try to pace yourself. Excitement is great but it can lead you to do things you may not feel that great about later. Try to jumping into dating because you don't feel great alone.

4. Ask yourself, "In what ways does this person make me feel great about myself?"

5. Get objective outside help to assist you in learning more about yourself and how to date well. People who know you may mean well but they aren't always dating experts.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

You Don't Have to Be Perfect

I often work with clients who set a goal and then throw all this other stuff on top of it and paralyze themselves before doing anything. They often tell me that they are afraid of doing something imperfect; afraid of messing up.

The idea that we mess up comes from many places, very often our family. The truth is that we only mess up if we choose to describe it that way. The next time you set a goal for yourself try focusing less on the whole "I'm doing something wrong and what if I fail," outlook and set yourself up for success. Try the following ideas:

1. Set an achievable goal you know you can do.
2. Do one thing at a time and don't burden yourself with extra things.
3. Celebrate when you complete a task, do something to treat yourself well.

We only fail if we set ourselves up for failure or listen to the negative messages inside our head. Success comes from setting realistic goals, completing them and moving forward purposefully. One last thing...you absolutely do not have to be perfect.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Are You Balanced?

I was talking to a very accomplished person today who felt overwhelmed by everything going on in his life. Upon examination he realized that he had been juggling a great deal of different things and hadn't taken time to think about the things that gave him balance.

We become so engrossed in living life at a rapid pace that we forget that we can enjoy things better if we pause occasionally to relax, recharge and reflect. Take some time in your day to not do anything. Look at a sunset, sit by a stream, go walking in the city with no particular goal. Life becomes more enjoyable when we take time to regain our balance.

Balance helps us maintain a generally positive course. It is the middle road we take that grounds us. We will always have highs and lows but, if we nurture the middle, we will always have it to seek refuge in.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Where Happiness Begins

My clients frequently ask me how to find happiness. Over the years I've noticed that a common characteristic of people who are happy is self-awareness.

Self-awareness is a deep understanding of who we are. It literally impacts how we treat ourselves and others and what kind of life we live. Let me give you a real world example to illustrate what I'm talking about.

Person A says he is a happy go lucky person that always is having a great time. He has a lot of friends and says he's confident and an optimist. He lives a life that looks great to everyone on the outside but, when he has to think about it, Person A is deeply unhappy. He has unresolved issues in his life that are so difficult that he refuses to look at them. So person A appears happy on the outside but inside he is constantly struggling to ignore and cast aside the demons he carries. This type of person is not living a life of self-awareness because he won't even begin the process of understanding who he is in order to move forward. He chooses instead to live a live of superficial happiness based on appearances.

Person B, on the other hand, also has issues that hurt him deeply and made him unhappy. He also appears happy to the outside world but his happiness comes from a very different place. Person B decided years ago to look at the things that brought him pain. He worked very hard to acknowledge his past and create a plan to move beyond the hurt. When person B is alone he feels genuinely happy because he has actually moved past the challenges in his past. This type of happiness is far more genuine because the person has literally worked through the things that made them unhappy. His happiness is real because it's based on his deep self-awareness based on facing his hurts.

Genuine happiness comes from deep inside us. It is a level of existence that we achieve only when we work through the challenges from our past. I'm not suggesting that we live in the past, only that we acknowledge the things that hurt us earlier in life and then develop a plan to move forward.

Everyone deserves to live a life of genuine happiness, the kind that comes from deep inside. Those who are truly happy have left the burdens of the past in the past. Think about it as the difference between living your life with the burden of carrying a giant monkey on your back and never getting rid of it versus letting it go and living a much lighter and energized existence.

Self-awareness is not about being selfish or self-indulgent, it's about understanding who you are and constantly working on becoming the best person you can be. Those who choose to be aware of whom they really are reap the benefits of living a genuinely happy life.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Your Purpose in Life

We achieve great things by setting goals and following through on them. By doing this we live a life of purpose where we control our own destiny. Here's what some smart people have to say about purpose.

Peter F. Drucker:

There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.


Epictetus:

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.


Helen Keller:

Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.


Robert Byrne:

The purpose of life is a life of purpose.


Henry David Thoreau:

I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.


When you consciously decide what you really want, and work to achieve it, you reap the rewards of living a life of purpose.

Have a purposeful day,

Guy
Life Coach in Reno

The Key to Happiness

Many clients have told me that the key to happiness is to do what you love. It is amazing what happens when we follow that voice inside us that guides us toward what we really want to do with our lives. Here's what some smart people have to say about the topic.

Albert Schweitzer:

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.


Denis Waitley:

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.


Allan K. Chalmers:

The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.


Benjamin Disraeli:

Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.


Buddha:

Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others.


Happiness springs from your own growth and self-fulfillment. It is the result of understanding yourself and doing the things you really love.

Take care,

Guy
Reno Life Coach

What is Your Meaning of Life?

We create our path through life guided by our choices and actions. It's amazing what can happen when we take purposeful action toward an important goal. Here's what some smart people have to say about the topic:

A. Powell Davies:

Life is just a chance to grow a soul.


Annie Dillard:

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.


Abraham Lincoln:

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.


Anais Nin:

People living deeply have no fear of death.


You get to decide how to live and you can start moving in any direction starting today.

Have a meaningful day,

Guy
Life Coach in Reno

What is Your Vision?

Your vision dictates the type of life you lead. You have the ability to create a vision that will take you where you want to go rather than settling for less than you deserve. Here's what some smart people have to say about the topic.

Audre Lorde:

When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.


Carl Jung:

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.


Peter F. Drucker:

There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.


Arthur Schopenhauer:

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.


Have a vision-filled day,

Guy
Life Coach in Reno

Are You Afraid of the Future?

Many people tell me they have concerns about the future. The only real predictor for our future is our past actions. Here is what some smart people have to say about the topic:

Edward Gibbon:

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know no way of judging of the future but by the past.


Eric Hoffer:

In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.


Pearl S. Buck:

One faces the future with one's past.


C. S. Lewis:

The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.


Your future starts today,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Your Effort

Often, the only thing that separates those who succeed from those who don't is effort. Here is what some smart people have to say.


Peter F. Drucker:

There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.


Franklin D. Roosevelt:

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.


Oliver Wendell Holmes:

The mode by which the inevitable comes to pass is effort.


Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

What Are Your Goals for Today?

We can often create changes in our lives by consciously pursuing our goals and dreams. Here's what some smart people have to say about the subject:


Anatole France:

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.


Carl Sandburg:

Nothing happens unless first we dream.


Epictetus:

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.


Frank Lloyd Wright:

I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.


Have a goal-filled day,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Achieve Your Dreams

The mistake we often make is that we live our whole lives putting our dreams on the back burner. There are several reasons this happens including fear, paying the bills, lack of planning and not believing that our dreams will come true.

People often think that thinking of their dreams is too unrealistic. The truth is that our lives tend to follow the patterns that we establish. If we think something cannot be achieved that will tend to happen.

As yourself this: What can I do today to start living my dreams? If you start believing and acting on the assumption that you can actually achieve your dreams you will begin to structure you life to make it happen.

The main message is don't give up, there is always time to start working on your dreams. Don't you deserve to live your dreams?

Have a great day,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

A Plan to Fix Your Relationship

Clients frequently ask me how to fix specific relationship problems. There is no magic cure for problems in relationships, it just takes deliberate action and a strong commitment to working things out. Think about the following ideas if you have a problem in your relationship.

• In what ways do I know how to communicate effectively without fighting?
• In what ways do I problem solve effectively?
• Where did I learn my problem solving skills?
• Where do I go for accurate information on how to fix relationship problems?
• How do I resolve ongoing problems?
• What specific techniques do I use to resolve problems?

The answers to these questions will help you determine your skill level in resolving relationship conflicts. Then you can begin the learning process to become an excellent problem solver and communicator.

When people become proficient in communicating and problem solving they can handle anything that comes their way and do so with confidence and skill. The good news is that you can build up your skills and that problems really can be resolved. What do you have to lose? Start doing some research today to help you become an expert at actually fixing things in your relationship.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

The Five Steps to Success

Many of my clients ask me if there is a secret to success. There really isn't a secret it just requires purposeful action. Purposeful action means that we are fully conscious and have thought about every action that we take. We don't leave things to chance except when appropriate and we consciously do things to improve things about ourselves.

Think of success in terms of practical things you can do to move in whatever direction you want. The following steps will help you achieve what you want in life but there is one caveat: you have to take action.

1. Define what success means to you.
2. Break your definition into parts and give each one a clear name. These become your goals.
3. Select one goal you want to work on.
4. Brainstorm different tasks that will help you achieve your goal.
5. Pick one task and follow it through to completion.

Use these five steps to keep moving. Success is based on continuous movement and action. With each action you complete you become stronger and more successful. Don't worry too much about what goal you choose or what action to take, it is the act of doing things that creates the change in your life.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Attitude for Success

Your attitude or perspective on life has a lot to do with what you will achieve. What seems to true in life is that, if you think a certain way, you will tend to move in that direction. Here's what some smart people say about the topic.

Colleen C. Barret:

Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.

Abraham Lincoln:

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.

Carlos Castaneda:

The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.

Frank Lloyd Wright:

The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.

It may sound simplistic, but so much related to success is how you view yourself. Try envisioning yourself as you would like to be ideally and do purposeful things each day to fulfill your promise.

Have a great attitude day,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

The Courage to Act

Many individuals spend a lot of time thinking and wishing for change. The people who succeed are those who actually have the courage to take action. Any goal you set for yourself can be achieved by your conscious and deliberate action. Here's what some smart people have to say about the subject.

Bernadette Devlin:

Yesterday I dared to struggle. Today I dare to win.

Alan Cohen:

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.

Charles DuBois:

The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.


Dorothy Thompson:

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.

You create the movement and you get to decide in what direction your life goes. Try taking deliberate action today and enjoy the success that comes with doing things.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

On Taking Action

The only difference between those who succeed and those who stay stuck is taking action. I'm always amazed at the incredible things people can do when they decide to act to make their dreams a reality. Here's what some smart people say about the subject.

Annie Dillard:

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.


Aristotle:

Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.

Alfred Adler:

Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement.

Anatole France:

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.

Ann Radcliffe:

One act of beneficence, one act of real usefulness, is worth all the abstract sentiment in the world.

Go out today and take action to make your dreams a reality, you'll be glad you did.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

One Thing at a Time

Many people want to change their lives but quickly become overwhelmed by the enormity of the task or number of choices. I ask my clients to take it easy on themselves and do one thing at a time. Try the following steps to break a big task into manageable chunks:

1. Brainstorm ideas of what you want to do.
2. Pick one idea that makes the most sense to start on.
3. Decide on one thing you will do to work on your idea.
4. Decide by when you will complete the task.

These simple four steps will help you break a big challenge down into components that you can deal with individually. We tend to get stressed out because we try to work on all parts of a challenge at once rather than focusing on one thing and moving to the next when we have successfully accomplished the previous step.

Have a successful day,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

You Have the Answers in You

I frequently get questions from people who are genuinely trying to figure out what to do in their relationships or in a difficult situation in their lives. While I'm able to give people examples of what other individuals have done to be successful, it is challenging to give people advice on what they should do because everyone sees the world in a different way. Each person will have their own way of arriving at a solution and a coach is there to help them arrive at whatever end they see fit.

I encourage people to think in terms of finding their own solutions to tough issues. I'm a big believer that people have the ability to resolve the challenging issues in their lives. If you don’t know what to do, spend some time thinking about the following points:

1. What would I name this situation?
2. What are some possible solutions I can think of?
3. Which solution makes the most sense to me?
4. What do I need to do to start working on the solution?

I help my clients take charge of their lives and gain the confidence necessary to work through tough challenges. We all have the answers we need inside; it just takes a bit of effort to find them. Outside people can give us their opinion but only we can arrive at the resolution that makes the most sense to us.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Finding Your Own Answers

I often get questions from people who are genuinely trying to figure out what to do in a relationship or in life. While I can give people examples of what other people have done to be successful, it is difficult to give people advice on what they should do. Each person will have their own way of arriving at a solution and a coach is there to help them arrive at whatever end they see fit.

I encourage people to think in terms of finding their own solutions to tough issues. If you don’t know what to do, spend some time thinking about the following points:

1. What would I name this issue?
2. What are some possible solutions for the issue?
3. Which solution makes the most sense to me?
4. What do I need to do to start working on the solution?

I help my clients take charge of their lives and gain the confidence necessary to work through tough challenges. We all have the answers we need inside; it just takes a bit of effort to find them. Outside people can give us their opinion but only we can arrive at the resolution that makes the most sense to us.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Fixing Problems

I have facilitated many workshops and coached many people and a common theme that comes up is the idea of fixing things. From an early age, we are taught to confront any problem with a fix. If someone says something to us in our personal or professional life we immediately jump and look for ways to fix it. While I like resolving issues it's also important to give some importance to just working on things without fixing them. Next time someone comes to you with a problem, consider the following possibilities:

1. Listen without interrupting or offering advice.
2. Give yourself permission not to fix anything.
3. Let the person talk to you freely and give them the time to do so.
4. Even if you disagree, don't rebut or become defensive.
5. Learn to recognize the things that trigger your defensiveness or anger.
6. Offer to listen to the person again.
7. Always remain calm and caring.

The act of listening changes the whole dynamic in relationships. Suddenly we can learn what other people really think and simply bond with them. This approach is different because it requires that, instead of talking or jumping in, we just let someone else tell us about the things they find meaningful. This approach greatly reduces hurt feelings and anger because it requires us to react calmly to anything another person says.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Do You Know Who You Are?

We frequently grow up with a label attached to us; he's the quiet one, she's the driven one. Sometimes we grow up and don't know who we are because we are so used to everyone else telling us who we are.

I'm frequently amazed at the people who come to see me who say, "All my coworkers say I'm outgoing and confident but I'm really not that way." I highly recommend that people find out who they really are and move away from letting others define them.

We were put on this earth to live authentic lives. Why would anyone want to live a life that they don't want to? If you are doing this I'd respectfully tell you that you deserve to live your life the way you would like to.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Busy Multitasking

If you are chronically busy and always feverishly multitasking you might want to ask yourself a couple questions:

1. Do I have balance in my life?
2. Do I have joy in my life?
3. Can I be comfortable spending time alone?
4. Do I always need to be connected to others?
5. Can I slow down and do nothing?

There is nothing wrong with being active, it just becomes challenging when it takes over the rest of our lives. An effective measure of whether you are multitasking effectively is that voice inside you that tells you if you are happy. Multitasking can help you become happier but it can also help you ignore the things that really matter in life.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

The Life You Were Meant to Live

Each one of us is born with a set of unique talents and abilities. No two people are the same. It is these skills that make us who we are. Yet we spend a lot of time covering up and ignoring those dream. Sometimes they are buried under so much stuff that we resign ourselves to never pursuing them and leave them as a dull ache inside us.

Each of us deserves to live a life of joy and show the world who we really are. We do our best when we function from that place inside us that reflects who we really are. I work with my clients so that they can acknowledge the things that they want to do in life and then take action to do them. It can be scary to start working on your dream so it helps to have an outside person who supports you during your journey.

People have the amazing capability to move in any direction they want. I respectfully suggest you follow the path that was meant for you, follow your dreams.

Take care,

Guy

Life Coach Reno

How to be Successful in Life

Everyone measures success in life differently. The great thing about our lives is that we can move them in any direction we would like by taking purposeful action. Ask yourself the following questions to see if you are successful:

1. Am I doing what I love?
2. Is what I am doing a reflection of who I am inside?
3. Do I experience joy doing my work?
4. Am I truly happy?
5. What am I doing to make sure I achieve my dreams?

When you begin to examine your life you will notice some themes that keep popping up. Whatever it is that keeps coming up requires your attention. Think of the voice inside you that tells you, "Why aren't you writing a book," and pay attention to it. You possess within you a gift that, if followed, can make you very happy.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

The Meaning of Life

The meaning of life it to find fulfillment and satisfaction doing what you love best. People live amazing lives when they have the courage to follow their dreams and work hard to achieve them.

What is a Life Coach?

A life coach is a qualified individual that helps you succeed in life. Coaching allows you to take your vision and make it a reality. A life coach can help you:

• Clarify your vision.
• Identify your strengths.
• Create a plan of action.

Coaching helps you follow through because a coach is trained to assist you every step of the way. You create the movement, the coach helps you keep on track.

A life coach has your best interest in mind. When I work with people, I let them decide what to do with their lives. They call the shots and they decide their path in life. I'm there to help them recognize their talents and use them to succeed.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

The Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction deals with the idea that we attract what we put out. It has been popularized by The Secret, a book dealing with how to improve various areas of one's life. My clients often ask me if this type of approach works. My answer usually is that, if it helps you create significant change in your life, then keep doing it. The measure of whether any approach works in your life is its outcome. If you're getting the results you want, you must be doing something right.

Attracting success and abundance requires starting with your thoughts. Here are some ideas to help you get started.

1. Visualize what you want to achieve.
2. Visualize one or two steps you can take to achieve your goal.
3. Acknowledge the things that may block you and agree to put them aside.
4. Visualize what your life would be like once you achieve the goal.
5. Measure your progress frequently.
6. Finish one goal before moving to the next.
7. Set realistic goals to set yourself up for success.

Attracting great things in your life is often just a matter of changing behavior patterns. If you tend to think negative thoughts you might try doing something else. If you are scared to start toward your goal you could try not being scared. The act of doing things differently is very powerful because it challenges us to see the world in a different way. Try doing something different today and see where it takes you.

Have a goal reaching day,

Guy
Life Coach in Reno

Are You Part of the Problem?

We frequently become part of the problem in interpersonal relationships rather than helping devise a solution. This happens because we lose perspective and let the other person goad us into the conflict. Look at these scenarios and see if you can spot the difference between being part of the problem and not.

1. The other person gets angry and you immediately retaliate and/or defend yourself.

2. The other person gets angry and you ask them to tell you about it and you listen.

Guess which approach is more likely to get better results? There is a myth that we have to fight for our point of view and deny others theirs but this only perpetuates a communication style that is based on conflict. If one person wins then the other loses. I much prefer for each person to win.

One of the best ways to reduce confrontation is to simply listen. The world is not going to end if you don't retaliate or fight. In reality, you actually connect more with the other person if you just listen to them. You also benefit from not fighting.

People like to be valued and listened to and they are much more likely to work with you to resolve problems if they trust you to not trample all over them. Next time you feel a clash coming on, try listening to the other person without commenting, editorializing or offering your opinion. By doing this you will be setting the foundation for improved communication in the future.

What do you have to lose besides the conflict?

Have a problem solving day,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

How to Talk With Your Kids

Many well intentioned parents forget the cardinal rule of talking with children. We get so caught up in guiding and directing their behavior or protecting them that we forget that they are people. The single most important key to talking with your kids is listening.

How to Listen

1. Don't talk.
2. Don't judge.
3. Invite your child to talk about anything her or she wants with no repercussions.
4. No commenting or editorializing allowed from you. No stories about when you were their age.
5. Invite them to keep talking to you anytime they want.
6. The only things you are allowed to say are, "Tell me more," "I understand," and "Thank you for talking with me," or "I love you." Try nodding and smiling as ways to invite them to talk more.
7. Try to avoid applying your beliefs to what they say.
8. Thank them and tell them you love them. Then say nothing else.

Practice these skills over time (at least one month, or longer) and always remember to tell your child you love them and that you are open to listening to them. If they don't want to talk, respect their wishes and let them know that you are there when they are ready. When they do finally trust you, they will open up and then you can apply the ideas above. Once you've established and modeled that you can listen they may even invite you to offer your wisdom. They have to believe that you care enough to listen to them first.

Have a great listening day,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

How to Be Successful

Success. People try to attain it different ways. Some people believe The Secret will create success in their lives, others rely on some outside person to make them successful, some think if they work like crazy it will bring success. There are a couple of characteristics I have noticed in successful people that I thought I'd share with you.

Successful People Success Secrets

• Have a goal in mind.
• Keep going even when things get tough.
• Believe in themselves even when others don't.
• Set realistic and manageable goals.
• Set themselves up for success.
• Do things to understand themselves honestly.
• Are open to outside help and scrutiny.
• Understand that success is something you create.
• Work intelligently, not just to be busy.
  
• Follow their passion.

Try a few of these ideas on for size and see what they do for your success quotient. Successful people are those who follow their dreams and keep walking even when the road seems impassable.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Want to Change Your Life?

We all reach transitional points in our lives where we are motivated to move in a different direction. For some of us it may be a career change, for others a relationship transformation or a shift that helps us develop personally. Regardless of what change you are looking to make in your life it all starts with deciding what the change is, taking a step toward your goal and sticking to it over time.

Here's what some smart people have to say about the subject:


Alice Walker:

No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.


Charles DuBois:

The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.


Anais Nin:

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.


Andy Warhol:

They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.


Epictetus:

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.


The prospect of change can both create fear in us or energize us through the promise of growth and potential. Which will you choose?

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Why Are There No Good Men (Women)?

When I work with clients I often get questions about finding great men or women to date. People find themselves dating the same general type of person over and over and getting the same results. The good news is that you don't have to settle for frogs. You have an amazing ability to move your dating life in any direction you choose by following some basic steps.

1. Find out who you are before you date. This will give you a better idea and more self-esteem to pick more healthy people to date.

2. Understand that people who date you should be supportive, kind, helpful, attentive and should always make you feel that who you are as a person is important.

3. Excitement doesn't always equal a good person to date. Danger and mystery can be enticing and many times turns into very large problems that hurt us.

4. Nobody we date, under any circumstance, should take away our self-esteem.

5. We should never give up our identity to please or accommodate someone we're dating.

6. We benefit from learning to live alone first and then incorporating someone else into our lives. The healthier we are, the better choices we make in the dating arena.

Try thinking about these points as you date people. Dating should be fun and it ideally lifts us up and makes us feel great. Take some time to think about who you are as a person and work hard on making yourself the best person possible. Vibrant, healthy people see creeps coming down the road and steer clear.

Have a great dating day,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Creating Change in Your Life

Anyone at any time can make a deliberate decision to change their life. We literally can move our life in any direction we want to. For example: If I decide I want to be an artist today (even if I am not one) I can do specific things to achieve that goal. I could take a class, call some artists, visit some galleries, buy some art supplies, paint a picture, and the list goes on and on. The only thing stopping me is the voice inside my head that tells me I can't do it. This is the voice that tells me that I will never achieve that, that I should be sensible, that I can't take a risk, that people will judge me, that my dreams are stupid and that I might as well give up.

This programming is powerful but can be overcome by following these basic steps:

1. Close your eyes and think about what you are telling yourself that stops you.
2. Close your eyes and think back to the first time you heard that message from someone.
3. Picture how your life would be without that message. Develop a short phrase that describes that feeling. For example, "I can be an artist because it's who I am."
4. Write down the phrase you come up with.
5. When you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed read the phrase and experience the good feelings that come with it. Repeat for a month and longer.

We play messages in our brains over and over that keep us from doing things we love. Following these basic five steps gives us a chance to introduce a new way of seeing ourselves. Practice it over time (at least a month) to make sure your brain believes in your new way of thinking. If you don't practice, it won't stick. Once you've shifted your thinking you can move on to a new goal.

You can change your life today,

Guy
Life Coach Reno

Overcome Your Fears

Fear often keeps us repeating the same patterns, even to the extent of repeating behaviors we dislike. We get stuck doing the same thing over and over and don't see a way out. Overcoming fears is a challenge we avoid because we tend to hang on to the familiar rather than the unknown.

The paradoxical thing is that the unknown can often lead us in new and wonderful directions we couldn't even imagine when we started out. Facing your fears is a matter of finding out what they are, where they come from and taking action to move in a different direction. Here is what some smart people have to say about the subject.

Bonaro W. Overstreet

Perhaps the most important thing we can undertake toward the reduction of fear is to make it easier for people to accept themselves, to like themselves.

Don Miguel Ruiz:

Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive -- the risk to be alive and express what we really are.

Dorothy Thompson:

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.

Eleanor Roosevelt:

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.

Take care,

Guy
Life Coach Reno