<![CDATA[Personal Development For Intuitive and Creative People - Dose Of Inspiration]]>Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:48:21 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Words of Wisdom: Free Resource]]>Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:04:36 -0800http://www.lifecoachingbydesign.com/1/post/2012/03/words-of-wisdom-free-resource.htmlLooking for some doses of wisdom or re-connection to inspiration? I know I am. Came across this great simple free resource. Download it directly,  
or visit the site that offers it at http://www.mindpowermp3.com/words-of-wisdom.html

About 
"We have compiled those words of wisdom for you here, plus added a few of our
own. Rather than just reading them, why not take your time and allow each one to
soak into your consciousness? Absorb the meanings behind the words - and applythem in your life to enrich, enliven and empower you in every possible way."

We have a free ebook for you (no strings attached) filled with "Words of Wisdom" designed to inspire, motivate, encourage, and fill you with joy.  The book was created from the contributions of  our wonderful community and my very being gets uplifted every time I read a page (or 3 :-)  ) 

Cyndi and Iain
www.MindPowerMp3.com


]]><![CDATA[Decluttering Your Life. Peeling back the layers]]>Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:51:36 -0800http://www.lifecoachingbydesign.com/1/post/2012/03/decluttering-your-life-peeling-back-the-layers.html
Over the last few months I have been exploring removing obstacles that prevent me from hearing and following my inner voice. I am drawn to the Zen idea that attachment to things prevent us from experiencing our own unique truth.

Being a person that thinks in metaphors, I am drawn to any physical act that becomes a metaphor or story for change at a personal level. 
For me decluttering is a powerful metaphor. It start as a process of clearing your physical space, but quickly moves into removing everything that which is not you!
What is decluttering?

Removing the things from life that distract from being with self, by keeping us tied into the illusion that things make us feel better about life, but that actually prevent us from being present and connected to life.

Each object we have in our home either has an emotion attached to it, memories, feelings, regrets etc. When we feel uncomfortable or feel that something is lacking (often a cover for needing to distract ourselves from what we deep down in side we know is true for each of us), we acquire new objects to fix or distract us from our emotional being. When we begin to let go, all the emotions masked by objects begin to thaw. This process is terrifying and ultimately liberating. and freeing.

The best way to experience the awesomely simple and profound benefits of decluttering your life, is to just get stuck in and give it a go. Commit to trying it for one week and see what comes up.

Here's how to get started.

1) Set a goal for how many things you would like to challenge yourself to remove from your home. 

I find that one object a day is a good number to get the ball rolling. 

As a test run if you are unsure, don't worry about giving them away just yet. Designate a place, a spare room, a box etc, where you can place the objects until you are sure that you are ready and committed to taking the big leap. A big but here. If at the end of the week your inner voice is telling you the the process is working, then you need to be prepared to let it go and get rid of it without hesitations!

2. Start each day spending 5 minutes contemplating/meditating, or what ever works with you. 

Sit quietly and give yourself permission and the strength to remove things and be able to sit with what ever emotions/thoughts/feelings come up.

For the first few weeks you will probably find this easy as you can focus on things that have little attachment to you, like say spare kitchen utensils, magazines you have had sitting around for years, old clothes etc.  

The real breakthroughs happen though when you get past the objects with little attachment to the things that you just can't let go of. Things like cd's, photo's, and books are the classic emotion and energy hoarders. You have probably noticed that every time you choose a particular cd to listen to, it has associated memory, followed by an associated emotion. Obviously you are not going to get rid of the ones that evoke positive memories, unless of course it triggers a story that ends up bumming you out.

As you get started you will be surprised at how much bargaining, negotiating and justifying will go on within you. For example, I have been contemplating letting go of my large screen TV. I don't watch much TV, so from a practical place, not hard to let go of. But boy..from an emotional place, it freaks me out. You see what I realised was, having a TV gave me the option to distract myself from what my inner truth tells me, especially when that truth is not what I really want to hear. It is a big distraction for me.

3. Keep note of what comes up for you as you select and remove objects. 

Jot down any observations,  emotions, thoughts, insights that bubble to the surface.

I find asking myself these questions helps me
  • Can I live without this object? 
  • What role does this object play in my life? does it nurture my ongoing growth or does it distract me?
  • In the scheme of things how big an impact will letting it go have on my life?
  • What benefits come out of letting go of the object?

By the time you have answered these questions you will be getting a glimpse of your inner truth.

4. Set a new goal after the first week!

Once you have completed the first week, don't stop. As I mentioned, it is not until you have removed all of those less significant things that you will start to see your real distractions, avoidance patterns etc. When you are being confronted on a daily basis with justifications, bargaining, fear, panick, then you know you are on the right track.

If you are interested in really getting to your inner truth and uncover some real profound breakthroughs, send Gino Maresca an email to make a time to chat about some one on one personal growth time.   

Further reading on decluttering

Clutterfree Inspiration: Two Beautiful Transformations.
How to Declutter Your Life and Reduce Stress
30 Days to a Better Man: Declutter Your Life
How to Simplify and Declutter Your Life in 30 Days
]]><![CDATA[Stuck in Distraction]]>Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:34:48 -0800http://www.lifecoachingbydesign.com/1/post/2012/02/stuck-in-distraction.htmlFunny, If you had have told me recently that my way of coping with change was to distract myself to the point of avoiding what needs to be done, I would have said not me!

A few days ago while in a session with my coach, I became acutely aware that the obvious has been staring me in the face. The reason why I just don't seem  to get done what needs to be done, is that I consciously seek out distractions like TV, spending money, checking email, surfing the net, the list goes on, all to avoid facing what I need to be doing in my life. 

My coach asked my one question that stopped me in my tracks, what are you avoiding in your life? Such a simple question, with a huge impact.

I have embarked on reflecting on this question through 10 minutes contemplation each day, and I have to say that it brings life into technicolour. What I truly want, what I know deep down in my true being, is not what is being played out in my life. 

Now my journey is my journey, and I don't want to bore you with the details. What I do want to share and what seems to come up again and again talking to people, is that many of us are not living the life we know to be true at our core. We seem to be running scared from a truth that we are afraid to embrace. We use all manner of distraction to avoid being with the questions,  

What do I really want from my life, and what am I truly destined to be? How and what distractions do I use to avoid facing our own unique truth? and what is preventing me from taking that leap to embracing my inner voice, my unique path?

If you have that nagging feeling that you are not living your authentic life, then I encourage you to put aside 10 minutes a day to reflect on these simple questions. It will be uncomfortable for a while and requires persistence, but it will be worth it. How it plays out only you will know. How it benefits you only you can decide.


]]><![CDATA[Find Your Life Path to Mastery: A fantastic free resource]]>Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:56:04 -0800http://www.lifecoachingbydesign.com/1/post/2012/02/find-your-life-path-to-mastery-a-fantastic-free-resource.html
In my quest to hunt out useful interesting free introductory resources on the net, I came across Manifest Your Potential. A fantastic resource for anybody wanting to get creative in the way they pursue self discovery and improvement. 

I particularly like the section and quiz  A Life Purpose: Do I have One? 

Give it a go if you dare! and let me know what you think.
]]><![CDATA[Turning the Tide: Choosing to Win]]>Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:45:59 -0800http://www.lifecoachingbydesign.com/1/post/2012/02/turning-the-tide-choosing-to-win.htmlHuman beings have the capacity to endure unhappiness.

We tolerate settling for a life that happens to us, rather than created by us. This idea that we are the the accumulative sum of our childhood experiences and all the choices we have made arriving at this point in time
After all if we start life with bad experiences, which then lead to bad choices, how can we expect to ever be happy, and content in our lives. 

This ability of ours to endure a life filled with bad choices, fear, anxiety, pocratination, self loathing...Is our lot in life, or at least that is what we convince ourselves to settle for. In reality after years of enduring this state it takes a lot less energy to keep enduring it, than making life changing choices. 

For many people they reach the tipping point where the pain of staying where they are becomes greater than the desire to transform there lives.

Lets say that you are at this point, ready to make different choices, you are searching, and searching for the right action, decision, or magic bullet that will end all those years of suffering. This desperate need to find happiness and contentment in your life often is doomed to fail , and ultimately reinforce that you will never be happier than you are now, in that you need to except your lot in life and that things will never change.

Such a depressing and tiring life to live. 

There comes a time when we need to be daring and bold and make such profound changes, that they completely contradict everything we know. We need to take action that is foreign to us, that will leave our negative subconcious  , redundant, without a job and role in our lives anymore. An action that confounds our reasoning and that lays down a challenge.

So what is this profound action, this game changing action? Great question! How will we know that it is game changing? This is where a life coach comes in. They help us to see the wood through the trees, to separate what is driven by our faulty view of the world, and what is truly a bold action that will begin to rewrite our destinies.

This action will require us to find and reconnect to the things that we may have given up on in the past, like persistence, trust, faith, and a belief that we can change. Most of all it will need to speak to that part of us, buried deep, that ignites when it meets that action. We need to persist in searching for what true lasting and sustainable happiness is for Me.

Let the journey towards your bold action begin! Take the first step and get thyself to a life coach! Better still book yourself in for a free complimentary session with LifeCoachingBydesign, and begin the journey.

]]><![CDATA[We Are All Characters In Other People's Stories]]>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:41:19 -0800http://www.lifecoachingbydesign.com/1/post/2012/01/we-are-all-characters-in-other-peoples-stories.htmlHere I am sitting waiting to catch the ferry from picton to wellington. Its been a busy few days, first running a planning forum in greymouth and then hanging out with friends on the westcoast.

Taking stock of the last couple of days, a few things have stood out, firstly the amazing stories I have heard from travelers and friends about where they have come from, how they arrived at this point in time, and where they are heading.

Lately I have been reading a lot about the power of stories and how they define, shape, and inform our lives.

Talking to various people, and listening to their stories made me realise that we are all part of the stories of the people around us. For example after listening and sharing my story with others, I was hit by a profound thought. When the conversations are over and people go their own ways, their stories have new characters. It may seem that meeting people fleetingly has little significance, but here's the thing, they go home with you now part of their unfolding story, and they part of yours.

A thought..who are all the people who have come into your life, fleetingly, and have been lost in the noise of your life story? If you were to look back, what gems, or hidden stories are waiting to be refound? And what can be learnt from revisiting those moments.

Just a thought while I wait to get back to the main part of my story.


Gino Maresca

Interested in the power of stories? Check out the work of Micheal Meade at  http://www.mosaicvoices.org 

Mosaic Multicultural Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. As a network of artists, healers, social activists, and community builders. Mosaic formed to create cross-cultural alliances, creative mentoring relationships, and educational projects. Mosaic actively seeks to encourage greater understanding between people with diverse and divergent backgrounds and experiences. Projects include mentoring youth and developing elders, finding common ground between those in opposition, and shaping community events that unite people of various cultural and spiritual backgrounds. Mosaic means putting essential pieces together; shaping new social forms from separate, divided, even estranged parts. The creative process of finding, fitting, and weaving together divergent, yet necessary elements of a diverse culture involves making new social fabrics from existing ethnic, spiritual, psychological, and political threads.

]]><![CDATA[What's Your Rocket Fuel?]]>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:04:41 -0800http://www.lifecoachingbydesign.com/1/post/2012/01/whats-your-rocket-fuel.html
1) Be clear about what you want
2) Constantly focus upon your goals and visualise with emotion those things you want to achieve.
3) Take Action
4) Become a magnet that draws you towards your dreams/goals

This success formula is common throughout the stories of people who have achieved great success in their lives. It is so simple. Know what you want to achieve  visualise what that success will look like. Feel it, taste it, see it. visualise your goals as though you are living the results. Stay constantly focused and revisit your goal on a daily basis.
What I am starting to understand is that there are two types of people, those that know where they are heading and what they want to achieve in their lives. For these people it is less about the question what is my goal? and more about what is the best way to get there. The second type of person is the, I not know what I want from life. This type of person is acutely aware of what they don't want in their lives, but when asked the question, what are your goals?, come up blank.

I have been pondering the situation facing the second group. How can you apply the success formula if you don't actually know what success looks like? How can you move towards something better if you don't know what better looks like in detail.

We know the age old wisdom to change a behavior you need to practice a new one daily for at least 29 days. Simple really! If it was so simple then we would all be where we want to be now! 

I listened to a talk the other day where the speaker sumed up making new behaviours stick. He talks of two important factors, enthusiasm for change and persistance. Enthusiasm according to him is like rocket fuel. It creates great thrust and propels us skywards. Problem is that many of us see this is the only key to success. Like a rocket, the fuel of enthusiam only gets us halfway there. It gets us into orbit, then, when that fuel is expended, something else needs to take over. Persistance is the thrust that moves us through space, making corrections and keeping us moving towards the object that we are aiming for.

Enthusiasm equals- dream creation
Persistence equals-daily visualisation, refocusing, faith

This got me me thinking, what is my rocket fuel and what is my thrust?
]]><![CDATA[The Tortoise and the Hare. We all complete the race in our own good time.]]>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:21:09 -0800http://www.lifecoachingbydesign.com/1/post/2012/01/the-tortoise-and-the-hare-we-all-complete-the-race-in-our-own-good-time.htmlAlmost every self help book I have looked at works on this simple formula. The secret to fulfillment and success is having goals and following through, persisting, visualizing and attracting what you want and where you want to be,  believing in yourself no matter what.

 Brilliant formula, if you actually know what your goals are. I have found for myself and many of my clients, that identifying and setting goals is a difficult and gradual process of self reflection, exploration, and trialing until a true goal emerges. 

There are many tools out there on goal setting, just google and see. What they all tend to assume is that you are at a place where you know what steps you want or need to take in order to move forward towards something. The formula involves, identifing, unpacking the steps required, and implementing. Now if you are already aware of your purpose, or are on a path, be it career or other areas of your life, setting goals is second nature, and it could be just a matter of working with a personal coach to refine and accelerate the process.

For those of us who are feeling lost or lacking direction, then working with a personal coach takes on a different feel. The role of the coach here is to work with you to explore and identify potential areas where you want to change, create or recreate your life. Left to our own devices we risk running around in circles, arriving at the same place, like an mp3 on repeat. Having a personal coach will take us off the repeat setting and get things back on track. 

The biggest mistake that people make is seeing the coach as the 'magic fix'. If I work with a coach for 12 weeks I will know and have what I want from life. For those who come into coaching with a goal already defined, then this will be the case. For those who come to coaching because they are feeling lost, stuck, wanting to change but not knowing where to start, the reality is likely to be different. 

If you are feeling lost, stuck, not knowing where to start, lets start by setting realistic expectations for ourselves. How many times have you placed all your hopes on reaching a place that others have achieved in the same space of time? When you fail to reach that place, or benchmark , how do you feel? 

Take a moment to reflect.. do you know what you want in your life right now? do you know how to identify what you actually want? do you know the steps to get there, do you understand what motivates you and keeps you motivated to reach goals?

Does this change the expectations you may have for the use of a personal coach? Imagine if at the end of 12 sessions you had more clarity than you have now and have glimpses of what is possible for you? Would it then be possible to begin setting some real goals in your life? The role of the coach becomes one of co-creator, like rocket fuel to get you to a place where real change can begin. When the first stage of coaching is complete, then setting goals and acheiving them will become exhilarating, life changing and lasting. It becomes validation that you are on a path that is right for you. 



 





 



]]><![CDATA[Do you feel that you have spent your whole life being driven by events or choices that you have no control over? ]]>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:11:03 -0800http://www.lifecoachingbydesign.com/1/post/2012/01/do-you-feel-that-you-have-spent-your-whole-life-being-driven-by-events-or-choices-that-you-have-no-control-over.htmlDo you feel that you have spent your whole life being driven by events or choices that you have no control over? Do you constantly find yourself freezing when you need to make a decision in your personal life, or even if that decision is the right one? Do you allow decisions to be made for you, either by circumstances or other people? Maybe you’ve reached the midpoint of your working career and you are realising that you haven’t done all the things you told yourself you would do when you were in your 20’s? Maybe you were to scared, or gave up because life kept getting in the way? Maybe you just didn’t know how to get there? Or even what goals to set?

If any of these resonate with you, take a deep breath and know that you are not alone. In fact a large majority of people who hit mid career are in the same boat. What separates those who live with purpose from those who live at the mercy of life, is the clarity and certainty that their decisions are right for them.

Give me a call and we can begin the journey  to pinpoint exactly what you want to being doing with your life. We can work together to take your life by the horns and be proactive in creating the life you truly want moving forward from today. 

]]><![CDATA[Starting with a blank canvas: creating our life work]]>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:27:39 -0800http://www.lifecoachingbydesign.com/1/post/2012/01/starting-with-a-blank-canvas-creating-our-life-work.html
Starting free of expectations, past experiences, existing knowledge of life and creating something new and inspiring from our inner muse, our artist.

True creativity starts from a place of unknowing, where everything is brand new, full of possibilities, waiting to be discovered.

A short reflection by Gino Maresca

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