Weight Loss

Never in our history has obesity [ being over weight], become one of the major heath concerns of the western world.
Weighing more than you should can lead to all sorts of diseases including diabetes, heart disease and many others.
The foods that you regularly eat are either not very nutritious or you eat more than your body needs.
When you overload your body's systems proper digestion cannot occur and so the weight just piles on.
As one personal development expert said; we tend to eat for nuture not nature.
I have noticed on many forums that a lot of people are adopting a diet that is almost exclusively comprised of fresh fruits and vegetables and very little meat. They are noticing that after a short while they are not only feeling better but they are losing weight, getting better quality sleep and have much more energy.
Making big changes to your normal routines can be rather fraught.
I suggest that if you do want to begin to lose weight that you do it gradually. Take small steps. Set little goals that you can achieve easily and regularly.
The more you keep reaching your targets the more you build a habit that endures.
From then onwards, just add more changes and small steps to integrate those changes and before too long you ought to see and feel the results.
There's many a good book on goal setting and weight loss which you can get here.

Living Your Passion

What are you passionate about?
Are you living your passion?
Maybe you don't have a clue!
A good way to find out is to ask your friends, people who know you well.
They will tell you what you are good at.
Perhaps you have a hobby but no idea how to turn that hobby into a business for example.
So many successful people have turned their passion into a business. They enjoy it so much that to them it does not feel like work.
And there are stories where the passion has become the business that the money just flows. In fact money really did not come into the equation until some time afterward.
Get those ideas out into the open, give them some air, maybe, just maybe they will fly!

Your Ideal Life

Have you ever dreamed what your life would be like 'if only' things were different?
I bet you have!
If only I had more money.
If I earned more money; I could.....fill in the blank.
Or maybe you dream of having a perfect relationship, or better health, or perhaps a nice holiday home in some exotic place.
Well, you are not alone. I think that deep down pretty much everybody has a wish list. And deep down you all think, even believe, that your dreams are just that; a dream. You secretly believe, that for you, such ideals are just not possible. "Other people" maybe, but not you!
But what if could be true? Imagine for a moment that you too could have everything you wanted. Impossible? Why?
The world is full of rags to riches stories; many are about people just like you who never dreamed for one minute that their lives could be transformed. Often that now realised dream was not always about material things, but was about human relationships or building a place for disadvantaged children for example.
Many live out their fantasy through books. Or they get an idea from a book, or the book inspires the reader to do something about changing their circumstances for the better. I'm sure you get the concept here.
So I invite you to write a story. The story will be about you and what your ideal life would be like. Remove all of the doubts and 'it's not possible' notions and just write as if it were possible; that nothing at all is getting in the way.
Forget about any notions about being realistic, just write.
Take your time and put it in the present tense. Keep writing until you have everything down on paper. You might like to read it through, do some editing and get it in some order - or not as the case may be.
When you read it to yourself, get engaged with the story as if you are actually living our ideal life. What are the sensations? Smell. touch, how does it look, how do you look. Really get into it.
Now, what could you do in some small way that might just start you on your journey toward your ideal life?
Nothing happens without doing.
Start today - things could get worse, they usually do if you think like that.
So think about things getting better. You'll be glad you did.

Setting Goals

The most important thing you must do before setting any goal is to get crystal clear as to what it is you want. Whether that is to lose some weight, begin eating a healthy diet, or creating a compelling CV to get a new job; you must decide firstwhat it is that you want. As Stephen Covey says: 'begin with the end in mind.' Once you have decided what it is that you want, then you cen begin to create a plan. Ideally your plan will be broken down into a series of small easily achievable steps that, when combined together will be the pathway to the end or your goal. Here's a trick that might make achieving your goal just that little bit easier: Don't worry about finishing your plan - sometimes that seems to be just too much to do; too many steps ans therefore overwhelming. Break it down into say weeks, each week has seven days, and so set up some action steps for one day only. Early on, it may be sufficient to repeat each day's set of tasks. By setting up your day into a series of small steps, you will notice that you can easily tick them off as being completed. For the next day you repeat the previous day's list of steps. At the end of the week,you realise that you have actually succeeded in doing everything you planned to do! Two things will have happened: 1. You have experienced success. 2. You have begun to believe you can do it. A third bonus is that you have begun to build a habit of reaching your goals. There are plenty of books on goal setting many of which can be quite sophisticated, however what is outlined here is all you need to get started.

Following your passion

The local paper out today has an article headed 'Taking Wildlife Global.' It is the story of a man who as a youngster loved fictional stories about wildlife in Africa. Forty years later his passion for photography has resulted in one of his photos being chosen for the cover of Wildlife Photographer of the Year - its 21st edition [ he has all issues!] It is also the first cover to be in black and white! As a result he has given up his job in order to pursue a new career around his photography. This is a great story about persistance and following your passion. Even though it's taken four decades, our photographer is now about to get closer to realising his dream. What is your dream? What are you passionate about? Will you persist until you get there? Are you prepared to do what it takes - or will you settle for less?

In the beginning

Welcome to my blog, a place where I shall share isights as to what I believe it takes to live or lead or, indeed, aspire to experiencing the 'perfect life.' As a coach, I am passionate about helping you become the best that you can possibly be, whatever that means to you. We all have different ways of looking at the world, but with decent dialogue anybody can begin to move toward their dreams. And along the way you will experience the ups and downs, the wins and losses, the highs of ectsasy and the depths of despair. With the good comes the bad goes the old cliche. Much of what I espouse came from books and their often inspirational writers. One that comes to mind is Stephen Covey the writer of 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.' Stephen has very recently died from complications arising from a bicycle accident a few months ago. Just as he wrote, he has left an enduring legacy. A great place to find books on self help and personal growth is here. Or you could visit my coaching blog where, if you wish you can sign up for my newsletter or arrange to have some coaching. Make sure to bookmark these pages as I continue to write some thought provoking and inspiring words.