Action vs. Delay

An interesting paradox to start the day. There are times when action, can become chaos. In my life there are days when action and energy is going is so many directions that it becomes nearly impossible to focus. I imagine ten formula one cars, revving their engines, only to find out they are pointing in different directions and being held back by a cable. Sometimes the most active people can appear to be procrastinating due to their lack of focus. Especially when you throw perfectionism into the mix. I'm a self proclaimed information addict. I don't read fiction, I'm not fond of sit coms, and my idea of a good time usually involves learning something. However, music is something I love, all types creative, realistic, emotional. Movies, Comedy, Fantasy, etc. I will watch. The universe likes action "The Secret", it responds to action. Delay on the other hand, can have positive and negative connotations depending on the perspective. Delay can give us a chance to reflect, to reevaluate or organize in a way that allows us to take action with focus and clarity. For someone who is overly active, it is important take the necessary steps to identify how our energy is going to be streamlined, and focused in a way that is productive rather then spinning our tires in one spot. From my experience, some of the most productive times in my life were spent focusing my mind and energy in the right place. It allowed me to gain clarity about my feelings, and gave me the gift of appreciation and gratitude. Two very powerful energies in this universe. I'm confident there are many people out there who feel their energy is being blasted in twenty different directions all day long, many people who are addicted to action, many people who feel that the only way to feel value or to show value is to be overly active. Challenge your perspectives daily, gain a new insight where your energy can or should be focused. Take action by recognizing that pausing (or delay) can give you space to focus, or gain clarity. Once you have it, take ACTION in the direction that you have gained.

Love this life!

Sometimes it snows in June?

Dedicated to lifestyle design. Today was warm, not hot, partly cloudy. The overall mood of the day the same. Not hot, not particulary exciting,a little bit of happiness, a little bit of doubt. Each day I view as an opportunity to design my life exactly the way I would like it to be.....Tommorow I design my day to be sunshine in all ways from the minute I wake to the moment I rest.

Can't Stop My Friends!

Can't stop addicted to the shin dig
Cop top he says I'm gonna win big
Choose not a life of imitation
Distant cousin to the reservation
Defunkt the pistol that you pay for
This punk the feeling that you stay for
In time I want to be your best friend
Eastside love is living on the westend
Knock out but boy you better come to
Don't die you know the truth is some do
Go write your message on the pavement
Burnin' so bright I wonder what the wave meant
White heat is screaming in the jungle
Complete the motion if you stumble
Go ask the dust for any answers
Come back strong with 50 belly dancers


The world I love
The tears I drop
To be part of
The wave can't stop
Ever wonder if it's all for you
The world I love
The trains I hop
To be part of
The wave can't stop
Come and tell me when it's time to

Sweetheart is bleeding in the snowcone
So smart she's leading me to ozone
Music the great communicator
Use two sticks to make it in the nature
I'll get you into penetration
The gender of a generation
The birth of every other nation
Worth your weight the gold of meditation
This chapter's going to be a close one
Smoke rings I know your going to blow one
All on a spaceship persevering
Use my hands for everything but steering
Can't stop the spirits when they need you
Mop tops are happy when they feed you
J. Butterfly is in the treetop
Birds that blow the meaning into bebop

Wait a minute I'm passing out
Win or lose just like you
Far more shocking
Than anything i ever knew
How about you
10 more reasons
Why i need somebody new just like you
Far more shocking than anything I ever knew
Right on cue

Can't stop addicted to the shin dig
Cop top he says I'm gonna win big
Choose not a life of imitation
Distant cousin to the reservation
Defunkt the pistol that you pay for
This punk the feeling that you stay for
In time I want to be your best friend
Eastside love is living on the westend
Knock out but boy you better come to
Don't die you know the truth is some do
Go write your message on the pavement
Burnin' so bright I wonder what the wave meant

Kick start the golden generator
Sweet talk but don't intimidate her
Can't stop the gods from engineering
Feel no need for any interfering
Your image in the dictionary
This life is more than ordinary
Can I get 2 maybe even 3 of these
Come from space
To teach you of the pliedes
Can't stop the spirits when they need you

This life is more than just a read thru

Recognizing & Fostering other peoples talents

Turn your mind lamp on today, and shed some light on a new perspective.
I guarantee once the lamp is lit you will never be in the dark!


Most successful people tell a story of an individual who believed in them, supported them or encouraged them. Some time in their life another person gave them the encouragement that sparked the desire to continue on towards success. Believing in yourself is a crucial aspect to acquiring happiness and success, having a faith in your own abilities, that without doubt you will succeed. This can be a very difficult perspective to maintain, and it always helps when others recognize our abilities and enthuse us. An energy is passed on from one individual to another, and the strength in our belief can be partially or fully restored. Coaches have a responsibility to enthuse their clients, to help get them ready to face the goals they have set with energy and commitment. In some regard we are all coaches, we should enthuse and encourage our children, colleagues, employees, friends, spouses, students, family, and so on. Talent and virtue is everywhere, it is quietly waiting to be discovered in some, and shining on the surface brightly for others. Take the time once and a while to appreciate the talent in others. It won't always be obvious so you may need to take some time to discover these talents. Appreciate them, encourage them. Try this with someone you do not particularly appreciate or find talent in, challenge yourself to find it.

I encourage everyone to participate in recognizing value in others, even if it is only in your mind, it will have an impact in your life. If you choose to take it to the next level, not only will you encourage that individual, you will show leadership, and a acquire the positive energy of that human experience.

I'm excited to see what new talents and abilities of others I will come across today!

Appreciating the Dark Side!

Let us take a moment to appreciate the darker things in life. Without darkness there would be no light, nor would we know what the difference is. The dark beauty uses its suduction to feed into our insecurities, our fear, and lack of capability. Driving the desire is our ego, while temptation to feed is the bait. Some of the worlds most fantatastic works of art come from the darkness, either of the mind or of the natural world. Music, Art, Design, Medicine, all of these areas have benefited from darkness in some way or another.

The benefits of darkness can have immediate rewards for many reasons. For example, bursts of anger can immediately send chemical rushes throughout the body, once this has become a habit, the body recieves a chemical high from the experience. Naturally people will feel this, not to mention their brains are now wired to go to that exact feeling immediately like a well oiled machine. Another example of this is the people who are "addicted to drama". Complaining about their problems to anyone who will listen as a means of communication. The reward being they can in some way create a sense of companionship by sharing similar miseries, while at the same time gaining sympathy from others. Further confirming in their minds why they should continue to keep the mind lamp on extra dim and dark.

The lure of the dark is very powerful. It has so many convienient, and immediately satisfying elements. Gratification of our egos is the main function. Artists that have plumitted into dark places, have gone so far dark that they pull raw human emotion out and somehow create somethign we can all relate to. A dark beauty that entices us to relate on that level, envoking emotion, and creating a feeling of normalcy.

There are plenty of things I love about the dark and that come from the dark. A deep appreciation for the contrast between the two sides is something I believe in strongly. It seems clear to me that in order to become whole, to become light, and to live in light love is to understand and appreciate the darkness. In no way am I suggesting that the dark is the place to be, because in the end everyone finds out that it is not. Whether you believe in life after death or not, even people on this planet will die everyday regretting the dark dismall path they chose, or the lifeless lightless day to day self pity.

Many times it is all too easy for individuals to choose to stay in the dark, rather then adjust their mind lamp to a brighter setting. Here is Darkness Defined.


In a state of ignorance; uninformed
Characterized by gloom; dismal
Reflecting only a small fraction of incident light
Lacking or having very little light
Sullen or threatening
Difficult to understand; obscure
Concealed or secret; mysterious
Lacking enlightenment, knowledge, or culture
Exhibiting or stemming from evil characteristics or forces; sinister
Having richness or depth
Being or characterized by morbid or grimly satiric humor

Think about these definitions and how you may be playing into them in your day to day life?

What would change if you decided to turn your mind lamp up one setting, in order to get a brighter perspective?

Could it harm? What are you getting out of being in the dark?

A safe place to hide maybe?


By the way, I am night person;

No Limit Potential

"The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good." - Brian Tracy

Potential, such a potent word. Do you have the potential to _____________ fill in the blank. The only true limit to our potential would be in our perspective.

I dare you to challenge the convential.

Here is the next question...

Imagine that you have the inborn ability to achieve any goal you could ever set for yourself. What do you really want to be, have, and do?

When I meet people of all kinds, it never stops amazing me the greatness of their potential. We all possess a great power that we have only begun to understand and tap into.

It's a doggy dog world

Right now my husband is steady making fun of me, laughing straight out loud because I used to like cats. I still love cats, but something has changed. Ever since our lovely baby Bulldog arrived in his cage at the airport. Sure he was covered in pee, and poo from the long ride, but that didn't stop me from putting him on my chest and kissing his face. Smelly and covered in feces, we arrived home with our scared little boy. He was sniffling like a baby who has been crying, still he needed a bath. Describing how cute this puppy was is impossible. Over the next few weeks we endured some intersting experiences including, cute little puppy poos in the shoe, cute little puppy runs into neighbors yard, cute little puppy destroys all the magazines in the house. Now almost 7 years old, Bronx, our stunning English Bulldog has been a best friend to me and to many people. I know cats can be best friends too, no doubt, my cat Ziggy was a great friend, even if he brought home the tail of a squirrel as a present. So why all this talk about dogs, on a coaching blog? Tonight I want to focus on how enriched our lives are when we bring the purity of a pets love. Myself, I believe strongly in Animal Rights, and that people have yet to discover what a true blessing and gift pets are to humanity. Of course my family comes first, but my pets are a part of my family.

The "Heart" of the matter

When it comes to accountability some of us are better at accepting it then others. Whether it be in the workplace or family setting, accepting responsibility for our actions can be a challenge. Why is it a challenge? What makes taking responsibility for ourselves so difficult? A lot of it has to due with fear. Fear of failure, fear of putting ourselves out there, and also fear of having control and owning it. It is always easier to blame someone or something for the way things have turned out. Blame vs. Responsibility is so strong in so many relationships that this tool alone can be used as a powerful catalyst for real change. Whether it is a family situation, marriage, workplace, friendship, there is always room to explore your role in "why" things are what they are? Families above all can be the most complex. Here you have many individuals with their own beliefs, judgments, perspectives, and overall attitudes. Merging together to form a unit. The family unit, would ideally work as a team. Supporting one another and helping each other through thick and thin. Lets take a look at what happens when blame takes over a family and responsibility takes a back seat. The first point to be made is that families, ideally, like teams should try to build themselves on a set of standards; values, and practices. It is clear that this is not always the case, and the results are felt by so many people. When blame takes over a family there can be devastating consequences. Loss of connection between loved ones, loss of precious time, and the agonizing feeling that comes with lack of closure. Family members may decide to no longer speak to each other, resist contact, or just simply fall out of touch with people they love. A great quote on this subject "Resentment is like taking poison and expecting someone else to die". What role do each of us play when we decide to resent and blame another person for our feelings and situation. If we can understand that it is our choice to view the world through a particular perspective and to get to that perspective we must understand what our role is in creating the circumstances we are in. Our lives, our happiness, our persepctives are in our own hands, if that is true then what happens when we blame? We become the victim, we are allowing others to be in control of our lives rather then accepting that it is us. Now blaming ourselves is not the answer either, the difference is that blame is when you have never accepted responsibility whether its internal or external. When you make the choice to be accountable, you make the choice to accept that you did what you did at that time because you were possibly getting something out of it, and didn't know any other way at that time. It's an objective view of the situation from all angles. The concept of blame vs responsibility has many layers as does the application. Encourage yourself to examine your life at this moment, are there any areas where you are using blame to cover your own fear of accountability? Think about it, it is much easier to hide behind another persons actions and play the victim, then to stand up and say, Yes I am accountable for my actions, I had a role in creating these circumstances. Take the remedy and get to the heart of the matter, begin to be accountable for your perspectives and actions in this life. Resist the poison of resentment, and focus on the power of responsibility. Own your moments and your actions and your life.

jennifer@level88.ca

In the Valley of Value (why coach?)

Why be a coach? What is a coach? These are two questions that come up on a regular basis in this industry for obvious reasons. More importantly I ask, what is the VALUE?

Why am I a coach? Simple, I have a very regular habit of seeing the best in people, giving people the benefit of the doubt, and taking them as is. A desire to see the light I know is inside, grow into a bright and shining star. Lucky for me the majority of Executive Coaching deals with successful, motivated, driven individuals ready to make a commitment towards progress. They are also motivated not to waste their dollars on a program that doesn't produce results, and are smart enough to realize participation is key.

But what is the true "value" of a coach? How can anyone measure the actual worth of a coach. Most people have seen what kind of damage a negative person can bring to any situation, including work teams. But do most people recognize the "value" of the inspiring team members? The people who try to solve the problems, rather then bring them up as a complaint. It is absolutely important for individuals in positions of leadership to show "obvious" value in positive and constructive participation. As for the "value" of a coach, it would be impossible to quantify the actual value of a person who can help us reach our goals.

How valuable is it to me, that my coach is helping me reach my health and fitness goals? How valuable is it to me that she has helped me recognize what a great relationship I have with my daughter? In my mind there is no real way to quantify this in dollars to actual value.


However, in a business environment there are ways to measure goals, and successes in dollars. This leads me to the fact that the business world is now slowly starting to recognize that there is no way to fully seperate business & personal. That peoples personal happiness directly effects performance, efficiency, and overall value.

So, to all you coaches out there.. Here is a great big

HURRAY!!! Give me a V.....Give me an A....Give me an L give me a U, give me an E!!

VALIDATING
ACCELERATING
LISTENING
UNDERSTANDING
ENERGIZING

That is my coaching model!
the VALUE model.