Peter Drucker, widely considered to be "the father of modern management”, was one of the most brilliant and insightful thinkers and writers on management in the history of mankind.

Reading what he said in 1999 about “Managing Oneself” has inspired my current work as professional life coach and career consultant. I wanted to share some of his thoughts.

Peter Drucker, in his own words....

“In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long term perspective, I think it is very probable that the most important event these historians will see is not technology, it is not the Internet, it is not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time, substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And let me say, we are totally unprepared for it.”

We will have to learn where we belong, what our strengths are, what we have to learn so that we get the full benefit from it, where our defects are, what we are not good at, what our values are. For the first time in human history, we will have to learn to take responsibility for managing ourselves. And as I said, this is probably a much greater challenge than any technology – a change in the human condition. Nobody teaches it – no school, no college – and it probably will be another hundred years before they teach it.

In the mean time, the achievers, and I don’t mean millionaires, but rather the ones who want to make a contribution, who want to lead a fulfilling life, and want to feel that there is some purpose in their being on this earth. They will have to learn something which, only a few years ago, a very few super achieves ever knew. They will have to learn to manage themselves, to build on their strengths, to build on their values.”

In 1937, during the Great Depression, Napoleon Hill wrote “Think and Grow Rich” – one of the best books ever written on the subject of personal development and success. Napoleon Hill has inspired millions of people and has been a major influence in the work of today’s biggest motivational speakers and coaches, including Steven Covey and Anthony Robbins.

In his book, Napoleon Hill discusses eleven traits of successful leaders. Not only are these leadership characteristics essential in any professional leadership role, more importantly, they can serve you as great points of reference in your personal life. You are the leader of your own life. You shape your destiny based on the choices and decisions you make each and every day.

Keep this list in mind as you navigate through your own life’s journey. These cornerstone qualities will heighten your awareness and encourage you to assume full responsibility for your life and become the leader you were meant to be.

Life Coaching Questions:

As you read through the list below, ask yourself the following questions:

• Which leadership qualities am I consciously expressing in my daily life?
  
• What personal qualities are not in alignment with my current lifestyle?
  
• What leadership traits are currently not being expressed in my life? What is preventing me from integrating them into my life? How can I become a better steward of my own life?
  
• What am I committed to? What choices will I make?

Here are the eleven leadership traits as discussed by Napoleon Hill.

1. Unwavering courage

2. Self control

3. A keen sense of justice

4. Definiteness of decision

5. Definiteness of plans

6. Doing more than one is paid for

7. A pleasing personality

8. Sympathy and understanding

9. Mastery of detail

10. Willingness to assume full responsibility

11. Cooperation

We live in a world with tremendous possibilities, endless opportunities and more choices than during any other time in history.

With the choices and freedoms we enjoy, come a variety of challenges. The choices we make are not always positive. In fact, some of them can be self-destructive.

Choices bring with them increased responsibilities, challenges and changes. In the face of the myriad of options we have, our challenge is to make decisions that will advance ourselves, our communities, and our world.

Change and challenge often combined leave us in dynamic, fast paced and complex situations that we are not always prepared to deal with. Change, and the challenge of dealing with it, creates anxiety, discomfort and a feeling of uncertainty among many of us.

Dieter Pauwels is a life career coach, speaker and author based in St. Louis, MO.
He facilitates personal and organizational transformation and works with both individuals and teams to create new possibilities, navigate change and maximize their productivity and personal effectiveness. 

What are some of the leadership lessons we can learn from the formation and synchronized movements of a flock of birds, like geese or starlings, to organize effective teams?

1. A common purpose or aim
 
When birds fly in formation, they travel about 70% faster than when they fly alone. When people share a common aim or sense of community, they achieve results more quickly by trusting one another. People can only be fully committed when the common objective of the team (or corporation) is aligned with their own individual objectives, values and principles.
In many companies, the overall (sales) targets only deliver on the aims of the people at the top of the hierarchy. In order to inspire people and create loyalty, company goals and targets need to be aligned with a broader common purpose. Shared objectives and principles will lead to increased creativity, innovations and new solutions. We need common ground to create uncommon results! 

2. Commitment to others
 
Birds of a feather flock together. The highly coordinated movements of a flock of birds are among the most fascinating phenomena to be found in nature. A flock of birds seems to turn and maneuver as a single unit, changing direction almost instantaneously.

Commitment to each other forms the foundation for synergy that allows a team to work in unity. Commitment to others can only be achieved through honest communication, contribution and cooperation. The individual commitment to a team effort is what makes a team successful! A strong sense of commitment creates a feeling of belonging and security.

3. Shared leadership
 
Observation shows that geese rotate leadership regularly and frequently. Different birds will be at the front of the flock every time it changes direction. Successful teams share leadership according to the changing circumstances. Leadership shifts to where it is most appropriate based on the individual skills, knowledge and strengths of its members. The old business paradigm, based on hierarchy – a single leader - and individualism, undermines the productivity and effectiveness of many teams.

About Dieter Pauwels:

Dieter Pauwels is a professional certified life, business and career coach, speaker and author, facilitating personal and organizational transformation. He works with both individuals and teams to create new possibilities, manage change and maximize their productivity and personal effectiveness.

You can visit his website at www.dieterpauwels.com or read his comments and thoughts on the impact of coaching on life and business on his blog at http://lifecoaching.dieterpauwels.com

We are living in a fast paced world and it seems to be moving faster each year. With more commitments, schedules, to-do lists, appointments, voice mails and e-mails, we often experience increased stress and a sense of being overwhelmed. Do you sometimes feel your life is out of balance? Do you sometimes envision your life with less tension, less stress, pressure, and more balance?

If you have ever watched a pendulum you were probably mesmerized by the peaceful, almost melodic, back and forth movement. This rhythm and flow is reflected in our lives and can teach us a great deal about balance and personal growth. Just as a pendulum swings back and forth so do we, as we journey through life. 

A pendulum’s movement teaches and reinforces for us that life is not static. The pendulum is constantly moving from one side to the other. Moving continuously, the rhythm is constant between two opposites.

Life mimics this movement in accordance with a prescribed rhythm. We are constantly moving between opposing emotions and states: in and out, up and down, back and forth, positive and negative, excess and deficiency, high and low, order and chaos, hope and despair, ignorance and understanding.

All things move from side to side. Think of the business cycle. As the economy expands and contracts we move through peaks of prosperity to troughs of economic recession and even depression. Just as the tide is not always high and the moon is not always full, your life follows an orderly cycle as well.

No set of circumstances is forever. When you feel down or things are not working out the way you want, don't feel discouraged. Know that things will swing back up and get better. They always do!

"There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without the measure of darkness and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness." (Carl Jung)

By accepting the highs and lows in your life, and always keeping in mind that things will change, your whole perspective on living will change along with it. When you understand that everything in life follows a constant rhythm between two opposites, you can better appreciate and fully enjoy all the stages in the cycle of life.

Embracing each stage in life allows you to experience personal growth and balance. Here’s how:

• Know your situation will improve and do not dwell on the negative. 
• Choose to learn from every experience you have.
• Understand that failure is part of every success. 
• Accept the good and bad, the highs and lows, and look for the lessons in each and every moment.
• Know there is a time and place for everything.
• When you reach a goal, take time to celebrate, relax and recharge your batteries.
• Know that reaching success is not the end point. Begin to lay the groundwork for the next goal and prepare yourself for more ups and downs
• Allow yourself to get back "in the swing" of things and follow your path of least resistance.

It’s that time of year when many of us formulate our resolutions for the coming year. Whether it is getting in shape, reducing debt, finding a better job, finding our soul mate, we all vow to become and do better in the future. 

But how come so many of us fail to keep our well-intended New Year’s resolutions?

Most goal setting seminars teach you that the first thing you have to do is become absolutely clear about what it is you want, create a plan and work the plan. While these are important steps moving forward, why is it that within 30 days, most resolutions will be no more than a vague memory?

We get discouraged when results don’t come quickly enough or we find that we are not necessarily happier because of them. The main reason however is because we do not fully understand ourselves and we haven’t learned how to manage ourselves more effectively.

Before setting any personal, business or career goals, it’s important to get a better understanding of yourself, because unless you take control of all the stuff inside of you that is running your life, nothing you do or say on January 1st will help you get or achieve what you really want.

When you look at your life - from the inside out - as something you are creating, rather than having external circumstances or others create it for you, you can take full responsibility for your own life's experiences.

In order to follow through and successfully achieve your New Years resolutions, your goals must be aligned or congruent with your core values and beliefs; the stuff that matters most in your life. Without these things, you would not be the person you are today.

Values are basically ideals and principles that are important to you. They are usually expressed in abstract terms such as respect, freedom, love, justice, health, integrity, success and so forth. Beliefs on the other hand are essentially assumptions, agreements or judgments you have made (mostly subconsciously) about yourself, others and the world you live in. Limiting beliefs will hold you back, while empowering or positive beliefs move you forward. Often your values and beliefs are so much a part of who you are that they become invisible to you and difficult to identify.

Values and beliefs provide the foundation upon which your level of personal commitment, motivation perseverance and courage is built. If you build your goals or New Years resolutions upon a weak foundation, or you have cracks in the foundation, such as conflicting values or limiting beliefs, it will be difficult to overcome challenges and personal setbacks in pursuit of your goals.

Ultimately, the successful achievement of your goals will be a tangible expression of your core values and beliefs. 

At a deeper level, what you value the most and believe gives you a sense of who you are – a sense of self worth. It is from this unique point of self reference that you see and perceive the world around you. Most people live their lives consistent with their self image and will do almost anything to operate within the boundaries they have created. 

Every positive act of change in your life is fostered by a change in self-perception. This means that what is standing between you and your goals and dreams, are not circumstances – like the state of the economy – but the assumptions you have made about yourself.

Know Thyself!

Whether you want to lose weight, get out of debt, improve your sales, get organized, enjoy life more, spend more quality time with your family, start a business, or build a new career, identifying and clarifying your core values and inner beliefs is an important and necessary step toward personal achievement, fulfillment and success.

For more information on how to easily identify and strengthen your core beliefs and values, set and follow through on your 2009 resolutions, contact me or schedule an introduction life coaching session today.

During uncertain economic times, many employees experience more anxiety about their future, more stress and declining attitudes. If you want to enhance their creativity, increase their productivity and personal engagement, follow these 4 business coaching tips to lead your employees through hard times.

1. Get them involved.

It is important to keep the lines of communication open and involve them in developing goals and action steps. Use their skills and knowledge for problem solving, strategy sessions and developing creative solutions. Honest and consistent communication with employees will result in a stronger feeling of connection and increased personal engagement. It will also create a stronger sense of belonging and significance, and minimize their feelings of powerlessness.

2. Focus on personal and career development.

The natural law of increase states that all people have the innate desire to grow and learn. Give your employees the opportunity to take advantage of career training and personal development opportunities.

3. Establish realistic expectations that motivate them.

Concise and consistent communication of expectations will promote an atmosphere of commitment to success. When expectations are realistic and clear, employees can take full ownership of their personal achievement and become responsible for their own success. Success will boost morale.

4. Reward and recognize.

In today’s work environment, praise and recognition are rare. In a recent poll, 65% of Americans reported receiving no recognition for their work. On the flip side, studies clearly indicate that when people receive recognition on a regular basis, they increase their productivity, they increase their personal engagement and they are more likely to stay with their organization. Recognition is most appreciated and effective when it is individualized, specific and well deserved.

Workplace stress or job stress is a very real problem in workplaces around the world. When the demands of the job surpass what you can safely and mentally handle, it can cause headaches, loss of sleep, irritability, stomach upset and make it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. Not only does it have an adverse effect on you, but also on your company. Stress costs companies around the globe millions of dollars per year. Imagine how much more productive you would be if could cope with stress more effectively? Less sick days and no pounding headaches would invariably lead to more production.

There’s little doubt that the economy is changing, and it’s not for the better in most cases. Stocks are plummeting and real estate isn’t faring much better. With economic woes comes stress, too.

The leadership challenges we’re facing today in our social, political and economic world are not so much about competency, as they are about integrity and character. This causes skepticism and distrust amongst many of us.

1. Know yourself authentically

Practice being what you wish others to become.

2. Listen authentically

In his book "The Inner Game of Tennis", Timothy Gallwey focuses on the game that's in the mind of each player. According to Gallwey, performance equals potential minus interference.

A tennis player faces two types of interferences. One is the outer opponent on the court, the other is the inner opponent in his or her mind. More often than not, the inner opponent is the tougher of the two. The inner game reflects the struggle each player has with his/her own mental limitations. Gallway identifies the inner opponent as that part of you that is judgmental, thinks too much, overanalyzes and tries too hard.

The first step in overcoming the limitations of your inner opponent is to become more aware, and focus on what you are actually doing, instead of what you should be doing. Second, and perhaps more importantly, is to let go and trust your natural ability to learn.

We all have been given the capacity to learn. In fact, most children learn to walk before they can be told how to do so by their parents. Children gain confidence from the natural learning process happening within them.

In our relationships, business and health, we all vow to do better. We all have an innate desire to grow and excel in the things we do. But as we grow older, the thinking (and trying) sometimes gets in the way of our innate ability to learn and grow!
 
Growing up, I remember watching a great tennis match on television with my two brothers. After watching the game we would go outside and replay the match. We modeled great tennis players,like Borg, Connors and McEnroe, from the way they hit the ball to the sights and sounds of their game. These were perhaps the best and most fun games we ever played.

A great way to tap into your natural ability is to model the people who have demonstrated excellence in your field. Look for the difference that made the difference! Find out how they do what they do so well. How do they think? What goals and values do they have? What are the beliefs they hold about themselves and others?

When you study and model excellence, while trusting your ability to learn and grow, you will get excellent results. In order to win in the game of life, you need to win the inner game first.

Successful organizations understand that the key to increased productivity and profitability lies in the ongoing professional and personal development of people.

These companies create an environment where people can grow, develop their unique talents and align their values with a corporate vision.

Your answers to the following 10 questions might illuminate some areas for improvement.

1. What is your level of commitment to the personal development of your staff?
   
2. Do you know what motivates and inspires your staff and/or employees?
   
3. What are your company’s vision and core values, and how do you communicate them within your organization?
   
4. Are you confident your top people will be with your organization 1 year from now? How do you know?
   
5. If you would be asked to rank your leadership skills on a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rank yourself? How confident are you with your answer?
   
6. How do you empower your staff or employees to help them co-create your company’s culture?
   
7. Does your organization inspire creativity and open dialogue?
   
8. Are you getting the results you want?
   
9. Do your managers and/or employees have the necessary tools, skills and commitment to help others develop their true potential?
   
10. What do you want more of within your organization? What’s missing?

More and more companies hire a coach to work with individuals or teams within their organization to facilitate changes within the context of the organizations’ culture to achieve extraordinary results.

Coaching is focused on individuals, not business systems. It allows you to move your organization to the next level by investing in your employees at the highest level: in them as people.

Coaching is about developing the most important aspect in business today: leadership from within. It is only when people can effectively manage themselves that they can effectively manage, inspire, encourage and lead others.

Companies hire a coach to work with individuals or teams within their organization to:

• Improve individual performance and self confidence
  
• Increase effectiveness and productivity
  
• Establish open dialogue and creativity
  
• Improve communication skills (interpersonal and negotiation)
  
• Retain employees
  
• Align personal values and beliefs with a corporate vision
  
• Create a leadership attitude
  
• Gain clarity to make objective and thoughtful decisions
  
• Assist in developing measurable goals and taking responsibility
  
• Improve time management
  
• Build leadership, management and team building skills
  
• Manage work related stress
  
• Increase energy and overall well-being

In times of change and adversity, we are all challenged to make choices and to make decisions. You may not be responsible for the circumstances or changes, like the breakdown of our financial system, but you are responsible for the decisions you make within those circumstances.

During his inaugural speech in January of 1961 John Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country," These words not only challenged a generation, it also ignited a spirit of shared interest and selflessness that made us feel like we could belong to something bigger than ourselves.

Today’s obstacles and challenges are our calls to action. You can either accept that calling and take full responsibility for your actions, or you can choose to ignore it.

Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, once said that every adversity, every failure, and every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.

I want you to think about a time in your life, or a meaningful moment when you faced adversity or a personal challenge. Perhaps it was the loss of a loved one, the breakdown of a relationship, conflict with a coworker, struggling with a career decision….

Whatever the situation is that you are thinking about right now, I suspect it was a moment when you learned something significant about yourself – yet the lesson didn't come until later. If the situation was significant enough for you to recall just now, then you likely came through the ordeal knowing more about who you are and what you are really capable of. That's the beauty of adversity that so many people fail to embrace.

Think again about that meaningful moment, "What were some of the emotions and feelings you experienced leading up to it? Perhaps you felt discomfort, anxiety, doubt, inner turmoil, panic, fear, despair or confusion… Not the kind of emotions we associate with positively.

So the question is, "What is it that makes these moments so valuable and important, so powerful that we should actually want to attract these kinds of experiences in our lives?"

The answer lies in what happens after these 'growth' or change experiences. Looking back, what were some of the emotions and feelings you experienced afterwards? Perhaps you felt more powerful and confident? Maybe you developed some new insights, built a higher self-esteem, a greater team spirit, more self-confidence or more serenity?

Aren't these the experiences that make life worth living? Aren't these the moments of truth that define us as people, as a community, as an organization? You better believe it.

The challenges are opportunities for you to break out of your cocoon and let go of the limiting beliefs and fears that are blocking you. Just as a caterpillar must escape its cocoon to grow and become the butterfly it was meant to be, so too you must look for opportunity in those experiences that challenge you to break free from past habits, thoughts, reactions, and ideas. One cannot become a butterfly by remaining a caterpillar! And once you experience life as a butterfly, you will never want to go back to being a caterpillar.

My experiences working as a professional life coach with many people going through intense periods of change, tell me that we should welcome challenges and obstacles as opportunities to grow.

I'm convinced that it is through times of change and adversity that we have an opportunity to reconnect with our true selves, that we find meaning and direction in what we do, and then use our new found knowledge to serve the greater good.

Think about the stagnation you'd encounter if everything were to stay the same, your company, your job, the people you work with, the environment – you would certainly have certainty and you would certainly know what to expect, but you would almost certainly be bored, unproductive, and uncreative.

The price of certainty seems much too high to pay. Change, on the other hand, can exhilarate you, it can motivate you, it can inspire you – and yes, it can scare you, but you don't have to let it defeat you.

Change is inevitable but to grow from it is a personal choice!

You can choose to withdraw or reconnect. If you choose to reconnect, you are choosing to create something that can be better and more successful than ever before.

The choice is yours alone to make!

I believe we should all do work that matters. Today, we all put in too many hours, and accumulate too much stress, to work at something that isn't personally engaging and rewarding.Too many people stay in unsatisfying and unfulfilling jobs, simply because it provides the material definition of success. All too often, our sense of who we are is defined by the work we do.
 
More and more people are waking up to the fact that we need to get back to what really matters, what really will have an impact on our personal sense of safety, security, and well-being.  Increasingly people everywhere are starting to reevaluate their life's direction.

In times of change or any other adversity, whether it is a personal change, a business or career transition, people in general tend to respond in two different ways: they withdraw for self preservation, or they face their fear of change head on.

The interesting thing however, is that both responses are motivated by the same need - the need we all have for a sense of certainty in our lives.

Change, by definition, is uncertain and our reaction to change reflects a desperate need to gain a bit of control.
Whatever the change you are facing, you can choose to deal with it head-on, or head in the sand.
 
Those who choose the head in the sand approach when faced with adversity, are the people who shut down and withdraw themselves. They do this in order to protect themselves.Their feelings of frustration, anger, and anxiety are too much to cope with all at once, so they retreat.
Unfortunately their flight causes them to disconnect, not just from themselves and their personal needs, but from others and the world around them as well. This disconnection is a fear reaction, and if you run away from fear, you miss the opportunity to learn, to grow and to attract the things you really want in your life.

Fear of change is what prompts self-limiting behaviors and thoughts, rather than seize the opportunity to learn from the challenge and seek new truths about ourselves.

A much more productive and positive reaction to changes and challenges is to face the fear head on.  Rather than disconnect, this is a time to reconnect with the person you really are - at your core. Re-ignite your passion and meet face your challenges from a place of authenticity, resourcefulness and centeredness.
 
When you are able to see every challenge as an opportunity to grow and to contribute, you consciously expand your sense of self. You are able to tap into your inner resources and draw out the very best of yourself and others.

In times of change and adversity, we are all challenged to make choices and to make decisions. You may not be responsible for the circumstances or changes in your life, but you are responsible for the decisions you make within those circumstances.

You can choose to withdraw or reconnect - if you choose to reconnect, you are choosing to create something that can be better and more successful than ever before. The choice is yours alone to make!

The most important tool we have to increase our productivity and personal effectiveness in times of change is our mind. When we encounter change, the most intuitive reaction is to search for danger or to look for problems. We go into survival mode, because this is what we have conditioned our mind to do.

The problem is that we get stuck into this negative state of mind and very quickly our performance starts to suffer.

Dealing with change more effectively requires us to think.

First, focus your attention on the things you do control;

• your thoughts
• your behavior
• your daily actions and activities
• your emotional state
• your attitude 

Second, expand your mental and emotional boundaries.  Get uncomfortable and challenge the security and safety of old work routines and thought patterns. Get excited about inviting new ideas and creating new concepts. Suspend disbelief and risk believing in yourself, your team and your organization.

Is there a business case for cultivating and nourishing passion in your organization? Could passion really be a competitive advantage? Can passion make a difference in terms of accomplishing your business goals and objectives?

You'd better believe it!

Passion is such an important ingredient in any recipe for success, but it is often overlooked when it comes to business success. Perhaps because passion is one of those words that sound a little out of place in the work environment.

I'm convinced that passion is often the difference that makes the difference. It is often the difference between a good company and a great company.

Consider the following benefits.

Passion intensifies focus.

In a complex world where we're moving ahead at ".com"speed and in which we get bombarded with information, it's easy to get distracted. Passion gives people the courage to say "no" to distractions by staying focused on the bigger "yes." Passion is the magnetic force that pulls people together for a common vision or cause.

Passion unleashes creativity.

Innovation and creativity are key factors in adding value to the customers you serve. Approaching your business with a new perspective requires you to be fully awake, fully alive and fully present. Passion is what activates your mind, expands your awareness and challenges you to think outside the conventional box.

Passionate people raise the standards of performance.

Passionate people keep themselves and others accountable and tolerate nothing less than a 100% commitment. This commitment to a higher standard becomes contagious and spreads throughout the system, and eventually becomes part of a company culture. People with passion create an electric, exciting work environment that inspires and energizes others. They consciously contribute to building the kind of culture that attracts world-class people. A culture people want to belong to.

Passion conquers fear.

When your passion is greater than your fear, you develop the courage to step outside your comfort zone, risk more, fail faster and learn like crazy.  

Perhaps the most exciting benefit that comes from cultivating passion in your organization is the contagious enthisiasm it generates. Something so alive in them awakens something that needs to be alive in us.

Passionate people inspire hope and that's one of the reasons they're so much fun to be around.

How passionate are you?? ...

In his book 'The Alchemist', Paulo Coelho tells the story of a young man named Santiago who had a dream and the courage to follow it. In it, Santiago set out on a quest to search for a hidden treasure that leads him to the pyramids of Egypt.

His convictions were continuously tested, but his persistence and courage won out. Through the trials he endured, by the end of this beautiful and inspirational story, Santiago discovered that the real treasure in life "lies where your heart belongs."

Santiago's courage helped him to realize that the real treasure was the journey itself, together with all the knowledge he acquired and the discoveries he made along the way.

We too are on a quest for hidden treasure in our lives. Many of us though, get sidetracked by the glitz and glamour of material treasures. We fill ourselves up with things in an effort to comfort ourselves, live up to an idealized image, and/or prove our self worth. We fail to see the real treasure in our lives - our health, values, successes, failures, challenges, discipline, balance, fulfillment, etc...

The real treasures are those things that we discover through introspection and experience, not those we pick off a shelf or order off of eBay.

Think of all the wondrous insights you would miss if you moved through life without taking time to acknowledge the potential gifts experience bestows on you. If you rush through life with a specific outcome in mind, you risk ignoring or obscuring the obvious treasures lying in your path. Just like windshield washers furiously wipe away the rain, we furiously cast aside experiences we deem negative, bad or undesirable.

When we dismiss events that happen in our life, we miss out on the opportunity to learn from them. Some of the most painful experiences turn out to carry the most invaluable lessons as well. If you have the courage and faith to keep an open mind, you will realize you don't know where your journey will take you. When there is no set road map for you to follow, it takes courage, commitment, faith and discipline to take the road less traveled. On that road great gifts are created and revealed.

These are the gifts your true treasure is made of. Your challenge is to identify the gifts you have been given, and figure out a way to use those gifts to invite personal fulfillment and satisfaction into your life.

Here are some life coaching ideas for preparing to rise to the occasion.

1. Identify those things in life that you truly treasure - the things that will motivate you to move forward and follow your own path.
2. Identify the things that you need to leave behind in order to fully experience the journey - the things that keep you in your comfort zone, that are safe and familiar.
3. Identify the sacrifices you are willing to make for sake of the journey - the things you cherish that you are willing to give up in order to move from good to great.

You can only find the treasure within yourself if you are prepared to take the journey. Pursue this quest in every area of your life. Reconnect with the hidden treasure that is already within you. Only by fully experiencing the journey will you uncover the path to your hidden treasure and ultimately your genuine success. You need to have faith that riches beyond your wildest imagination are within your grasp. All it takes to access them is an open mind, a willing spirit, and a sense of adventure.

Bon Voyage!