Last month I conducted a workshop on Creating a Vision for Your Life. This one-hour workshop set the stage for each participant to leave with a clearer picture of what she wants to create more of in her future. The workshop itself was highly interactive and inspiring thanks to the participation of the group! I left the workshop with two commitments: one was to offer this workshop one more time by March 9th and the other was to provide a list of tools and resources that I have found particularly useful as I have continued on my journey of creating more of what I want in my life.
So, to meet the first commitment: I am offering this one-hour workshop on Creating Vision for Your Life on Friday, March 9th from 8:30-9:30. I still have room for about 5-7 more people so if you want to attend, please email kim.lafever@nike.com.
As for the second commitment: the list below provides some of the most powerful seminars and books I have experienced over the last 2-3 years to assist me in gaining insight, clarity, and vision for my life purpose. I am not affiliated with any of the authors or seminar providers other than to be thankful for their offerings, and in some cases friendship, in my life. As I often tell people when they ask how I have been able to refine my life purpose, I tell them the truth: it has taken a global village of writers, facilitators, and other practitioners to get me where I am in terms of knowing myself well and advancing more of what I want in my life. My life has messiness, beauty, joy, and loss, and for this I have heartfelt gratitude and a certain persistence to want to know more, to seek further my greater truth. I hope you may find something useful in this list as you engage on your own journey. You can find many of these books or seminars on the web by simply typing in the book, title, or name of the company in many search engines.
Books:
The Dream Manager by Matthew Kennedy:This is an easy read and very entertaining. It will provide you with the springboard for your life by encouraging you to write down 100 dreams and then offers some techniques on how to take them further. I truly wonder if I would be opening my own business now if I hadn’t read this book last summer.
Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott: This book helped me establish effective conversations and boundaries with people. It helps me to stay “clean” by speaking my truth in a respectful way often and when it most matters. I used these methods to help me through some family and in-law communications to great effect.
Choices That Change Lives by Hal Urban: An easy read with lots of value and you can read it in chunks or skip chapters entirely.
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel Amen: This book is fascinating without being too technical. It uses some of the most up to the moment neuroscience and then tells you how to apply it to make changes happen.
Awake at Work by Michael Carroll: This book has all kinds of wisdom to be more present in the moment, even when work feels crappy. The chapters are short and provide a lot of food for contemplation and action.
Humans Being by Lou Ann Daly: This is a workbook style read that has a lot of exercises in it. It requires you to take some time in reflection and asks some rather thought-provoking questions. I had the good fortune to work this book with a small group of colleagues as we were led by two very strong women leaders. This is the book that frustrated me to no end; it also probably helped me to break through and stop being stuck – funny how that works.
If the Buddha Got Stuck by Charlotte Kasl: This book has lots of short chapters that you can read over a coffee with little exercises to apply. My medical doctor recommended it when she realized how often I would come in slightly jet-lagged or semi-stressed.
Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck: Martha is Oprah magazine’s monthly coach/writer. She is great and very well known in the field of life coaching. The amount and level of difficulty of the exercises can be a little daunting. I think this work would be easier if facilitated or done as part of a reading group that meets regularly for 3-6 months for support but if you are ready to really tackle your life, she is one of the best.
Mindful Eating by Jan Chozen Bays: For those of you who may have followed my writing for this newsletter over the last year or so, you are familiar with the challenges I was facing with my sweet tooth. This book, along with some of the other mindfulness practices I learned through books, etc. that finally helped me to make positive changes in my eating without feeling like I am bad if I have a cookie. If you are interested in changing your diet, or interested in slowing yourself down even for a little while during the day without sitting and doing a formal meditation practice, this book may be a good one for you. She takes you through a series of exercises in the book and accompanying CD that will change the way you experience your food and it is positive, graceful, and phew – without judgment.
STOP TRYING SO HARD by Kim LaFever - The book I haven’t written yet but maybe should. I spent a good number of years thinking I had to outwork everyone else in order to be seen as ok. Through the many books and other practices I’ve learned, I finally feel like I can just be me. Stay tuned for my own book on how to change your life to hit bookshelves in the future.
Seminars or coaching:
Wings Seminars in Eugene – www.wings-seminars.com – You start with the Personal Effectiveness seminar and go from there. These seminars are intense and people change a lot as a result of their experiences to become better communicators, less blame-oriented, aware of their potential as leaders, and closer to their life purpose BUT – you have to show up fully and be ready and willing to do the work. It can be great fun, enriching, and I have made friends that I expect to have in my life for many years through my association with this group.
Creating the Life You Want – run by two of my dearest friends (one former Nike person) who offer workshops on the side (2-3 times a year) from their day jobs to help people get clear on mission, vision, values, etc. For info contact Tonia McConnell at: toniamcc@msn.com
Lifetime Optimization – this is a neuro-optimization coaching practice here in PDX that I wrote about in January. I gained so much by taking their Neuro Essentials Program two months ago. My memory skills are better, I manage my emotions more easily, and I think this work greatly helped me at the right time to me break through and say YES to my future. www.lifetimeoptimization.com
The Cook Awakening at www.cookawakening.com Durga Fuller runs a coaching practice that is centered around helping people who want to make dietary changes or otherwise change their relationship to food and health but she is so much more than that. She has tremendous insight and wisdom and has been a great teacher to me. I think that through this work, I finally grew to accept myself enough to know that I really am ok.
To Your Dreams!
