Spencer Institute Celebrates 20th Anniversary Of Providing Life Coaching & Wellness Certifications
A marriage of health and wellness, coaching and training, the Spencer Institute is pleased to celebrate its 20th anniversary this month. The Spencer Institute offers a full spectrum of online, self-paced training in life coaching, wellness, stress management and other holistic wellness topics.
“The perfect marriage of practical education and business and marketing skills, the Spencer Institute’s online trainings can lead to better, healthier lives, just one of the reasons that we’re so thrilled to celebrate 20 years of doing business this month,” said John Spencer Ellis, CEO and president of the Spencer Institute. “We continue to grow, innovate and help more people connect with their true calling, and we genuinely look forward to the next 20 years.”
In particular, the Spencer Institute offers training and certification in life coaching, nutrition coaching, sports psychology, wellness coaching, design psychology coaching, green living coaching, stress management coaching, food psychology coaching and more. All of the Spencer Institute online certification programs include practical training as well as blueprint models for business and coaching success.
In honor of its 20th anniversary, the Spencer Institute launched a new blog at http://spencerinstitute.com/blog/ and a new Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/spencerinstitute/ with the latest topics in life coaching, health and wellness, online certifications, special offers and more.
“Twenty years in any industry is a pretty big deal, which is why we’re so pleased that our programs continue to change, improve and enhance people’s lives around the world,” Ellis added. “Education is always worth celebrating and we are incredibly proud of the programs and certifications we offer through the Spencer Institute.”
Are we losing our listening?
Ever get the feeling that your approach to your own career has gotten a bit stale?
by Carol McClelland: The questions you ask yourself (What do I want to do? What’s my next career move?) deliver the same answers, over and over again. No matter what you do, you keep ending up with the same answers that aren’t getting you where you want to go.
It’s so frustrating! I know, I’ve been there myself. Many times. When I made my first big career transition and periodically over the last 20 years as it was time for my business to shift and morph in response to the times. In the early days getting out of a thought rut took a lot of effort. Now that I’ve had a lot of practice with this I know what I need to do to shift my perspective to create new options and ideas.
Knowing how to get beyond your rut is essential to any career shift. Hopefully these ideas will give you new insights about how to break out of your career rut!
Ask New Questions
One of the key reasons we all get stuck is that we get into a rut with the questions we ask ourselves. After a while each question seems to lead to the same answer. There’s no new juice to give us a new insight, a new thought, or a new outlook on our situation. To break out of your rut, begin by framing new questions. Sometimes just a subtle rewording of your question can lead you to new answers.
-Why don’t I work on my resume? What could I do to make progress on my resume?
-What job should I go after? What kind of work would be most fulfilling to me?
Brainstorm Multiple Options
When you are frustrated with your situation, it’s easy to throw up your hands as soon as your inner dialogue has you covering the same territory you’ve traveled time and again. As soon as you do this, you shut down any chance of finding a new answer, a new solution.
Next time you find yourself in this situation don’t stop when your first answer comes to you. Keep brainstorming until you have a collection of answers. Keep pushing yourself until you get past the safe, realistic solutions (that obviously aren’t the answer or you would have figured it out by now).
Push yourself to come up with 10 or 15 ideas. Sometimes the most intriguing answers are hiding behind the conventional ones. Push past them to find out what really wants to happen next.
List First…Evaluate Later
Just write each and every idea down as it comes to you. Don’t evaluate its merits at this point…just write down whatever comes to you.
After you’ve gathered a list of possible options, take another look at every idea you’ve come up with. You may find additional ideas come to you as you compare and contrast the options on your list. Often the best solution is a combination of elements from several options. Get creative!
Shift Your Focus from “Should” to “Want”
If you are still stuck after doing this kind of brainstorming, you may have fallen into the trap of focusing on what you should do.
To get out of your rut, turn the tables to focus on what you want. Try reframing your question from “What should I do in this situation?” “What would I most like to do in this situation?”
It’s likely that this shift will create new movement in how you are approaching your situation. I had a client once who was balking at going back to work. She knew she needed to work. She was getting exposed to interesting opportunities, but nothing was holding her attention. When I asked her what she really wanted, she realized that what she wanted most was a part-time position that would give her the flexibility to heal from some transitions she’d recently experienced. She changed her approach to her job search and found a position that was a great match for her current needs. She ended up working at this job
for several years before she was ready to find a job that matched her new needs.
Get out of Dodge
If at all possible, change your circumstances in some way.
-If you can, leave town. Putting yourself in a new environment or a new culture will stoke your creative fire.
-If you can’t get out of town, go to a park for the day, house sit for a friend, or spend the night at a local B&B or hotel.
-If you can’t get out of the house, you can still switch things up. Find a different place to think about your situation.
If you normally ponder things in a certain area of your home, try going outside or another room. Take a moment to think about where you are drawn to go…then see how you can make some part of that vision possible. The key is to change your setting in ways that shake up how you are approaching your circumstances.
Whenever you are faced with a question about your career or a career dilemma, use these tactics to break into new territory. Often just a 5% shift in your perception of your situation will open up new options that you can’t see right now. Copyright © 2011 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.
Tucker Georgia Resident Seeks to Inspire and Empower Women
By Lisa Kuebler: Kimberly Banks, a resident of the Tucker area, has developed a passion for empowering women to live purposefully, consciously, and deliberately. She is the CEO of a growing company called Heartistic Motivation (as well as its non-profit sister company, HM Hearts and Hands), a personal development firm whose vision is to empower the minds, hearts, and lives of women with a vision of living from the inside, out.
When asked what inspired her to start Heartistic Motivation, Banks answered, “I am an artist and a writer who has experienced some pretty painful occurrences in my life, most of which contributed to my doubting the ability to be anything worthy of success. Consequent to being ‘lost’ I made some choices and decisions that could have kept me on a path leading nowhere—that is, had I never gotten acquainted with my true self. I am also far from being traditional, and have had to learn some things the hard way. There are many conditions and beliefs that I have had to overcome in order to recognize that I CAN be successful…because I say I can. My heart and compassion for the underdogs in this world is immeasurable. I have a love for people, especially women who have, will, and may be currently enduring the same trials and tribulations I have in my own past. I would like to help women rise above challenges and obstacles, and even mindsets that deplete them or rob them of their dreams and aspirations. If we come from environments that do not support our endeavor to thrive and flourish as we were uniquely meant, we end up making choices and decisions that take us away from success…and if not success, then from the experience of fulfillment that each of us deserves. I have a special place in my heart for women as a whole, because there is so much we have had to overcome just to reach certain levels of success.”
Where do these obstacles come from? Many of the negative mindsets we harbor, she said, “have so much to do with media content, parents, and peers that it is often really difficult to discover what is truly meant for our lives; or most importantly, it has become very challenging to overcome the fear that keeps us from walking the path less traveled. Thus, we forfeit our highest potential [in exchange] for mediocrity.”
In communicating with Banks, her positive energy seemed to radiate. But knowing that she struggled in the past and overcame many obstacles in order to find her true self, I asked her what she would say to women who feel discouraged in their careers or personal lives. To that she responded, “I would say it is never ever too late to either reinvent themselves or to reengineer/redirect their careers toward a path that was innately designed for them. It is when we can share or utilize our gifts and talents to help others (whether it be through working for a company that is more in alignment with their our passion, going back to school, starting a business venture, or finally completing a project that is destined to contribute to a life legacy) that a true sense of purpose can be fulfilled. This sense of fulfillment overrides any bout of discontent that threatens to rob you of your joy, your innate sense of being, which is peace, love, compassion, harmony, and balance. What good is success, when there is no fulfillment?”
Banks added, “I would also encourage them to get reacquainted with their true selves—the part of them that yearns for actualization and completion. Oftentimes we get so caught up in attaining the paychecks that feed the families, buy the cars, purchase the homes, etc., that we forget that each of us is here by design, not by accident. And there is a significant role that is meant to be carried out consequent to our existence. I say, if you are going to be stressed, discouraged, disenchanted, it may as well come as a result of pursuing something you love. Take that same energy of discouragement and apply it to something that enlightens and enlivens you in such a way that the concept of lack no longer exists. Why will this be so? Because when you are FULL of yourself, meaning living fully every known aspect of your truest wants, desires, and passions, where, then, is there any room for suffering or disillusion? Your heart and soul will not only be full of joy and harmony, but you will overflow in the form of compassion that comes from sharing your gift with others in need.”
“I would also encourage women to think beyond the emotion—the despair, disappointment, or discouragement—so that they may clear their minds and hearts of ‘obstacle illusions’ that prohibit them from venturing down pathways of which only their feet were meant to traverse,” Ms. Banks said. “Lastly, turn what hurts you most, what brings you the most pain, into a passion and you just may discover your purpose.”
Her company, Heartistic Motivation, offers a series of free coaching calls as part of their success and achievement series. Held on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month, the topics include “the power of gratitude,” “seeing opportunities in your challenges,” and “overcoming doubt and low self-esteem.” A full calendar of discussion topics as well as information on how to participate can be found here.
In addition, on May 16, Heartistic Motivation will host a “Let Go of Your But” Success and Achievement Workshop at the Tah Cha Tea House on Chamblee-Tucker Road in Tucker. The goals of the workshop are to bring to women’s attention some of the “buts” that prohibit them from succeeding in their current professional positions or fulfilling their goals for personal lives, relationships, and well-being. Tools, strategies, and techniques for achieving results will be discussed. Following the workshop, participants should feel liberated from limitations and empowered to become the individuals they envision, inspired to take on all that is necessary to achieve success. For more information or to register for the workshop, click here. Source: Tucker Patch
Personal Development Publisher Nightingale-Conant Launches My Power Podcast
The world’s largest personal development publisher, Nightingale-Conant, has just launched its newest service, MyPowerPodcast.com. The site features free weekly motivational podcasts sampling the firm’s vast library of personal development programs, as well as a wealth of other online resources on motivation and how to get motivated. The podcasts at My Power Podcast provide a free and easily accessible introduction to these tested and proven programs.
Nightingale-Conant, the largest personal development publisher in the world, recently launched its newest service, My Power Podcast, accessible via MyPowerPodcast.com. Featuring a free, fresh half-hour motivational podcast every week, it is the online destination for those seeking help and inspiration on motivation and how to get motivated.
“With My Power Podcast, you can access a free weekly show on themed topics that mine ideas from Nightingale-Conant’s extensive library of authors such as Denis Waitley, Zig Ziglar, Stephen Covey, Brian Tracy, Wayne Dyer, and more,” says My Power Podcast host Joe Nuckols, himself an award-winning author, speaker, broadcaster and motivational life coach. “What’s more you can listen to these podcasts anytime anywhere with our mobile app for iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, or Android, which you can download on the website.”
My Power Podcast is one of the newest media avenues currently being explored by Nightingale-Conant, a firm that has been helping people succeed and reach their goals through personal achievement audio programs for over 50 years. The podcasts at My Power Podcast provide a free and easily accessible introduction to these tested and proven programs.
“Most of us face myriad challenges today, whether at work or in our own personal life, and sometimes success seems elusive and it’s hard to stay motivated,” says Nuckols. “At Nightingale-Conant, we aim to help you build your PMA, or positive mental attitude, and to help you realize your full potential. We have a variety of programs designed to help you succeed in life, build wealth, and gain better health.”
To get a weekly dose of inspiration and motivation, and to find out more about Nightingale-Conant’s wide range of wealth-building programs and self-development resources.
10 Things I Wish You Knew About Yourself
By Abubakar Jamil:Everyday, when I drive to my office, I see a number of people, going around, doing what they need to do. I observe them, and I wonder what they are thinking.
I reach my office and I meet people and they tell me “stuff”, and most of that “stuff” is basically transitional and opinionated. They tell me about the problems, the economy going down the drain, the savings being depleted, the sicknesses that they never thought would come anywhere near them. Problems, problems and more problems…
I see people not doing the great things they are capable of doing. I see people with great mental capacities, just sitting around smoking cigarettes, and wondering when their lives are going to change. I see people, walking around like zombies, “passing” another day in their lives.
I don’t see what I like, and I don’t like what I see. So I am going to give you a piece of my mind, if the above scenario feels familiar to you, in any sense. So listen up.
HERE ARE SOMETHINGS I WISH YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOURSELF
And knowing them might just hit a cord with you and might just light a spark of life inside you, which in turn, might just change your life in some small or big way. Whatever it does, at least I’d know, I did my part in letting you know.
1. You believe in yourself. If you didn’t, you’d have resigned from the “living job” already. It is your belief in yourself, hidden in some remote corner of your psyche, that is keeping you alive and on the move. So don’t bother with people who tell you, that they don’t believe in you. You don’t need their stamp of approval. Just know that if you are alive, you believe in yourself, and that you are belief-worthy.
2. You can change yourself. Really. You can change your whole world. I don’t mean it like you can push a button and enter into a new reality, but I mean it like you can work on changing you thought patterns, which in turn will change your attitude, and your changed attitude will change the objective reality around you in due time. Try that, if you think that you need to change your life in one way or another (which I am sure you do, as much as I do).
3. You are the only Messiah you have been waiting for. No angel plans on dropping from the sky and whisper in your ears the secrets of a successful life. You know them already, and if you don’t, ask around, look around, read around or just go around. There are no secrets (except the movie: The Secret—which plans on revealing “the secret” to all of us—still). Life is simple. Keep it simple. Stop fiddling with it and thus making it complex.
4. You are capable of doing much more than you think you can. Don’t underestimate your abilities, ever! Take the risk. Take the leap, and even if you fall, flat down on your face, stand up and leap again and done enough times, you’ll be amazed to discover, that you had it within in you, to go beyond the mental limits that you created for yourself.
5. Your life is not yours only. Life is a phenomenon that is based on interconnectedness. It is interdependent on the people and the environment around you. Every thought you think, every dream you dream, every word you say, every action you perform, create ripples that affect the world around you. So accept your responsibility, not only for yourself, but also for your behavior in everyway. Because you are an innate and indispensible part of the collective human consciousness.
6. You will leave a legacy behind after you are gone. Even if you are not a Christ, Einstein, Shakespeare or some other “great” soul, you will still leave a legacy in the form of the aftereffects of your collective actions, that you performed during your time on this planet.
7. You are wiser than you think you are. It’s just that you don’t act upon the advice of your wise-self sometimes (or most of the times). Don’t tell me that I am wrong, because I know I am not. You know a lot better than you think you know about life, and now you also know, that I know that you know, so don’t even think of disagreeing with me on this one, at least.
8. You are not just what you appear to be. You are not just your body or mind. Your possessions and social status do not define you absolutely. You are not even just a human being. Like Dr. Wayne Dyer said, “You are not a human being having a spiritual experience, you are a spiritual being having a human experience.”
9. You are to leave one day. Yes, you will die too and all your worldly aspirations and possessions and achievements and legacies will not be allowed to go along with you. You will go alone from this world, just like you came alone into this world. The Armani suits and Gucci bags are just some thoughtfully calculated distractions.
10. You are immortal. Did I just say Immortal? Yes, I said that, and I’d also say, that you are also a superhero. To come in this world and live, and then go back to where you came from—can’t be done by a mere mortal. So live like a superhero, starting from today. And remember, since you are a superhero, you have amazing powers and “with great power comes great responsibility”. Photo Credit
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