Master the Art of Living

This morning I had the opportunity to sit down for coffee with a worldly recognized Executive Coach who has dedicated over 30 years of his life's work to coaching and developing others. Perhaps one of the most authentic professionals I have ever met, I found our conversation captivating, the alignment between our passions and purpose intriguing, and his stories inspiring. 

After sharing my own personal story of how and, more specifically, why I arrived as this blended package of Consultant, Entrepreneur and Coach, he paused and reached into his briefcase and, with a smile, slid over a piece of paper and said, "I think you'll understand this". He was right. It was at that moment that I knew our meeting would be the highlight of my day.

Before shaking hands and departing, I asked him what I could do to reciprocate the generous time and advice he had so graciously given me. He leaned back in his chair, as if first confused by my question, and then openly shared that he too had been on my end of this conversation many times years before. That I owed him nothing. His only request, that I "do great work."

With those three words (do great work) top of mind for me this evening, I share the exact words that were on that mystery piece of paper with you. I hope the message resonates for you as it does for me. And if not, that you give yourself permission to explore what it means for YOU to be a Master in the Art of Living.

[the piece of paper read as follows]

Master in the Art of Living

The master in the art of living

makes little distinction between his work and his play,

his labor and his leisure,

his mind and his body,

his education and his recreation,

his love and his religion.

He hardly knows which is which.

He simply pursues his vision

of excellence in whatever he does,

leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing.

To him, he is always doing both.

- Zen Buddhist Text -

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Kelly Weber
Get clear on what you want in 2017

It was Christmas morning and we were somewhere between Denver and Cleveland. Excited to see my family, I was surprised to find myself sleeping on our flight. As a recovering road warrior and sometimes, self-sabotaging hyper-achiever, I lived for my undisturbed flight time and during a cross-country flight, I could easily crank out a week's worth of work. However, not this time, I was soundly asleep.

After an hour passed, I awoke abruptly, quickly reached for my journal and began writing frantically. Ten minutes later, I closed the journal, threw my husband a quick smile, and fell happily back asleep. A year's worth of work, done.

A week later, on eve of 2017 and while driving back to Seattle from now Denver, I opened my journal back to the entry on our flight over to the Midwest. While my husband navigated the snowy roads, I recorded our individual answers to the ten simple questions that, quite literally, fell from the sky.

In keeping with my desire to manifest more of what I want this year, I now offer these questions to you. I've shared them with my coaching clients and my hope is they will also help you get clear on what you really want this year, and before January becomes a distant memory. Clarity is a powerful thing. And so is writing things down.

In 2016...

  1. What were your top three peak moments? Quick disclaimer, a peak moment isn't always a happy moment. Getting married to my husband was a peak moment for me in 2016, and so was losing three incredible women in our life to cancer.
  2. What were your top three successes? Now remember, this is your definition of success. Save yourself the trouble of convincing yourself that what might work for someone else also works for you, especially if you know that it doesn't.
  3. What were your top three roadblocks? What got in your way this past year or caused an unexpected or unplanned detour for you? Answer from both a personal and professional perspective.
  4. When did you get in your OWN way the most? Don't be fooled, we self-sabotage more than you think. Answer from both a personal and professional perspective.
  5. Who were you being when you were at your best? No, not what you did when you were at your best but rather, who were BEING when you were at your best this past year.
  6. Where did you spend your time and energy? Draw two circles and label one personal, and the other professional. Make a list of the applicable categories for each circle as they relate to your life in 2016 (i.e. personal = family, friends, spouse, home, travel, etc. and professional = team, admin, clients, board, my development, etc.). Allocate the % of time and energy spent for each category for both circles.

In 2017...

  1. Where do you need the most help this year? For example, are you spending your time on energy-draining activities that suck the life out of you? Admit it. Do you need an accountability partner to help you stay disciplined? Ask someone.
  2. What is your ONE big thing this year? Yes, that's right...only one! Be specific.
  3. Where do you want to spend your time and energy? Repeat the steps in question #6 for 2017.
  4. Lastly, what do you want to "un-become" in 2017? What do I mean exactly? Read this powerful quote below, one of my favorites.
Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place. - Paulo Coelho

Now, here's the real challenge.

After you've written your answers down, share your answers with five people. Five people that will become your accountability partners in 2017 to help you manifest what it is that you really want. And, if you're serious about it and ready to do the work, message me if you want me to be one of them.

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Coaching, LeadershipKelly Weber