Someone in Your Corner

Metal_whistle Ok, I admit it.  I am a health nut.  A real self-improvement junkie.  I have practiced yoga for years and years. I eat organic. Take great supplements. Meditate.  I am working on a degree to become a Naturopathic Doctor. And I hired a personal trainer to work out with for one hour each night. You read that right- five nights a week. I feel good.  I feel healthy.  I feel together.

My personal trainer is Angela Gallagher of Fit 4 Life.  She is quite a ball of unbridled energy, unconditional acceptance and enthusiastic motivation.  She pushes me to the limit and makes me feel happy about it. And I know that she is 100% commited to my success.  I like having someone in my corner.  Somehow I don’t feel so all alone as I strive to reach my goals for a better life.

Last night during my cardio workout, as my heart-rate monitor was beeping wildly, a lightbulb went off in my head! It dawned on me that hiring a personal coach to help you achieve your business, career, financial and relationship goals is alot like hiring a personal trainer.  The work that I do with people as a personal and executive coach is very similar to the work that my personal trainer does.  While Angie focuses only on the body, my work focuses on integrating all components of a person’s life to achieve on-going life success.  There is a reason that my clients call me "The Diva of Life Design".  Just like Angie in designing fitness programs, I do my job of helping people design their life success programs.  And, I do it very well.

So what about you?  Are you ready to dip your toe in the water of hiring your own personal coach to help you live your best life?  With just a little bit of thought and research, you can hire the right coach to meet your unique needs (one size does not fit all!).   

Stay tuned for future posts to find out how to locate the very best coach to guarantee your success.

For now, it’s back to the treadmill!

Photo by Flickr

Posted: November 15th, 2007 | No Comments »

How Do You Know When It’s Time to Go?

“You gotta know when to hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em; know when to walk away; know when to run.” As the Kenny Rogers song says, sometimes our only choice is to leave a bad job.

At a recent speaking engagement for  the Project Managers Institute, I shared with the stunned audience that a shocking 61% of employees received no praise in the workplace last year, according to Gallop research.  If you have a “bad boss”, you are 33% more likely to suffer a stroke.  In his book, Three Signs of a Miserable Job, author Patrick Lencioni discusses the symptoms of an intolerable job: Anonymity, Irrelevance and Immeasurement.

To determine if you are in a stinky job situation or not, ask yourself these three questions:

  • Do I feel invisible at the workplace?  Anonymity, feeling invisible, is a sure sign that you might want to evaluate if this is the right place for you.
  • Do I feel like my work does not matter?  Do I feel like I could go away and someone else could easily pick up where I left off?  Irrelevance, feeling like your work is unimportant to the organization, can degrade your self-worth and lead to unhappiness in the job world.
  • Am I held accountable for what I am asked to produce or do? Immeasurement, not establishing benchmarks of performance, creates a sense of being unfulfilled as workers struggle to know if they are performing at the desired levels. 

If you are miserable in your job, chances are your health and your future are both being negatively affected. There is no work-life balance when all of your energy is going into an empty black hole.   If it is time to "fold ‘em”, be honest with yourself and look for a new workplace that will offer you a sense of fulfillment and happiness.  (And if you need a well-qualified personal coach to help you create a job search strategy, I bet I know where I can find one!)

The Gambler by Kenny Rogers from Lyrics Freak

Posted: November 12th, 2007 | No Comments »

Everyone Loves a Winner

Wow- talk about a humbling experience.  My business, Rita Perea Consulting, has recently been Trophy nominated for two awards.  One is the "Best Kept Secret" award and the other is the "Community Champion" award.  Both are through the Greater Des Moines  Business Partnership. 

I could have my ego all wrapped up in this process.   My ego could easily be saying "You gotta win this or your name will be toast!  Second place is not an option!"  My strong competitive side could be unleashed in full force.  But where will that get me?  Probably only to the land of high blood pressure, which is not a good place to be.

Call it the school of hard knocks, but in my last Executive position I learned to identify when my ego was involved in a particular project or decision.  I learned to pay attention to the little (alright- huge) rush of adrenaline that would start at the tips of my toes and then shoot, like a mighty river, all the way to the top of my head.  I learned that I could get such a surge of that unstoppable, unbeatable, ego-leading-the-charge, incredible feeling, that I could (and please don’t fire me for saying this) be found  to make decisions that weren’t necessarily in everyone’s best interest.  I learned, the hard way, that when my ego is involved, my thinking might be clouded.  The book, A Course in Miracles, warns that our egos create an illusion and that we may not act for the "highest good of all" when our egos are engaged.  Isn’t that the truth?  I learned my lessons well.

But, I digress…

Back to the awards- My mission statement says it best: "Lead well. Live well. Do well."  One of the values that my business was founded on is "Philanthropy is just as important as Profitability".  For my business that means that I give back to the community a high percentage of my time, talents and profits.  While it would be awesome to be recognized this, whether I receive an award or not I will still continue to do what I do for the right reasons.  And, with my ego out of the way.

Photo: Flickr by Kershnerstudios

Posted: October 19th, 2007 | No Comments »

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