What I Learned on My Summer Vacation

My child starts kindergarten next week. Earlier in the year I made a conscious decision to cut back on client hours during the summer months and spend the bulk of my time with her (although I have some neat business developments coming) and just go with the flow – a huge challenge for me! It has been great fun and I wouldn’t change any of it. In these few short months I learned some valuable life lessons, not necessarily in any order:

· I would go on vacation once a month if we could work it out. But schedules and commitments don’t allow for that, so instead we find creative ways to make some fun each day!

· I don’t enjoy eating in restaurants nearly as often as I once did. In June my husband and I decided to try Suze Orman’s suggestion to eat in for an entire month in order to eat healthier and to see what impact it had on our wallets. We made it most of the month (we did go out for Father’s Day and then got a little lazy during the last week) and discovered that we really prefer to eat at home. It is less complicated and we don’t have to wait for a table. Financially we saved some but spent more on groceries. The amount saved would add up over time though, and if you’re a habitual dine-out type and want to save some money I would definitely recommend it. The experiment period is past and we have eaten at home a lot more since.

· I don’t have to be such a creature of habit. As I said, I have spent the better part of the summer going with the flow, which is a big challenge because I work best with daily structure. But I learned to adapt by seizing opportunities to work at odd times and have still managed to complete some business projects. I’ve relearned that each day is a new day and shaking up your routine can actually make you more productive and creative!

· Romantic ideas are sometimes just that. Who hasn’t daydreamed of that fabulous career that marries fresh air and immeasurable success? Two years ago I started gardening in my back yard and did so well that I began fantasizing about supplying fresh produce to local restaurants. The first year we had a great crop of tomatoes; last year I grew so many cucumbers that I made 20 pints of pickles! This year? It has been hot and dry, we’ve had more pests than ever devouring everything and nothing has done well. How DID my grandparents make a living at this? Back indoors for me…

· I really, really like working. This is a good thing. I enjoy clients, I like structure, and I like developing products and services to help make peoples’ lives a little easier. So maybe it’s o.k. that my hobby farm didn’t work!

· Tweeting, Facebooking, blogging, LinkedIn-ing, You-Tubing, etc. can simply take over your life. I have done it all, and I strongly recommend being very, very focused about how and when you use any of it!

· Recession is a drag. Almost everyone has been negatively affected in some way, and no one likes feeling out of control. My greatest hope, though, is that there will be positive outcomes of learning what is really important to us; that we identify our core values and learn how to let some of the other “stuff” go.

To that effect, if you or someone you know would like to schedule a free consultation, I would love to get it on the calendar! My goal is to deliver 25 free consultations (yes, really)during the month of September, so either call or text me, 972-333-5932, or send an e-mail message to consultation@pilotcoaching.com.

I also offer some a la carte services to provide cost-effective alternatives to one-on-one coaching and still provide a kick start to help you move ahead more quickly and strategically. In addition to the e-courses, “Life in Focus” and “Career in Focus” I now offer resume critique and cover letter development, and an individual one-time goal-setting/strategy session. Again, contact me via e-mail, or phone or text me at 972-333-5932. Let’s schedule a consultation to see what might work for you within your financial and time budgets.

New! Sign Up for a One-Hour Goal-Setting/Strategy Session

Some new “a la carte” services have been added to my practice. I recently announced that I am offering resume critique and cover letter development; I’m also very excited to begin offering a one-hour goal-setting/strategy session.

Many of you with whom I have spoken recently have expressed hesitation to commit to coaching for financial reasons which I completely understand and respect. The irony is that this may be a time in your life when you most need the objective focus and support that the one-on-one coaching relationship provides. That is why I want to offer a great way for you to get that support, focus and strategy you need right now.

A one-hour goal-setting/strategy session actually will require quite a bit more than one hour of our time, but that is the amount of time we will actually spend talking together in a formal session. I will send you written material ahead of our call so that we can sort through as much information as possible before we talk. There will be a series of questions I will ask you about what Is working and what isn’t in your life and/or career, and we will correspond by e-mail as we work through that. Then we can spend the time on our call getting very, very specific about what you want and your plan of action. Following our call I will send you a written summary of the outcomes of our session.

The charge for this service is an affordable $175.00. No surprise fees added later, no bombarding you with sales pitches afterward. When we finish, you will walk away with goals and strategies we generate together and hopefully a clearer, fresher outlook. If you want to get started, send a message to gwen@coachgwen.com with “goal session” in the subject line. If you’re not sure, call or e-mail me for a free consultation. Let’s get started!