Category: Coaching

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365 Coaching Tips: the 13th, 14th and 15th Days

January 13th Coaching Tip: Family Talks. In our coaching work, we help our colleagues and coachees as they prep for crucial conversations. In Kerry Patterson’s book, “Crucial Conversations,” most crucial conversations don’t even happen, and then when they do, they don’t go well. Therefore, we as coaches help our colleagues practice these important convos. Today, a husband and wife indicated that they want to bring on at least one of their two sons into their business. They both were thinking this, but they had nothing in writing, nor anything that either of them could confidently replicate with clarity. The husband and wife soon realized that they weren’t even on the same page about their sons. The mother wanted the son(s) to be “hungry”, and the father wanted to be more “helpful” to his son(s). Because of this contrast, I encouraged them both to get on the same page, literally draft it up, prep for the conversations with each son, and then have a family talk with both sons, so that both sons heard a clear message about their parent’s intent. Then, if either son wants to enter the business in the future and they want to discuss the opportunity further, the four of them would potentially have a more solid foundation. Remember, have those crucial family talks.

January 14th Coaching Tip: Plan Ahead. Whether its travel for work or vacation downtime, or getting groceries for a Sunday brunch planned with friends, or an early morning Uber ride to the airport, plan ahead. This week I’ll be in a number of hotels, crossing multiple state lines, and in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar work colleagues. Thus, I planned ahead by truly looking at the map, understanding drive times and locations, and knowing when I need to be where. Thinking about my personal routines, I even bought my cold brew the night before, got up this morning and was rollin’ with my favorite coffee while reading my devotionals. This allowed me to get ready and arrive to an unfamiliar office 20 minutes in advance (instead of rushing into a coffee shop and then being dissatisfied with my morning java). Knowing that I could walk to this office in just 2-3 minutes from the hotel that I picked (so that I wouldn’t even have to get in the car and drive/commute), I was able to stick to my normal morning routine, and the workday started as normalized as I possibly could have done. Folks, plan ahead to help reduce stress and you’ll be surprised how much it increases your efficiency.

January 15th Coaching Tip: Stop Burnout. My word for 2025 is REDUCE. Being true to that word, I have been starting to say “no” to certain things and starting to say “yes” to myself. Today, I coached two teams who were “burned out, bored, (not thriving).” After listening to what was going on, they shared that they have a) too many clients, b) many of those clients don’t pay them, c) they are simple clients and d) could be served by someone else more effectively and happily. Gently, we all looked at one another after I had them repeat what they said, “we have too many clients who consume our time and don’t pay us (much).” In my coaching work, we remind our coachees that it is YOUR business. You make the decisions. You select your clients. You can say “yes,” and you can also say “no”. My recommendation is for you to clearly identify WHO you want to serve and then stick to it. Serve clients that make you smile, that you truly want to help, that take your advice/pay for your expertise, and you both grow from helping each other. Say YES to the right clients, and that will help reduce burnout.

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365 Coaching Tips: Days 10, 11 & 12

January 10th Coaching Tip: Practice. Yes, I said practice. This week, I had a number of people call me to practice their upcoming crucial conversations or practice with new sales scripts that they want to utilize in 2025 to help grow their business. In a matter of just a few minutes, the practicing helped their confidence grew. One person needed help pulling together their talking points and a timeline for the huge decision they are making to retire in about 18 months; I listened to them as they practiced, and they became more and more confident as they got clearer and more organized in their thoughts. Another person needed help with a script to help him remove exhausting clients who pay very little and take a lot of time. After a few practice conversations, he felt affirmed in what he was saying and was ready to share it with this handful of exhausting clients. As for me, practicing my sprints a couple times a week is helping me build confidence that I can run sprints in my 60’s without getting hurt. So, bottom line: Practice!

January 11th Coaching Tip: Challenge Yourself. It’s amazing what you CAN DO, if you just challenge yourself a bit more. For example, if you only have 15 minutes to get a task done, isn’t it amazing how efficient you can become and get the bulk of the task done? I find this in my life if friends are on their way or close by and want to drop in for a quick visit. I say yes, and then quickly get stuff picked up around the house and get it a bit more orderly.

Believe it or not, I’m also finding this “challenge yourself” to be true as I’m training for the National Senior Games; my ability to do multiple sprints as a 60-year-old is encouraging. Now I’m checking other sprinters’ times, just to see how much quicker I need to be. Challenge yourself or hire a coach to challenge you and help hold you accountable.

January 12th Coaching Tip.Help Others. The fires in Los Angeles, CA are apocalyptic in nature, and I feel like there is absolutely nothing that I personally can do. And yet there IS something that I can do. After watching closely which organizations were “showing up to help others”, I chose to support the World Central Kitchen. During a time of a disaster of this magnitude (and in our own country that is impacting people who work for the same company that I work for), the state of someone’s food, water, and housing security are second to none.

Find a way to “help others” (instead of complaining about this or that or pointing the finger at what should have been done or at certain people). We all want angels and good people to help us when we are down; so, “help others.” Find your way to help, in your own way.

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365 Coaching Tips: Now on day 7, 8 & 9

It takes commitment and consistent execution to implement a new habit, and I’m really liking this new habit of identifying a coaching tip (or trend) daily. We have made the first hurdle of implementing a new habit, and that’s doing it intentionally for at least one week.

January 7th Coaching Tip: Be Specific. With the new year beginning and my coaching work ramping up, a number of my coaching sessions have been focused on “I want to grow my business.” I simply ask, “can you be more specific?” That’s when it can get quiet. The silence spurs more questions from me. Ultimately, these types of questions get asked: “how will you grow”, “how will you spend your time differently”, “who are you targeting”, “what should you not do this year”, “which type of clients do you want to replicate”. The more specific that you can be about what you want to accomplish, I find it’s more likely that you will be successful. And further research indicates that if you write down, share them with key people, and then make them visible, you are much more likely to succeed. For example, I have post-it notes on my mirrors and desks that remind me of my quarterly goals. Everyday, I am looking at those specific goals.

January 8th Coaching Tip: Backup Plans. We don’t want to think about backup plans, but when we have them, we sure are happy when we can quickly and somewhat effortlessly put them in motion. Today, on two different occasions, I was working with coaching situations where there was no backup planning by the coachee; they had one plan and just assumed it would go as planned. As I asked a few questions, I could quickly tell that they needed to think more broadly and thoughtfully, regarding a backup/2nd or even a 3rd scenario. One situation was already in turmoil and they were in triage mode, losing sleep, begging for assistance, etc. We quickly put together a plan for a 2nd and 3rd option in both cases. Backup plans are necessary for many stages in our life journey; don’t be surprised when things re-route you. Have a plan and be ready to pivot, or at least somewhat ready.

January 9th Coaching Tip: Measure Frequently. If any of my coachees want to execute on a new goal, I ask them, “what are you measuring, and how frequently are you measuring it?” For example, one of my coachees wants to grow their business by 15% in 2025. We talked about reviewing the results monthly, measuring progress weekly, and assessing and tracking daily activity that contributes to growth. For me, I have some goals this summer to be able to run faster. Therefore, I’m tracking three things daily: my VO2MAX level on my Apple watch, my weight every morning, and my times when I run sprints weekly. If my VO2MAX increases, and I weigh a bit less all while continuing to run my sprints a bit faster weekly, I should run faster this summer that I ran in June 2024. Guess what? Nine days into the new year, my VO2MAX has increased and I’ve dropped a pound or two. Progress, bit by bit.

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365 Coaching Tips: For Days 4, 5 & 6

We’re on a roll here, and the coaching tips are evident in these three coaching tips.

January 4 Coaching Tip: Stay connected. Friends and family really matter to your overall wellness. The Blue Zones research by Dan Buettner indicates that having a purpose and regular social connections are two of the most important keys to longevity that Buettner revealed in his research. I also find this to be true; I thrive on getting my crew together. Today, I had the opportunity to attend a ball game with two of my Indiana University teammates. Since I had a couple extra tickets to that game, I gave them to my high school basketball coach. As if that wasn’t enough, I looked up in to the audience and there was one of my high school teammates and a gal that I used to ride the school bus with. We all connected, smiled, and are intentionally staying in touch via getting out of the house, going to support college women play basketball…something that we all did years ago.

January 5 Coaching Tip: Make Plans. My vacation days are already booked on my personal and work calendar; also shared them with my partner. Why? Because vacations and making those memories are a huge contributor to my overall wellness. Another tip that I have implemented for years is to take four days of vacation but get 9-10 days off. How? Utilize the 3-day weekends with holidays to maximize your vacation, i.e. Memorial Day is always the last Monday in May, so take the Tuesday thru Friday off in late May. You will have a great start to your summer and only utilized four vacation days. Same for Labor Day, in early September; take those four days off after Labor Day, it makes for a nice wrap of your summer.

January 6 Coaching Tip: Get Organized. Most people establish “New Year’s Resolutions” at the beginning of the year, and then most resolutions dissipate by the end of January. My recommendation is to get organized. What does that look like for me? Yesterday, I spent the bulk of the workday creating high priority Outlook email folders and deleting years of irrelevant or outdated folders. The clutter went away quickly, and it did not take that long. Also did that same organization with my own personal Gmail account. This gave me the feeling of less clutter, more organized, and now allows for more focus on my priorities, which are easily reinforced now with this act of getting organized with my email.

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365 Coaching Tips: Let’s Get Started with The First Three

In mid-November 2024, I decided to set my goals for 2025. One of the 10 most important goals was to “blog regularly (daily and weekly) about relevant topics in my coaching work.” Setting the goals and putting them in motion before the end of 2024 allowed me to get rolling along. Must admit, I’m proud of my progress as we all launch into 2025.

So, let’s get started with my first three coaching tips.

January 1st Coaching Tip: Pick one word. One word that YOU can leverage throughout the year, that will empower you, motivate you, slow you down, or speed you up, or help you make decisions. As shared in my January 1, 2025 post, my one word for 2025 is REDUCE. (see it for more on why I chose the word “REDUCE”.)

January 2nd Coaching Tip: Explain why. If you want something done or have a need to delegate to someone else or have to reschedule an appointment, quickly explain why and/or what’s going on. Most humans with a heart (and a brain, with some type of empathy) will understand and be flexible. Just two days into the new year, I found myself having to change a few appointments; for example, when I quickly shared that my 84-year-old mother wanted to have lunch with her three adult kids, everyone I spoke to quickly realized, “moms win!”

January 3rd Coaching Tip: Find your best times. Find your best times to work, when you’re really uninterrupted and in flow; also find the times when your body thrives on exercise. And of course, find the times and take them when you need some downtime. In wearing my Oura ring now for nearly 5 years, my most active time each day is around 9:00am E. My best work is done in the morning, immediately after my important quiet-time reading my devotionals while enjoying my cold brew(s).

One of my priorities in 2025 is to share what I learn in my coaching. My hope is that it will help you in your leadership, life, parenting, family, wellness, relationship, etc. journeys. Let’s keep these coaching tips rolling all year long. Hold me accountable.

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Repurposing My Time

Since December 19th (2024), I’ve taken a number of consecutive days off, and won’t return to full duty work until January 6th (2025). Already liking how it feels, i.e. days off with no vacation planned. Let me explain what I’m thinking.

Whether I retire from my corporate run at two Fortune 100 companies in 15, 10, 5 years, or even in 1 year, my intention is to repurpose how I utilize my time. We all have 24 hours in a day, and I don’t intend on “retiring”. There’s too much to do still in my life. In fact, truly believe that my most impactful work in helping others is coming next. As they say, “The best is yet to come!”

Recently, I repurposed my time (from working 8 hours/day) to this:

Wake up, take more time to enjoy my coffee and read my devotionals, journal my wellness goals and activity, get my exercise done, contact key people in my life, plan healthy meals and then prep those healthier meals (than in the past), drive to meet contractors to check on my next real estate project, read the newspapers/magazines/books that have piled up, organize some stacks that needed attention for quite a while, and figure out ways to help others by understanding the most important needs of the community.

Bottom line, I like how these last few days have felt. Remember, no vacation planned. Just me being at home. It actually felt healthier than trying to squeeze all of these items in, while making work the “priority” from 7am (getting all ready, driving to work, or going upstairs for remote work) until 5pm-ish.

Yes, I’m grateful for the work that I’ve been doing since 1986 in the corporate world; it’s all provided me with a wonderful lifestyle and with ample healthcare and travel opportunities. However, I’m ready to utilize my God-given skills to help others, to help them become better citizens of the world, via business, real estate, non-profits. I even think there’s room for the world to learn how to be a better daughter (since I have the most amazing mother), sister, aunt, friend, neighbor, god-mom, etc.

How will you repurpose your time, when you make the decision to retire? Whenever I chose to make this move, I’m going to be ready. Why? In my coaching work, I’ve seen countless people who have “retired” and have not spent enough time figuring out what they are moving to, how will they spend their time, identify what do they deeply care about, etc.

Coach Jen tip: Don’t wait, think ahead, plan and prep on how you will repurpose your time, before you retire. If you need a coach to help you with repurposing of your time, get one.

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My One Word for 2025: Reduce

Yes, REDUCE.

Yes, I also use the phrase, “Just Go!” quite often. So why am I making the choice to select REDUCE as my word for 2025? Let me tell you all the reasons.

  1. Reduce plastic usage. Simply, plastic is not healthy, as more and more research is revealing how microplastics are in nearly every new baby born in the USA. What are a few new habits that I have already instituted in my daily routines: a) drinking my cold brew every morning now in a glass, not a plastic glass. b) utilizing a metal tea strainer instead of tea in a plastic tea bag. c) warming up food in the microwave on cookware, and not in plastic re-usable containers. d) carrying water in two metal containers throughout the day and refilling them, instead of having the urge to buy bottled water. e) all vehicles now have re-usable bags to carry groceries, to help reduce the plastic bag excess that is everywhere.
  2. Reduce my weight. In late July and early August, I intend to be running sprints and shooting baskets at the 2025 National Senior Games in Des Moines, Iowa. My goal is to drop down to 148 pounds, so that I can run just a bit quicker against these fast senior women from across the USA. As for habits, a) I must continue my 2024 habit more consistently of writing down daily my food intake as well as my exercise and weighing myself daily. When I do these three things daily, I lose weight. b) I must buy clean eating groceries, i.e. greens, sweet potatoes, salmon, fruit, much less chocolate, etc. c) I must reduce having the urge every single day to have some chocolate. Instead, have a piece of fruit or a strawberry or a piece of gum, make a cup of tea, or have a diet ginger ale.
  3. Reduce my food intake, especially reducing sugar. See #2. The sugar addiction that I have, along with many others, can be reduced when I set my mind to do it. New habits: a) Just say NO to chocolate and say YES to naturally sweet items like fruit. b) We love chocolate covered strawberries, so that may be the new “treat” while we reduce chocolate and sugar. c) eat less, as it is much better for my colon-less system. I feel better when I eat less.
  4. Reduce work drama. Not sure if I will work til 75 years old, 70, 65, or 61, but there’s zero need to get caught up in work drama. Just do my work and be grateful for the impacts that I make with my coaching work. New habit in 2025: just don’t engage and smile/nod, press forward.
  5. Reduce my jogging pace/mile and sprinting times. See #2. My goal is to be a role model for others, as a senior athlete. That means I need to be a bit quicker and also remain safe, i.e. no injuries and be healthy. I must continue my 2024 habits of regularly doing sprints and high intensity interval training a couple times per week, and my lifting and strength training also a couple times weekly. Also want to gather some advice from some other sprinters and runners on how to run quicker.
  6. Reduce screen time. The amount of time that we all are spending on screen time/scrolling is ridiculous. Of course it’s helpful when I’m intentionally staying in touch with family and friends, and keeping up with my work and real estate inquiries and projects. However, reading before I go to bed is going to be a new 2025 habit. Read a devotional or 10-20 pages of a book. I really like history, geography, and travel books, so it’s time to consume them.

Reduce. I like the sound of it. What’s YOUR word for 2025? What are your new habits to help make it a reality?

Happy New Year and here’s hoping that you have a great year with special times and superb health. Coach Jen

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Falls Kill – 10 Tips to Keep You Upright

When I was 42 years old, I broke both wrists horribly during a Sunday afternoon game of full court basketball with other women players. The fall didn’t kill me, however as we age, falls kill. According to AARP, falls that cause hip fractures are to blame for nearly 30 percent of fall deaths among adults 65 and older. These unintentional falls are the leading cause of injury and death for seniors.

In recently finishing Peter Attia’s book, “Outlive”, he spent a full chapter on stability. And I’ve been working on my stability with a variety of exercises. Why? Because during my 50’s, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. At 60 years old now, here’s my small and simple list of exercises that I do to help improve my balance and stability:

  1. One leg step ups, 12 on a side. Three sets.
  2. Squats, 15 reps, 3 sets. Add weights to each side, go slowly up to 15 reps, 3 sets.
  3. Brush your teeth standing on just one leg, then switch. Do it for 2 minutes in the morning and also in the evening while brushing your teeth.
  4. Lunges, with and without weights. Three sets of 18.
  5. Going up stairs with hand on rail, two steps at a time. Yes, two steps at a time. Think knee to chest or marching movements.
  6. Coming down the stairs with one hand on the rail, one step at a time. Keep your eyes on the step. Don’t multi-task and don’t carry too many items.
  7. Toe/ankle raises, as you floss your teeth and then again when using mouthwash. Every evening.
  8. Abs; many varieties, like crunches, bicycles, leg lifts, med ball turns, planks.
  9. Get on the floor and do three sets of bridges and birddogs, 15 reps, then get upright without using anything to pull you up. Yes, that’s right, stand up with zero help.
  10. Wear a watch or device, so that can call someone IF you do fall. (Ex: I wear an Apple watch, now that I’m 60, when I’m taking a shower, exercising and doing projects inside and outside of the home). Also wear identification. (Ex: I wear a RoadID bracelet; it identifies who I am, who to call, and what allergies that I have).
  11. Free extra tip: Buy some nightlights so that we can see in the evenings and early morning hours, when nature calls or you need something to drink. There is no reason to fall because you didn’t want to turn on the light.

The cost for some of the devices (Apple Watch + Road ID bracelet + night lights) are less than $1,000. However, the return on this investment could be life changing. And then doubled or tripled when you add in the stability and balance exercises mentioned above in #1-#9.

Being Fit and 60 takes some work, and it’s my goal to stay upright for as long as possible. And if I do fall, then I have a way to communicate/call someone and if I’m found, others have three names who to call.

Recommendation: Since falls kill, recommend that you start now and do a few things daily and weekly to help improve your balance and stability. This will help your body react, if you take a bad step off of a curve or a rail lets loose or a step breaks or you’re bumped in to by another person. You can also control many things, including wearing a watch with calling capability and an ID that will help people act quickly. Give me a ring or message if you’d like to chat further about your stability or balance goals.

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Fit and 60

How fit are you now? How fit do you want to be and by when? What do you know you need to do to implement your desired outcome(s)? These are questions that I am really asking myself now, as I recently turned 60 years old.

Maybe some context will help here. In May 2022, I was invited to watch my bestie play women’s basketball at the National Senior Games in Fort Lauderdale, FL. In one word, it was: INSPIRING. She played and dominated in the 55-59 year-old age group, as well as her age group of 60-64. She won the gold medal for team’s women’s basketball and was named the women’s basketball outstanding player. While in Ft. Lauderdale, I completed the “Senior Athlete Fitness Exam” (SAFE). Quickly realized that I was in pretty good shape overall, but I was a bit overweight and I also needed to improve my balance (due to osteoporosis) and my unflexible ankles.

Fast forward 2.5 years later, I’ve lost 12 pounds thru really focusing on reducing sugars in my overall food intake, focusing on high quality sleep of 7 hours with a heart rate that lowers to the low 50’s, eating 400-500 less calories on most days by tracking what I put in my mouth with a food journal, exercising 12-22 minutes more per day (than previously) and with more intensity. completing balance exercises two times daily, and other doing strength training exercises multiple times per week. And yes, for the last two years, I got an annual infusion for my osteoporosis. However, the other items mentioned above give me the greatest hope, especially after recently reading the audible book, “Outlive”, by Peter Attia, MD. He reinforced that exercise is the single greatest “medicine” that you can do.

Recommendations:

  1. Ask yourself how fit are you now? and then how fit do you want to be? Attia referenced the common items that occur in our 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and beyond that most want to do, but lose the ability to do: picking up a grandbaby, getting yourself up off the floor when playing with grandkids, hiking up some steps to the top of a stadium, bringing in the groceries with a bag in each arm, opening a tight jar, tossing your roller bag above your seat, traveling in car or RV or plane, walking to a ball game or musical performance, etc. You get the point: the ability to continue to easily be able to do these things will allow you to be “active and fit”, or “Fit and 60”. If you simply don’t know how fit you are, take a SAFE exam.
  2. Identify the gap(s), and make some slight changes. Attia indicates in his research that exercise has the greatest return on your investment of time, so any type of exercise is better than none. For example, if you are NOT walking, start walking 10-15 minutes/day. If you are not stretching, stretch during TV commercials 3-4 times/week. If you are struggling with your grip, start working on grip exercises with bi-cep curls. If you can’t get up off the floor without using both hands, start working on improving that to get up using just one hand. Anything is better than nothing.

If it can work for me, who’s been an athlete my entire life, then I know it can work for YOU.

Should you need any encouragement or other tips, send me a message. Coach Jen

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Surviving

During this Covid19 global pandemic, I have been faithfully watching the TV show, “Survivor.” The cast is competing, surviving, living minimalistically, and trying to figure out who to trust. Sound familiar to our daily lives, during this public health crisis right now?

We all are competing. For our lives. Our health. Our work. Our jobs. Our business. Our livelihood. Our stature pre and post Covid19. Our normalcy.

We are surviving. The majority of us are trying to stay healthy, and yet remain active. Millions are in food lines, many people and families that have never been in those lines. Thousands are recovering from the complications of Covid19, and thousands have passed. Millions globally are grieving, and wonder why did I make it, and others didn’t make it. Many just want their lives back to normal.

We are living minimalistically. For the last two months, I haven’t painted my toe and finger nails. And guest what? It’s ok. They are trimmed and clean. We haven’t gone out to eat, and only picked up carry-out a couple times. Our entertainment consists of watching Robin Roberts on Good Morning America at 7am E and then David Muir nighly at 630pm E on ABC. To keep those laughing, facial muscles in shape, we squeeze in some comedy regularly. Music rings daily through the house. Repetitive meals seem to be just fine, with very little variety . Even our clothes and make-up are simple and minimal. We are surviving, and it’s ok.

Aren’t we all trying to figure out who to trust during this pandemic? That’s a difficult one to figure out, right? Are our political and community leaders truly caring about our health and well-being, or trying to get re-elected? Are businesses re-opening with safety in mind, or money in mind? Are restaurants carefully preparing food, or are they just wanting to get it out the door for the carry-out order to be paid? Are our health care providers being provided what they need in a timely fashion, or are they being forced to cut corners as they care for all types of patients and diseases and emergencies?

Keep surviving, my friends, keep surviving. The last time that I seriously watched “Survivor” was when I was very ill, recovering from two surgeries in the first six months of 2000. Now that was surviving, as there were a few days that I didn’t think I would make it. But somehow, I did. We all survive in our own ways. Trust yourself, trust your instincts, and take care of yourself and others that you can impact. Survive, and look to Thrive.