Coaching and Triathlons

You’ve just got to love autumn. People say Easter is the time of rebirth and renewal, but for me it’s always been September. I affectionately call it ‘the return of boot season’. The air is crisp, the leaves put on a show, and everyone has at least a little bit of that ‘back to school’ feeling. We enroll in things; courses, plans of action, possibilities. Tom Hanks’ character in ‘You’ve Got Mail’ captured the romance of fall when he said “It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly- sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” If that didn’t make you smile and sit up a little straighter, you didn’t see the movie.

This September marked two big new enrollments for me. One was the launch of my Coaching Company, CMQ Coaching and Training. The other was my launch into the world of triathlons. They seem like two very different things, but to use my favorite new made-up word, they are inextricably ‘intertwangled’.

Business and Life Success Coaching is a natural progression for me.  After working for years as a Corporate Coach and Trainer, and leading and managing teams, I recognized that my favorite and most effective part of my job was always working one on one with individuals to overcome obstacles, find their inspiration, and help turn their dreams into reality.  I’ve partnered my experience and corporate coach training with Coach Training Alliance’s Certified Coaching Program, and become an active member of the International Coaching Federation.  I’m working primarily with independent professionals, and with business owners and their teams, identifying their most compelling goals, and then working together to make them reality.  Most of the coaching is done over the phone, allowing me to work with people all over the continent…and beyond!  I love my work.  My own personal mission is to gradually increase the ‘wow factor’ for everyone on the planet by helping each person I have the opportunity to affect become clearer, happier, more successful (however they choose to qualify that) and more engaged in this amazing life.  Pretty lofty, huh.  Well, that’s just what a mission needs to be, provided you’re willing to do the work to make it a reality.

One of the goals I set for myself a few months back was to run the Na Wahine Sprint Triathlon in Honolulu.  I was inspired by three things; the few pounds of happy fat that were finding their way to my waistline, the Triathlon fever that hits Penticton, the place I live, each year as our Ironman Canada event begins to take shape, and the news from my brother Rob that he’d just finished a sprint triathlon, and had loved the experience.  If he could do it, so could I!  I found a plan on the internet, posted it in my workspace, got a water bottle, a swim cap and some goggles, and set to work.  More often than not, I didn’t really feel like doing the training, especially the running.  Each time my spirits lagged, I’d imagine I was running the course in Kapiolani Park, picturing the exact view, hearing the crashing surf in my ears, imagining the smell of the ocean air, feeling the soft running path below my feet.  It kept me going.  There were last minute hiccups.  A last minute swarm of jellyfish cancelled the swim portion of the race.  My support team (I love you all!) forgot my transition bag at home while I rode my bike to the park the morning of the race.  Ten minutes before I was to run, my man Greg was sizing up women’s feet, contemplating offering them anything for their size 9 runners as my brother Mike raced back to the house for my shoes.  I just managed to jam them on my feet and sprint to the start line in time for the gun.  We were off!  There’s something magical about having the moment that you’ve used as a visualization/motivation exercise over and over be real and manifest, happening in the moment, right there under your very own running shoes!  It was a big ‘wow’ for me.  I finished well ahead of the time I’d projected for myself, and had one of the fastest bike times in my age group.  Not bad for a former couch potato!

So, what does that have to do with starting a coaching practice?  Triathlons are a test, and they’re not one you can cram for.  I knew that whatever work I skipped along the way was going to show up in a painful way on race day, or worse yet, keep me from showing up at all.  Life holds the exact same equation.  One of my favorite thinkers, Earl Nightingale, comes straight to the point of the matter.  He says “if a person does not prepare for his success, when the opportunity comes, it will only make him look foolish. You’ve probably heard it said repeatedly that luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity. It is only when you’ve paid the price to be ready for your success that you will be in a position to take advantage of your opportunities when they arise. And the most remarkable thing is this: The very act of preparation attracts to you, like iron filings to a magnet, opportunities to use that preparation to advance your life. You’ll seldom learn anything of value, or prepare yourself in any area, without soon having a chance to use your new knowledge and your new skills to move ahead more rapidly.”  Thank you, Mr. Nightingale.  Starting a new business, coaching or otherwise, like doing a triathlon, is about identifying the exact outcome you desire, visualizing it completely, determining exactly what actions are required to make it happen, and then taking those actions.  It’s that last part that can slip away on us.  It is, however, exactly that; the taking of actions, that attracts the filings.  When you do the work, you get more than you bargained for.  The moments of serendipity, the opportune phone calls that come out of the blue, the key connections that people are suddenly eager to help you make, the perfect lesson or the right book that falls into your lap at the most amazing time, those are the products of your labour.  Those are the ‘filings’ that you are drawing to you.  I’m so thankful for the opportunities, the wonderful clients, associates and mentors and lessons I’ve encountered over the past month.  I know it’s a result of being clear with my intention, and of following my plan.  What was the ‘aha’ moment for me in all this?  Launching a business, running that race, helping my clients get the results they’re after; they’re all that same equation.  Vision, mission and goals?  Belief?  Inspiration?  While they’re the best place to begin, they’re just the beginning.  They’re a key beginning, but without action they’re just dreams.  It is action and results that are inextricably linked, intertwangled, if you’ll allow me that one more time.  Average action, average results.  Good action, good results.  Inspired action, backed by a clear vision and an ocean full of belief, and all of a sudden, something magnetic starts to happen, and you’re on your way!

I wish you all the success you can dream of!  If you’d like to experience coaching for yourself or your team, please contact me for a complimentary session at contact@carolmcquaid.com

Ask the Coach

Looking For Clues Dear Coach, Is there some exercise that people can do earlier on in life to discover their strengths and weaknesses, not only to build on them, but also to help choose a career path? There are so many of us drifting around like lost souls, trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up! M.C. Dear M.C., Wouldn’t it be great if we could all emerge from high school armed with a diploma and a crystal clear understanding of who we are and what we’re best suited for? That’d be an education worthy of all our tax dollars! For most, there’s a world of experimenting, exploring and developing that needs to happen before we begin to piece together a good picture of our potential, our true interests and an idea of who we can be. Having said that, there are a few really good places I can think of to start looking for clues. Who are your heroes?  There’s all kinds of information in who we choose to look up to.  My list of heroes include Dick Hoyt, Earl Nighingale and the multi-talented artist Jewel.  Think about why you admire the people on your own list; what skills or values they personify that draw you to them.  This will give you a pretty good idea about your key values. What do people ask you for help with?  Nobody, but nobody is going to ask me to come over and help them clean their house.  That’s a given.  I’m also probably off the hook if you want your walls painted.  If you want a picture painted, that’s a different story.  People are going to ask you for help when they believe you can deliver.  If yours is the shoulder people cry on, there’s a good chance you’re compassionate.  If you consistently get the call when someone is in hot water, chances are you’re a great problem solver under pressure.  Help hiding the body?  You’re loyal and discreet (if perhaps a bit compromising).       What shortcomings in others really grate your cheese or if you prefer, get under your skin?  The things that are likely to bother us most in someone else tend to bear a striking resemblance to the same things we fear they’d complain about in us. After thinking about (or perhaps journaling on) these questions, I’d suggest making your own list.  Rather than ‘weaknesses’, think of that second list as “opportunities for growth”.  It sounds like semantics, but the power of word choices is an amazing thing.  Looking at an inventory of our perceived shortcomings does nothing to inspire.  Looking at a collection of opportunities puts us in ‘possibility thinking’ mode. Then, add a third list called “Things That Really Matter To Me”.  This last column, I can assure you, will be far more important in determining direction than any perceived ability.  It’s this last column that is going to provide you with the motivation to take any persistent action.  Calvin Coolidge once said “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence: Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men (and women) with great talent.  Genius will not: unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” So there you go.  If you really, really follow through with this exercise, no matter what stage of your journey you are at, I think you’ll find it a little easier to chart your course.  Happy sailing! Carol Recommended Reading   Think Big Act Small This book is a must read for anyone interested in long-term business success (that’s all of us, isn’t it?). It is self-confessed “simple common sense” in straight-forward language. Jennings and his research team identify and investigate what they consider to be the 9 companies in America with the most consistent revenue and profit increases year after year. What did they find? Here’s a hint; big egos and rigid 10 year plans aren’t on the list. This book is all about fundamentals, and they’ll apply to you if you have two or two thousand employees. It’s about doing what’s right, growing leaders, and creating an environment that fosters a sense of belonging for team members. With chapter titles like “Down To Earth”, “Keep Your Hands Dirty” and “Build Communities”, this book will help create companies that attract and keep the best people. A chapter on inventing new businesses contains the great adage “Volume is vanity, and profit is sanity”. So often we look at the revenue potential of a new idea without following the thought through to the real bottom line. This chapter addresses the folly of seemingly ambitious moves that may improve sales or create favorable short-term numbers but do nothing for the long term benefit of the organization. This book will have your wheels turning. Think Big Act Small will be recommended; from business leaders to their team members, and from team members to their leaders! I’ll be reviewing a book each month in this newsletter. For a list of my current favorites, please check out my Reading List on my website at www.cmqcoaching.com