I have to say I start to feel saddened and not a little frustrated when women say to me that they can’t justify the time or money for coaching. I mean why wouldn’t you want a better life? Why would you not want to invest in yourself, after all you are your most valuable resource. Because you are the only person in the world who can take responsibility for yourself. It is no one else’s job to make you feel right/ better/ sexy/ brilliant/ glamorous/ successful .. your’s and your’s alone.

I do realize that I’m having a bit of a rant but I also realize that I need to take some responsibility here to help people “get” coaching. Coaching is about all kinds of things, but most of all it’s about learning and it’s about change and as we do that we develop and we flourish as human beings. Change can only happen if you have the confidence and the courage to step out of your comfort zone and make that change happen and coaching can helps with that. Last year I worked with a lovely young woman whose confidence was shot to pieces, now she is flying having stopped doing what she felt she ought to do and doing what she loves. The space of coaching helped her work it out for herself but the real work went on out there in her real world. I have numerous other stories and you can read their testimonials by clicking here.

It’s never never too late as anyone who saw the recent excellent BBC series the Young Ones will have seen. That was based on positive psychology and the changes in those volunteers was phenomenal, the change in their self belief was amazing and the youngest was in his late 70’s. And if you think you have got to the end of your life journey and have attained all your goals then think again. I have just been wowed by my own achievements over the last 10 years and the learning and change that has taken place, much of that through coaching.

If you invest in yourself you will undoubtedly see a fantastic return on your investment but coaching is a two way thing and it won’t work for you if you just want the coach to fix it. It will only work if you are prepared to put in some work too. So I urge you if any of what I have said connects with you call me, I want to hear your story and I will tell you how I can help you. And if this is not for you then call me too and tell me why or add a comment to my blog. And I am no longer restricting myself to the North West, I am challenging myself to search for world domination in my chosen niche, in particular women who are experiencing, are recovering from or live with the legacy of postnatal depression. However your story may be different and I want to hear that too and it only costs a phone call.

Let me finish with this quote that encapsulates what I have been trying to say “Learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow” Mahatma Ghandi

Why would you want to join a group coaching programme? I can think of a thousand reasons. You want to do something different, you want to find out more about yourself, you want to be with other women, you want to achieve something and don’t know how to get there. And you may even have some fun. Sounds good so far so what isn’t it? it’s definitely not therapy, it’s not about fixing something, it’s not about being needy or anything like that. It’s about taking charge of your life, learning about yourself and working towards what you want instead of what everybody else wants! There are other plus sides like it’s cheaper than one to one life coaching and other people to support you and hold you accountable for what you say you’ll do. Lots of feedback and ideas from other group members

So if you want to try it I’m running a programme of 6 women’s workshops starting next month at a venue near Chester and I’m really excited about it. There’s more information if you click here and book a place at the speacial early bird rate which is available until Sept 23rd.

I was with a coaching client last week and we were talking about fun and I was reminded about a set of cards I have called “The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun” created by Michael Bungay Stanier of www.BoxofCrayons.biz. I’m aware that I write about quite serious topics and thought it was time for a bit of fun!

Sadly I think too often we forget fun in our busy lives. There is a great tendency to take life so seriously. On my recent holiday in France we were staying in a gite owned by a local wine grower and his wife, Marc and Cathy Cros. In fact our gite was over the vats where the wine was maturing which explains the smell of wine as went up the stairs to where we were staying! They are a lovely couple and Marc, in particular, always seems happy and smiling. He just doesn’t take life too seriously. We always say we want to bring a bit of Marc back with us!

My favourite principle is number 3 which I’ve always loved and it says:-

“Stop following the rules
• With the exception of gravity, almost all of the rules are negotiable – someone just makes them up
• It’s no longer about what you can’t do
• It’s about what you can do.”

And there’s this great quote from the actress, Katharine Hepburn “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun”. So think of all the rules you make up and start breaking them, just one at a time and feel the mischief bubble up inside you and have a smile

And on a more serious note having fun brings more balance into our lives and as someone I know, who has recently lost his wife in tragic circumstances said in an e mail this week “laughter certainly does help raise the spirit”. I love to bring fun into my life coaching and I love to bring fun into the lives of my clients too!! So whatever’s going on in your life right now even if you’re facing trauma, postnatal depression, breast cancer, divorce or maybe you’re just a busy woman struggling to keep all those balls in the air just look out for the fun, however small it is.