The People I Meet Amaze Me!

I was really touched by the story I heard from Juan Galvis, founder ofThe Pet Wagon, a pet care service based in Durham, NC. Juan told me he lives a “Class-A” life, and he shared with me how he got there.

Ranked as one of the top golfers in Colombia, Juan had a solid athletic career before him. Many decisions, successes, challenges and changes later, Juan discovered his true passion: animals.

This is a lesson on so many levels. Whether you choose your passion as your career, or whether you dedicate time each week to support your hobbies, following your true interests is so important and it will always (yes: always!) lead you to good places in your life.

Stay tuned to this newsletter, and my blog, to read more about ordinary people and how they Make It A Good One in their daily lives. There are more stories out there…e-mail meyours!

Welcome to our inaugural Newsletter!

 At Make It A Good One, we partner with individuals, teams, organizations and businesses to set clear goals, craft strategies and take proper actions. We work with you to adopt practices that support efficiency and effectiveness, allowing you and your organization to more fully utilize its natural strengths.

I’m thrilled that you are interested in Making it A Good One – in being “one” with yourself, finding wholeness in all areas of your life. Right now, you may be thinking about your health, a business deal, a recent meeting, a relationship. You may be taking a walk, experiencing a frustration, suffering a loss, or lost in a pleasant thought or memory. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, you always have a choice to do something different, to be somewhere else, or at least to tell yourself a different story about whatever you are experiencing. Now, in this present moment you have the power to be in charge of your life! This is what Make It A Good One is all about.

Click here to read the Philosophy behind Make it A Good One.

Our first Not-Quick Tip is simple and deep: Notice! “Noticing” is the gift I treasured most during my coaching training withNewfield. I’ve started noticing what I was missing and by that I gained a richer world, more meaningful conversations, deeper experiences, more opportunities and possibilities, the ability to be in the moment and have clarity for the future, the capacity to feel grateful and the power to create what is missing.

When we decide to actively notice, we discover how blind we are! Notice your breathing and attitude, your tone of voice, posture and body language, your reactions and interactions, your environment, your choices, your words…and your silence… notice! Notice what others are doing, saying and asking, and how they are sitting or standing or sounding as they say or do it.

But how is this done? By being present in every moment, by telling yourself to notice, and by reflecting on what you noticed. With practice I’ve learned to set myself in a “mute” mode for a few minutes and just listen, eyes open and fully aware of my surroundings and my emotions. To turn this idea into a habit, try keeping a “Noticing Journal.” At the end of each day write down what you noticed. You might like it, and journaling might become your healthy habit as well. Two for the price of one!

What blocks our ability to notice? When we are invested in a certain outcome, we will only see or hear what we want to perceive. When we are tired or stressed and feeling that we have no time, we pass through our days as if our life were a constant race without a finish line. We may even think we notice, but we don’t. We operate on “automatic pilot” without authentic awareness – without really noticing the precious moments, things, people, comments and events in our lives. So here I pose a question: It is your life, do you notice it?

Practicing the art of noticing will bring you more gifts than you can imagine. – Orit Ramler Szulik

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Don’t Work and What to Do About It

By Michael E. Gerber

Voted #1 business book by Inc. 500 CEOs, this book explores small business by focusing on leadership, management and even the roles we play in life. Gerber writes, “the problem is that everybody who goes into business is actually three-people-in-one: The Entrepreneur, The Manager, and The Technician…the problem is compounded by the fact that while each of these personalities wants to be the boss, none of them wants to have a boss.” Funny, isn’t it? But so true! From there Gerber outlines the lessons learned from franchising, and the distinction between working “on” your business and working “in” your business. For executives, small business owners and anyone in the professional world – this is a book that will make you notice and think!