I revved; I tried; I gunned it. But we didn’t go forward.

And I’m a good driver.  I know how to get out of mud.  I know how to cross ditches.  I know how, because not only have I done it many times before, I’ve helped others through the same predicament.

Sometimes people – good people, honest people, visionary people – end up spinning their proverbial tires and getting nowhere.

They are stuck.  The more they try to go forward, the more energy they exert, the more frustrated they become.  They just aren’t moving.  What is supposed to work just isn’t working. The way it’s supposed to be, just doesn’t happen, so they end up caught in mire – not of their own making, but a mire nonetheless.

Here are some ideas of how to get unstuck:

• Take some time to silence your mind… sometimes thought patterns are whacky when you get frustrated…
• Reevaluate your approach to the situations you are in…
• Listen to new ideas in your head and heart that might move you forward…
• Get a strategic outsider to listen to your dreams…

Coaching is about moving people forward, not just about getting the wheels spinning.  The coach is the strategic outsider who comes with a new set of eyes and ears – not to tell the “stuck-ee” what to do and not to analyze why they are stuck, but to help them realize a way forward.  The immovable person knows how he got there, he wants a way forward!  And the coach makes it his job to see that he does!

Coaching is not about getting the wheels spinning.  Most anybody can do that.  Coaching is about providing better traction to ideas that the “stuck-ee” has already.   A coach helps the one who is stuck to rethink and move forward.

A little help, never hurts.

What exactly is a “discovery system”?  Consultants and counselors most often bring a “delivery system” of answers and expertise to the client to deal with past and present issues; coaches are more concentrated on the future and progress toward a goal.

Coaches are like change-agents entering the client’s life-equation without a predetermined set of outcomes and answers.  Coaches work from the premise that the client knows more about his or her life and situation than anyone else.  Therefore they work with the person-being-coached to help discover ways of progress that they already knew but for some reason were unable to implement.  Somehow, a person gets stuck.

Some of these situations are:

• Changeover
  • Life is a journey and people who are moving between jobs, visions, dreams and stages of life sometimes need help… a coach can be that person.
• Divorce
  • Following divorce, moving on often seems difficult with many obstacles in the pathway.  Coaching is not about accessing past mistakes, assigning blame or reliving difficult moments.  Coaching is about helping with forward advancement and new beginnings.
• Recovery
  • Accidents, disasters, mishaps and mistakes disrupt ones journey.  A coach can help restore dreams and motivation for forward progress.
• Grief
  • Grief and loss are real, and moving ahead in life often needs someone to help process the feeling and help interpret the cycles of grieving… a coach can be that person.
• Leadership Transition
• As the world around changes and job responsibilities shift, a coach can assist a leader or leadership team in making the transitions in thinking, strategizing and tactical planning.
• Leadership Vision
• A Vision for life, for families, for organizations grows and morphs.  Vision has chapters that adjust about every 7-9 years.  Coaching can help leaders, visionaries and entrepreneurs re-vision and develop strategies for progress.
• Organizational Re-launching
• Organizations sometimes just need to refocus and simply re-launch in a new direction.  As a strategic outsider, a coach can help with perspectives and solutions.

Let us know if we can help you discover how to move forward.  A little help never hurts.

When I talk with people about “coaching” or being a “coach,” sometimes they blink a couple of times and then look away.  They have a look on their face of puzzlement.

I think I can understand why.

When some people think of “coaching,” perhaps they think of a high school football or college basketball coach complete with cap, whistle and booming voice.  Perhaps they think of exercise and the voice pushing them to excel.

I’m a coach, but I’m not that kind of coach.

I don’t have a whistle or a cap or even an agenda.

Think of “coach” in a different way.  Think of “coach” as in “stagecoach” or even “Cinderella’s coach.”  You know, an enclosed four wheel vehicle that takes a person from one place to another.   Think of “coach” as a delivery system that takes you from where you are to where you want to be.

That’s what I do.  I’m trained to ask powerful questions that help you look at your dreams and ambitions in a renewed way and to help you formulate action-steps and priorities to bring them into reality.  I bring the expertise of coaching to your situation to help “transport” you toward your preferred future.

A coach doesn’t tell you or counsel you or force you to do anything.  The agenda belongs to you as the person being coached.  But a coach helps people move forward – like a stagecoach.  A coach helps creative, forward-thinking people actually move toward their goals.

And remember, a little help never hurts.

Contact me: ghatcher@eikonassociates.com

A group of elderly people were asked what they would do differently if they had their lives to live over again. They would have.

• Taken more risks.
• Spent more time thinking about their lives.
• Done more things that would remain after they are gone.

They would have taken more risks

One of the greatest regrets in life can be those missed opportunities that we didn’t take or decisions that we didn’t make because of the risks involved. Let’s face it; most of us like living in the comfort zone.  We often avoid risks because:

• Risks are risky. For something to be counted as a risk there needs to be something of value at stake.  For example, starting a business may end in financial disaster or asking someone out on a date may end in rejection or embarrassment.  It is often the fear of loss that holds us back from taking risks.
• Risks are unpredictable. Even when we have done our research, we never quite know how it will work out because often the results are out of our control.
• Risks attract criticism. Can’t you just hear someone saying “Why leave a secure safe job to do that?” Although we should listen to the warnings of wise people, we need to watch out that the negativity and small-mindedness of those around us who never take risks doesn’t put a wet blanket on our enthusiasm and dreams.

However, without risk taking…

• You’ll never know what might have happened.  It’s a sad thing to go through life thinking about “what might have been” or “if only”.
• Life may be safe but it may lose its zing, challenge and sense of adventure.  So many people work hard at making life safe, stable and predictable and then wonder why they are bored.
• New lands won’t be discovered. Discoveries and breakthroughs rarely come to those who are just sitting on the comfy couch or watching from the sidelines.
• You will not learn to grow and mature through defeat. Although things going badly may hurt and cost, there are valuable lessons to be learned and maturity to be gained.
• You will never savor the sweet taste of victory and success that comes after a large challenge has been met and conquered.

Are you going to be a risk taker in 2010?

What are some decisions that you have been putting off because of the fear of the unknown?  Who or what is holding you back?

• You feel as though you want to go further and have maxxed out your current resources…
• You are willing to explore your potential and desire to think beyond normal to extraordinary…
• You are willing to restructure your life, if necessary to achieve your goals and dreams…
• You are a visionary and maintain a high level of accomplishment…
• You are willing to do something different to operate at the leading edge…
• You are willing to accept another person’s insight, encouragement and feedback so that you can advance beyond what you’ve dreamed…
• You feel you need something new and exciting…
• You have a challenge with your life/work balance…
• You feel stagnated…
• You have lots of good ideas but are not able to do anything with them…

Call 229.444.1994 (10 AM – 3 PM CST, Tuesday – Thursday) to set up a complementary phone appointment.

Phone coaching is a 20-30 minute conversation to help you in your journey.  I want to help you get where you want to go!

You know where you’re going…

Now that may sound strange, but coaching doesn’t tell you where to go or even how to get there.  That’s called “vision” and it is unique to you.  You know it or you don’t.

If you don’t have a vision someone – anyone – will try to give you one.  But if that happens, then it’s not your vision.  It’s their vision in your skin, which might not be very comfortable, satisfying or even doable.

Coaching might help you develop your vision or even help you reframe your values in such a way that produces or at least reshapes your vision.  Coaching is not about telling you the vision you must live out or the pathway you must take.  That’s up to God.

But a coach helps you look at where you want to go and look at what is impeding the progress.  Coaching helps you analyze your vision and see what parts of it are genuinely yours and what parts are begged, borrowed or even stolen.  Coaching helps you clarify your call, reframe your values and examine your vision.

If you know where you want to go, but don’t know how to get there, or feel stuck and are making no progress, call me for a complementary coaching session. It’s free – no strings attached – and will help you look at where you are and how you can get moving.

Call 229.444.1994 (10 AM – 3 PM CST, Tuesday – Thursday) to set up a complementary phone appointment.

Phone coaching is a 20-30 minute conversation to help you in your journey.  I want to help you get where you want to go!

Remember, a little help never hurts.

Helping you move forward is what we’re about!  Helping you experience the best in your life as you travel life’s journey is why we’re here!

Although coaching is not consulting, not mentoring, nor spiritual direction, coaching interfaces with them all, and draws from these disciplines to assist others to make good choices and fulfilling progress in their life.

We coaches provide candor and feedback designed to improve performance through increased self-awareness and needed behavioral shifts.  Coaching not only identifies life and career challenges, but provides skills to remove barriers to effectiveness and improve behaviors that improve success through better communication and stronger relationships.

So, get in touch with us today.  There’s no obligation, we can just talk and see iit’s time for you to have a coach.  (850) 696-7985

A little help never hurts.

• You’re ready to unpack your dreams…

• You want to recover your personal, professional and spiritual connections…

• You ready to engage the world in new ways…

• You want to make a difference and learn to live in the now…

• You want to explore your creativity and live a more balanced life…

• You want to grow your current business/ministry or start a new one…

Get in touch with me… A little help never hurts.

Your life should be a celebration of creativity, diversity and individuality.

Yet you have been re-shaped by just about everyone who has an agenda for you.  The result can be that we can find ourselves in the wrong job, in the wrong place, in difficult relationships and feeling unsatisfied with our place and direction.

So, unable to move forward, sideways and certainly not back, you’re just stuck.

I’m reading the Brafman brothers’ SWAY: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior. And it’s a great little read.  In it they talk about three hidden psychological currents:

• Loss Avoidance – the tendency to go to great lengths to avoid possible loss – even when commitment to the present course is destructive to us, our dreams and family.
• Value Attribution – the inclination to give a person, thing or situation certain qualities based on our initial perceived value. (You know how first impressions are…)
• Diagnosis Bias – the blindness to all evidence that contradicts our initial assessment of a person or situation.

Because you want to avoid loss – financially, relationally, emotionally – you are “swayed” to stay in the same place, doing the same thing even though it’s just wrong.  Or because you attribute an initial value (“it’s important for me to be here”) or diagnosis (“thing would fall apart without me here“) to our situation, you “hold on to what you’ve got,” even though situations are ever-changing.

And your creativity and joy are ebbing away!

These are big internal issues that a coach serving as a strategic outsider can help you overcome.  Coaching can help you rediscover your true identity, improve your self-esteem, direct your own life and be free to make your presence in the world both satisfying and enriching.

Coaching gives you the opportunity to look at issues in your life which are causing you concern, and to explore ways and means to bring about positive change.

Contact us if coaching is right for you.

A little help never hurts.

I love coaching!  I love that we have technology that is so good, I can talk with a missionary in another part of the world and sense that things are changing as we make conversation.

Recently, I was coaching a cross-cultural missionary who confessed that he was “stuck.”  He had raised his family on “the field” and had been involved in many things – schools, church-plants, mass evangelism, you name it.  But now after all these years he felt stymied and unable to find direction, unable to move forward.

So here was this godly man who had sacrificed many things to serve God, but was now feeling that he was at a crossroad and feeling directionless.

There are no major problems in his life.  His family is good and healthy.  His finances are adequate.  He’s secure in his call and giftings.  Relationships both in-country and “back home” are good.  He feels emotionally and spiritually whole and stable.  So basically he doesn’t need counseling.

He needs coaching.

Coaching is helping him move on.  Coaching is helping him answer his internal questions.  Maybe even some of his doubts.  Coaching is allowing him a safe place to make introspective enquiries and look for the next step in his career and service to Christ.

He calls me every ten days via SKYPE for pre-arranged sessions.  For around twenty minutes, I ask powerful questions, reframe his ideas and allow him to dream bigger than before.

And it’s not about me – the coach, it’s all about him!  It’s all set in his agenda, set against his backdrop and his vision.  He knows more about God’s plan for his life than anyone else!  And without any other agenda of my own, I’m helping him think things through.  He understands the direction, pace and means of progress needed for his vision and life better than anyone else.  My job is to help him get around the internal obstacles that have him “stuck.”

Recently as we talked over SKYPE, it got really, really quiet following a question I posed to him.  As I waited for an answer from him, you could feel something happening in his heart and in his understanding.  Finally, he cleared his throat, “Why didn’t I think of this before?  This would work.  This could really help me do this!  Why didn’t I think of this before?”

And I felt the earth move.

Somehow in the tectonic plates of this seasoned missionary’s heart and vision – and in the plan of God’s great Kingdom, there was a shift.  A spiritual seismic event!

So when we hung up, I wanted to dance!  Wow, wow and wow!  This is what I live for!