Focus Is the Key

Do you find yourself getting up in the morning thinking about a set agenda? Then as the day proceeds you tackle everything except your agenda items.

Those of us who follow this routine are sometimes wasting our precious time and making more work for ourselves. We have a challenge on our hands.

A way to change this routine is to start Focusing on a plan. By focusing you breakdown goals into reasonable action steps.

Daily Action Plan:

• At the beginning of the day determine how many reasonable hours you would like to work that day. Remember, as my mother would say, “Rome was not built in a day.”
• Choose one to two action items you can accomplish.
• Analyze the steps to determine if they can be accomplished in your work day. Taking into consideration emails, phone calls and time for yourself.
• Once your plan is finalized create timeframes for the different activities. Keeping in mind your pre-determined working hours.
• Start your day following the plan and focus on one activity at a time. Nothing is written in stone and revisions can be made anytime.
• Once your plan is finalized set-up an accountability system by working with a friend or leave comments on the Love Yourself – It Matters! Blog regarding your progress and Helen will support you.

Now It Is Your Turn!

Please share your new plan with Love Yourself – It Matters Community. I am looking forward to hearing new ways we can plan our day.

New Beginnings!

Labor Day has arrived!  Kids are going back to school and the fall is fast approaching.

Are you thinking, “It is September and before I know it we will be making our plans for 2011 and what have I accomplished this year?

Let’s celebrate our 2010 accomplishments, broken promises and lessons learned!

A little exercise?

• Take out a piece of paper and pen.
• Make three columns.
• Write in the different columns your accomplishments, broken promises, and lessons learned.
• Review the list.
• Choose one item from each list.
• Focus on the items you have choosen and answer the following questions:
  • How are you going to celebrate your accomplishment?
  • What action steps are you going to take during 2010 to achieve your broken promise and lessons learned?
• Create and implement an action plan taking into consideration ways to achieve your borken promises and lessons learned.  Also include when and how you are going to celebrate your accomplishments.

It is very important to create a support group so you will be accountable.  The Love Yourself  – It Matters! Community is here to support you in anyway we can.   Together we will create prosperous businesses.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Helen

Have you thanked your business today?

“Words are mere bubbles of water,
but deeds are drops of gold.”
Chinese Proverb

 Today is my daughter’s birthday.  To celebrate her birthday for many years she has been sending me either flowers or a fruit basket saying, “Thank you for being my mom and bringing me into this world.”

 This special gift means more to me than words can express.

 What can you do today to thank your business?

Some thoughts:

• Leave a voicemail on your phone thanking your business for helping others and giving you the sense of fulfillment.
• Write an email to your business thanking it for allowing you to pursue your passion.  Make sure you address the email to yourself.
• Send your business flowers or a fruit basket and just say, “Thank You.”
• Acknowledge yourself for all your hard work and the accomplishments you have achieved over the years.
• What other steps can you take to say, “Thank You.”

Please share your action steps with the Love Yourself Community and how you felt when you took them.

 I am looking forward to hearing from you.

 Helen

P.S. Mindi, Happy Birthday!!

Entrepreneur’s Secret for Accomplishing Goals

“Be like a postage stamp –
stick to one thing till you get there.
Sheila Graham

Do you wake-up in the morning with the idea you are going to accomplish certain tasks?  Then as the day proceeds you never take action towards any of these projects.

Welcome to the world of the entrepreneur!

This morning getting out of bed, I started thinking about my to-do list.  My day started walking with my neighbor, straightening the house, answering emails, coaching clients and all of a sudden I looked at the clock and it was noon.  To my utter surprise I did not start any of the projects that were on my to-do list.  This pattern happens a lot.

What is a person to do?

Thinking about this challenge, all of a sudden the “Smart Goal” Model popped into my head.  Below is the model:

S = Be very specific
Example: My goals were write an article, research different writing groups, coach clients, food shop, take time to just relax and the list goes on and on. 
M = Measure your progress
Example: My measurement would be completion of the different projects. 
A = Achievable
Example: This plan was not achievable, no way could I accomplish everything in one day.
R = Reasonable
Example: Since all the items were not easily accomplished in one day, I would create a realistic
plan. This plan would be produced by reviewing my goals and choosing which items could be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time.
T = Time Table
Example: Today’s Schedule:
1:00pm – Write Article
3:00pm – Food Shop
4:00pm – Spent time with Jeffrey, my grandson relaxing
6:00pm – Coach last client for the day.

Tomorrow:
8:00am – Research writing groups
10:00am – Create a new plan

 This arrangement sounded realistic.    

Please share with the Love Yourself – It Matters! Community your challenges about creating a reasonable daily plan.  I am looking forward to hearing from you.

 Helen

Positive Thinking Is…

“…like gasoline: A whole tankful won’t do much good until we put our foot on the gas pedal and start driving. Positive thinking makes action possible: Action brings our good thoughts to life. Positive thinking, positive action.”
Arnold Fox, M.D. and Barry Fox, Ph.D.

Reading this quote what comes to mind, by changing our thoughts and hoping things will be different will not necessary alter our situations. Sorry guys we have to do the work!

What could we do differently?

Let me tell you a little story.  Jane was having a difficult time enrolling new clients.  She thought by changing her negative thoughts to positive ones a miracle would happen and clients would start calling.  Jane worked hard on thinking positive and repeating affirmations all day. She started to feel more positive and in spite of her new behavior one or 2 clients appeared.

One day during our coaching session we were discussing positive thinking plus taking action. Jane decided to continue thinking positively and take action at the same time.

She continued focusing on positive thinking, saying affirmations and now taking action.  Attended networking events, writing articles and facilitated an Abundant Workshop.

Low and behold, Jane started building a following and her business started to grow.

The moral of the story is by thinking positively, feeling good about yourself and taking action miracles start to happen.

Please share with the Love Yourself – It Matters Community your thoughts regarding the combination of thinking positively and taking action vs. just thinking positively.  I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Helen

Be a successful coach!

Helen Burton, CEC, ACC, founder of Love Yourself Coaching, has been leading coaching circles and mastermind groups for seven years. As an expert group leader, Helen has helped many coaches gain the confidence needed to build their communication skills and coaching style to be a successful and effective coach.

Learn more about Helen by visiting her online at, LoveYourselfCoaching.com.

Benefits of the Coaches’ Circle:

• Begin coaching a real client now.
• Immediately apply feedback received from an experienced coach.
• Earn income and coaching hours for your ICF Credentialing.

• A new coach and experienced coach are carefully matched to work together.
• Each coach alternates being the client.
• Following each session, the experienced coach shares valuable learning tools and feedback with the new coach.

“It has been a pleasure to be in the Coaches’ Coaching Circle for new coaches. Been very helpful to get a different perspective, which allows the learning to continue. Helen is genuine, caring, authentic and a great one to have riding with you on a portion of your life journey. She is most encouraging and meets you where you are which is a gift. Thanks Helen for working with a new coach.” Judy Meade

Coaches’ Guidelines for Business Success

“24 Things to Always Remember…
And One Thing to Never Forget

~ Collin McCarty

Your presence is a present to the world.
You’re unique and one of a kind.
Your life can be what you want it to be.
Take the days just one at a time.

Count your blessings, not your troubles.
You’ll make it through whatever comes along.
Within you are so many answers.
Understand, have courage, be strong.

Don’t put limits on yourself.
So many dreams are waiting to be realized.
Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
Reach for your peak, your goal, your prize.

Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.
The longer one carries a problem,
the heaver it gets.
Don’t take things too seriously.
Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

Remember that a little love goes a long way.
Remember that a lot…goes forever.
Remember that friendship is a wise investment.
Life’s treasures are people…together.

Realize that it’s never too late.
Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
Have health and hope and happiness.
Take the time to wish upon a star.

And don’t ever forget…
for even a day…
how very special you are.”

Reading Collin McCarty’s quote I was reminded if we focus on the many gifts we are receiving and not what we think should be happening our lives become easier.

Today is a new day and with this golden opportunity we can start thinking about our coaching business in whatever way we want. You can continue worrying about not attracting clients or keep telling yourself to “Trust the Process.”

Sorry folks, thinking does not make things happen you have to take action. Below are some small steps you can take to change your thinking and make things happen.

• Read Collin Mc Carty’s quote daily.
• Remind yourself constantly during the day to “Trust the Process.”
• Each day pick a new small step you will take to market your business. Example: Research networking events scheduled for the current month and register for an event.

Share your new action steps you will be taking in January to promote your coaching business. Together we can move mountains!

I look forward to hearing from you.

Helen

Successful Business Strategies for Coaches

“A dream is in the mind of the believer,
and in the hands of the doer.
You are not given a dream,
without being given the power
to make it come true.”

~ Anonymous

We all have a dream our business will take off as soon as we make the decision to become business owners. What happened??

Sometimes thinking if only I knew what a long road it took to become a successful business owner would I have taken that leap. The answer is a loud, “YES.”

I had a dream and driving force in me to make it happen. To be honest I sometimes struggled and wanted to give up. Then within a very short period of time my thinking changed and I was back on the road marketing the Love Yourself programs.

We are at the end of 2009 and looking forward to 2010. Before we turn the page let’s think about all the great strides we made this year.

Below is a little exercise that will help you uncover the strides you made and new techniques to implement.
• List all the new marketing techniques you implemented in 2009. Example: When first meeting someone I ask about them instead of telling them I am a coach. It is amazing during the conversation they always ask, “What type of business do you have?” At that point I simply mention I am a business coach and have them ask me questions.
• Review the list of techniques deciding what worked and you need to change. Example: I was working with the Unemployed and found it was not a profitable income stream. Made a decision not to focus on the Unemployed Niche.
• Brainstorm and list new ideas. Example: This year I will offer to write an article for a gym or Spa’s Newsletter.
• Create a marketing plan including new and old techniques with accountable dates.
• Become active in the Love Yourself – It Matters Community by leaving comments and asking questions.

Be creative this is your pilot program and it will give you the opportunity to be more pro-active in your business. Working together we can support each other in growing successful businesses.

Remember…Rome was not built in a day and by taking small steps your dream will come true.

Enjoy the holiday season and continue creating happy memories.

Helen

Food Struggles

Tips for Healthy Eating Eating During The Holiday Season

Do you tell yourself, “I am not going to diet this holiday season and enjoy myself?” You are into the food and as time goes on the guilt starts to fade away. Then you realize your sister’s party is in a couple of days, start trying on clothes and nothing fits. You rush to the store with tears in your eyes to buy a new outfit. Does this story sound familiar?

Let’s take a step back and see what you could do differently starting today. You still have time to change your behaviors it is only December 13, 2007 and there are 18 days before New Years Eve. Following are some steps you can take to help you feel good about yourself before the holiday season is over:

1. Plan a healthy eating menu for the rest of today and make no substitutions.
2. Plan your day’s healthy eating menu before eating breakfast. Remember no substitutions.
3. Buy yourself a new comfortable outfit that makes you feel good.
4. Everyday take time for You and do something you enjoy. Examples: quilting, putting music on and dancing around the house or just sitting in a chair and relaxing.
5. Make some childhood holiday decorations.
6. Plan something special with either your friends or family members. Examples: see a fun movie, go ice skating, take a drive around the neighborhood looking at the decorations.
7. Donate a gift to one of your local charities.
8. Buy yourself a special holiday present.
9. Make a grateful list and read it everyday.
10.Look in the mirror everyday and say, “Thank you.”

As always I would love to hear from you. Please let me know what other steps you are taking to make this holiday season different and enjoyable. I can be reached by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.

Food Beliefs

Limiting Beliefs

“There are no hopeless situations;
there are only people who have grown
hopeless about them.”
Clare Boothe Luce

Are you thinking I can never lose weight or everyone in my family has a weight problem and I will never be thin? You are not alone. Many people have the same thought. What is so apparent is our thinking and beliefs stop us from succeeding. There is hope!

Our beliefs are formed by our experiences. You remember your first diet and losing weight very quickly. Thinking what is everyone making a big deal about, within a short period of time I lost the weight and feel great. Then as time goes on, you try another diet, then another diet and before you know it gets harder and harder to lose weight. What starts to happen is you form the belief it is hard to lose weight. Everytime you start a new diet your thinking reminds you of the fact it is hard to lose weight and keep it off.

What can you do to solve this problem? I am not going to say it is easy to change your beliefs. By taking small action steps you will slowly change your thinking and miracles will happen.

I was listening to Michael J. Losier author of “Law of Attraction” he was telling us that when he weighed over 300 pounds and was telling himself he was thin. Nothing happened because he believed he could not lose the weight. Once he started telling himself he was in the process of losing weight he started losing weight. By changing his thinking to something he could believe helped him accomplish his goal.

Some small action steps you can take to start changing your thinking and beliefs:
1. STOP telling yourself it is hard to lose weight. Everytime you have that thought acknowledge it and think about a time you were thin.
2. Look at a picture of yourself when you were thin at least once a day.
3. Write about the time you were thin and how you felt.
4. STOP dieting and eat one healthy meal a day.
5. Look in the mirror every morning and tell yourself out loud, “I love you.” At first it may be hard and as time goes on it gets easier.

I would love to hear from you. Please let me know how you are doing and any other small steps you are taking to change your thinking and beliefs.

Together let’s create a “Get Off the Diet Merry-Go-Round Community.” Sharing our ideas, accomplishments and lessons learned. All it takes is one little step, leave a comment on this blog or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.

A special note to anyone who is struggling with food, please leave a comment and I will address your concerns in my blog. Together we will create a plan that will enable us all to live a life filled with joy, self-confidence and love for ourselves and others.

What are you doing nice for yourself today?
Helen

Struggling with Food

Look on the Bright Side

‘For every negative that consumes your happiness,
Affirm two positives that sustain you.

Never stop looking
For the brighter side and beyond.’
Eric T. Moore

Change how you think about things creates miracles in your life. The quote above sums it all up. Instead of focusing on not being able to lose weight think about what you are doing to make your life better. This may seem like an impossible task. Let’s break it down into small steps.

The small steps you can take as suggested in the quote above:

For every negative that consumes your happiness,
Affirm two positives that sustain you
Small Step:
Acknowledge yourself for not being able to lose weight. Then think about 2 funny situations.

For every “Should’ve” you wish you’d done,
Acknowledge something you’re glad you did.
Small Step:
Acknowledge yourself for have eaten junk food instead of a healthy meal. Then think about what made you happy yesterday. Eat healthy at your next meal.

For every loss that has altered your world,
Count from it something you have gained.
Small Step:
Acknowledge yourself for the weight gain. Then think about what you like about yourself..

For every limit that has ever beset you,
Consider your possibilities.
Small Step:
Acknowledge yourself for not having the willpower to lose weight. Then think about the professional support available to help you lose weight.

You can’t always change the way things are,
But you can change the way you wish to see them.
Small Step:
Acknowledge yourself for not being able to lose 10, 20, 50 pounds today. Then think about how you can reach out for support. Leave a comment on the blog or send an email to helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.

Never stop looking
For the brighter side and beyond.
Small Step:
Acknowledge yourself for who you are! Remember there is always a solution for every problem. The first step is to reach out for support.

Take any or all of the small steps above and send me an email about your experience letting me know if I can support you in anyway. I love hearing from you and by leaving a comment on this blog we can start a support community for people struggling with food. I can be reached by leaving a comment below or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.

What are you going to do nice for yourself today?

Helen

Trying One More Time

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

Reading this quote made me think of all the times I gave up trying to lose weight and reassuring myself it was right the choice. After awhile my clothes would become tight and I was starting another diet. Does this sound familiar? You are not alone.

The line,” Our greatest weakness lies in giving up” is so true. Whenever I gave up in any situation in the beginning I felt relieved and then the guilt and failure thoughts would start beating me up. On the other hand whenever I tried just one more time it gave me confidence and eventually I succeeded.

Tina was a young 47 year old grandmother who was dieting most of her life. As a child she was overweight, her mother was always telling her she liked food too much and if she was not careful she would have a weight problem. At the age of 15 she was already taking diet pills to lose weight.

Tina’s weight went up and down like a roller coaster. Her routine was diet for a few weeks, stop for awhile and then start a new diet. Her mood swings were getting to her family and co-workers.

Tina contacted me and we started exploring her mood swings. What she realized through coaching was when she was doing something about her weight she felt energized. Working together we created a Daily Action Plan designed especially for Tina taking into consideration her lifestyle and eating habits.

Following her healthy eating plan one day at a time Tina started focusing on other things in her life besides the food. She started taking hiking trips and spending more time with her friends and granddaughter. To Tina’s amazement she started losing weight and was enjoying life again.

I invite you to explore your different feelings whenever you are giving up or trying one more time. Please let me know what you discover by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.

Have a great day! Helen

Being Your Own Best Friend

“If you are distressed by anything external,
the pain is not due to the thing itself but to
your own estimate of it; and this you have
the power to revoke at any moment.”
Marcus Aurelius

When I read the above quote, the thought that popped into my mind was how as a child I always felt fat, but when seeing the pictures today I look thin. Our perception of ourselves causes us more pain than we should experience.

I was with a group of people the other day and we were discussing how important it was to be our own best friend instead of our enemy. Someone was mentioning how easy it was to beat themselves up and then feel sorry for themselves. I am sure we can all identify with this situation.

Everyone started discussing what they don’t like about themselves. After giving them time to enjoy the conversations I asked what we can do about the problem of not supporting ourselves? The conversation turned around and we all came up with solutions. Some of the solutions are as follows:

1. Every time you have a destructive thought to stop acknowledge it and then say out loud something you like about yourself.
2. Once a day give yourself permission to feel sorry for yourself and then think about how grateful you are for your life now.
3. Every night make a list of at least three things you like about yourself.
4. Every morning look in the mirror and tell yourself, “I love you.”
5. Once a week call a friend and tell each other one thing you like about each other.
6. Every day take time out to do something nice for yourself. (Example:
take a long leisurely bath.)
7. Once a week don’t exercise and congratulate yourself for taking the day off.
8. Once a month buy yourself flowers.
9. Once every few months send yourself a letter listing the reasons why you love the person you have become.
10. At the end of the day write in your journal how liking yourself is making a difference in your life.

I invite you to try some of the above suggestions and let me know about the difference they are making in your life. Also, I would love to hear about the tools you use to guarantee you are your own best friend. After trying some of the suggestions above please leave your experiences and techniques you use on this blog, or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Do something nice for yourself today! Helen

Support for Food Struggles

Life is an adventure,
look for golden opportunities
as you open the shade
and look out the window.

Helen Burton, Coach

Do you ever feel alone in your struggle with food? Research has proven that in order to lose weight and keep it off you cannot do it alone. The answer to this battle is “Support.”

Support means encouragement, assistance and others being there for you. There are many different ways you can find the support you need. Some of them are as follows:

Family and Friends:
• Requesting they support you by not eating certain foods in front of you that will trigger your wanting to eat them.
• Requesting they respect your new way of taking care of yourself.
• Acknowledging each other for your accomplishments.

Professionals
• Nutritionist
• Coaches
• Therapists
• Exercise Trainers

Overeaters Anonymous
• Group setting of individuals who are sharing their experiences and strengths while recovering from compulsive overeating.

Professional Organizations
• Diet Clubs
o Support groups with a facilitator, weigh-ins, eating and exercise programs and products.
o Counseling, prepared foods, exercise programs and products
o Gyms

The most important support you can receive is from yourself. Some of the small steps you can take are as follows:

• Acknowledging yourself for the beautiful person YOU are.
• Eating one healthy meal at a time.
• Taking a mini-vacation everyday. Taking at least 10 minutes a day to do something you enjoy. Example: Making a cup of tea and listening to your favorite music while you are relaxing.
• Reaching out to others for support.

As you can see there are many different ways you can receive support while on your journey of losing weight. Please let us know the different support opportunities you have taken advantage of that are helping you live a healthy lifestyle. Also, I can help you find the perfect support opportunity that will work best for you. You can contact me by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.

Blaming Our Circumstances

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.
I don’t believe in circumstances.
The people who get on in this world
are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want,
and, if they can’t find them, make them.”
George Bernard Shaw

Do you sometimes think, everything was going along fine and then all of a sudden everything changes in a matter of seconds? Welcome to life!!

We are so quick to blame our circumstances for our misfortunes. I remember saying I binged last night because my husband was on a business trip and I was lonely. Another night I might have thought it is quite in the house, I can get in bed and read a good book. It all depends on your thoughts and in this case have nothing to do with circumstances.

Jack, name changed, was at least 100 pounds overweight and felt because the members of his family were all obese he could never be thin. He tried all different diets and after awhile just gave up. Jack’s doctor suggested he call me.

While I was working with Jack he started acknowledging all the things in his life he was proud of and realized he had special gifts his family members did not possess. This realization made him stop and think about his theory, because the members of his family had a weight problem meant he would always be struggling with his weight.

Once Jack understood he had his own journey to travel and not his families, he started looking at life from a different perspective. He took George Bernard Shaw’s advice and created the circumstances he wanted and was able to lose weight. Today Jack has been maintaining his goal weight and manages a local sports gym.

What challenge have you been blaming on circumstances? I invite you to explore the situation and see if there is another way of looking at it. Please let me know about your experience. I can be reached either by leaving a comment on this Getting Off the Diet Merry-Go-Round Blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.