It’s a very busy and exciting season here, with a book going to the publishers soon, members coaching calls launching, and a few other special events in the pipeline.

While I’m keeping a few details quiet about the book at the moment, I can say that we have a couple of our members featured in the book - and their content is AMAZING… Lyndon and I are really enjoying reading the drafts and having heaps of insights! Other successful entrepreneurs from across Australia have been highly recommended, and their stories are also bound to inspire and inform readers about the benefits of doing business and creating a wonderful lifestyle in Regional Australia.

We went to the Mudgee Field Days on Saturday - it was a glorious sunny day, and we met so many fabulous people with incredible ideas and innovative businesses. We’ll be sharing more in the next newsletter! Look out for that on Tuesday 4 August.

Have a fantastic week!

Cheering you on, Kerrie

Have you ever had the opportunity to learn how to break a board with your bare hand? I was shown board breaking techniques at the What Women Want event in Sydney on the weekend and I was rearing to go! After spending a little time exploring my thinking I was able to identify some self imposed limitations (which I wrote on the board) and I was ready to bust through this to fully live the life I’m on the planet for.

If you get the chance to do this - go for it! (After being coached in preparation of course!) It’s probably not a good idea to try this at home!!!

I was determined to break the board with the first hit, then as I watched many people before me hit their board again and again before breaking it, I started to wonder… It does look very hard! I now know that it’s more about mindset - focus, belief and determination… the same qualities one needs to succeed in any endeavour.

As it was, I achieved my desired outcome, breaking the board with one hit, and in one way I was surprised, then realised I didn’t need to be - it was what I intended to do! When the room had emptied and a few of the crew were breaking more boards for fun, I asked if I could break another - just to make sure I didn’t fluke it! Also, I thought Lyndon and Ethan would like to see it (to believe it, perhaps!) and they loved it… as you see, Lyndon had some fun replaying the moment of impact!

As I discussed the experience with several other board breakers, it seemed that we all had the experience we needed to, for our own insights. Some needed the experience of a few attempts before breaking, for me the insights that came as I broke the board were just as powerful as theirs. The main thing is to notice your thinking and be aware of your mental state!

I found the following insights on TKD Tutor website…
“Punches fail because of fear, not because of lack of strength. The less your brain perceives the board as a barrier, the more likely the punch will succeed. For beginners, aim beyond the board, i.e., follow through! As any martial artist can attest, the hand hurts more when you fail to break than when you succeed.”

What limiting beliefs do you need to bust through this week? You truly can do whatever it is you set your heart on doing. The success is in the follow-through.

Cheering you on, Love Kerrie

Can you believe it’s May already? Are you going to spoil your Mum on Sunday? Ethan is so excited as he bought me a card while I was in Melbourne, insisted on reading it to me over the phone (yes, I was moved to tears) and this afternoon started telling me about the present he bought me while shopping with my Mum on the weekend. I’m trying to teach him to keep a secret… but I am curious.

Now if you haven’t bought your mum a present yet, or want that something special extra… based on the feedback I’m getting - my Create the Life Journal is a wonderful gift. I’m so grateful that people are really valuing it and it’s a special book to them before they’ve even started filling it with their own thoughts! The thoughts of my clients and colleagues and my words from the heart are a great kick-start to some very healthy thinking!

I just discovered that they are on the Mothers Day table at Percy Street Gallery in Wellington, so if you’re passing through make sure you take a little time to check out the Gallery, or see it here www.percystreetgallery.com.au

This is just the first of mentions of Percy Street Gallery - Katie Barton, the Artist and Director of the Gallery is so inspiring and I’m delighted to have connected with her. Stay tuned! And make sure you spoil your Mum!

In Dubbo my book is available at Stephen’s Patisserie or The Book Connection in Macquarie Street and Rouge Beauty in West Dubbo, where you’ll find one of the contributors - the inspiring Ellen Bathgate.
And if you shop from home… www.createthelifeclub.com/journal

Anzac Day rolls around and we are reminded of the sacrifice countless men and women have made for our freedom.

You may have seen the video where our son Ethan interviews his Great-Grandparents, my Dad’s parents; where Grandma discusses the coding/de-coding work she did in WW2… Last week we stayed with my mum’s parents in Sydney, and Ethan had a few questions to ask his other Great-Grandparents. We are so blessed to have this opportunity, and since it’s Anzac Day we thought we’d share this snippet from last weekends’ conversations.

5 days before his 91st Birthday, Grandad marches in Sydney’s CBD for Anzac Day.

Lest We Forget.

Continuing from last weeks blog “Kerri Pottharst and other inspiring people”…

After arriving in Melbourne and catching up with Andrew Mowat, we stayed with friends Anthony and Vicki Ware, who we first connected with through their work in Thailand 10 years ago. Anthony and I reconnected on the Gold Coast in November and we have picked up where we left off - sharing the journey of life and passion for making a difference. We’re inspired by what they’re doing and planning, to make a difference in Burma so we donated a coaching package & a copy of the journal for their upcoming fund-raising auction)

And our whole purpose for being in Melbourne… To learn presentation secrets to add public speaking to what we do and develop our “Elegant Business Model” with Dr Joanna Martin. I wrote in my journal on Thursday night “Big day tomorrow! I will stay on the edge of my seat and learn and participate and grow! On Friday night I wrote “It’s all been amazing. It’s the most transformative training I’ve done since the ICT (Intensive Coach Training) or Team Coach Training. Significant moments of insight and clarity… must sleep - I’m presenting some content tomorrow!”

Joanna took us all out to dinner on Saturday night which was so generous and a fabulous chance to get to know people more. It’s exciting to be in a room with like-minded, passionate people and see how we can do things like this more often.

Our Coaching Celebration parties come to mind… if you’ve been to one of those you know how fun and inspiring it is to hear from others who are pushing through limitations to achieve what’s most important to them. Hanging out with big thinkers is fun, stretching and inspiring!

We’ll be working more with Joanna and her team over the next year (and beyond I’m sure) and we’re so excited about where we’re headed, and what it means for our members and clients. We’re so passionate about bringing out the gold in people and especially those in regional or isolated areas… There are some big dreams that need to become a reality!

Cheering you on
Kerrie

The past couple of weeks could be described as a wild ride, a messy complex season or the storm before the calm… so this blog is a little overview to share the journey…

I must confess, I’m sensing a little challenge around writing - what to say when I know I’m on the verge of an incredible shift, and how do I keep it brief! I see things coming together that previously seemed to be random or insignificant moments… This makes more sense in light of the training I’m doing at the moment - Theoretical Foundations of Coaching.

Last week we studied Systems Theory, which includes Chaos Theory and Complexity Theory - we see that a small, apparently random thought or action can lead to substantial change.

When considering the complex systems that we are as individuals, and interacting with other complex systems I noticed the influence that a small change makes - for example a smile, an encouraging word or expression.

Lyndon and I were discussing on the way home (from Melbourne on Monday/Tuesday) how “seemingly random events and people we’d met” in previous years have directly resulted in us being in this place at this time, at a powerful turning point in our business. Connecting with people, self education and business education pays off in ways usually completely beyond us!

So the significance of many moments would fill a book, so for now - a few moments and pictures to share…

With a shocking head cold, but determined mind, I set off to Orange last Wednesday at 6.30am with Karen and Sam from 10X Central West to hear Kerri Pottharst, Olympic Gold Medalist, Mary Brell, and other inspiring women speak at a Business Women’s event. I had connected with Kerri previously through a friend and she’d asked me to bring a copy of my journal for her, which made my day. (I love the thought of big thinkers using it to continue to think big and achieve!) She spoke about her goals and when they were so challenging to achieve, (especially when recovering from injuries) and the importance of self-belief.  Inspiring Lady!  We can learn so much from elite athletes whether we’re sporty or not.

It was also exciting to share the day with someone who’s a significant part of my story - my first Coach, and Coach Trainer, Georgia Lush. Georgia was the Global Head of Training for Results Coaching Systems and I connected with her in 2004, driving to Orange each week for coaching until she convinced me to try phone coaching! The rest is history! Georgia has since had two gorgeous babies and is stepping back into the coaching world and making a bigger difference in people’s lives. Go Girl!

We arrived home from Orange around 6pm for me to jump out of Karen’s car into ours and head off towards Melbourne with Lyndon. Staying in West Wyalong overnight gave us a head start the next day and we took our time, being tourists and enjoying the sights along the way… It’s a new habit - rather than racing to be somewhere I make sure I enjoy the journey and learn along the way.

Meeting up with Results Coaching colleague Andrew Mowat was exciting, but going through a box of tissues every few hours took the edge off the fun. Fortunately facebook, twine and twitter keep us connected and sharing the journey of discovery about the internet and our shared fascination with the brain and neuroleadership. Andrews work from Victoria to Dubai and London makes our travels look more like the occasional Sunday Drive!

The big reason for our trip (and the outcomes) is going to take more than a paragraph, so I shall write more over the next few days, leaving you now with a quote that I keep coming back to…

“Each new friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
- Anais Nin

A couple of days ago, Ethan excitedly called to me from the front yard – “Mum, you’ve got to come and see this!”

“Do I have to be out there long?” I replied from the front door, looking around… “I’m still in my PJ’s…”

There I stood at the tree in the driveway, in my purple pajama’s and gazed at the Bottle-Brush tree with my 8 year old. We were looking not only at the bees on the tree, but as Ethan pointed out – the pollen on the bees legs and wings. I really didn’t think I would see them that closely, but there it was – bees gathering pollen, little bundles of it. So what kept me in the front yard, starting into a tree for goodness knows how long, unaware if anyone did go past to take in the sight of us there?

I’m not sure what your experience has been, but as I stood and looked into the tree, I saw one bee, then another, then another. There were hundreds of bees, but I didn’t see them at first and it got me thinking… how often do we not see what’s there in abundance because we’re either too busy elsewhere, or don’t want to be seen to be standing still for too long (in Pajama’s perhaps)?
I could have said, “Oh yes, I see a bee” then gone back inside, I would have missed the full experience – and a special learning moment with a son who loves animals, science, technology… he’s a sponge for any kind of knowledge of things interesting.

I looked more closely to see the pollen they were gathering. I thought I’d see a speck or two, but the bees were carrying bundles of pollen. What situation could you see differently if you look closely? What do you see when you start discovering a wealth of possibilities? Perhaps they carry even more than you first realized. Perhaps there’s even a sense of fear – as there was when I realized how many bees were inches from my face. Sometimes exciting possibilities can also provoke a sense of fear – “Oh my goodness, I didn’t think it would be this big…” (Have you ever wanted to create something awesome, yet keep it manageable?)

That lovely morning was a lesson in slowing down.

What incredible discoveries are there to be made when you stop for a while. One of my favourite questions is “What else?” We often look at something once or twice, make and assumption and move on – which is often necessary for the sake of time – but what about with the things that really matter?

What kept me there at the tree? A decision to stop and be in the moment; a decision to see what Ethan was seeing; a decision to slow down. A valuable experience… What are your thoughts?

Maree and I had so much fun on Sunday at Joanna Martins Presentations Secrets seminar, took pages of notes and met lots of fabulous people and I realised that Lyndon and I are well on the way to creating what Joanna calls the Elegant Business Model.

To recap on the weekend is proving to be quite the challenge! I’m always up for a challenge; however I want to ensure that anything I post here is going to be useful… so to share an insight is better than writing a report on the happenings.

Jo mentioned that one of her friends says “If you’re not doing something every day that makes you feel a little bit sick – you’re not living!” I love it. I’m not sure that I push myself out of the comfort zone that much everyday – but if it’s been a while, I certainly notice it and get moving again. I don’t like being bored, (although chilling out is good) and I love to stretch myself in new situations. It’s too easy to stay in the comfort zone, but so rewarding to jump out… you’re actually enlarging your comfort zone. (Just think – what do you do now that used to be scary?)

If you find yourself holding back, from any kind of opportunity – to talk to strangers, to travel, to taste new foods or speak to a room full of people – remember a time when you did something out of the ordinary. If you think of something you did that was a stretch for you, (never mind if it was in anyone else’s opinion) remember how good you felt afterwards. It’s all too easy to hang back and let life pass us by, but if you know you’re on the planet for a reason, get out there and stretch yourself with something, anything that will give you a little sense of achievement. Little steps forward expand your world and if you keep moving you will amaze yourself when you look back over your journey and celebrate your successes.

Here’s a snippet of my excited thoughts at the end of the day on Sunday…

Step out of your Comfort Zones.

Step Out In Confidence

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”

This famous quote comes to mind today as I hold in my hand something very special, the final draft of a clients book, and not just any book – it’s her very inspiring story of triumph over adversity.  It’s late at night in her country, so I can’t call to ask her what I can disclose and what I can’t so for now I’ll share a little and introduce her to you properly soon.

What I can share is that I have seen in this woman’s journey; along with many others, the outcome of clarifying your goals and stepping out on the journey (even with just a little confidence).  There are always moments along the way where you are challenged to reassess the decision to start out, always moments to renew your commitment, but the first decision is usually the hardest, but the most significant.

A Small Shift In Thinking Can Increase Self Confidence

Many goals I support clients to achieve have been a work in progress that has become buried under busy-ness or fear,  or a dream long held… a “maybe one day I could” kind of thought that never quite goes away.

When they turn up for session 2, so excited because they’re already seeing a massive shift - taking them towards their goal - I often share this magnificent quote which they really relate to .  It’s one worth reading again and again, so I share it today to help you to Step Out In Confidence.

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back– Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way…

‘Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.  Begin it now.’” - W. H. Murray  (who quotes Goethe in the last line)

Step Out In Confidence!

Constant blogging goes on in my head – always thoughts I’d like to share, but obviously they don’t all make it here due to a lot of other ideas I’m taking care of too!  The current themes stem from the bushfires as I’m seeing and hearing a lot of news that provokes more thinking.   So here’s part 3!  Which really is a theme that I’ve written about before, and will do again.

As I’ve kept in touch with what’s happening in Victoria, and around the world as people respond to the “worst ever” bushfires there,  I see how the generosity of one person can spark an idea in another.   For example, on Facebook I noticed a friend had sent a reminder to give blood.  Of course!  I hadn’t thought of that.  There are so many ways we can help, and commenting on these things online or drawing attention to the great things that are happening sparks more ideas and more generous action.

What came to mind is a beautiful verse from the book of Hebrews. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”

What a thought for the week!  What are you doing that spurs people on?

Cheering you on,

Love Kerrie

PS: Click on the donate picture to visit the Australian Red Cross Blood Service website.