More
Results with Less Clutter 
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Volume 2 | June 2005 |366 subscribers For more information and to view this newsletter online go to our website now !
In this issue:
"It
is good to dream, but it is better to dream and work. Faith is
mighty, but action with faith is mightier.
- Thomas Robert Gaines I am writing this aboard a plane returning from Calgary where I just finished a speaking engagement with Colliers International. They were a great bunch to speak with and I welcome those who have become new subscribers to our newsletter. It was a pleasure to be with such a participatory group. Thank you for the invitation. I am also listening to a very yappy little dog that has not stopped whining since we got on the plane. He is very unhappy that he cannot sit on the seat with his mistress. Hope this doesn’t last for the entire trip. The joys of flying - smaller spaces and more stuff that people carry on with them. You will notice that this newsletter has arrived a bit later than usual. Feels like a small plate with a lot on it these days. More about that in my Personal Reflections. Thanks to Dot and Kathryn for getting their submissions delivered on time. I have another speaking engagement in three days with a small team who are staying at the Kingfisher Resort and Spa for 24 hours of R&R. I am so looking forward to meeting them and spending an evening together. Forbidden Garden Retreat and I are also hooking up to do a daylong workshop there July 9. If there are any of you who would like to join us for the day email me at clutter@ascentcoaching.com to register. Catherine Egan, the proprietor, is also offering a special price for any of you who would like to stay the weekend. The ride is getting rocky so I guess this will be the end of my typing on the plane. I am looking forward to getting back home and into my office and my regular routine. - Linda Power Networking – 55 Secrets for Personal & Professional Success – Donna Fisher & Sandy Vilas – ISBN – 0-9627825-4-8
I purchased this book about five years ago out of curiosity and then took it with me to the gym to read while working on the treadmill. Each chapter is quite concise and easily readable in a short period of time. There are numerous little gems and stories demonstrating the power and value of networking. I know many people do not want to go out and “network” as they see this as a challenging impersonal “chore”. Good networking is quite effortless and enjoyable. It’s really about connecting with people with similar values and ethics and developing relationships. My network and networking has been a real gift to me, my clients and friends. I have been able to help out others by helping them to connect with the people I know. You’ll read in Dot’s story about her new job, a result of her networking and it was effortless and fun. A handy little reference and reminder book.
After spending time helping families, including my own, gain relief from clutter I’ve noticed that there are some predictable and common clutter traps in our homes. This month, print the list below and easily complete a mini clutter-reno. When you have a list that you can systematically attack it is amazing how quickly you can achieve fantastic results. Press print, roll up your sleeves and get to it! 15 Things to Get Rid of This Month!
Hear what others have to say.
Question: How do you work with people on the phone and talk about clutter when you can’t see their environment? Answer: This is a question I am frequently asked, particularly when we begin coaching together. As we have talked about through-out the newsletters I have written (see our archived newsletters on the website (www.ascentcoaching.com) we experience clutter on a variety of levels. I don’t need to see pictures of the physical clutter in my client’s life in order to understand the impact it is having on their work and in their life. I hear it in their voice and the words they use to describe their frustrations, concerns, stress, anxiety and their feelings of overwhelm. Words like “I should”, “I try to/tried to”, “but” are clear indicators to me that there is something cluttering up wherever it is my client wants to go. With regard to physical clutter my clients often describe their environments to me and some choose to send me a photo because it helps them better convey what they are living or working with. Think about the conversations you have had with friends and co-workers describing to them a situation or environment and the words you have used to convey a picture for them. That’s what my clients do in our coaching together. A few of my clients have generously written something in one or more newsletters about the clutter they experience on a variety of levels; physical, mental, emotional and financial. Dot and Kathryn write every month about some form of clutter and you get the picture, right? It’s like that. If you are curious and want to know more give me a call (1-888-391-2233) and you will be able to experience what a clutter conversation would be like. Those of you who are or have been clients of mine might think about writing an article for my next newsletter to explain from your perspective how we work together without actually seeing the clutter. My client’s lives and work change dramatically when we begin to clear the clutter together. I guarantee it.
Isn't it time you put yourself first?
I really saw how much the clutter in my life affects things. It wasn’t until I sat down and made an actual list of the things I am tolerating that I realized just how much this “stuff” was affecting everything I do. While I’m a very productive individual I had no idea the amount of time, energy and emotion it was carrying for me. I can’t wait to get back and tackle some of the things that have been slowing me down. Staying at the B&B was an amazing experience in itself. Can't wait to do it again. - S.A.
It has been a busy month once again when the time has flown and the feeling of overwhelm hits me now and again. I have two speaking engagements coming up in June with prep time involved, was away at a conference for four days, a wedding (the 3rd this month) this week-end which involves travel (my youngest step-daughter is getting married) and the anticipation of all there is to do coming up in June that is filling my head. There have been some very bright moments that have been a big boost. I had a visit for a whole day with my dear friend MCL. We did my errands together and visited along the way. That’s the beauty of hanging out with dear friends; just being together is special and up lifting. My clients have been a delight as always. Doing the work I do is one of the best gifts I give to myself so thank you all for all that you bring to me. I am starting with a few new clients as well who are great additions to the folks I currently work with and who bring me new challenges and discoveries to partner with them in our work together. It is now a few days later and I am getting back to my personal reflections after the wedding. I had every intention of completing the newsletter while riding on a ferry to Lopez Island in the San Juan’s on my way to Jennifer & Tim’s wedding. Adorable couple wouldn’t you say? It was a wonderful time of laughter, happy tears and re-connecting with lots of David’s family. I am off to Calgary tomorrow for a speaking engagement and have a list a mile long to get through in order to be ready to get on that plane. I am looking forward to meeting some new folks as well as having a visit with our dear friends Georgina & Simon over the weekend. My coach forwarded an article to me from her financial planner, which talked about paying off loans with the money you have and then paying yourself back on a monthly basis along with the interest you would have paid to the lender. A great idea. I took her advice, paid off my car with savings I had and am now paying myself the monthly loan amount plus interest plus an extra $100 and am putting it all in a T Bill which will earn me interest on a monthly basis. I can access the money as I need which I am going to do until our house is completed and then I will look at putting some in a higher interest bearing investment. I am still planning to put away my $150/month in a long-term 10 year savings investment of some kind like the Start Late Finish Rich book suggests. My plan is to have that in place by next newsletter. I did hear from about five of you wanting to join that “club” and if others want to join in that would be great. We’ll each choose an investment and an amount that works for our budgets, our financial goals and us. Speaking of finances, we had a bit of a bombshell dropped on us when we received the bill for the foundation of our new house. Read on. Cumberland Chronicles – As you can see in the photo of the front of the house where all that dirt is in front of the soon to be garage, that this foundation is huge! The front wall is about 10ft and the side front walls are 13ft each and then there’s the back of the house (that’s the pic that looks like the back of a hotel!!). This translates to a lot of concrete at a cost of $38,000.00. Whew! There was more concrete than anticipated and the cost of the concrete rose after we got the estimate done. I might just write a short tip book for those contracting or building their own house. This very solid foundation has taken us over budget and David and I are now re-working and looking at what remains to be done, what’s left to be paid and making whatever changes needed in order to be closer to our budget. I have faith that this will all work out close to what we planned if we are thoughtful and purposeful around the choices we make. I am loving the look of the house and the beautiful views as I look out the different windows. I am configuring where furniture needs to go and we just completed the tour with the electrician for plugs and lights. With all this new technology there will also be a consultation with an electrician for setting up my office and networking computers, cables and surround. We’ve decided to wire for surround now and put it in when we have the money to purchase the system. The plumbing is completed, the heat pump installation is half finished and the doors and windows will be in by the end of this week. It really is looking and feeling like a home. I can absolutely see myself living there. Stay tuned for more in July on our choices and decisions in the next step of “This New House” not yet seen on CBS. :~) -Linda For
more information on the "More Results with Less Clutter"
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www.ascentcoaching.com.
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call 250-897-7474 or 1-888-391-2233. Feel free to forward this e-newsletter to your friends and colleagues. Your recommendation helps us grow and anyone can subscribe by visiting www.ascentcoaching.com or by entering their address in the following box and by clicking Subscribe.
You may copy or distribute " More Results with Less Clutter"
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the author are attached. The author is: Linda Oprica and she may be
contacted at oprica@ascentcoaching.com |
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