Who Do You Need To Be?

Whilst training new coaches at The Coaching Academy recently one of the students came up with a great 'open' question (cannot answered with a 'yes' or 'no' answer); 'who do you need to be while you're doing what you're doing'?

It reminded me of something Brian Tracy suggests on his audio programme 'The Secrets of Self Made Millionaires' (available on iTunes), that to become a millionaire we need to first think like a millionaire.

A recent newspaper interview with an £8million lottery winner mentions the 6 years of 'unhappiness' since the win, and now the money is all gone, the former winner is unemployed and claiming state benefit, life feels normal again. I know this is an extreme example, and other lottery winners tell of a complete life shift; of them growing into and enjoying their new life experience.

As a coach I've worked with many hundreds of people making the transition from employment to self employment. Whilst many achieve great success, some eventually decide to return to employment, and a life employed by somebody else.

Whether you're thinking you'd like to…

• Change jobs
  
• Start your own business
  
• Find your ideal partner
  
• Become a millionaire
  
• Run a marathon
  

…the question remains the same; 'who would you need to be in order to achieve that'?

People I coach with tend to give answers such as; focused, disciplined, fit & healthy, motivated, and passionate.

Once you've decided who you need to be and set a course to move towards it, you've set yourself up to succeed. By 'being the person you need to be' you'll be able to ask yourself better questions, work with the people you need to work with, and take the more effective action you'll most certainly have to take.

'Who do I need to be in order to become who I want to become'?

Programme for Success

2010 has been the most exciting start to a New Year I've experienced in a long time. That's not to say others were not great/amazing/brilliant in their own way, too - and if you were a part of any one of them, 'thank you', you were especially great!

What has been different this New Year has been the feeling of reinvention, of growing and evolving who I am and what I do. In a nutshell, this has been my biggest step forward since becoming a coach 7 years ago.

I've been putting long hours into moving the B2B Coaching brand forward. However, before I could do that I needed to decide the core identity of the company. Personally we should know who we are and what we stand for, and companies should do the same by having a sense of their identity/values/ethos.

To date, Mike Blissett Consultancy has been the home of Personal Performance Coaching, NLP & Hypnosis/Hypnotherapy. B2B Coaching has been used as a base for Coach and NLP training.

However, what has evolved has been the inclusion of Business & Executive Coaching into the B2B framework, my involvement in it, and in particular the bespoke aspect I've always placed on the work I do with people and their companies. Out of that has come the big new idea, and what I believe will be the identity that will help move B2B Coaching onwards toward a brilliant 2010.

The 'big new idea' is called Programme for Success. This is the name given to the bespoke aspect of what has been building over the past year or so. It can include Business & Executive Coaching, in-house coach & NLP training, and the inclusion of Business Hypnosis within what can be offered.

Programme for Success will be the route map a client develops beginning from the first appointment, and will be the template by which that can, and measure success.

I'm already well into a very proactive campaign to meet as many business owners and promote B2B Coaching, and this has included joining some new and exciting business networking groups. This is still happening, and you will know some of where I've been and who I've been talking to from recent Tweets. Plus, I'll have more news for you in the next few weeks.

Visit the website www.b2bcoaching.co.uk - it's evolving and will continue to do so well into this year. There are events, business building courses, and so much more in the pipeline.

So, the news is to watch this space, follow me on Twitter, and visit the B2B Coaching website often. 2010 is the beginning of a new decade, and so much more opportunity for you and your business to grow.

Local Connections

Had a great meeting with Noel Quinn, head of commercial banking and Mark McEvitt central London Regional Director, both of HSBC, this evening. Both were speaking at the first HSBC 'Local Connections' event for businesses local to the Paddington area of West London.

Also speaking at the event were the ever brilliant and inspirational Johnny Apples, offering business marketing and sales tips to help every business. For more info of how you can attend Johnny's Sales & Marketing Success Club, taking place in Fleet Street each Monday between 4-6pm – which I also attend, simply email mike@b2bcoaching.co.uk.

The final speaker at the event was former Mr Ireland 2005 & 2006 David McCollum, a naturopath, who introduced his own highly individual, original, and proven approach to vibrant health. I see David on an on-going basis and highly recommend his work and what he does. Based in the city, David's client list reads like a 'who's who' of business, politics, and entertainment - which is again a testament to the quality of the service he provides. For more info how you can book an appointment with this exclusive and in demand professional email me here mike@b2bcoaching.co.uk

Only Two Gears

An idea I heard from author, Stephen Covey, at the end of last year that resonated with me so much at the time, and seems to even more now is the suggestion that each person's knowledge has a 'half shelf life' of two years. What he meant was that up to half of everything we know now will probably become redundant or out-of date within the next two years.

Brian Tracy goes further when he says that the old idea of having three gears; forwards, neutral, and reverse, at least in life, is incorrect, as there can be no neutral. Also referred to as 'standing still/treading water/taking time out/stepping out', for neutral to exist, he suggests, everyone else would have to make the same choice at the same time.

What actually happens is when we 'take time out' the rest of the world keeps on moving, evolving, reinventing, and growing, so in effect we fall behind. Hence, there can only be two gears; forwards, and backwards.

Whilst this is an obvious fact in business, personally it's a little more subtle – and just as true. I experienced this only the other day when asking a friend I haven't met up with for more than a year to meet for coffee at the club we always used to meet…only to find she's no longer a member. She moved her membership, time ticks on, as do people, businesses, and friendships. The only question for us to ask is if we're moving forwards, too?

That's the reality. As the old saying goes, 'time waits for no man (or woman)'!

Which gear are you in today?

Fab Friday

Recording vocals today for what will be a FREE positive visualization guided hypnosis download on the www.mikeblissett.com website. It's not quite finished yet and will need the music mixing into the track, though the aim is to have it completed by early next week, and then available via the website.

I'll keep you posted, including giving the link when it's 'live' so you'll be able to get the download.

Wishing you a fab Friday!

Watch This Space!

I'm always heartened when receiving emails from subscribers to my e-newsletter 'Your Best Life', asking if I'm well, as I haven't sent out the latest edition yet and January now seems like a long time ago. I've been sending out the e-newsletter, which began life as 'hard copy' printed weekly and posted out individually, for 7 years.

Eventually, the newsletter evolved into a monthly e-newsletter, followed up by an update every 2^nd week.

Now, at the beginning of this New Year I'm thinking how can I move this project ahead to what we in the personal development field call 'the next level'? I love to write, share ideas with, and keep in contact with people, so a website and newsletters are an obvious and very enjoyable area to be in.

Over the past year I've been building a Blog, not-to-mention finding my feet in the wonderful worlds of Twitter, Facebook, and Linked-In.

I've also separated corporate and personal coaching into two quite separate businesses and websites. Mike Blissett Consultancy has remained dedicated to personal development, including Performance Coaching, NLP, Hypnosis, and online programmes. B2B Coaching handles Business & Executive Coaching, Business NLP, Training Programmes – and most recently the introduction of Business Hypno-Coaching. Called 'Programme For Success', it's the first system of its kind to combine Business Coaching and Business Hypnosis (which include recording sessions to listen to in between times on CD).

So, what next? For me, this has, and still is the busiest period of business/product development I've experienced in the 7 years I've been a Professional Coach.

Yesterday was spent in the recording studio…but that's another blog update.

All I can say for certain right now is 'watch this space'!