Laura's Blog

Career Finder: Following Your Instincts

Posted on By: Laura
Career Finder: Following Your Instincts

When I began my training as a Career Coach, my coaching mentor told us that the key in finding your ideal career is to look back at your childhood. What did you love to do? What filled you with joy? It’s a question that I’ve attempted to answer and conformity have melted those memories into tiny drips. When you thought about it, it probably sounded like this: dancing, writing, playing, sports… so what do I do with that?

I had fallen into this small drip thinking, and what direction I now needed to go.

Take some time to spend with the [...]

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Success Meter: Do You Want it Bad or Not Bad Enough?

Posted on By: Laura
Success Meter: Do You Want it Bad or Not Bad Enough?

We all have our own measure of what we see as successful. We may know what we want, but the hard thing is getting there. I generally encounter two types of people in my coaching practice: “the want it so bad it hurts type” or “the I want it but not enough to make the time to make it happen. Both of these groups have a difficult time getting to their destination because they both have difficulty allowing things to happen.

The “I want it so bad it hurts” folks are in a constant mode of doing and when they get [...]

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How To Manage Risk and Reward with Your Career

Posted on By: Laura
How To Manage Risk and Reward with Your Career

There is no error proof way to take a risk at your job. However, there are ways to remove some of the stress and pressure we feel when stepping out of our comfort zone. If you have an idea you want to develop or know that you’ve been playing it small when you really have the capacity to be a big asset to your employer, there is no better time than right now to share who you are.

Many of us play it small because taking a risk actually magnifies a lot of the fear we have created around new experiences. [...]

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Want to Be More Productive? Look at Your Focus

Posted on By: Laura
Want to Be More Productive? Look at Your Focus

What are you paying attention to? So many of us spend our days checking our blackberries and tv shows. We are constantly paying attention to so many different things that it can be overwhelming. Have you ever checked in with yourself during the course of the day?

It sounds like a strange question, but where and physically starts to dissapate. We actually become more productive as a result of reduced stress levels.

When I checked in to what I was paying attention to I noticed how narrowly focused my thoughts were. I tended to worry about every detail and all of the [...]

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The Sleep Factor: How it Affects Your Performance

Posted on By: Laura
The Sleep Factor: How it Affects Your Performance

We’ve all heard the stories of the amazing things people have done on little rest. I recently heard that former General Mcchrystal only slept somewhere between 4 and 6 hours per night. We often celebrate those who sacrifice well needed rest in order to serve the greater good. We are often impressed that people can function at such an intense level with so little rest. It may be impressive, but that doesn’t make it good for you.

A June 2010 Newsweek article entitled “The Surprising Toll of Sleep Deprivation”, discusses a research study that only allowed participants 6 hours of sleep [...]

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Are You Afraid of Success?

Posted on By: Laura
Are You Afraid of Success?

It’s not that you don’t have the idea; it’s that the big F word is stand developing strategies they can use to move past the roadblocks that fear creates. This week I found an inspiring way to look at the fear that may be holding you back.

If you are interested in Entrepreneurship or are ready to finally take the first step toward your ultimate goal, I found some wonderful advice from Jonathan Fields. Jonathan Fields is a multi-time health & fitness industry entrepreneur, entrepreneur-coach, speaker and writer; who started out in the career world as a lawyer. Wow, sounds like [...]

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Stop Surviving and Start Thriving in the Workplace

Posted on By: Laura
Stop Surviving and Start Thriving in the Workplace

A large part of being successful is realizing what you can control andle it.

I have worked with some clients who are people pleasers and boiling with anger on the inside. It doesn’t sound like a good formula for success right?

Other clients I have worked with feel misunderstood and in the end defeated.

In order to be truly confident and the expectations of the people around you. It doesn’t mean you have to be forceful.

To be clear you need to:

Understand how you work best.
You need to realize the value you bring to your work situation.
You [...]

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Simple Success Formula: Give Yourself Permission

Posted on By: Laura
Simple Success Formula: Give Yourself Permission

I often get e-mails from readers who want advice on how to get motivated and, it actually does take effort.

 Before you get worried that I am going to give something else to add to your to-do list, take a moment and goals. They are getting in the way of creating the success that you want.

    So what’s the solution? Step out of your own way and give yourself permission. Here’s how:

Allow yourself to take breaks throughout the day. Allow yourself to take a weekend off. Do these things without the guilt of feeling like you have to put every second [...]

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How to Begin Tackling Organization Overwhelm

Posted on By: Laura
How to Begin Tackling Organization Overwhelm

Our environment is a reflection of how we are operating in the world. All we need to do is to look around our environment to realize how overwhelmed we feel. There is always an urgent task that needs to get done and of course the laundry isn’t folded. For some people, that is just the home environment, there are more papers waiting on the desk at work.

I have never been great at organizing, but I could organize things just enough so I could find things when I needed them. But lately, halfway has not been working for me. I really [...]

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4 Ways to Release Pressure

Posted on By: Laura
4 Ways to Release Pressure

How many times have you heard people say they perform best under pressure?  In our society the idea that applying pressure to a situation will reap the best results is very prevalent. It’s such a part of our psyche that we do it subconsciously. For many of us it’s a part of life, basically second nature. 

I’m not here to say whether our national obsession with pressure is right or wrong. However, I have noticed a significant pattern between my clients overall mental and don’t realize even realize it. Why? Because it seems natural to be on edge, the whole fight [...]

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