A good conversation is like a great meal. Relaxed, tasty, satisfying, and so rejuvenating you want one like it again. Soon.
Conversation is a two-way event, with each side taking a turn at questions, answers, while always listening with their whole ears and heart. The interviewer and interviewee both play a role in influencing the outcome. Intriguing? Boring? Transparent? Plastic? Inspiring?
I hope my interview conversations reflect who I am. A deep thinker, always pondering ways to improve business, life, and love. Someone who cares about others, but takes the courage to hold people accountable. A good listener, a great encourager, and a committed life-learner. A coach who guides others through lessons garnered through hours of reading and research, plus my own dramatic experiences. I often joke that God must have designed me to speak and write, because He gave me plenty of crazy, unique, real-life stories to tell. (Some of those stories explain my occasional quirky side.)
My greatest joy comes from helping others unearth their buried gifts and talents.
When I was young, I played every sport available in my rural Missouri school. Basketball, volleyball, track, cross country, softball, tetherball, even football with the guys at recess, (I avoided hop-scotch and Barbie’s.) I learned two life-changing things through years of athletic endeavors, and I’m compelled to share them with others.
1. Discipline. Strategy, tactics, practice, and a determination not to give up can turn sorrow into celebration.
Many of my coaching principles come from the things I learned from winning games, and losing them.
I’m a resolved believer that making most mistakes won’t bring your life to a sudden halt. But not learning from mistakes, and doing something differently in the future, could. You may still have breath in your body, but it doesn’t mean you’re alive. Too many people are stumbling through their days, unfulfilled, stuck in mediocrity, and just plain sad, even though they can’t figure out why. Been there — moved past that.
Discovering our natural and irrevocable strengths, figuring out what do with them, and how to make progress efficiently, transforms us into who we are truly meant to be. That’s when we arrive at joy and happiness.
2. Friendship. Companions, supporters, playmates, and people who sharpen you into a better person make getting out of bed worthwhile.
In my youth, I made friends at every ball game, track meet, or other extra curricular event I attended. It hurt me to take note of someone treated as if they were invisible, or less important. Time hasn’t changed that side of me. I think to have good friends, you must be a good friend.
Today, at every conference, speaking event, or individual session, I see pain-etched faces or droopy shoulders, people in need of someone to notice. Far from perfectly, I try to do more than pay attention, I offer heart-felt encouragement, and practical tools for those who are interested in taking courage and making a positive change. I don’t just say it’s never too late for a fresh start with fresh faith — I believe it.
My goal as a business and inspirational coach is to spark a flame, to help people turn the life back on in who they are and what they can accomplish. When you talk with me, whether it’s work related, marriage and home centered, or about some other life issue making people feel numb inside, I’m drawn to help.
I’ve been told I’m in the rare 2% who think both strategically and tactically, which brings me success, and is why I can lead others to victory. But it’s not something I strive for. It’s simply who I am.
Another natural part of me is faith. I don’t shove my faith in God down anyone’s throat, don’t scream and shout it, and often you won’t hear me mention it at all. God doesn’t force Himself on others, so I think, why should I? Sometimes people ask about a difference they say they see. My power comes from an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ who shines from the core of my being. He is, so I am.
So if we were to sit down and have a relaxed, tasty, satisfying, and rejuvenating conversation, this is the heart of what you would hear behind my stories. Of course I haven’t shared details, secrets, dramatic personal events, or any of the other intriguing specifics that make me uniquely who I am. For that, we’ll have to make an interview date. Besides, I’d like to know more about you. Contact me.
