Solar Heater

In my list of things I'm mad or unhappy about today I wrote, "the heat." I really don't like triple digit heat. I would like to think that I don't get unhappy and especially not mad, but truthfully I do. Admitting it to myself is the hard part. It's easy to say I'm not really mad, just annoyed. Or I'm not unhappy about anything, I'm just waiting for a better day (like things to cool off.) When I'm honest with myself, I admit that I sometimes get mad, annoyed, or feel unhappy about things. Especially in the heat. So in working on my list of ways to "Resolve or get over it," I realized I needed to dry my clothes. I really don't like to wear them out in the clothes dryer, and I don't like them hanging around the house.

In the middle of my meltdown I realized that I had a great outdoor heater and a cool place to work inside. What could be better? I hung my clothes on my "solar heater" for a quick dry. Now for a blog note and then off to clean up. This afternoon will be a great time for journaling, writing, reading, or meditating on what a great day it is.

This website is intended for informational purposes only. For professional personal/ career coaching, call or email Nancy for assistance with consulting, resources, and information to meet your personal needs. See links on the side panel for professional organizations.
Copyright LWD © 2005 Nancy Miller

Frugal Phone Lunch

Save time and money with a frugal phone lunch. I was looking forward to having lunch with a friend today, but fortunately for her she had just had a second interview and needed to write a proposal. We decided to catch up and share information over the phone. We saved time and money by having a phone lunch. We had a great conversation, and we didn't need to talk with mouths full of food. We just had the fun part.

So many of us are busy and don't want to take time to go out to lunch or go to an office to work. Working by phone can be the perfect solution. Phone coaching is more than a lunch conversation. LifeWork Coaching is a conversation with a purpose, and the focus is you.

This website is intended for informational purposes only. For professional personal/ career coaching, call or email Nancy for assistance with consulting, resources, and information to meet your personal needs. See links on the side panel for professional organizations.

Copyright LWD © 2005 Nancy Miller

Are you ready to love?

Love has so many very different meanings in the English language that it is hard to imagine they all come from the same word. Love can mean anything from a score in tennis to deep love and passion for something or someone. For example it’s not hard to fall in love with a puppy, but to make a long-term commitment to care for that cute little puppy as it grows and matures takes a different kind of love. Human relationships are even more complex. Most of us need training in communication and relationship building skills to learn to love and care for other people. In a world that is rapidly changing and often seems to be running wild, one of the few things we have control over is the way we relate to and care for other people.

Relationship building skills are now one of the most important skills for building a successful career, healthier living, and true happiness. The first step in developing a healthy relationship with another person is to develop trust. The best way to develop trust is by showing understanding or putting your self in another person’s shoes. What does it really mean to walk in another person’s shoes? I have to ask my self “Do I really want to know what it feels like to be in that person’s shoes?” In fact, there are many days when I feel like my own shoes are heavy enough, so why would I want to add more weight?

Feeling heavy with my own life and busyness, I might feel like I don’t want to know how someone else feels. Do I need to care that much for everyone, or just the people who are my friends, family and neighbors? God tells us to love him with all our heart, soul, and strength (Deut. 6:5.) It takes a lifetime for many of us to care so deeply for another person who shares our interests and values, but what about people who may be unhappy, in pain, or who have caused us pain? If we really want to learn to love in a way that changes lives and makes the world safer, we are challenged to love with all of our strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 5:43.) in the Sermon on the Mountain, Jesus goes even further and challenges us to “love our enemies.”

We listen to an internal voice all day telling us what needs to be done, where we need to go, and whom we need to see. Sometimes our voices are so loud that we shut out the people we care about. If we follow Jesus’ example and love others as ourselves, then we will listen to others at least as much as we listen to ourselves. I’ve noticed many times in my own relationships that it is hard to just STOP what I’m doing, LOOK at the person, and LISTEN to what they are saying. In the Relationship Enhancement series, “Ready for Love,” authors Mary Ortwein, M.S. and Bernard G. Guerney, Jr. Ph.D. say that you need to go even further than just stop, look, and listen if you want to develop trusting communication. Excerpt from “10 Ways to Show Understanding.” (9)

1. “STOP what you’re doing to pay close attention when someone talks to you.”
2. “When you listen, LOOK at the other person in a caring way.
3. “When you LISTEN, imagine you are the other person.”

Some people seem to naturally listen intuitively in a way that shows they care, while others need to make a conscious effort to listen to others as much as themselves. I find it very hard to take the time to really stop and be in the moment with someone I care about. The eighth step in showing understanding may be the hardest for me.

8. “When someone is tired, rest together.”

How wonderful it would be to care enough to stop and rest with another person. Time is one of the greatest gifts you can give another person. Taking the time to develop healthy relationships actually takes the weight off rather than adding weight to your life. Loneliness, resentment and anger add weight to a person’s shoes. Sharing, caring, and giving support for others can be much like arch supports that give you a lift. Are you ready to love with all your heart, soul, and strength? I’m challenging myself to begin by listening.


This website is intended for informational purposes only. For professional personal/ career coaching, call or email Nancy for assistance with consulting, resources, and information to meet your personal needs. See links on the side panel for professional organizations.

Copyright LWD © 2005 Nancy Miller

Job Hunting Full Time?

Should your job search be a full-time job?

I was just reading an article about how to work on your job search full time. The article on The Dollar Stretcher, recommends taking a couple of weeks off and then diligently working 40 hours a week on your job search. There are some excellent suggestions in the article for organizing a full time job search such as using a calendar, planning your day, getting out and networking, and hitting the pavement full speed. This is good advice for those job seekers who feel like they are looking for a job full time while they are sitting behind a computer and sending out resumes. They can easily become disappointed by their efforts. I would like to suggest that you step back and first look at what you really want and need.

When you end a job whether planned or not, it's important to take time to appraise your values and strengths, find your motivation, and know what you really want.

• Do you need a job NOW?
  
• Do you have time to find out what you really want to do?
  

If you NEED a job NOW to avoid financial crisis, I would recommend starting your job search as soon as you have looked into resources available to you and done a self-evaluation. Then hit the pavement running using all of the strategies possible while getting out and meeting people. If you have not gotten a job using this strategy, follow the guide below.

If you are not near crisis, but need to get a job I would suggest a combination of:

• Using resources available
  
• Self-evaluation
  
• Learning job search strategies
• Spending quality time with family
  
• Spiritual growth
• Physical fitness
  
• Networking
  
• Volunteering
  
• Working with a professional association
  
• Working in the community
  
• Planting a garden

As part of my coaching practice, I do pro bono work c0-teaching a class at the community garden, networking with a colleague, helping women who have challenges to employment, growing herbs, and talking to community gardeners. I often meet gardeners who spend time helping the community, growing vegetables, networking and working on their job search at the same time. They are able to save money by growing vegetables for themselves while taking time to de-stress and stay fit. The energy and health they get from gardening and talking to fellow gardeners will help them look and feel better for an interview. The worst thing a job seeker can do is sit in front of the computer all day sending out resumes and letters. That is only a small part of the job search process. The key to being the job seeker who gets the job is:

1. Know your strengths
2. Say what you want
3. Have a great resume
   
4. Prepare an interesting cover letter
   
5. Follow up each contact with a thank you
   
6. Stay active and involved
   
7. Meet new people
8. Don't wait for someone to come to you

Find someone who can provide you with support and accountability. If your intensive job search is not paying off, don't get discouraged, call a LifeWork coach to help you bring your life and work into balance. Call Nancy Miller, M.S. for more information at (916) 686-2137 or email success@lifeworkplan.com.

This website is intended for informational purposes only. For professional personal/ career coaching, call or email Nancy for assistance with consulting, resources, and information to meet your personal needs. See links on the side panel for professional organizations.

Copyright LWD © 2005 Nancy Miller

Fabulous Smoothie

Fabulous Smoothie

(makes 2-4 servings)

 1 Orange

1 Banana

5-7 Baby Carrots cut in half

Soy Milk (about a cup)

Blend high speed

Add frozen Blueberries

Add fresh of frozen softened Strawberries

Add about a cup of crushed ice

Blend high speed

Add about a cup of plain yogurt

A couple of handfuls of spinach

A squirt of honey

Blend on low to medium

The spinach/orange juice combination makes the orange juice less acidic and the vitamin C in the orange juice helps you absorb in iron in the spinach. “The Color Code” (79). 

This website is intended for informational purposes only. For professional personal/ career coaching, call or email Nancy for assistance with consulting, resources, and information to meet your personal needs. See links on the side panel for professional organizations. Copyright LWD © 2005 Nancy Miller

We All Have Dreams

We all have dreams and visions of what our lives will be. Our dreams and aspirations keep us motivated, energized and ready for the next opportunity. You may be starting a business, a career, a family, or facing a crisis. Your passion may be drawing you in a new and exciting direction, or you may be wondering, "what next?" A sudden change may set you in a whirlwind, or you may feel like your life is constantly stuck in traffic.

There are always new opportunities. It's just a matter of being ready and recognizing them when when they present themselves. We all need encouragement, accountability, and clarity to stay motivated to succeed. You may need to re-evaluate your definition of success, set new goals, or find a lifestyle that keeps you energized. One way to be open to new possibilities is to fill your life with more of what you want.

What do you need more of in your life and work? When you fill yourself with more of what you want, there is less room for what you don't want. Be healthier, more successful and have more fun in your work and play. You can find more of what you want in many ways:

• Count your blessings.
• Develop a personal business plan.
• Take charge of your life and think like an entrepreneur.
• Hire a professional coach who can help you develop a plan for success.

This website is intended for informational purposes only. For professional personal/ career coaching, call or email Nancy for assistance with consulting, resources, and information to meet your personal needs. See links on the side panel for professional organizations. Copyright LWD © 2005 Nancy Miller

Living Greener

As I was cleaning out a wastebasket this morning, I reached for a biodegradable, flushable, Disposable Cleaning Cloth. For the dirtiest jobs, I still rely on disposable cloths or paper towels, but I am much more conscious of the environmental impact of tossing paper towels and disposable cleaning cloths into the trash. I rarely use paper plates and minimize the use of napkins as I find ways to be more financially and environmentally responsible. As I work toward having a greener business, a more responsible lifestyle, and a tighter budget, I am reminded of a time when my grandmother washed the plastic wrap and aluminum foil and hung it to dry. At the time it seemed silly, but looking back I can see that she was one of the first in the family to have a greener lifestyle.

In our family, being greener first became part of our lives out of necessity. We took the bus because my father worked out of town and my mother didn’t drive. Many of us in our family inherited a vision challenge that prevented driving during all or part of our lives. As a teenager, I was thrilled to pass the driving test after a couple of attempts and a note from my ophthalmologist. As a teenager I relished driving and used the car as much as I could afford to. With gasoline costing twenty-five cents a gallon, and no cable TV or computers, cruising was a popular teenage past time. Then came the 70’s with marriage, job transitions, and the rising price of gasoline. We cut back on driving, paper products, made bread, jams, and pizza as well as clothes for the kids. We were living greener out of financial necessity.

Then as our income increased so did our consumption. With teenagers, camping, and entertaining we used massive amounts of styrofoam containers, paper plates, and gasoline. It seemed like a natural progression in American life to enjoy the all of the conveniences we could afford. Takeout, packaging, and driving were a way of life.

About the middle of this decade, I began noticing that our trashcan wasn’t big enough, our closets were overflowing, and our waists were expanding. Too much consumption! As we usher in a new world of work that is transitional, individual, and skill based rather than following a ladder of upward mobility, we are finding that being more frugal is again another way of being greener.

I am looking for ways to have a greener lifestyle and a greener business. If you have ideas or websites of interest, please share.

This website is intended for informational purposes only. For professional personal/ career coaching, call or email Nancy for assistance with consulting, resources, and information to meet your personal needs. See links on the side panel for professional organizations. Copyright LWD © 2005 Nancy Miller