Life Coach | Finding your Purpose | Customized Coaching

Continuing with our series called “Stories of Resilience,” I am grateful to present a story of resilience from the Blair family’s ongoing journey with autism as told by Jason Blair:  For fun, we used to call her our little “angry child.”  Julia, our youngest of five children, often screamed in anger and frustration ever since she was born.  Having parented 4 kids through the infant and toddler stages, my wife and I thought it was just another unique personality trait of one of our kids.  Fast forward a few years after many frustrating, tantrum-filled, sleepless nights. It wasn’t a shock when we read the CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania) doctor’s diagnosis: Autism.  It only confirmed what we knew in our hearts.  Julia used to sing...

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It doesn’t matter how much we achieve, we all need someone to challenge us, to keep us hopeful, and to help us get clarity around what matters most. Have you ever noticed that Olympic athletes all have coaches? They are the best of the best, and yet, it seems the better they get the more they value coaching. Who’s your coach? Now, not everyone seems to have access to a great coach and many people would say they cannot afford one. But no matter where you currently find yourself, you do have coaching options and I encourage you to explore the possibilities around you. Five years ago I entered the professional coaching world with Coach Val Hastings. It was a game changer.  He encouraged me...

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Continuing with our series called “Stories of Resilience,” today we hear from Pastor Larry Moyer: My story of resilience unfolded for me this past year, 2011. This was a year very different that I or we had planned.  I’ve learned that unexpected things come up in our life and bring change; however, there is purpose in those things.  While it may not be immediately evident, it shapes our direction at times in ways that we would not have planned or can’t control.  It also opens the door in to new people and different experiences that wouldn’t have normally come into our lives.  I have learned new things about healing and restoration in that there is necessary pain that brings about healing.  I have come to...

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“I had no idea whether my life would someday be relevant to anyone else’s.” Those words were spoken at MIT’s 2008 Commencement by Muhammad Yunus, who has used his own creativity to design solutions to the problem of providing capital for small business owners in developing countries. What is your unique purpose? When in your past have you already experienced it? All human beings are packed with amazing potential. There are no exceptions. But many don’t know that each of us is carrying a wonderful gift within us. For most people, the gift remains unknown and unwrapped. ACTION: List and briefly outline times in your life when you felt most fulfilled and aligned. REFLECTION: What did you accomplish or represent during those special times that...

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Thousands (very likely an under-estimation) consider Dr. Pakisa Tshimika to be their close friend.   I  (Walter Sawatzky) am one of them.   Pakisa’s welcoming smile and open spirit create immediate human bonds; so that, within five minutes of your first encounter with him you experience real connection and friendship!   Pakisa credits his faith in God and his global support circle for the smile on his face.  What a gift such encouragement is in times of crisis and loss!   Nonetheless, the fire of suffering has also refined this life into a model of resilience and hope. Pakisa, we are deeply honored to share your story with our joint communities around the world! Just as for Mama Makeka there was always room for one more, so with her...

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Starting March 29th, get clear on what makes you remarkable and develop powerful language to communicate your strengths to others through a 4 week, high-participation Strengths Finder™ teleclass! Led by instructor, Walter Sawatzky, certified career and life coach, you will: -Discover your Strengths DNA -Gain a greater understanding of your natural approach at work -Develop powerful language for your personal branding message -Get clear on what energizes, excites, and motivates you to do your best work -Learn strategies to ensure your strengths are working for you – not against you -Learn how to leverage your talent to achieve important goals -Identify specific strategies for developing your talents into strengths If you are interested in learning more about leveraging your strengths towards a more fulfilling and...

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Consider this quote as a call to become more self-less…and more prepared to commit your life to something meaningful. “This is the real joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” – George Bernard Shaw ACTION: Can you list three things in addition to your family that you care most about – to which you would commit the rest of your life? REFLECTION: What are you tired of? What is it you are no longer whole-hearted about? How...

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My story of resiliency started at the bottom after recognizing a failure to live my life in a way that brought my true nature into the spaces of family, friendship and work. I did not try to become who I am today.  The health and wholeness I am experiencing and creating in life through my vocation is due to a process I started almost two years ago. Throughout this time I’ve tried to understand why I behaved in certain ways and why success and failure seemed to come into my life at extreme ends of the spectrum. Here is what I learned: I am a sensitive person with a unique gift of connecting information, ideas and vision through rearticulating a shared desire of the future with...

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They say “don’t waste a crisis”. People say they grow more during seasons of loss, pain, and crisis than they do at any other time. I’m currently learning the value of hardship and struggle all over again. For some time, researchers have looked at what enables some people to endure suffering. But recently, the focus has shifted from looking only at how some people make it through to how people are able to go through adversity and actually come through it stronger than before. One conclusion being reached is that adversity can lead to growth. In fact, it is now being suggested that the highest levels of growth cannot be achieved without adversity. It may be that somehow adversity leads to growth in a way...

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Consider this quote as a call to become more self-aware…and as encouragement to share your creative ‘inner dreams’. “I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me – shapes and ideas so near to me, so natural to my way of being and thinking, that it hasn’t occurred to me to put them down.” – Georgia O’Keefe, artist ACTION: Name an unexpressed dream or vision or image or thought that may nourish the well-being of your community. Celebrate your discovery and your unique contribution to the world with some good friends! REFLECTION: How much clarity and confidence do you have about shaping your life around the place where what you love to do meets what you do well? ACTION:...

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