Are you capable of seeing 20 / 20 inside and out?

As a Christian Life and Career coach, I have noted that most people have better outward vision than inner vision. That is, they act as if they can see others qualities better than they can see the qualities of themselves. Everyone of us where wonderfully and fearfully made by God, but so few of us take the time to obtain a 20 / 20 look inside ourselves in order to find out exactly what type of amazing creation we are. The purpose of this article is to get you thinking and acting on ways to see the qualities of your inner self first and others second, so that you can promote your personal growth and development.

If I asked most people what their individual gifts, talents, or capabilities are, very few would be able to quickly respond and give me an answer. Most have to really think about it and then answer. And even then, they are not 100 percent sure that they are right. Isn’t it kind of weird that people are not sure about themselves and can only give their best guess about their God given talents? Now if I ask them to tell me the faults or even good points about their boss or a co-worker, most can do so very quickly. Weird or not, it is reality that people are more observant about others than themselves.

More often than not, even though we think we can see 20 / 20 into others and know their faults and strengths, we are wrong. We are often mistaken, because we do not understand the complexities within our own lives – much less understanding the complexities in someone else’s life. Before we can do understand others, we need to have a 20 / 20 look into ourselves to understand who we are, what our talents are, and what we want to do with our talent in our lives and careers.
Understanding who and what you are will help you to understand that not only are you a unique and special person, but so is everyone else. One of the best ways to see this is to take one of the Myers-Briggs® assessments. “…For more than 50 years, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) instrument has been the world's most trusted and widely used assessment for understanding individual differences and discovering new ways to work and interact with others…” The results of this tool will point out an individual's strengths and unique gifts, while also pointing out vulnerabilities and areas for personal development. Within groups, the MBTI is helpful to help recognize and value differences among individuals, so that strengths can be combined and some interpersonal difficulties may be more easily overcome.
In addition to the MBTI®, there is also the FIRO-B® (Fundamental
Interpersonal Relations Orientation–Behavior), Strong® (Strong Interest Survey), and CPI® (California Psychological Inventory) assessment tools which can be used to better understand yourself and others. The FIRO-B, a widely used tool, can help anyone not only understand their own behavior, but the behavior of others around them. And as such, the FIRO-B is an invaluable tool not only for discovering who you are, but for team building, management training, or communication workshops.

The Strong® helps individuals discover their personal interests and chart a plan of action regarding their individual careers. The Strong® presents a clear picture of not only your special interest, but your learning, leadership, and risk-taking styles in relation to the various jobs, work settings, and career fields in today’s world. The Strong Inventory® has special assessments for adults, college students and even high school students. People need to know that, from a young high school student to late adulthood, it is never too early or too late to discover your personal interest and set yourself upon a path that will lead to your ultimate success in life.

The CPI 260™ assessment opens a new dimension into people's strengths and opportunities for personal growth and development, offering an exciting picture of the person as seen through the eyes of others. There are two remarkable CPI assessment reports: The Feedback Report and The Coaching Report For Leaders. The Feedback Report covers five areas: Dealing with Others, Self-Management, Motivations and Thinking Style, Personal Characteristics, and Work-Related Measures. While the Coaching Report For Leaders covers the following five areas: Self-Management, Team Building and Teamwork, Organizational Capabilities, Problem Solving, and Sustaining Your Personal Vision (and the vision of the work place). This is powerful information that can shape what you can do to grow and develop yourself.

So are you ready to see 20 / 20 inside yourself and outside of yourself? Are you ready to act and find out just who you are? Once you know better who you are, you will open yourself up to an assortment of positive things that will promote your personal growth and development. As I said before, the better you can see the qualities of who you are will indicate how well you can see the qualities of others. Being able to see 20 / 20 inside and out will help move you towards ultimate success in all aspects of your life. There is nothing holding you back except you so don’t bury or hide away your individual talents. Improve upon your talents by obtaining a 20 / 20 inner and outer vision now for brighter expectations for your life tomorrow.

If you would like more information, you can go to www.realcoach.org – where you can not only obtain information, but full sample copies (many in color) of various different assessments. Here’s to your ultimate success.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER, E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the following with it: Stan Lewis is a Christian Leadership & Life Coach. If you liked this article, you should really explore coaching to increase your personal growth & development by Clicking Here or the various line of Myers-Briggs©, FIRO-B©, STRONG©, & CPI© assessments at www.realcoach.org. He also has awesome newsletter – to subscribe email him at timetoexplore@aweber.com Questions about this article or you need assistance, please call me at 214-629-7217.

Practical Things I've Learned From Fairytales – Goal Setting

As a Christian Life and Leadership Coach, I attempt to coach others about success. I point out that success comes through vision, goals, action steps, and diligence. Some feel entitled to have success, but no matter how “entitled” one feels, success rarely comes to those without vision, goals, action steps and diligence. Now all of these seem like very adult oriented topics, but I learned all about them as a child, when I read the story of the Little Red Hen.

The Red Hen found some wheat seeds and from that she had a vision. The Red Hen could have stopped right there with the finding of the seeds, but she was positive minded. She saw what those seeds could become – a loaf of bread. Without a vision, we do not know where we are going and with out a vision, we do not know when we have arrived at success. Her vision gave her the starting point for her journey to success.

The Red Hen tried to share her vision with the other barnyard animals and motivate them to in share her vision. The other animals made their feelings clear to the Red Hen. They neither cared nor had the time for her vision. They sought to be a negative and visionless influence upon her. This happens many times in life. How many times have you had a good ideal, only to have it dashed by the opinions of other people? Many times these are our friends, associates, or fellow employees who, themselves, have no vision. They have no vision because they do not desire or feel incapable of acting upon a vision.

When the Red Hen acted on her vision, the first thing she did was to set some clear and attainable goals for her-self. She set goals of planting, harvesting, milling, and then baking. By doing so, she had mapped out the major milestones that would bring about her success. She then set up small stepping stones to help her meet each goal:
For her planting goal - plowing, watering, and weeding
For her harvesting goal - cutting and loading
For her milling goal - moving, grinding, and packaging
For her baking goal - mixing, kneading, and patience
Each of us must do the same in our journey towards success by setting some clear and attainable goals for ourselves. Then follow up by establishing a small series of stepping stones – called action plans – to reach each goal.

Each time the Red Hen started a new goal, she tried to bring her friends on board. But the barnyard animals had not caught her vision and therefore saw no value in the goals the Red Hen had set, nor the actions steps she was taking to complete to each goal. Like the Red Hen’s friends, you may have those who see no value in the goals you have set, or the actions steps you are taking to complete to each goal. Never let your friends, co-workers, or family keep you from setting and reaching reasonable goals for yourself.

The Red Hen was one diligent Hen. She worked very hard. She did not worry about failing or what the barn yard animals thought. As I think about it, the little Red Hen reminds me of a quote from Teddy Roosevelt - "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, … who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." The Red Hen stepped outside the barnyard made herself the “hen” of the arena.
Do not allow the timid souls and critics of the barnyard to infect you with their lack of enthusiasm. Instead be diligent in every step you make towards bringing about the visions for your life and career. Get out of the barnyard. Be that woman or man that is “actually in the arena.” As long as you are in the “arena” - my friend - no one can stop you.

Although this is a simple childhood fairytale that was written many years ago, it is still very relevant in the real world today. You have to have a vision for your life and career. You have to set reasonable goals and put action steps in place to meet them. And finally, you must be diligent in all you do, no matter who the timid souls and critics are around you.

The moral of the story is to not be a halfhearted barn yard animal that does not believe in visions, goals, action steps or being diligent. Instead - be like the Red Hen, get into the arena and go for your vision.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER, E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the following with it: Stan Lewis is a Christian Leadership & Life Coach. If you liked this article, you should really explore coaching to increase your personal growth & development by Clicking Here or the various line of Myers-Briggs©, FIRO-B©, STRONG©, & CPI© assessments at www.realcoach.org. He also has awesome freebies on his site. Questions about this article or you need assistance, please call me at 214-629-7217.