coachjoelle.com

My mother has often expounded the joys of walking. 

I hear daily of her early morning power walks and more casual strolls with dear friends.

I have recently come to appreciate a good walk and this summer, have even found a few kindred spirits to participate in my outdoor adventures. 

Few things have proven more satisfying than to debrief at the end of the day over a brisk walk with Nikki around Shaker Lakes (I say brisk because she times the whole event and sets the pace and she is about a foot taller than me.) My husband Jeff will indulge me with a heart-to-heart as we walk around our well-treed block or head down the street for gelato.  

Sometimes I “wance”, walk-dance, to Alanis or Zen out to a little Wayne Dyer or walk with the angels with the help of Doreen Virtue and my trusty iPod.

Sometimes I walk for exercise, sometimes to get out pent-up stress and sometimes just to be in nature after long day at the desk.

But recently…. I tried something new. 

I decided to try a walk without purpose.  I decided to leave the iPod at home and not call a friend.  I decided to leave the running shoes in the closet, throw on my flip flops and take a walk to nowhere and everywhere as I let God lead the way.

Now you can call it whatever you want to, but for me, when I just step out into the world and see where my feet take me, that is inviting God to lead the way.  When I start walking with no purpose or destination and find myself having countless adventures, this is the magic of the universe at work.

In my walks with everything with nothing in mind, I have found a new world revealed.  I wander down streets that I never noticed before.  I hear things that would have gone unheard over the pounding music, the chatting voices or the ceaseless chatter of my own restless mind. 

Activity is everywhere as I experience the chirping round of the Cicadas passing their song from the tree tops as they do a sort of vocal wave up one side of the street and down the other. 

I stumble upon a squirrel no more than 2 feet away on the sidewalk.  He sees me, but does not run.  I hunch down beside him to take it all in as he spots a round green nut which he promptly grabs and takes up the tree.  Just out of my reach he begins to chew chew chew away at the green outer shell to reveal the nut beneath.  I watch in awe.  I look down at the ground and see that I am standing in a pile of green shell remnants, a testament to his work ethic and then realize my squirrel has a friend as a newly shorn shell drops from the tree on my head.

Smells everywhere - beautiful, fragrant - and I notice that certain trees have already begun to lose their leaves BIG TIME.  I had been previously unaware that entire lawns have already been given a sprinkling of fallen leaves. Autumn is here.

I spot a bright red leaf on a green hedge and beside it, a huge white flower with a pink center that has always been closed and sleeping when I walked by at the end of the day.  What a wonder.

As I round the corner and approach a busy street, I realize that even the early morning traffic has a warmth to it.  I welcome the line of cars waiting for the light and those whizzing by, not a detraction or annoyance in my day but one more thing to notice and appreciate.

In this world of doing, productivity, activity and functionality I invite you to consider the next time you are looking for something to do, perhaps you could just go for a walk.  A walk without purpose or direction; a walk without accompaniment or distraction; a walk with just you and your creator and the wonders of this world.

With Love,

Coach Joelle

 P.S. We are less than 2 weeks away from our next Make Your Life Program.  If you are ready to take action, suround yourself with joy, beauty and happiness and take way more walks, you may just want to check it out!

The Make Your Life Program™

September 17th - November 12th

Experience the Magic of a Life Lived on Purpose

The Make Your Life Program™ is a one-of-a-kind tele-program which combines practical coaching skills, and professional support with creativity and play, allowing you to consciously create a life you love and experience the magic of a life lived on purpose.

READ MORE about the Make Your Life Program!

My father was a civil engineer, an adventurer and a renaissance man.  He was a loving father and husband and it was such a delight to watch him mellow and grow into a quiet appreciation of himself in his 40’s before his abrupt departure from our world.

Growing up, my father was my ideal, his strength and bravado an inspiration to me, to the point that I would often compare the hair on my arms to his.  I kept willing my little blond hairs to grow dark and bushy in hopes that I would someday overtake him in the arm hair growth department (good thing I was not quite as skilled at manifesting then as I am now :-))

Among my favorite childhood memories I count hours upon hours of hauling wood for the fireplace, loading up my arms 2, 3, 4 logs high in an attempt to do my dad proud. I remember water skiing and fishing, sailing, canoeing (in a sailboat and canoe that my dad hand made) and, my favorite,  windsurfing, showing my skill along side the men as we raced across the waves at Setting Lake.

This Friday night, my husband and I went to Pennsylvania along lake Erie and as always, my brush with nature, the dirt under my nails and the smell of lake-water and camp smoke on the wind, reminded me of my dad.

Upon arrival Jeff and I scope out the site for the perfect spot for our shelter. We coordinate the raising like some “cooperation skit” off of Sesame Street.  We stomp in the pegs and make up our little home for the weekend; air mattress….check, sleeping bags…..check, pillows……check, stuffed bear…..check! 

I am always in awe of how at home we think we need all this furniture and all these accoutrements, while at the campsite I am perfectly content with a canvas roof, a campfire, a folding chair, a book and my husband.   Truly amazing.

As Jeff blew up the air mattress, I took it upon myself to build a rain shelter out of a piece of rope, several bungee cords and a large tarp.  There is something zen-like about using my hands and my mind to fashion this most essential of shelters under a perfectly clear, starry sky.  There is such joy and freedom in using my hands and mind for geometry, construction and avoiding the myriad of creepy crawlies on the trees, versus my normal daily focus on creating the latest marketing plan or dreaming up some future-based life vision.  This is living now, with nothing in existence but the rope that keeps tying itself in unhelpful knots, the unruly tarp and the daddy long legs crawling up my arm.

My husband acknowledges me, his “fuzzy Canadian, engineer’s daughter”, as the expert in many things woodsy and he defers to my fire making skills as I demonstrate how to place the paper and then the kindling and then the logs all with vertical element to allow the heat and the flames to rise and work its magic.  (Jeff was a masterful student and built many large, hot and very manly fires through out the rest of the weekend. ;-))

I found green willow and whittled sticks for marshmallows before we halted our homesteading and headed down to the lake to watch the unexpected storm flashing and rolling in from Canada.

Fire flies in the foreground.
The waves lap gently on the shore.
It’s twilight and the sky is dark but for the waning pink light in the west.
Flashes on the horizon.
Distant islands revealed, illuminated by the approaching storm.
Teenagers testing boundaries on the dock, electricity in the sky and excitement in the air.
The night is alive.
 

The water perfectly still but for a gentle lapping at the shore, we sat and watched the beauty of the world, and in that moment I knew that I wanted, no, needed my un-conceived children to know this experience.  I want them to know the lake, and to build things and to get dirty and to know that despite all the wonders of the modern world, all they need is a chair and a stick, a campfire and a bag of marshmallows to have the makings of a great evening.

In that moment, I knew that I was my father’s daughter and that in many ways his legacy will live on through my children and theirs.  And I am glad.

Ray’s girl,

Joelle

The Make Your Life Program™

Experience the Magic of a Life Lived on Purpose

The Make Your Life Program™ is a one-of-a-kind tele-program which combines practical coaching skills, and professional support with creativity and play, allowing you to consciously create a life you love and experience the magic of a life lived on purpose.

READ MORE about the Make Your Life Program!

Hi gang! 

Summer has been an adventure and i have been doing much more living than I have been writing.  To make up for it, this, my very special end of month free week (every 5th week in the month is a week just for creating with no schedule and no obligations) will be used to make a writing plan for the next few months and get some blog posts all ready to go.  I have written about 20 posts but they all are sitting in my journal and need to make it here to the page so, coming very soon!

Tomorrow is the very last day of the Make Your Life Program and it is hard to believe that two months have passed already.  What an amazing group of people I have been working with.  They seriously leave me inspired every time we come to the call and I cannot wait to hear what they bring to the table to celebrate as we go out with a bang!

I wrote the blog below a couple of weeks ago as part of my personal Life-Making process.  Creativity, friends, health, and happiness have abounded.  It is my pleasure to share.

With Love,

Joelle

As I am in the process of consciously making my life I am constantly on the lookout for something to add depth and new experiences to my world.  Who knew that this latest adventure would be just outside my door?

Roses.  We have lots of them.  Normally they bloom and add color to the yard and then they die and we cut them off and new little buds start the cycle over.  It is funny to think that in 2.5 years I have never thought of bringing a little of the outdoors indoors. 

Well, that is exactly what I did.  It was a sunny Sunday and I found myself feeling creative and desirous of a Martha Stewart moment.  So I picked up the kitchen sheers and headed out to the yard.  There I found two types of roses and great big white peonies ready for pruning, so I cut the best and brought them up for a flower arranging workshop. 

After a trip back out for some greens I pulled together, by florist standards, 100’s of dollars worth of bouquets and all for the price of a sunny afternoon.

I was quite pleased with my creations and I learned a few things on the way. 

For instance….

Peonies are home to many of our smaller creepier woodland companions.  After 3 large catch and release spider operations, followed by the recognition that those little red dots all over the flowers were moving! I decided that peonies belong on bushes and on the patio and not on my dining room table.

I then found out that peonies belong on bushes period as the petals became a white blanket on my floor as a final act of revenge for taking them from their place in the wild.

I also found out that cats like to eat roses.  Who wudda thunk!
  
 

 And that you are always better to throw out the flowers before they start decomposing in the vase.

Live and learn. Live and learn.

I liked my flower project and will likely do it again. Perhaps for a special occasion or perhaps just because.

Stopping to smell the roses.

Joelle
 

Wanna, know what I think about the youth of America?

Personally, I think they rock.

And no, not like the guitar-wailing, classic rock of their parents’ generation. I mean, they R.O.C. K. (They are Refreshingly Organized Conscientious Kids!(Ok, technically they are “young adults” but then it would spell ROCYA – which kinda works too ;-))

It all started several months ago when I got clear on something, and that was that I was tired of trying to be a one-woman show—a coach, marketing expert,  graphic designer,  editor, and web designer. I had big dreams and a big vision but I was worn-out from wearing all the hats. I wanted to just be me and bring my own skills, talents and passions to the table while surrounding myself with energetic people, each working in their own area of excellence.  Basically, I just wanted to coach and not be bogged down with all the technical details.

Now this all sounded great in theory, but I was not in a financial position to hire $250,000 worth of skilled professionals. Then, much to my delight, a friend shared with me a little website called ClevelandIntern.net, a website created for the purpose of matching employers with local college students.  I said to myself, “What the heck, Joelle?” and I signed up.  I began thinking about who I would want supporting me, if I could have anyone on my team, what skills would they bring?  So I wrote out my wish list of the characteristics and abilities I wanted my team to possess.

Within days, much to my delight, the resumes started pouring in.

Less than two months later, my business is thriving thanks to the incredible support of five amazing student interns.

May I Introduce…:

• Megan and Jessica - both graphic design interns who are currently making PowerPoint presentations for various speaking events and designing logos for programs I’m developing.

• LaShawn and Theresa - both digital video interns who advised me on equipment needed to produce in-house videos and created opportunity and motivation for me to get both a brand new computer and a video camera. We are currently in production on the “Things That I’ve Learned from My Cats” coaching video (watch for it!)

• Monica - my writer/editor intern supporting the ever long-winded, spelling challenged Coach Joelle, cleaning up my writing and paying close attention to detail. She will be assisting me in writing my first book this summer and with a little direction, wrote the article you are reading right now ( so cool! ;-).)

READ MORE: Article continued - hear more about my fabulous intern experience!

HOLA!!

As some of you may know we are a couple weeks into the Make Your Life program and part of my life-making mission is to develop more relationships here in Ohio and spend more time outside having adventures.

Well, as we were just barely out of the gates, my brave new life had already begun taking shape as we grabbed our new couple friends Deborah and Peter and headed out for a daytrip to Ohio Wine country! Yes you heard me correctly

It all started a month previous when I was precariously draped across the table of my favorite Applied Kinesiology chiropractor while she made wonderful popping sounds out of my back and neck, when somehow the topic turned to one of her favorite outings when company visits – a trip out to Ohio wine country.  Excuse me?  I thought. Ohio What?  Who Knew?!

So I called up our friends, did a little online research and even printed out a AAA trip tic detailing our entire tour.   I packed some snackage, the requisite apples, cheese and crackers and we headed out for Saturday adventure.

It was no more than an hour out of town that we began to see the telltale vines scattered across the countryside and next thing we knew we were sitting in a tasting room trying a batch of new vintages.

Now I must admit, with the 80’s band blaring in the courtyard, our first stop did feel a bit more like the beer gardens back at the King Miner festival in my hometown than the pristine, quiet wineries tucked into hillsides which I had become accustomed to in Napa.  And at the second place we visited, we all agreed that they had at least a couple varieties that seemed to have a slight aftertaste of motor oil (don’t ask me how I would know what that would taste like but that is what it reminded me of).  But all in all we did taste some lovely wines and we had a happy, outdoors, on-vacation kind of day and it was definitely something I would repeat.

My Friend Karen has shared with me the concept of the “hometown vacation principle”.  The idea is that if you approached your own city the way you approach the places you vacation to, you would be much more present to the beauty and adventure of the city in a way we tend to miss on our daily commute.  This was definitely one of those experiences, a “world away” vacation right in our own neighborhood.

This was just one tiny way to make my life, just one lovely day, but it is all those tiny moments that add up to make a rich and fulfilling life.

Hugs to you and wishing you hometown adventures!

Joelle

It was Two years ago that my husband Jeff took me on a sailing adventure on a tall ship (imagine pirates of the Caribbean and you can get a feel for our boat) and it was everything I could every want in a vacation.

Sailing on the open seas, close to nature, community, simplicity, visiting tiny out of the way bays and islands that sported nothing but a sand beach and a bar.  It was the perfect combination of fun and total relaxation, all with the most beautiful backdrop imaginable.

 Our perfect vacation found, we were all set to do another for our anniversary this year but we were dismayed to find that the owners were mismanaging their money and fighting between themselves and the company was suffering.  Instead of sending our money to head out on a ship this winter we found ourselves sending money to have abandoned crew members transported back to their home countries after the company had left the ships and their crews in foreign waters.

The community around this particular type of vacationing is almost cult like, full of die-hard fans of the tall ship experience.  They have shared news and stories and pictures of their sailing adventures, discussed the demise of the afore mentioned company and coordinated rescue efforts for the crew through an online forum, which my husband has been hooked on since he started doing the research for our first trip two years ago.

With the loss of our tall ship experience, there was suddenly a void for all of these people and as life goes, where there is a void, it started pulling us all in to fill it.

On the scene arrives Captain Neil, a brash and bawdy former tall-ship captain and his trusty assistant Liz (the amazing operating room nurse who coordinated the raising of tens of thousands of dollars to get the abandoned crew home to their families.) A core group rallying around the vision of future tall-ship adventures began a campaign to raise money to buy a ship, start a company and continue the tradition.   My husband has marched us into that core group and this weekend…. We went to meet our ship mates and look at a ship!

We met up with the other investors at the Barking Crab on Boston Harbor and finally put faces to names and icons (imagine our surprise when the infamous Liz looked nothing like the banana riding a llama that she uses as her onscreen icon.)

We came from all walks of life, a variety of ages, with little in common other than our love for the tall-ship experience, but that was all we needed.

 I think my husband put it perfectly when he wrote:

"this ship is sweet. Our short time on her filled me with the energy we want in a ship. During our sail I quickly lost track of time and my life. I was completely present in the moment, hanging out with my new best friends, without any awarenss that I had only met them an hour earlier. "

The ship … was beautiful. 

With wooden decks, simple rooms and ample sails I really could not have asked for anything more.  We helped the crew hoist the sails, as we had on our sailing vacations of the past.  To feel the mighty pull of the wind blowing us across the harbor is truly one of the most pure and beautiful experiences.  As I took it all in, I knew my dad was there.  The man who loved the sea, he was the first to expose me to such things as raw oysters and smoked salmon and windsurfing.  He actually built the sail boat that we sailed on at our cabin in Canada and I know he would have been so pleased that we were doing this and were he alive, he would have joined us on the adventure, I am sure of it.

The tour and sailing of the ship and our fellow tall-ship enthusiasts were major contributors to a weekend that, as a whole was on of my favorite experiences so far in 2008 by far.

What happens next? We are not sure, offers, negotiation, raising money etc.  but one thing I know for sure, this crew will sail together again and if I have any say in the matter, it will be on our own ship as we create a special vacationing experience for those who are hungry for adventure and the simple beauty of a tall ship.

Coach Joelle

P.S.  A special thank you to my husband for creating this adventure.  My dad would be so happy to see I am with such an adventurer and lover of the sea.  Smooch!

Ok! Who knew Boston was such an amazing city?!

I had no clue and no idea what to expect.  But whatever I would have imagined would not have come close to what we found.

About two weeks ago, Jeff made the executive decision that we would be heading to Boston this weekend.  The why of our Boston trip will be shared in another post but I must pause and share my appreciation for this amazing city.

 We arrived early Friday evening, dropped off our bags at our downtown hotel and then decided to head out on a walk-about.

The moment we turned the corner we realized we were in an uncommon downtown.  Little parks everywhere populated by people just hanging out, connecting, having a coffee and enjoying a moment in this historic city.

You can almost feel the history inherent in its narrow streets, old churches and cobblestoned markets.

People are everywhere!

What? A downtown, on a weekend, full of people?! Will wonders never cease?!

I can tell this city has done something right because everyone, local and visitor, is sitting outside in bars, cafes and restaurants.  People are out, enjoying the weather and the scene.  Street performers are gathering crowds of eager onlookers just wanting to be a part of the magic act or to get a picture with the man who seems to create an entire band out of a bunch of plastic containers and a couple sticks.

With map in hand we easily follow the crowd down to the harbor, the pathway to which is unobstructed by any sort of significant traffic due to something they call the “big dig” where they put all the major freeways underground.   Whatever it cost, in my opinion, it was a great idea. 

The harbor is rockin’!  Outdoor bars right on the dock are crowded with young people.  Happy hours abound and Jeff and I reminisce, ah, this would have been one heck of a town to be in when we were 10 years younger and single!

Across the harbor we see the reason for the trip in the first place – a tall sailing ship that has roused a motley crew of sailors to come together from all over the country to see what she is made of (but I will save that story for another post).

After hours of walking, exploring and taking it all in, dinner is outside in the center of the action with home-made sangria, Jeff’s very first experience of slurping fresh raw oysters (YUM!) and of course, fresh lobster. 

In the morning, it was a quick walk to the aquarium for the Imax show, “Dolphins and Whales, Tribes of the Ocean”, showing these amazing creatures up close and larger than life on the IMAX screen.  Narrated by Daryl Hanna we not only get to feel the sometimes haunting, sometimes joyful essence of these huge mammals, but we also get to hear about how human activity, whaling, pollution and development is putting many of them on the verge of extinction.  As the music started I began tearing-up. At some point I was sobbing and at the end Jeff and I just sat there, red eyed, sad and a not just a little bit upset by the state of things (to hear about one of the fascinating examples of how money and progress seems to win out over everything else, check out this article to read about the fate of the last three hundred Right Whales (the movie points out they are called that because they are the “Right Whales” to hunt and it seems those characteristics that made them so right has been very wrong for their survival.))

After the show it was on to a day of dining and playing, sailing and community, Irish pubs and fresh seafood and hearing the wonder of how Boston seems to have lost their “R”s (ask a Bostonian to say “Heart” or “Bar” or “Starbucks” and you will see what I mean.)

After two days of perfect weather, we awoke Sunday morning to a rainy day, an easy trip to the airport and a perfect departure from a perfect trip.

There was so much left undone from our trip to Boston and it truly was the kind of place that you could go for no reason, knowing no one, and have a blast!

I see many impromptu weekends to Boston in our future just because.

What a city!

Coach Joelle

That’s right, around 1773 a group of American colonists protested against the British government by throwing a bunch of tea into the Boston harbor, which is said to have sparked the American Revolution and this weekend I got to participate in its re-enactment (A.K.A. the Boston Tea Party) aboard a tall sailing ship in Boston!

As it turns out our leader was a energized young woman in colonial wear, pretending to be Samuel Adams (as her male counter part was on his first day of the job.)

Shortly after we set sail the fun began as she walked us through the details leading up to the historic event (which is all very helpful since I will likely have to know all this stuff when I am eligible for my US citizenship sometime in 2010.)  Of course my husband Jeff and I were well versed in the evils of the East India Trading company (we watch Pirates of the Caribbean – we know all about it!) and as we went through the democratic process of proposing action and then voting with a “Hear Hear” for yes and an angry “FIE” for no, the clear choice was to throw the tea into the harbor (though I do think that my solution of brewing it and adding rum was quite innovative.)

Other than feeling the wind in the sails and enjoying the perfect day on the water, I think my favorite part of the event was watching our Sam Adams do her thing.  She reminded me a lot of myself back when I was growing up, singing and acting.  I loved her energy, her fearless capacity to be utterly silly, giving everything she had to her role and her duty of entertaining our motley crew.

The delights of Boston were far beyond anything I had imagined but the revolting part was a definite highlight!

Lovin’ Liberty!

Coach Joelle
 

Good morning,

Life has been such an adventure recently.  It is as though I woke up with the spring.

The past 6 weeks have been perhaps the most fascinating 6 weeks of business I have ever experienced.  I know I should not be surprised but I am always intrigued by the magic of the world.

I woke up one day in April and decided it was time to go. It was time to get on it. It was like I told the universe “ok, Coach Joelle is open for business.” I took action, action found me and 6 weeks later I look back and marvel at the adventure.

I reemerged on the speaking circuit and perhaps for the first time felt like a grown-up, not a kid with a passion, but an expert with a message. The distinction creates something new both on my insides and to the outside world.

I have also reinitiated the “Introduction to Passionate Powerful Living” event and held a tele-class as well as a live class here in Cleveland.

As I prepared for the events, I had to laugh at myself, I had every word and every idea written down from over 18 months ago, but for some reason I had decided to leave it be until now.  (I often have that experience of getting an idea, doing a search on my computer and finding out that I pretty much had the entire thing fleshed out 3 years ago and it was just waiting for the right time to be revealed.)

Needless to say, my little events, well, like I said, now I get that they have a message to bring, a message that leaves people in tears and has people laughing and puts the sparkle in their eyes.  The last tele-class was followed by a flood of emails that left me smiling – life really is quite remarkable.

“Wow!  I’m pretty sure that life shifted forever for me during our call last night.  Is that possible in one hour??  (yes it is) I don’t mean to sound overly dramatic, but something really changed for me.

I stated my intention… "I want to create an abundant life" during the call, and then I just felt it to the core.  I could see it and feel it for the first time in my life.  I felt it so deeply that I could hardly articulate my thoughts.  And guess what happened??….

Well…. it was literally raining abundance all over my life last night and today! “ (Love it!)

So I am doing what I have always done but it is as though there is a new me doing it. A me that can own the breadth and depth of what I get to do here with my life. A me that understands that it is not about me, that everything I have become has come together to serve this message and as I grow in it, sharing the message is like breathing.

Another part of the adventure has been an adventure is sales.  6 weeks ago I said it was time to get new business. Today, I watch it happening like someone turned on the tap.  New clients come to me every day, being referred through the community, finding me on the internet and seeing something exciting for themselves through my speaking. I have actually had the thought that I might need to start hiring coaches.  So interesting.

I started 5 interns in my business over the past 3 weeks.  I hope to write an article on it ( or specifically, Monica, my writing editing intern will likely write the article) but let’s just say that all the old joys and fears of having a team have come sweeping over me as I have gotten to know these lovely young people, intent on making their summer one that deeply enriches their personal and professional experience.

The Make Your Life Program starts Monday and I have been diligently preparing for it over the last 3 months.  I feel as thought the beginning of the program will be the start of a great exhale after months of anticipation and activity.

So here I am, and it is a good place. Many of the things I have done in the past 6 weeks have scared me, some even terrified me but I knew that courage and the capacity to find a new point of view was the answer to success and deep peace in the process.

As it turns out, it appears that I am not the only one who has been pushing the boundaries this spring.  I had a conversation with a client last night who has also been stepping out and being brave.  He asked when it would get easier, as he had done 7 brave things in a month and it still felt hard!  I smiled and asked him how easy/hard it would have been to do it 6 months ago. His response, he would never have dreamed of doing these things 6 months ago.  His homework is to do 5 “out there” things this week – just imagine what he will be creating by fall!

Ahhhhhh.

Monday was the first day the felt like summer. It was even warm in the shadows. And today I feel rested and peaceful as I enter into the quiet days of the week when I write, and organize and sit under trees.

Thank you for being a space for me to share. Sending hugs to you and wishing you all the joy that a warming spring can bring.

Love,

Joelle