The approaching year is an EXCELLENT time for a coaching tune up! Have you reached out to your coach lately? 

I offer a full and half-day tune up for existing clients. Your coach may offer something similar. Longer year end sessions allow you to review:

1. What have I learned this year? 
2. What can I celebrate?
3. What learning can I take with me into the next year?
4. What are my three focal points for next year?
5. What goals support those focal points?
6. What parts of me need to be engaged to support my success?

​

Those of us who are vehicle owners want to make sure our cars will get us through the winter or dog days of summer. Unfortunately, the average person rarely schedules the inspection or gets the tune-up. Service is called when the unthinkable happens: a total breakdown!

(Read the full article HERE)

Or copy and paste this link into your browser:
https://experiencecoaching.com/coaching-tune-up/?inf_contact_key=176a3e7db4082bc42dfef27f25643e107e470d92b8b75168d98a0b8cac0e9c09

What will I do now?  I’ve asked myself this question many times in life when something occurs that will cause change to happen.  I’ve never been a fan of change.  In fact, I have and still do, dread it.  When things change, it creates a whole universe of newness that I have to think about in order to make the transition from one way of living to another.  Transitions are uncertain and our brains are not wired to like uncertainty.  Over the course of my life, I have found ways to help me balance my dread with hope and I will share what I’ve discovered here.  ​

Transitions can occur from changes in life situations such as marriage, divorce, death of a loved one, new jobs, loss of a job, children being born, children leaving home, retirement, and buying a new home.  All of these changes can uproot our way of life, causing stress.  Even when the changes are exciting, we are stepping into unchartered territory.  For some of us, change can be a bit easier if we enjoy the novelty of new ventures while others have a harder time because we enjoy the comfort the status quo affords us.  Despite all of the differences in people’s personalities that influence their comfort with change, we can all be affected mentally and emotionally by upheavals in our lives. 

So how do we maintain some balance in life during times of transition?  Some of the first things that happen in transition, is that we lose our sense of direction and stop taking care of ourselves.  We eat poorly, don’t get enough sleep, push ourselves too hard or shut down, and we fall off our schedules.  All of this is due to uncertainty of the unknown.  Here are some ideas to help bring about more balance:

1.  Make a schedule/plan – this helps to alleviate some of the uncertainty by creating clear    intentions and steps of action along with time frames for these.  Be specific with your intentions.  The more specific you are with these, the less uncertainty you will experience. 

2.  Allow yourself to grieve – whether you are grieving the loss of a loved one or any part of your life that is no longer the same, it’s important to be gentle with yourself and realize that this process takes time.  Reach out for help from friends, family, support groups, therapists, or life coaches.  Going it alone can increase your chances for anxiety and/or depression. 

3.  Give yourself time for breaks – being focused helps you meet your action steps in your schedule or plan but it’s not effective to stay focused all day.  Your brain needs to rest so it’s a good idea to pause throughout the day by taking short power naps, meditating, taking a walk, or engaging in a fun relaxing hobby.  Focus helps develop the structure we need but creating time for breaks offers us a more rounded day that keeps us refreshed and less likely to burn-out or give up. 

4.  Take care of yourself – eat healthy food, get exercise, get enough sleep, and find time to meditate or do some of the things you enjoy doing.  Reach out to friends and family for social time. Schedule time with a professional if you need help with any of your self-care, including releasing and processing emotions. 

Finally, shifting your perspective so you can look at your transition time as having some positive results instead of just being all bad, will open you to new possibilities.  We can begin to see some beautiful opportunities and life paths open up even when we are dealing with deep wells of pain and grief.  Through support, self-care, and self-love we can better maintain our mental and physical health so that we can step into a new way of life with balance.  We can be open to embrace new adventures that we would have never known if our life stayed exactly as it was. 

Darcie Litwicki is an Integrative Life Coach that combines solid coaching skills and working with horses to create a dynamic and transformative coaching process for people to reach their personal and professional goals. She believes her clients are the experts in their own lives and that we all have the ability to reach our highest potential but sometimes we need to engage in the coaching process to get there.

Have you scheduled your free 60-minute coaching session to determine if this is a good fit for you in your life?  Contact Darcie to get scheduled.  You can schedule Equine Assisted Coaching In-Person Sessions at Silver Heart Ranch or sessions online (Zoom), or by phone.  Darcie also offers a variety of group coaching options, workshops, and online classes.  Contact her to learn more!   

Connect with Darcie
www.silverheartranch.com
darcielitwicki@gmail.com
Facebook: @SilverHeartRanch
(520) 370-8093

We all wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! We hope it is full of grace, gratitude and glee.

We were unable to get you a current team picture due to covid, so please enjoy this oldie but goody!!

Much love,
Team IICT

Administration:
Kate Ashton
Laurel Elders
Lauren Stidham
Patrick Elders

Faculty:
Dori Klass - Know Thyself & Parts Work in Coaching
Howie Adams - The Neurobiology of Emotional Intelligence & Somatics
Karen Cappello - The Energy of Success
Kristen Truman-Allen - Evoking Excellence through Metaphor
Laurel Elders - Lead Faculty
Nancy Smyth - The Anatomy of Peace
Rebecca Smith - Referring Out
Suzanne McFarlin - Leadership Specialization
Tabitha Danloe - Business Launch!
Tamica Sears - Leadership Specialization

In memory of Sandy Hogan, our beloved friend and colleague. ​

by: Dez Stephens, ACC
 
Read the full article here:
https://bit.ly/30gMRZt

​

Coaching Fundamentals I-III:
 
December 1st 
Coaching Definitions / Industry Standards / Coaching Demo
 
December 8th 
Anatomy of an Effective Coaching Session / Coaching Demo
 
December 15th 
Coach & Client Responsibilities / How to Avoid Hijacking your Client / Stages of Partnering
 

• TIMES: 3-5pm PST / 6-8pm EST
• FORMAT: Zoom Webinar - interactive
• TUITION: $600
• APPLY ONLINE: > Click HERE <

 
Questions? We are here to help!
Email us: admin@integrativecoachtraining.com
Or click reply and submit your question.

​Last week we looked the steps to amplifying business success. Amplifying is one aspect. Creating short-cuts to success is another empowering aspect to success. 
 
Stepping into coaching allows us to eliminate blocks to success including: blind-spots, self-sabotage, limiting mindsets and resistance.
 
To step fully into your brilliance, get coached.
 
Coaching help us eliminate what is in the way so that the shortest path to success becomes natural and evident. 
 
Coaching was the top game changer in my life, my heart, my parenting and my career. Coaching is why I'm here today connecting with you.
 
As Simon Sinek says, "Failure we can do alone. Success takes help."
 
This week is another excellent video on the power of coaching. I am so proud of this profession!
 
I hope you enjoy.

Do you have a big business goal you wish to accomplish in life? Do you feel like you are not accomplishing it fast enough? Is overnight business success actually real?

I get it. It took me years to learn the success principles, face my fears and understand marketing so that I could have a cozy coaching practice to finally lean into full time. I realize that I definitely could have accomplished this in a much shorter time frame.

With all of the media making it look like people are overnight successes and so many people marketing “get rich quick formulas”, it makes sense we beat ourselves up for not being a success in 3 months.

On a small business association pamphlet I read that the average successful business takes 3-5 years to get fully launched. I also listened to a highly successful entrepreneur share that in his experience every overnight success he met was already 10 years in the making.

While this news might feel disheartening, it doesn’t have to. Think of it this way. If you take 3 years to build a successful business and it supports you for 10, 20 or 30 years it would have been absolutely hands down worth it. Also, the years of hard earned wisdom and experience you have already accumulated counts towards your success. 

Also, with a streamlined marketing plan people can grow a coaching clientele much faster than the 3-5 year brick and mortar store.

Well, I am here now, very deeply grateful I never gave up my vision for success.

Here are 5 steps to amplify your business success:

1) Don’t give up your day job. I know this piece of advice is typically disappointing to hear. After all, you are excited about your vision and want to be living it already! I completely get that. However, if you are stressed over finances this can steeply impact the quality of work you produce. Even working part-time can give you consistent buoyancy so you can focus.

2) Give yourself a bigger window to see from. You don’t get a degree overnight. It takes 2-4 years. This is just like business success. It takes time, so give yourself time. Take the pressure off. For example: When we tell ourselves that we only have 3 months to have a full client load, we might freak out. When we tell ourselves that we have a full year to get the ball rolling, we can feel the spaciousness in that. This ease allows us to deliver quality work.

3) Be strategic and streamlined. Focus on accomplishing one goal at a time. Many new business owners fail because they take on too many goals at once, spread themselves too thin and flop. Switch your mindset from quantity to delivering quality. Quality and focused work will get you success much faster.

4) Don’t go it alone. There are people who have learned the hard way, learned the short-cuts and are greatly successful. Learn from them. Reinventing the wheel will take ten times longer. Tip: Stick with a coach/consultant when it comes to business success. The consulting will show you what to do and what to avoid. Then they will coach you on crafting your success formula. Other people’s success formulas work for them and their success doesn’t mean it will work for you. Avoid signing up for formulaic programs that look exciting but…. you are following someone else’s success formula! Those (typically overpriced) programs have a high failure rate.

5) Nourish your vision. Literally spend time thinking about what you LOVE LOVE LOVE about your vision. Envision you are already living it. Spending time in the positive energy of your vision and connecting with why you are embarking on this path will help you attract success. If people ask you about your services and you are self-conscious or divided between excitement and overwhelm, this comes across. If people ask about your services and you beam with love, it is noticeable and contagious! Many successful people spend anywhere from 5-30 minutes each morning before they start their day, focusing on their goals and nourishing them.
​

Monday, September 21st, will be the first anniversary of my wife Sandy's passing. The first six months went by so slowly and the last six months so fast.The first three months were really hard. I am so glad I had our dog as a companion. His unconditional love, enthusiasm and goofiness kept me going. I am doing all right thanks to loving care of Sandy's mother, three sisters and four of Sandy's dear friends, Willow Sibert, Priscilla Misner, John and Laurel Elders. They check in with me often and I call them my "angels."

OUR FOREVER HOME
I am living at the same address on Salt Cedar Dr, Oro Valley, AZ. The house is a little big, 1900 sq feet, for one person but I insisted with our children to continue to live here. After 8 years of renting, being at the mercy of a landlord, we decided to buy a house. It was going to be our "forever" home. We started looking for a home in April 2019 when Sandy first started having back and stomach pains and was seeing her doctor. We closed escrow and moved in June 1st. On July 1st her oncologist told us Sandy's cancer was treatable, not curable. July 31st, Sandy was admitted to the hospital because she was having trouble breathing. Sandy was in the hospital 3 weeks, then in rehab for 3 weeks trying to get strong enough to come home. She passed on September 21st. She never made it back to her" forever" home after living there for only 2 months.

I wanted to live in the" forever home" to fulfill our wish. I am very happy because I am living in a home that Sandy decorated in her style with her things and art work, some of which bring pleasant memories. In the great room, I have Sandy's urn, with a vase of fresh flowers, surrounded by pictures of her family. I talk to her in my thoughts and every night before I go to bed, I pat the top of her urn and say "goodnight sweetheart, I'll see you in my dreams." Since Sandy's passing I dream of her much more often than when she was alive... at least three or four nights a week. I think of it as her way of telling me she is with me.

SANDY AND PETER - A LOVE STORY
After Sandy passed, I went through boxes of family pictures looking for pictures of Sandy for a photo scrapbook that her sister, Janet Luzzi was making for showing at Sandy's Celebration of Life
 https://youtu.be/fgWCHScIJYA. 

Because of the corona virus, we never got that celebration.

I was reminded just how beautiful a woman she was and I was smitten the first moment I saw her. In her later years she did not look like a woman her age. In the scrapbook there is a picture of Sandy in a clown suit. That was taken on Halloween day 1976, the day I met her. I was a Sergeant with the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department and I came to the junior high school to give a talk to the students. The principal put me in Sandy's English class. He introduced her as Miss Luzzi. I definitely caught the Miss. What an attractive teacher!! I talked to three classes and between classes I am trying to get to know more about her. She is having none of it. It was the down to business side of Sandy that some of you have seen.

In the afternoon, I was going to talk to a class at the high school across the road. The principal put me in the teacher's lounge for lunch. It was crowded with teachers most of them in Halloween costumes. During that time I am sitting by myself. I hear someone say Miss Luzzi and they were talking to this person dressed as a clown. I thought to myself how can she go from a gorgeous woman to Bozo the clown. Because I was so embarrassed that I acted like an ass that morning, I made sure she wouldn't see me by crawling under the seat cushions.

I knew I was coming back to the high school the next week to talk to 2 classes. During that time, I got the bright idea to send her a bouquet of flowers to apologize for my behavior. I was able to get her home address. The next week at the high school, I had just started my talk when this stunningly beautiful woman comes in the classroom, walks up real close to me and almost in a whisper thanks me for the flowers and invites me to share her lunch in her classroom.. That's It! I am hooked.

It was a long time later that I realized I was set up. Why would a teacher come to school in a dress, with high heels, wearing earrings and a necklace? Why would said teacher pack TWO tuna fish sandwiches that particular day? I was hooked, yes I was smitten from that day until September 21, 2019. Sandy is the love of my life!!

Sandy passed before all the turmoil and crisis in our country with the corona virus, unemployment, kids out of school, racism and climate change has made a country she would not recognize. Fortunately her dream ticket of Biden/Harris became a reality. I miss Sandy for what she brought to all of you and me and her community.

REMEMBERING SANDY
Sandy was the most positive person in a real way, that I ever met. She was non judgmental, kind, generous, caring and always giving of herself and time for others. Most of all she was a good listener. With people being scared, fearful, and the continuing crisis by the president and his followers that certainly will get worse, Sandy is not here when we most need her. 

The day after Sandy passed, her family and my brother's family had dinner together prior to their leaving back to California. At that time, I announced to the family that I was going to establish a Sandy Hogan Memorial Scholarship fund at the Institute for Integrative Coach Training. It had been noodling in my head since I knew Sandy was terminal. This school started out several years ago as a Coaching program through Prescott College by Sandy and Laurel Elders. When Prescott College cancelled the program, Sandy and Laurel continued it on their own with Laurel being the backbone devoting her full time and Sandy being the advisor and one of the instructors Laurel is an early protege and student of Sandy's. It evolved into the Institute for Integrative Coach Training. 

The Institute and the Enneagram were Sandy's two great passions. It is my dream that the scholarship will assist future coaches to learn and apply Sandy's coaching philosophy and to make it a perpetual scholarship after I have passed. I have started making a quarterly contribution.
SANDY'S LEGACY
If you want to continue to honor the legacy of Sandy's coaching work, please consider donating to this scholarship fund named in Sandy's honor. Visit:

www.integrativecoachtraining.com/sandylegacyscholarships.html and https://www.integrativecoachtraining.com/sandy.html.

In the Sandy thanks you address, there is a booklet you can download Called "Follow Your Calling". It is interviews Laurel had with Sandy in the last three weeks of her life.

Thank you all for being in Sandy's life. We are forever grateful that she was in ours.

With Love,

Peter

When I was around 4 years old I had a phobia. I was really panicked about swimming and water. 

My extreme fear of water landed me in swimming lessons. This was an attempt to lessen my fright and eventually learn how to swim.  

I remember the day of my first lesson very clearly.

The swim instructor was very outgoing and friendly. There were a lot of kids splashing around, which felt intimidating. I refused to get off that first step. Anxiety pumped through my veins. I was perfectly intent on staying securely on the pool’s edge.

My instructor came over and asked me to come with her. I eventually agreed and grabbed onto her for dear life as she peeled me off of the pool’s edge. 

She walked with me on her hip, bouncing us gently, into deeper and deeper waters. She reassured me every step of the way, “You are safe. You are ok. It’s ok, you can trust me. See, you are ok.” 

I clung to her petrified. Then slowly gave in and began to trust that everything was actually ok and I was safe. 

And then.... 

The game changed.

She grabbed me tight. She pulled me under the water without any warning.

Seconds felt like an eternity.. I wanted out, I couldn't breath, the rug had been pulled, anxiety turned into panic. I was horrified, stuck and helpless. I held my breath in the sheer terror, I squirmed trying to free myself to breath again.

Finally, she let me up.

I think I screamed. Probably for my mother’s arms. The nightmare was over. Or was it? 

I look back and realize this woman had the fully fledged intention of showing me I could survive going under water. However, what was accomplished was the opposite. My fear and panic were now anchored in for life. 

Without knowing it, my perception of the world shifted that day too.

“Adults are not trustworthy.”
“Just when I feel safe, the rug gets pulled.”
“Life is chaotic and unpredictable.”
“I’m not safe especially when someone tells me I am.”

These perceptions become the filters we see the world through. These perceptions often live beneath our awareness, until we unearth them.

“Adults are not trustworthy.” Not only does not serve me, it is not true. This unconscious belief wrecked havoc throughout my teenage years until I became aware of it and could heal it. 

We take these with us, consciously or not, to keep us safe. The limit of them is that they eventually keep us small, keep us from blooming fully and keep us looping in predictable patterns.

Thinking back to a fearful experience you remember (one that is not overwhelming to recall), what beliefs did you take away from that moment? 

Are these beliefs true today? Do you they serve you? What is the truth?
​
This is not only a process of pulling out the weeds in our unconscious beliefs. It is about planting new seeds. The truth does set us free.

Human potential is a journey… 

On the first stretch of this journey, we can be shown the way. This guidance can be found in books, mentoring, advising, counseling, or anytime we need to look to others for the answers that will guide us to a new understanding. 

Yet, there is a time in our life when the answers provided to us may become the very box of our limitation. In this moment, we realize we are at a crossroads; to continue the way we've been shown or to pave the remainder of our life through our own wisdom. 

To truly reach our human potential, one must journey beyond the walls of external provision and begin to journey among the answers embedded within.  

The second stretch of this journey is accessed from going within to explore the depths of the wisdom embedded within the heart of knowing. 

To support our client’s second journey and masterfully coach we must show up as a completely neutral vessel to hold a potentiated space for our client’s unfolding. 

As a coach, we are the lantern to the client's true Essence, to the seeds of potential embedded within aching to be born. We are the Sherpa's journeying with our clients to their unique personal apex.

What is their truth? What is their wisdom? What jewels are buried within their heart? What gifts are hidden within? 

In masterful coaching we must sit in the unknowing

to be of service to the client’s knowing.
________________
Laurel Elders, PCC, CEC is the founder and CEO of the ICF Accredited, Institute for Integrative Coach Training (IICT), headquartered in Tucson, AZ.  Laurel began her career as a coach in 2005 after noticing that we are living in pivotal times and that coaching is powerfully tapping into the next phase of human potential in ways never before experienced.

IICT is invested in bringing the highest levels of coaching, training and mentoring into a world that needs people's gifts, talents, purpose and heart, now more than ever. IICT coaches are successful torch holders for positive impact, locally and globally, in service to the generations ahead.
​
Learn more about becoming a Certified Professional Integrative Coach (CPIC) Program www.integrativecoachtraining.com/training.htm

I invite you to consider a buoy. It floats atop the water, despite storms it remains in its spot. It is a boundary of safety to communities of ships, surfers and swimmers.

Buoys are tethered, anchored and grounded. If they weren't they would float away being tossed aside and turned around wherever the current was going that day. 

It is one thing to float above, but without a tether to ground the buoy, it loses all purpose.

To ponder: Are you feeling ungrounded and is life throwing you about? Are you tethered, but to false beliefs? To what are you tethered?  

As human beings when we tether to the ego out of fear, we become limited in our capacity and life feels overwhelming.

However, when we tether to a greater purpose, through our own inner wisdom we can rise above and thrive. When life feels enriched by meaning we can go to bed with a happy heart even if times are stressful. 

The next question is: What is your medicine in this lifetime? 

I learned that some Native American traditions believe that everyone and everything has a medicine to it. This medicine benefits those around it, or needing it. 

Becoming a coach, I learned that each human being has gifts within. This is our medicine for the world. When we live in our gifts we help others. Each gift is unique. Each gift can serve a greater purpose.

Sadly, many people do not realize their gifts, life calling, or their medicine because the ego harbors fearful messages like, “Stay safe!” “Don’t follow your heart.” “It is dangerous out there." "You have to fend for yourself after you fail.” "You are all alone." These will absolutely keep anyone small. 

Fortunately, your heart has the answers to dispel all of the fears your ego can conjure up.

~ Are you listening to the heart or the ego?

~ Do you know what your medicine is in this lifetime?

~ Are you following your calling? 
​
I double-dog dare you to follow your calling, give your gifts to the people who need them, and amplify what life has in store for you!

Love is like a generator. The more we give it, the more we have it. The Course in Miracles teaches that love is the principle not subject to the laws of the ego. According to the ego what is shared is divided into two parts. Love doubles when shared. Love is an extension of care, support, extension, grace, compassion, inspiration, and so much more. If God had a currency, it would be Love.

Those of us that come to know this truth about ourselves get rest not from sleeping, but awakening. Awakening to what we are truly capable of. Awakening to our truth. Awakening into possibility.

The human heart is an ancient metaphor that has been passed down century after century through many cultures. It represents the Highest aspects of ourselves where love is our guide, our true north. 
Consider some of our more common sayings:

• Follow your heart!
• I have such a heart-ache.
• Put your heart into it!
• He is my heart-throb.
• Let’s get to the heart of the matter.
• This is not for the faint of heart!
• She is so warm-hearted.
• My heart bleeds for them.
• This movie makes my heart sing!
• My heart is calling me to…
• I have to search my heart.
• In my heart of hearts, I feel…

Unlike the ego, the Higher-Self quietly waits to gift us. It bares gifts of wisdom, guidance and compassion. The ego is quick to drown out any inner peace, doubt any wisdom and divide us from what is possible. 

The ego is quick to judge and second guess 
while the heart will guide you out of any mess. 
The ego is quick to jump into the pool of fear, 
while the heart invites you to steer clear.
Our wisdom, inner knowing and intuition all reside in the part of ourselves we call the heart. ​

“Love is the bridge between you and everything.” 
Rumi​
​

To learn more about Melanie's work:
https://melaniedewberry.com
Power of Naming: 
​https://melaniedewberry.com/the-power-of-naming/