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I like the Dalai Lama. He seems like a really nice guy … friendly, relaxed, happy and healthy. In my mind’s eye, he’s smiling. He smiles a lot.

When you hear him speak, you can tell he knows a few things about the nature of living on earth.

The Lama is a Buddhist, of course, and Buddhists talk a lot about suffering. The broad and somewhat vague way they talk about it never really resonated to these American ears.

Can a service provider who’s less expensive do just as good a job … or a
better job … than one who’s pricier?

Of course.

But let me relate a story that serves as a cautionary tale to you as a
service provider.

As a life coach, I’m always looking for those messages and distinctions that make our lives easier and more fulfilling. That said, as a business coach, I absolutely detest when I see headlines that promise the world, promises like … Make 6-Figures In 6 Weeks With Our One-of-a-Kind Program! So why would I make such a huge promise in the headline of this newsletter? The one true answer. Really?

Here’s why. Because after months of experimenting, I’ve found it to be a sure-fire panacea for dealing with things you don’t like in your world, but either can’t change or you’re gonna have to do a lot of heavy lifting to change.

I ask a lot of provocative questions in my role as a life coach, but this one is pretty unusual, even for me.

They put pilots in a flight simulator and confront them with extremely challenging and often life-threatening challenges.

Are they doing it to torture the pilots … to make them sweat and suffer as they scramble to determine the appropriate corrective actions to take?

Of course not.

So, what’s the purpose?

Beauty is everywhere. It surrounds us … the beauty of nature and the beauty of things man-made. As a life coach, I’m always encouraging my clients to pay attention to the beautiful and wonderous world around them.

But do I, myself, take a lot of things for granted that are right in front of me?

Absolutely. We all do, even those who practice mindfulness very diligently. What’s familiar fades into the background, even when it’s mindblowingly awesome, like Niagara Falls or the sparkle in a baby’s eyes.

Case in point: Look at this picture. The subject is nothing short of an objet d’art.

I’m a business coach. You might not think intuition plays that big a role in what I do, but it does. Likewise, you might think there’s not much room for intuition in the practice of medicine, at least not these days.

I recently discovered that’s not always the case.

There’s a book I’d recommend to everyone out there … Happy For No Reason by Marci Shimoff. It’s chock full of life coaching lessons that inform every aspect of our lives.

I was re-reading it recently as part of my morning practice and came across this story that really touched my heart and made me cry.

Let that be fair warning.

It doesn’t get any sweeter, heartwarming or tear-jerking than this.

What do you do when the situation you’re in as a business owner isn’t working … but you can’t clearly see a way to create something that does work? My former partner, friend, and business coach extraordinaire, Barbara Mencer, published a newsletter last month that got me musing on the subject.

I want to expand on what she said with a real life example I hope will give you the inspiration to move forward in the face of uncertainty.

How do you take the measure of a person? What criteria do you use in your evaluation? One of the joys of being a life coach is you meet and work with so many different kinds of wonderful and truly impressive people.

What really impresses me is usually not so much the more superficial attributes, the God-given gifts, such as attractiveness, intelligence or certain special capabilities, although those can certainly be impressive.

I’m just more taken by people who decide to live their lives in a consistently positive way … especially by the choices they make when the true nature of their character is on the line.

For example, take the case of when someone needs your help and there’s absolutely nothing in it for you … except maybe some inconvenience, aggravation, or expense. Maybe even some safety risk.

It’s been a difficult year, riddled with uncertainty, unease, and unrest. As a life coach and business consultant, I’m painfully aware of the anxiety many of my clients are experiencing. And with the election around the corner, I’m concerned about the friction we all feel and its potential to tear families, communities, and our nation apart.

How can we expand our ability to listen to the other guy and allow people to be who they are and believe what they choose to believe?