INspired Ink™

Be True to YOU

fredibakercoaches — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:53:54 +0000

“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.”- Hardy D. Jackson

In my newsletter this week, I wrote about the roles we play in our lives, and the authentic role we were born to play. A key component to being an authentic, fully self-expressed, creative person is to fully engage. Put your heart into it. Wholeheartedly. When we can do this, our whole world changes. I am ready to embrace being true to myself…how about you?

RX? Relax…

fredibakercoaches — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:26:46 +0000

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” ~ Chinese Proverb

It’s pretty simple, really. Let go, relax, breathe and be who you are…

Sing (just like the gang on Sesame Street)

fredibakercoaches — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:02:48 +0000

Here’s what I’ve been thinking about today. Words to take to heart.

">Sing, Sing a Song

Words and Music by Joe Raposo. Made famous by the Carpenters and Sesame Street ;-)

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud
Sing out strong
Sing of good things, not bad
Sing of happy, not sad.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple
To last your whole life long
Don’t worry that it’s not good enough
for anyone else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.

Sing, sing a song
Let the world sing along
Sing of love there could be
Sing for you and for me.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple
To last your whole life long
Don’t worry that it’s not good enough
for anyone else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.

Writers Who Intrigue and Inspire Me Today

fredibakercoaches — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:56:39 +0000

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” ~ Mark Twain

Don’t know about you, but I am always on the lookout for interesting and thought-provoking non-fiction books. And, for that matter, authors I can count on to create those books. A few writers that come instantly to mind (in no particular order) are:

Seth Godin
Daniel Pink
Julia Cameron
Robert Fritz
Eric Maisel
Jim Collins
Jill Badonsky
Bruce Schnieder
Stuart Brown
Wayne Dyer
Steven Pressfield
Hugh McLeod

Find them at Amazon.com if you are interested…

Who did I leave off the list??

In A Word…

fredibakercoaches — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:59:38 +0000

January. The time of new beginnings, goals, setting intentions and even resolutions. And, for the past few years – finding a WORD that captures the essence of what is important and relevant, and what calls us into action. It’s simple, really. Just pick a word that inspires, motivates, challenges you. A word that allows you to grow , develop and flourish in new, exciting ways – ways you might not have even imagined before now.

Brought to popularity five years ago with Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Eat. Pray, Love , choosing a word is a wonderful way to capture the essence of yourself. “What’s your word?” we whispered, and sought to find the perfect word. Putting a twist on that concept, choosing a word for the New Year is a bold way to declare to the world that this is what is relevant and compelling to you at this point in time. A word that inspires and motivates you.

Which word will I choose this year, I wondered? Then, out of the blue, one of my wonderful clients sent me a beautiful keychain featuring a lovely, colorful confidence bead. On the bead was a tiny inscription of just one word…FABULOUS. It beckoned me, and at the same time it felt too big, too out-there. Which is when I knew fabulous was my word. It has shown up so far in the question, “If I was fabulous, what would I do?” And it doesn’t let me play small, or hide myself. Fabulous people put themselves out there, are confident, risk-takers, not afraid to play a big game and maybe even fail. As long as they pick themselves up and are, well, fabulous. The case might even be made that by being fabulous, they don’t worry about failure. In the past couple of years I have chosen “excellence” and “connect” and this feels like the perfect evolution for me.

Lots of coaches and other motivational types are embracing this idea, it’s that good, and it really works. Jennifer Louden has done this for years, and she does it with so much inspiration and ease. I have used this idea in newsletters, workshops, sessions and blog posts. My clients and readers love it, and some have even been wondering about their 2012 words for the past few weeks.

I like to imagine a world where we are all thoughtfully choosing our words every January. I imagine in some form we have been since the beginning of time. I bet even back in the days of Adam and Eve, one turned to the other and asked, “What’s your word, dear?” Imagine the possibilities!

So, the question remains…WHAT’S YOUR WORD?? Please share with us…

Turn on Your Gratitude…

fredibakercoaches — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:15:04 +0000

“Gratitude is like a flashlight. You go out into your yard at night and turn on a flashlight; you can suddenly see what’s there. It was always there, but you couldn’t see it in the dark.” ~ Dawn Markova

Not 24 hours after I wrote my last post, when I was in a space of deep and profound gratitude for reaching a major goal – poof! – I had a setback that challenged my walking-on-clouds great energy. And, just like that, gratitude went missing. So, what to do? I allowed myself a very brief pity party, and when the party was over, somehow I found that gratitude flashlight. I may have struggled with the switch for a minute or two, but when I turned it on, I was awash in gratitude once again.

Gratitude has been said to be wanting what we have. All of it. Embracing the lessons and the joy…

Journey’s End – On Reaching a Major Goal

fredibakercoaches — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:04:16 +0000

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” ~ Sir Edmund Hillary

Today I am on the eve of accomplishing an important personal goal. A goal I have worked on for 9 long years. A goal I once thought was unattainable. Tomorrow the world magically changes with the accomplishment of this goal. I have worked long and hard to be where I am, and I am ready to cross the finish line; grateful for the opportunity. Tomorrow I will have a tremendous burden finally lifted from my shoulders, and I will go free. What do I want to create with this renewed sense of freedom, I wonder? If I am no longer defined by my old reality, who am I now? Tomorrow will be time enough to sort it all out, to celebrate. Today it feels right to reflect on my journey. I am proud of my achievement, and a private, quiet, joyful freedom envelops me. Feeling gratitude right down to my soul. This has been a journey I have shared with only a few, and for your support I am grateful. And…when I wake up in the morning, colors will be brighter, the air fresher and everything is possible. Bring it!!

11.11.11 at 11:11 – Make a Wish. Make a Wish.

fredibakercoaches — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:00:59 +0000

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” ~ Michael Jordan

What better time than now to make a wish? I remember when my daughter was a young girl, whenever she noticed the clock reflecting “11:11″ she would quickly say”11-11-Make-a-Wish!!” sort of like it was one word, and we always made a wish. As a matter of fact, I still find myself doing just that.

Today is 11.11.11, which happens to be a pretty swell date. If we add to that the special binary quality of 11.11.11, at 11:11:11 o’clock, who knows what could happen? There are all sorts of beliefs that there is real significance about this day. In the Mayan Calendar realm, it’s thought to be a spiritual signal linked to 2012 Mayan prophecies of both doom and spiritual renewal. Some folks even believe that “spirit guardians” use 11:11 and 11.11 as playful prompts to let us know they are here., waiting to help us in all manner of things. Just how many of these spirit guardians are there? 1,111 of course!

Just suspend your disbelief for a minute and have fun with this, OK? If you could make a wish or two, what would you wish for? For yourself, for the world around you, for the planet? Here are a few of my wishes:

I wish for health, happiness and prosperity for us all.
I wish we become one again, as in 100% not 99% vs 1% – all focused on equality, peace, and abundance.
I wish for a more sustainable, greener planet, where people are aware and involved in being good stewards of this world we all live in.
I wish for creativity, love and compassion to know no boundaries.
I wish for laughter and joy.

What do you wish for?

How Clear is YOUR Brand?

fredibakercoaches — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:56:26 +0000

What happens when your brand image is confusing, and not congruent to what you are offering? People can become disengaged, disoriented and even disenchanted. Let’s take a local restaurant that opened in 2008, and is part of the best, and most expensive market in town. The arrival of this establishment was highly anticipated for this exclusive neighborhood, who had been waiting for just such a place to call their own.

Over a wonderful dinner at this restaurant with some very good foodie friends of mine recently, something very interesting began to happen. People started noticing things. Things that felt kind of “off,” such as the decor seemed dated and stuffy, odd for a restaurant only 4 years old. This is a very upscale, pricey restaurant with a great reputation, that serves amazing food. Someone mentioned a past experience or two at this restaurant where the food was less that superb, and everyone began looking at things with a more critical eye. The steak was too fatty, the desert was too dry and crumbly. I had a bite, and it was rather tasteless and dry.

The oddest thing about all of this is that this was very unusual behavior for these people. I have been privileged to dine out with them often, and they always see the positive in restaurants, food, etc., even it was a real stretch. So I wondered aloud if how the restaurant was presenting themselves was in alignment with their brand image. I’m guessing it was not. Their name had “Kitchen” in it, and since I had not been a guest before, I expected to find fabulously fresh food, wonderfully and thoughtfully prepared, in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. No pretentiousness. Open, airy, fresh. Instead, from the moment we walked in, it felt overstuffed, with dark floral paintings hung too low and half obstructing the light from a window. Heavy velvet drapes, overdone. Fussy. Which again was a disconnect from the very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful wait staff.

There were so many mixed signals this place was sending off. The menu changes weekly, and this week the featured deserts were kind of tied in to Halloween, which is in a couple of days. There was a pumpkin tart, a ”Whatchamacallit” (similar to the candy bar by that name) and even a Trick or Treat bag made of a thin layer of dark chocolate with housemade tangerine and vanilla semifreddo inside. Yummy! Problem was, the theme was kind of half-baked, as many other deserts had nothing to do with the holiday. It would have been fun to see all the deserts reflect this, and what a great way for adults to give in to the guilty and calorie laden pleasures of remembered celebrations in their childhood.

The market and the “kitchen” are also celebrating “American Cheese Month” which was mentioned as an aside, and not celebrated in the dishes that contained said cheeses. How difficult would it have been in either case to fully commit to a theme and run with it? Or, to just drop the theme idea altogether?

The restaurant’s brand identity is unclear and so how they show up is confused. It would be so much more powerful to present a clear, congruent brand. I bet it would have even been more effortless for that pastry chef to create inspired names for her deserts, and the waiter to embrace the cheesy theme of the month. As it is, many details felt more like an afterthought.All that being said, I have to be honest about now and say that every bite of the food that I tasted (and we did some sharing, so I tasted many different items) was absolutely wonderful (except the bite of cake I mentioned earlier) and that the company I was with was even more wonderful.

Still, the thought of a clear brand image lingers. Take a look at your own brand. How does it reflect who you are what what you want to create? If it is “off,” what better time than now to change it to clearly reflect your unique brand identity?

Well Said, Seth!

fredibakercoaches — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 05:54:46 +0000

One of my new favorite writing quotes comes from the wise, wonderful and witty Seth Godin - “No one ever gets talker’s block. No one wakes up in the morning, discovers he has nothing to say and sits quietly, for days or weeks, until the muse hits, until the moment is right, until all the craziness in his life has died down. Write like you talk. Often.”

How true. It kind of just puts it all in perspective, right? So, write!