Life Coach

During my drive to the office yesterday I was listening to Led Zeppelin on my crappy car stereo. You know when you have those moments that a song just rocks you so hard? Well that happened, (always feels sooo good). I want to say the song was Whole Lotta Love, but truth be told I can’t remember what song it was.

Last night I was having a hard time getting to sleep, that seems to be happening a lot this week and it’s a frustrating four in the morning before sleep finally comes. I only sleep for a few hours but my dreams are amazing!

I have this dream that I am at a picnic/barbeque situation where there are these stairs that everyone is walking up and down.  While I am walking up the stairs Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are walking down the stairs.  At the moment that Jimmy and I pass each other on the stairway we lock eyes and he peers into my soul.  His piercing eyes were so powerful and it felt soooo good. The dream goes on — as dreams have a tendency to do.  Jimmy and Robert stayed at the party for a while and everyone had a good time.

When I woke up this morning and remembered my dream, I thought it odd that Jimmy assumed the starring role as I have always been more of a Robert Plant girl. I remember the first time I met Robert out in front of the Sunset Marquis in 1980-something and I can recall every interaction we have had since. Robert leaves an indelible impression with his British wit and rock star charm.  I did a tour with Joan Jett in the late 80’s while she did an opening stint for one of Robert Plant’s side projects.  It was a thrill from start to finish, knowing that I was in the presence of such rock and roll greatness and getting to watch Robert’s show every night.  (Not to mention Joan Jett’s performance — she’s no scrub herself — but that’s another story all together.)  My point is: I have no history with Jimmy Page have only met him once in passing and he’s not really a person I think about.  How did he get to be the star of my dream, and who gave him permission to pierce my soul?

I know that I have been processing through dream in a very powerful way lately; I believe we all do, although some of us are more conscious of it than others, and then there are those who simply don’t remember their dreams.

So what does Jimmy Page represent?  He represents a guitar God, a masculine power. I feel in this instance he was representing MANHOOD.  I believe when Jimmy Paige looked into my soul he was inviting me in, not to hang out but to graduate from the relationships I have been having with men.  An invitation to step into my power and grow.  Permission to focus my intentions in such a powerful way that I will finally call forth the partnership that I have been craving.  Jimmy and I also passed, (bye bye), a few other people on the stairs whose names shall go unmentioned. I know this dream represents an opportunity for me.  An opportunity to break old patterns and let go of the past.

Thank you Jimmy Page for showing me the door to my partnership power!

The universe always gives us the opportunity to grow.  We never know how it will show up or who will bring it, but it is always there right in front of us.

Set the intention to see everything that shows up in your life as an opportunity.  This is the next step on the stairway to your personal power.

After writing this post I looked up “stairs” in the dream dictionary and this is what I found:

Staircase
To see a staircase in your dream, symbolizes change and transformation.

Stairs
To dream that you are walking up a flight of stairs, indicate that you are achieving a higher level of understanding. You are making progress into your spiritual, emotional or material journey. The dream is also analogous to material and thoughts that are coming to the surface.

Meeting TC:

Saturday afternoon at last rolled around.  It was a sunny and hot Saturday afternoon, unsurprising in Los Angeles.

I’m not generally a person who gets nervous at first meetings.  I feel like I make a good impression.  I’m great with parents, fabulous at interviews.  I don’t generally carry pre-conceived judgments about people, and I generally like people on first impression (sometimes to my detriment).  I was excited to meet TC after hearing so much about her and feeling sure that she was the one person right now who could really get my life on fast track to where I wanted it to be.  Still, it’s always a little bit unnerving to meet someone who is so famous for what they do, and, according to Jess, a real ass-kicker.  Although our phone conversation had been warm and laid back, I still had an image in my mind of TC as some sort of female, picture-perfect Terminator.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised, and relieved, to walk into her office to find calming zen fountains, a comfortable sofa and chairs, and the room painted in darker, calming tones, with lamps in the corners for atmospheric but not intrusive light.  TC herself was sat behind her desk as we walked in and jumped up to welcome us.  She was smaller and slimmer than I imagined, but even warmer and friendlier than my impression of her had been over the phone.  She was even wearing fantastic heels, “for my sake, I knew you’d appreciate them,” she said.  My lingering image of her as the Terminator vanished.  She seemed achievement oriented, yet down-to-earth at the same time.  I immediately felt like she was someone I could connect to.

Jess left to wait for me outside and TC invited me to make myself comfortable on the sofa.  “Help yourself to bottles of water, or anything you want,” she said, and we immediately plunged into conversation.  I told her about my frustrations with trying to fight the passivity I’d inherited from my mom, but despite my resistance, feeling like the passivity was still winning.  What could I do? I was so eager to change.

“It won’t take you long at all to beat this, Camille,” is what TC told me.  “Do you know why it won’t take you long? Because you want to change it.”

This gave me a lot of hope.  I have always believed that attitude and mental awareness is the key to changing anything in life.  But it’s always nice to hear your life coach verify your feelings.

We talked about everything, from my mother’s 50’s housewife passivity to my verbally abusive ex-husband, to my father’s stroke last year that led me to give up my life and take care of him full time until just recently when I had caregivers set up enough to start taking over for me.  There wasn’t a clock in two and a half hours of her time! I felt so comfortable talking, I probably could have gone on all afternoon.  Again, as she had on the phone, TC gave me excellent guidance, so I never rambled off-topic.  She also introduced our first concept for me to think about.  Boundaries.

Tune in next week to hear how Camille applies what she learns in her coaching sessions.

Do you ever feel like life is happening to you while you drift along or sit on the sidelines? Or, are you too busy reacting to events that are happening to you?

Every event that shows up in your life is there because you have attracted and created it.

With the acceleration and scope of change that has been taking place over the past few years, the universe is demanding that you let go of victim energy (pity) and own your power. And to recognize that with great change comes great opportunity.

You have the opportunity –right now– to move past fear, be courageous and step into your greatness. You do this successfully when you are connected to your personal power and clear on your intention.

Life coach T.C. Conroy is offering a 6-week immersion workshop, Intention Intensive 2011, where you will do the work that will help you change your life.

Intention + Action = SUCCESS

In this workshop we will:

• Clearly define your goals for 2011.
• Process the past 12 months.
• Anchor in the lessons from last year.
• Define a plan to get from where you are to where you want to be.
• Set a strong foundation for your success.
• Process any fears/blockages that are impeding your progress.
• Learn to clarify your intention each day before your feet hit the floor.
• Re-prioritize how you spend your time and energy.
• Identify who you need to be to succeed.
• Give focused attention to your success.
• Step into your power.
• Practice listening to your intuition.
• Find your flow.
• Learn to set your intention in everything you do.
• Foster the courage to believe that you will succeed.
• And many other things that will encourage and inspire you.
• Uncover your true motivations and desires.
• Get out of your own way.
• Learn to deserve and receive.

When:

This is a six week workshop we will meet every Tuesday at 6pm Pacific (9pm Eastern)

Beginning January 11th.

HOW TO ATTEND: When you register, an email will be sent to you with the information you’ll need to attend the event

Cost:

GOLD	PLATINUM	DIAMOND
6 Week Course Action Plan	6 Week Course Action Plan 1 Hour Call with T.C.	6 Week Course Action Plan 6 x 1 Hour Calls with T.C
$187.50 Secures Your Spot* Total Investment: $375	$287.50 Secures Your Spot* Total Investment:  $575	$375 Secures Your Spot* Total Investment:  $1,275

Feedback from a Previous Workshop Participants:

“T.C. is not in the coaching business. T.C. is in the life transforming business. If you want a new set of to-do lists, go to a life coach. If you want to transform and improve your sense of self, your self-worth, your income, and your creativity, then go straight to T.C. Conroy.”

Matt F. – Musician

“T.C. will help you reach not only the goals you have but goals you never knew you had. She’s the real deal. If you need to turn it up a few notches, T.C. is the one to help you do it. AND she’s glamorous!”

Edward B – Musician, TV Editor, Professional

T.C.’s Camp Courage group really helped me step up my game and toss out unnecessary self imposed hurdles. Some of which I didn’t even know were there. The group setting was a little daunting at first but the dynamic is actually really helpful. A room of like minded people getting together to kick a little more ass in life. T.C. steering it all with tools and insight. It’s also great having weekly accountability and support.

Thanks TC for this awesome resource!

D.H. Musician

TC has helped me organize the creative madness in my head, bring the ideas to paper and structure the pursuit of my many creative endeavors. I just had a meeting where I pitched an idea to the three people from the company and they loved the idea. My friend / colleague at the company said with a smile, “Wow dude, the life coach is really paying off”. I did not have my team TC jersey on that day, he of course already knew I was being coached. Thanks for the momentum and hope TC! xo B

Brendan – Industry insider / entrepreneur

For more information on this workshop please phone or e-mail
T.C. Conroy 323-944-0966 / tc@westcoastcoaching.com

Jess texted me on a Saturday that his girlfriend was in need of a life coach. “Great!  Have her give me a call” I texted back.

I like to chat with people on the phone before we meet, I like to get a feel for that person and hear about their agenda. Camille called me the following Monday at my office we had a nice talk about how her passivity was preventing her from doing the things she wanted to do in life and how it was starting to have a negative impact on her new relationship.  We set up a coaching date for the coming Saturday then we went through the rest of the steps that get the coaching process started.

I am always excited to meet new people and help them strengthen their foundation.

This beautiful girl named Camille finds her way into my Beverly Hills office. Camille is a writer in her 20′s I had no expectations of her and it was only a short while for me to know that she was ready for change.  I can tell that she standing directly on the edge of transformation, I think to myself, this is going to be a fun client to coach.   She starts telling me about her dramatic personal and family experiences over the past twelve months and how she is at the end of her rope. I don’t blame her, she has been through a lot, Camille is BURNT OUT.

I do realize that most of the time I am meeting people I am their first experience with a life coach,  I always want that experience to be pain free and five star. The first time I made a cold call to a life coach I had butterfly’s in my stomach.  I don’t know why, I think I was in fear of her expectations of me, how would I measure up?

I know that it’s nerve wracking to do something  you are afraid will stretch you out of your comfort zone.  I am always trying to think of creative ways to tell people what coaching is about I want to help them understand the how and why coaching works. Since Camille is a  young writer, a coaching client and on a huge personal growth curve I thought it would be really cool if she would be willing to  share her story with us. My hope is that hearing her story will demystify the coaching process  for you the reader.  Your experiences and challenges are probably not the same as Camille’s… Or maybe they are?  I hope this series will provide the support you need to reach out for coaching if you are doubting or having some fear around asking for help.

Please allow me to introduce to you a new segment on my blog called Camille’s Coaching Crusades this is a true story written by my client Camille Pandian about her experience of coaching with me from the beginning.

Introducing Camille’s Coaching Crusades

My Intro to TC…

I didn’t really think I had anything I needed to  improve about myself until my boyfriend of one month told me that I was passive and a pushover.  Take into account this is one month into our brand new relationship and I was head over heels in love with him.  We were also on our first vacation together in New Orleans.  He’d been grumpy with me all day, and finally sat me down and told me this news.

I was shocked.  I considered myself a very strong person.  I reacted extremely defensively.  I told him he obviously didn’t really know me, or anything I’d been through.  I cried.  I pouted.   He eventually calmed me down and we sat in a park after dark and talked for hours.  It ended with me promising to try to be louder and bolder, and him promising to be patient.

We went another month before things blew up again, this time though, I could see the pattern with my own eyes.  I brought a girlfriend to my boyfriend’s DJ night. In all the time I’ve known her she could never hold her alcohol.  She would be plastered after only a couple drinks.  Well, that night she drank a lot before she even got to the club-night. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I went outside at the end of the night and saw her clinging to the wall and, giving her number out to random strange guys on the sidewalk.  She was the joke of the bar, and as she was there as my friend, it was pretty embarrassing, to say the least.  After seeing that she got home safely I went home and really thought hard about the friend’s I’d made in Portland in the last few months.  How many of them were real friends? How many did I really respect? With horror, it began to dawn on me how few friends I had that I could say I truly respected.  What good was a friendship if you didn’t respect the other person? I decided I no longer wanted to continue any “friendships” or relationships where I didn’t respect the other person.

Rather cut up by this revelation, I brooded about the next day, and finally met my boyfriend, Jess, for a movie and chat.  It still took him some prompting to get me to open up, but once I did I poured my heart out to him about my dissolved friendships as well as the trouble I was having with my mom.  The first thing he said was that I was in danger of letting passivity over run my life.  Wait.  What?? Here I was having a hard day and looking for some sympathy! But he went on.  “Just listen to yourself! You’re apologizing for complaining to me about your bad day!” It’s true, I had been.  “Why are you apologizing? Who in your life told you that it wasn’t okay to vent about a bad day?”

I froze.  No one had ever pointed that out to me before.  Moreover, it had always been normal to apologize for anything to me.  I had lived in Britain for a long time and the Brits apologize for everything.  But it’s true, who said complaining was bad? Maybe he had a point.  And what was I doing making friends with just anyone who stumbled into my life, regardless of values or standards? Wasn’t that, after all, being passive?

However, I was still in a huff.  I couldn’t believe not only was he calling me passive, but I was getting no sympathy after pouring out my heart about my bad day.  I angrily told him as much in the car.  “I’m not attacking you,” he kept saying.  “Stop being so defensive.  You have to recognize that the passivity is a part of you.  The choices you made that led to the consequences of last night were passive ones.  I mean, how do you choose your friends? Or do you choose them?”  He parked on the side of a street and again we talked for hours in the dark car.  This was when I first heard TC’s name.  “I know someone who could help you with this,” he said as he parked.  “I used to see this life coach in LA.  Her name was TC Conroy.  She told me so many things I didn’t want to hear about myself, and it was so hard to sit there and listen.  But I made myself listen.  I would force myself to sit there and take notes.  She completely turned my life around.”

Right away I was determined to see her.  I knew he was right.  I was terrified of being passive, like my mother, but it was undoubtedly controlling a big part of my life.  I was willing to do whatever it took to improve my life.  A highly-rated life coach in LA sounded like a good start.  We were planning on going to LA for the weekend anyway the 1^st of October, which was in two weeks.  I hounded him to contact her and see if she could squeeze me in.

Sure enough, not only could she squeeze me in, she wanted to chat with me on the phone as soon as I had a spare moment.  I was thrilled with my proactivity.  I may be passive, but I am never lazy.  I had a good impression of TC from the moment I said hello to her on the phone.  I was a little worried someone with so much publicity might be hard and overbearing, especially after what Jess had said.  But the voice from the other end of the phone was warm and friendly and immediately put me at ease.  I actually despise the phone.  I hate not being able to see the other person I’m talking to.  I have been told by employers I have fantastic phone manners, but I personally feel awkward on them.  However, awkwardness was nonexistent with TC.  In our first ten minute conversation, she guided the conversation effortlessly.  I felt thoroughly listened to but she never let me get distracted.  I got across the main points I wanted to work on, as well as some of my background, and I got a feeling of her just over the phone.  I thought we were going to make an excellent team.

Over the next two weeks I filled out the forms she had emailed to me, tried to be more aware of when I was being passive and what I might be able to do about it, and eagerly looked forward to our face-to-face meeting in LA.

Tune in next week for Camille’s re-cap of our first coaching session.

It’s not Just a Russell Simmons book, it’s a call to action.

Most of the people I have been coaching lately feel as if they have been through the proverbial ringer, myself included at times. The past two years have been rough, to say the least. It feels like we are constantly being tested with so much change and transition. It’s easy to become disillusioned and overwhelmed. We find ourselves asking, what on earth is going on?

This is our wake up call.

Systems both personal and global are in the process of breaking down so they can be reborn. My friend and associate, Jennifer Matthews, said it best when she said the Universe has been gently nudging us for years, but we kept ignoring it, so now we are being shown things in a way that is so aggressive and uncomfortable, it can no longer be ignored.

Can you say oil spill?

The Universe is going to continue to kick our asses until we GET IT.

So what can you do?

DO YOU.

It all starts with you.  You are powerless over so many things, but you have all the power in the world to take care of yourself in a way that impacts your relationships and environment and eventually carries over into the mass consciousness. This is your God given birthright.

Own your power.

Summer is a time of re-birth and rejuvenation.

I support you in tapping into the solar energy of the summer to reinvent a powerful new you, who can easily navigate the current global climate.

Start by asking yourself honestly…

Where am I out of alignment with my integrity?

Where am I being dishonest with myself?

What do I need to upgrade in my life?

What takes me out of my power and zaps my energy?

What am I holding onto that is outdated and no longer serves me?

Let go of attachments.

Get out of ego and into integrity.

The most important relationship you have is the one you have with yourself. When you are truthful with yourself, the right answers will start to appear.

It is our responsibility to be strong and be in our power so we can send the power of good into the world.

I know that these are trying times indeed.

I am 100% vested in showing you how to be in your strength and take claim of your personal power.  From this place you can create anything you want for yourself those you love and this beautiful world we live in.

If you are ready to step into your power and start feeling great give me a call I would love to coach you.

Warmly,

T.C. Conroy

West Coast Coaching

STANDARDS…

What are they? I’m not talking about standard poodles or the gold standard. I’m talking about the standard from which you operate; the way you measure what is and is not acceptable to you.

Here’s an example. Gina has a high standard when it comes to her appearance. She is groomed to the gills and would never think of leaving the house anything less than 100 percent impeccably pressed. Jimmy, on the other hand, could give a crap. It’s all he can do to locate a pair of jeans on his bedroom floor and throw on that T-shirt he found wadded up at the bottom of his dirty laundry hamper. Gina has a very high standard; Jimmy, not so much.

You have a personal and professional standard that you apply to everything you do. I encourage you to triple these standards and operate from a standard of excellence.

This means striving to do better and achieve more in your life. Ask yourself this: Do you complete work? Do you surround yourself with people who nourish your spirit and intellect? Do you address discrepancies and concerns on the spot?

Good isn’t good enough, either. You need to consistently exceed expectations and continually raise the bar for excellence. In this way, you’ll always generate results.

Here’s an exercise to help identify your current standards:

What is the standard you have set for yourself?

Are you living up to it?

Does it need to be higher?

Are you proactive in your life, or are you just coasting along waiting to see what will happen next?

Five easy ways to raise your standards:

1. Stop tolerating what you don’t like.

Be selfish. Put up with very little. Train others to do it your way or to your satisfaction. You can accommodate and compromise, of course, but don’t drop your standards or shrink your boundaries. Tolerating and productivity don’t mix.

2. Keep your word.

Under-promise if you have to, in order to make sure you do what you say you will. Keep the integrity in your life; enjoy living on the PLUS side of the performance ledger. Productivity increases naturally under these conditions.

3. Beef up systems.

The ultimate in productivity is when you set up a system that causes things occur without any effort from you. In other words, automate and systematize, so that results occur by themselves, through others, or by computer. Reinvent your approach in order to handle the increasing abundance in your work and personal life.

4. Reject requests.

Say, “No.” Or when saying, “Yes,” is going to burden you, negotiate to make the terms as favorable as possible.

5. Commit to raising your standards daily.

Take an honest look at whatever it is that you are doing and make the commitmentment to go the extra mile. Commit to stretching yourself and doing the best you possibly can.

Here are some simple coaching tips, they
take practice but are well worth the effort.
Your success lies in your ability to be consistent.
It’s no different than going to the gym; you get out what you put in.

BREATHE
Everything starts from here.

Practice the art of being in the now.
The past is old news and the future hasn’t happened yet.
For many of us, when we think about the future we are focused on what if and worry.
Life happens in the now, and that’s where you need to be.

Be nice to yourself.
Become aware of when you are smacking yourself around and stop the negative chatter.
Don’t beat yourself up for going there, acknowledge the chatter, but refuse to accept it. Replace it with a self-affirming mantra that makes you feel good. It’s best to have some of these in your mind to automatically go to. Be nice to yourself.

Foster an attitude of gratitude
If you are feeling sorry for yourself…go to gratitude
If you are stressed out about something…go to gratitude
If you are obsessing…go to gratitude
If you are afraid…go to gratitude
If you are overwhelmed…go to gratitude
If you are burnt out…
You fill in the blank; gratitude is a great cure all.

Be a better version of yourself
Figure out your #1 fear, bad habit or limiting belief that has been holding you back and make a plan that supports you in changing the behavior.

Raise your standards, Expand your comfort zone by taking a look at what you are doing and making the conscious choice to put a little muscle in and do it better.

Eliminate negative self-dialogue.
Become aware of when you are smacking yourself around and stop the negative chatter.
Don’t beat yourself up for going there, acknowledge the chatter, but refuse to accept it. Replace it with a self-affirming mantra or a tag line that makes you feel good.

Hire a life coach to help you strategize and implement your ideal life. Become accountable!

The cumulative effect of practicing these things is life changing.

Camp Courage really helped me step up my game and toss out unnecessary self imposed hurdles. Some of which I didn’t even know were there. The group setting was a little daunting at first but the dynamic is actually really helpful. A room of like minded people getting together to kick a little more ass in life. T.C. steering it all with tools and insight. It’s also great having weekly accountability and support.

Thanks TC for this awesome resource!

D.H. Musician