“I am too busy!” Whose voice are you listening to?

“I am too busy!” Whose voice are you listening to?

by | Oct 9, 2019 | Building strengths, Christian teachers, coaching leaders, Education, Mentors, Relationships, Resiliency, teachers, Uncategorized

“Be always willing to tell others about the One whom to know is life eternal.” (Michael Cassidy*) “I am too busy!” “[Name} does not respond to all emails as he or she is too busy.” “If you don’t hear from me or us during the next [time period] …” These are increasingly common responses I seem to bump into when I am trying to contact people of influence especially. Of course, they will have huge demands on their time. This is something I respect and accept. Michael Cassidy was never one of these people and for that I am truly grateful. However, when I look at the life of Jesus as my role model, He never seemed to turn people away. Indeed, he sat in the dirt with some of them – humble, selfless, totally focused on the person or people who approached Him – empathized and gave them His time. There were occasions when His disciples tried to protect Him from the crowds, yet somehow He always knew there was someone who needed His words of encouragement. He was the master of effectively managing His time. How do you encourage others? Do you set out to encourage just one person each day? This is what I am doing,as I learn how important it is to be available to others. 7 Key Qualities of Effective Teachers – Encouragement for Christian Educators 7  Key Qualities of Effective Teachers – Encouragement for Christian Educators aims to value, motivate, encourage, re-energize and inspire Christian teachers in their critically important role as transformative educators, in the hope that they will continue motivating and...
10 Habits of High Flying Teenagers YOU can coach

10 Habits of High Flying Teenagers YOU can coach

by | Jun 5, 2019 | Building strengths, Coaching leadership, Mentors, motivating teenagers, Parents, Relationships, Uncategorized

When you were a teenager, did you ever feel that your life had no purpose? Maybe you were drifting? Did you feel the pressure of having to conform to peers to feel that you belonged? Did you have bold dreams , yet were afraid to chase them? Why was this? Did you risk failure to achieve something special? Did you allow either positive or negative friends to influence you the most? Did you have to overcome some obstacle, illness or other setback? Mark, a talented sportsman, Brittany, revealing signs of antisocial behavior, Ollie, disengaging from school, Holly, feeling overwhelmed with life’s challenges and Mia, facing the real prospect of failing, were young people I worked with over a period of time, encouraging them to strive to reach their potential. Although these are not their real names, each one of them made significant choices and now, some years later, to the best of my knowledge, they are all achieving great things because each of them followed the overwhelming majority of the 10 Habits to Become the Best You can Be which helped them develop lives with meaning and purpose. The idea of framing a teenager’s life around these 10 Habits was developed over many years of coaching and mentoring young people. These habits provide an achievable set of guidelines or targets one can chat to teenagers about. When a young person feels unconditionally cared for, that their opinions are listened to and valued and they begin to start seeing some meaning and purpose in their lives, they are well on the way to fulfilling their potential. 10 Habits to Become...