iCoach Issue 22 POSSIBILITY by iCoachNetwork

IN THIS ISSUE... COVER STORY: The Power of Possibility Thinking ... Evelyne Brink

Why Goals Make My Ass Twitch ... Stacy Nelson

Endless Possibilities ... Karen Davis

The Impossible Has Already Been Created ... Amir Karkouti

The Way to More Miracles ... Marilyn Rodriguez

The Game Of Possibility ... Heather Doyle Fraser

There Was Just No Way It Was Gonna Happen… ... Mark Silverman

The Third Possibility ... Jamie Siv Rognstad

Possibility of Growing Up ... Allison Kramer

A couple of FYI’s... Yes, it’s the small print! First off - none of the articles in this magazine, including the cover, were paid for. This is not and will never be a Pay-To-Pay because I am dedicated to supporting our membership first by promoting their awesomeness and to our readership second by delivering the best content we can. The advertisements on the other hand are either paid for by our sponsors or are affiliate links that will help offset the expense of publishing this monthly Magazine so we can keep it as free and easily distributable. If you have any comments or concerns, please contact our team at Info@iCoachNetwork.com

WritingTogether 22 Issues. 22 Months. 22 Cover Coaches. 22 Publisher’s Notes. 22 Opportunities to write with people who inspire the hell out of me. This issue is the one I published without it being on the schedule. This one was done in service to a Mom and friend who is fucking amazing. Her boy is literally a walking miracle. Imagine that - raising a miracle child. And somehow in between the visits to the hospital and life, a book is published. A book which I literally sat down and absorbed in a weekend because the story was so compelling. She was asking for help to get the word out about her book, to which I replied, well, I DO have a magazine - how about a cover spot? Why else have a publication that’s been read nearly 100,000 times but to help spread the awesomeness of others right? And talk about possibilities? Try turning around and using that book to raise 1 Million towards research that will benefit other miracle children around the world. And here I thought 22 issues was an impossibility... but it happened. And I truly believe that with our support and any who read Tuffle’s story the seemingly impossible stretch will become easily possible. So reach into the impossible my friends. You never truly know what’s possible...

With Love & Light

Stacy Nelson, Founder iCoachNetwork.com

www.iCoachNetwork.com

“we don’t know therefore we try things out to see what’s possible”

THE POWER OF POSSIBILITY THINKING How to Create miracles with the power of perspective.

“I refuse to believe in the man-made boundaries and rational explanations that limit possibilities. I refuse to believe what I’m told because I know that we don’t know. Therefore we can create new ways and new opportunities. We are miracle makers with our minds. ”

Becoming a mum was a long-standing dream for me. So surely I was going to have a creative and pampered pregnancy and write my light-hearted book on how to be fabulous trading in my sex appeal for a nice buggy and my sense of self for nappy pooping bundle of love. I was going to be the role model coach who creates success with baby and shows the world how it’s done. That was my plan. But as concern grew around the new life forming inside me, my world became darker. I had to learn to accept we didn’t know what we were really in for. And just how much my life would change. When my son was born, he was taken away to intensive care and had his fist major operation at only 12 hours old. They cut him right open across his abdomen. Afterwards they called us into a meeting. The surgeon and consultant lowered their heads as they spoke: “We took out all the tissue that was destroyed. We’ve never seen anything like it. It was his entire intestine. We couldn’t even form a stoma. We are so sorry. We don’t think he’s going to make it.”

This was way beyond our worst prognosis. We did not expect THAT. We were in shock. Thomas and my mother broke into tears. I felt like I was in the wrong movie. He was a perfect boy with blonde hair. We’d seen him. This was so wrong.  “Is there not any hope?” I enquired. I could see in their eyes what I didn’t want to hear.  But they couldn’t argue that there is always a bit o f h o p e .  “Then we take that bit and we build it from there. “ That was my initiation to motherhood. That was my commitment to love and to possibility. Life throws us situations at which we get to decide. Do we believe in the current reality or do we believe in creation? Are we willing to ask for a miracle? Do we dare to get disappointed if it doesn’t work out? In my coaching practice I encourage others to dare to dream big. Dare to look through the current reality and open up to possibilities even though they might sound fantastical at the time. Now it was my time. A part of me wanted to give up all hope and anything life-affirming. Another part of me was determined. I was going to seize the moment and every opportunity in it. Whatever that meant. I refuse to believe in the man-made boundaries and rational explanations that limit possibilities. I refuse to believe what I’m told because I know that we don’t know. Therefore we can create new ways and new opportunities. We are miracle makers with our minds. I refuse to buy into the fear that is calling me more often than my closest friends. I want the message of what’s possible for

us beyond our limitations to spread. Because I want life to be special. I want to feel the magic of life running through our veins. We had to make choices: do we want to progress with intravenous feeding or let him go? What kind of a life could he have? How long? What implications will it have not to process food? What solutions would there be? They don’t really know. They do not know. From this point we can distinguish two groups of professionals. Group one says “ we don’t know therefore we leave it as it and see what happens”. Group two says: “we don’t know therefore we try things out to see what’s possible”. We work with the latter. First we changed our surgeon to a more passionate and positive individual. As skilled as the guy was, his negative attitude didn’t fill us with hope. We wanted the lady back who’d seen me pre-birth and who had spotted the issue. Who was now burning for the case as she’d already fallen in love with Tuffel and we liked her drive. Building the right team is key. In business as well as in real, freaking reallife. We brainstormed how to manage having a blind ending loop after the stomach and drained juices through bags and tubes. They said if that gets infected, that would be the end. But we drained it nicely and it didn’t get infected. We fed intestinal juices mixed with prebiotics into the tiny micro mimi colon to which we had access via a fistula. Imagine a bit of bowel sticking out of the skin (like a stoma but nothing comes out). It con-

fused everyone. You don’t put things into stomas. We did. I taught countless nurses how to once I knew. I had discussions with the care companies to get the supplies to do so at home. They didn’t want to give us nasal gastric tubes because they are not meant for sticking into bowels. It doesn’t mention bowel insertion on the packaging and therefore the insurance….Many people are stuck in their rules. They call them policies or regulations. We commit to the possibilities. What if nasogastric tubes are the best equipment after rectal washout tubes for this unknown, freshly invented treatment? Sharing ideas with people more educated and more experienced than us was an amazing experience. I recommend it highly. It’s a top tip for suc-

cess in every area: find people who know more than you and speak with them. Ask and learn. In the past I’d be afraid to look stupid. How stupid! Oh well. We looked at how we could make this wired life more comfortable. He had a tube through each nostril and 2 down the throat through the mouth which were highly uncomfortable, lines in the arm (going into the vein above the heart), a drainage bag, a hole in the stomach with a tube coming out (called Gastrostomy). What a visual for overcomplicating things in order be on the safe side. Most of the wiring had the same purpose. How often in life are we entangled in overcomplicated scenarios, trying to do our best with way to many lines of thought/actions/opportunities to ac-

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complish one simple goal? Are they really all necessary?

bates and we were educated in the process. We grew through the process.

I suggested trying to reduce the tubes and if it didn’t work we’d replace them. Simplify the wiring. The protocol-medics didn’t like the idea. After all what we had did its job fine. But the possibility consultants agreed. Our specialist says “always rock the boat!” So we tried. It worked. Then the stomach tube fell off, they wanted to operate. We said no. Wait. Look, it works without the stomach tubing. So we saved the OP.

I used to have an unhealthy respect for authorities. It’s easy for me to see hierarchies and react to them. I can become a bit arrogant when I feel on top and shy and restricted when I see myself at the bottom. Had I stayed in that pattern, we would have not created the outcomes for Tuffel the way we did…we have seen children vegetating in hospital because nobody knows what to do. Or people don’t dare to ask. They run out of ideas. But here was a dedicated team with a lot of steam behind them and things kept moving forward. I do believe that Tuffel could feel the support. And he was giving us all the signs that he wanted it, too. He kept thriving.

We look at what can work, not what is policy. When the status quo changes we have 2 options: fight to get it back or use the opportunity to re-evaluate what we need now. Things change. Let’s be adaptable and flexible in our thinking. That’s how we seize the day. The more I learned about Tuffel’s nursing cares and requirements the more I could be involved in the process, the more power I had. Knowledge promotes power. Engagement fosters empowerment. Some parents complain about the doctors making all the decisions. We know that we have the right to say yes or no and we certainly have the right to get good explanations. We had de-

Tuffel’s microcolon grew from the innovative refeeding and grew so much that after 8 months we could connect it to that top end and get rid of all the tubes and bags. Talk about an increase of life quality. We went from constant plaster on face, tubes through the nose and mouth, itchy red skin and day long uncomfortable procedures or sessions under constant radiation to replace lost tubes to full facial freedom. All because we followed the “what else is possible?” Philosophy. How drastically will life improve for us and our clients when we keep asking: what else is possible? What else can I play with? This is not just a neat idea. This is not just another cool question to ask. This can be the difference between a life of discomfort and a life of ease. This has literally been the difference between life and death. My wired up son with his unknown life span and record-breaking condition (he is actually the first to survive having no small intestine from birth) has taught me a great deal about life, love and 6

the power of sticky tape. Expanding our views, opening our hearts and minds to the miraculous. Sure, not every wish has come true. You can read all about it and more in the book. Steve Hardison says” If you want to reduce the size of almost any problem you are dealing with, simply read “It takes Guts” by Evelyne Brink” Robert Holden Phd says: “This story will make you weep and laugh and feel every feeling there is- and make you think deeply about what is real, sacred and true about life” By now we are even on the way to change the history of medicine: We researched solutions for our boy. The intravenous feeding is fab but not necessarily sustainable long term. The liver can pack in from it. There are complications to be expected from having a catheter in your central blood stream, it’s a risk for life threatening infections (Sepsis).

spectrum as antibiotics did, says Paolo Di Coppi. I believe that. Evelyne Brink is a personal and executive coach, professional speaker and author of “The ARTrepreneur. Financial Success for Artistic Souls”, “The Eye of the Needle”, “how to be happy with no easy lessons“. She has been known as Uk’s Nr.1 Madonna impersonator as seen on TV (BBC1, ITV) and has written and produced her own music and shows around the world prior to becoming a professional coach. She has been sought after by creative and in the media industry i.e. Channel 4. She loves a laugh, romance and radical honesty. She doesn’t actually love the honesty bit when it’s personal and painful. She’d prefer having a laugh. Her favorite thing to do is showering her toddler with kisses.

Transplant is new and requires a lot of immune suppression drugs with side effects up to cancer. We looked further. What about stemcells? We’ve been told it would take 50 years to be usable. So it’s not relevant in Tuffel’s time. The professor said so. But my partner Thomas especially doesn’t believe in what professors say. He called the top researchers in the United States and spoke to them (!?). He found the guy who wants to recreate a bowel in the UK, Paolo di Coppi, at Great Ormond street children hospital. And we started raising funds. First around £12,000 from friends, family, colleagues. What a great start. We need a million. Then we approached a foundation. And we got our first £1,000,000. So the team is forming and starting research now. Not soon. NOW. Stemcells are changing medicine in the same

“Possibilities are wild and free and undefinable and being open to them without the limitations of set expectations is for me, the only planning I require.”

WHY GOALS MAKE MY ASS TWITCH

“The more I realized that life is a symphony of parts so complex and magical, the easier it became to not worry about where I’d be and focus on where I was.”

The New Year is upon us and I’m ignoring my feed on Facebook. Posts about making this next year the best year ever. New Year’s Resolutions, Vision Boards, Intentions, Visions, Themes, Planning. I’m avoiding all the talk about kicking off our year the 'right' way, planning and goal setting. It stresses me out unnecessarily to look into the future and pretend like I can somehow control it, map it out, itemize it and place it into a cleverly crafted calendar of tasks and deadlines. My spiritual coach said it so often to me that it became a bit of a mantra (of the reverse kind...), that it’s possible that I try to control everything, even the very fabric of the Universe. It was a spiritual way of calling me a control freak. I’m a Virgo and an Only Child. Calling me a control freak is nothing new to me. What was new however, was seeing how control was actually blocking out the infinite possibilities that the Universe actually hold.

I used to have a marketing calendar. It was an Excel spreadsheet that showed the year and then drilled it down so that each month had a separate tab. On each month was every single day and where I was posting and what I was posting about. I could literally sit down at the start of each month and automate my entire marketing plan. I printed it out each month and checked off the little boxes proudly. While it worked for helping me feel productive and in control, it also worked in an unexpected negative way. Possibility only existed within the confines of my spreadsheet and projected numbers. It blocked out my FLOW. Sure I was creating things all of the time but really, I was stuck in a world of FORCE. Forcing my well laid out plans above anything that would come up. I was in action dammit, so who cared? By controlling my flow state, I actually ended up blocking it... I blocked the freedom I was trying to create in my life by controlling, I blocked the prosperity and abundance that came into my life by dictating how it was to show up, I blocked the yummy possibilities that I hadn’t planned for because, well, they weren’t on the plan. And when my well laid out plans didn’t produce viable results? I course-corrected by coming up with a different terribly clever plan, thus perpetuating the cycle of control and blocking. Possibility doesn’t happen in a plan. I don't know what this year will hold.

I have some visions I'd love to dive into, not because it's a new year, but simply because I feel like it. I don’t have any check lists created. See I learned. I learned that the less I controlled, the more I was in flow. The more I was in flow, the more I prospered. The more I prospered, the more possibilities I was open to. The more possibilities I opened to, the less desire to control. I created a new cycle. One that doesn’t require me to have a more impressive to-do list than the person next to me. In fact, I worked my ass off to simplify my business, to surrender to my intuitive voice and defer to my own inner council more than to the Franklin-Covey-Excel-Worshiping side of me. In the process, I found out that surrendering my control is a shit ton of work. But I knew it had to happen. I knew that what I most wanted to create was a new me. I focused on who I was internally. I focused on being more present with myself. I focused on who I was being in the world more than what I was doing. I led with my inner world and slowly the spreadsheets and task lists started to fall away naturally. The big 1 year, 3 year, 5 year and 10 year goals became ridiculous, not because they couldn’t happen, but because they were remnants of me trying to dictate a hypothetical existence where all the moving parts would behave perfectly. The more I realized that life is a symphony of parts so complex and magical, the easier it became to not worry about where I’d be and focus on where I was.

All that work paid off, creating the most successful professional year of my life. Who am I being in THIS moment? If I desire making millions, who would I need to be and how can I be that right now internally without the external trappings? We don't have to wait until January 1 of whatever year to start living into the best year of our life. We can do that anytime. Right here. Right now. N o p l a n s .  N o g o a l s .  Nothing more than BEING who we most desire to be right now in this moment. See there’s nothing to control. Control is just a mechanism to make us feel secure. In truth, we can’t control God. But we can be open to the sound of her voice in our heart and have the flexibility and freedom to choose to respond or not.

I have visions of what I’d love to create and then I open myself up to the possibilities. I follow the nudges of what I need to do in any given moment to breathe life into them. Possibilities are wild and free and undefinable and being open to them, without the limitations of set expectations, is for me the only planning I require. Stacy Nelson is the Founder of iCoach Network, an International circle of life coaches coming together to support and inspire each other on a daily basis. Stacy also publishes this monthly digital magazine for iCoach Network, highlighting the fabulous coaches within the network. Specifically she is a Coach & Trainer helping POWERFUL COACHES wanting to build their coaching practices by calling them into a deeper spiritual connection, to build a legacy with their business with more flow, less force, intuitively and slower... Less DO More whole-self success

I used to be that person, who would cleverly set myself up for success year after year - until I realized, I never needed to do that at all.

More mastery of their skills as a coach

I'm not a chess piece.

More connecting at deep levels

I ' m j u s t m e .  B e a u t i f u l ,  M a g i c a l ,  Fucking Amazeballs ME.

More purpose and meaning

More vulnerability

For me, planning out my year is akin to telling Source that the possibilities and wonder that are available to me are only okay if they look exactly like what I’m outlining. Might as well put coal in my butt and try making diamonds. 10

“Our belief systems are powerful and developing an unrelenting faith in your self is key.”

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES

“ O n e t h i n g ’s f o r certain - life will throw you some curves... But that doesn’t have to be the end. In fact, it could very well be the beginning - as long as you’re open to it.”

It was a sensational Colorado summer afternoon and we were enjoying a day at the pool as a family. My daughter Alexa was just a one-year-old toddler, gleefully running barefoot in her swimsuit across the cement into the wading pool. Her Dad and I were dutifully following closely behind her and her older brother on that beautiful day. Alas, Alexa took an unfortunate fall that day and hit her head on the cement like toddlers often do. Initially, we thought she was fine, but soon realized that this was something more serious and rushed her to the emergency room. Our beloved little girl had suffered a concussion and the CAT-scan revealed that she had bleeding in her brain. As the doctor ordered, I kept her awake that night and in the morning she underwent a follow-up CATscan to ensure that the swelling in her brain had gone down. The follow-up tests later that week confirmed that she indeed had dodged a bullet and was going to be just fine. Or, so we thought. It wasn’t until years later that we’d find out that fall had caused brain damage and partial epilepsy. In fact, Alexa had been having undetected absence seizures since her original fall. Then, at seven years old, she had a grand mal seizure and was flown via Flight for Life to Children’s Hospital after being in a seizure for more than an hour! She was in the Intensive Care Unit for a few 11

days and that’s when we found out the extent of her original injuries. The bleeding in the brain had caused scarring in the visual perception and motor skill areas of her brain. With ample reason, Alexa was upset and frustrated about her situation. We sat down with her and talked about everything positive that she could do, her strengths, her dreams and her desires. Remarkably, within just a few weeks, she began to ‘turn the lemons into lemonade.’ Her doctor had challenged her to draw a threedimensional box. She became obsessed with drawing and spent the next month coming home after school every day and diligently drawing until she finally figured out how to draw in three dimensions. She played club soccer, earned a blackbelt in karate and even learned how to snowboard. She excelled academically in school and never once did she let her situation get her down. This past year, Alexa became the Colorado teen representative for epilepsy and went to Washington D.C. to meet with congressman and representatives to advocate on behalf of those living with epilepsy. This month, she also personally organized a clothing drive at her high school to raise funds for The Epilepsy Foundation. Her challenges have awakened in her a very compassionate young woman. Simply put, Alexa is my hero and constant inspiration. Where mere mortals might only see a dark cloud, she is ALWAYS able to find that shining ray of possibility. While admittedly few possess her inner fortitude, we can all leverage some learnings from her journey, so that we too can see and realize the joys of possibility ourselves.

Become a Creator As kids, we are so incredibly resilient and sometimes even when we just don’t know any better. That can work to our advantage, just as it did for Alexa. When we have the courage to take action despite our fears, that’s precisely when the possibilities appear, even some we don’t expect. I love what the late Walt Disney says, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” It takes a strong and consistent inner stance to stay focused on your dreams. You just have to be willing to, at times, turn off those filters that we all create to protect ourselves as adults. That’s when you become open to bringing something greater into your life. Be Persistent It might not seem so at the time, but we all have endless possibilities in the face of the hurdles life places in front of us. We only become unstoppable when we have a commitment to the hard work and the follow-through it takes to truly achieve what we set out to accomplish. Taking a page from Alexa, she wouldn’t be flourishing as she is now, if she had chosen to focus on what she couldn’t do. I’m reminded of Wilma Rudolph who contracted polio at the age of four. Her doctors said she’d never walk again. She overcame her disabilities through physical therapy and hard work and learned how to walk again by the age of 12. She then went on to become the first American woman to win three gold medals in the 1960 Olympic games. When we focus on what is possible we become the creators of our future.

Exude Positive Attitude

Seize the Possibility

Optimism fearlessly opens the mind to possibility and solutions. In any given moment, you have the ability to choose either an empowering perspective or a debilitating one. If you are pessimistic, you yourself are instantly stopping any meaningful change in your life because you don’t believe it will happen.

When I sit across from my clients, I see endless possibilities that sometimes they can’t see. That’s why it’s so powerful to have a coach. A coach can help you distinguish between the limiting, self-sabotaging thoughts and the realistic thoughts that lead you toward your dreams. A coach sees your hidden potential and has an unrelenting belief in YOU.

Our belief systems are powerful and developing an unrelenting faith in your self is key. Sean Stephenson says it best, “Doubt is a virus that attacks our self-esteem, productivity and confidence. Faith that you and your life are perfectly unfolding is the strongest vaccine.” A positive attitude not only moves you in the direction of your goals, it also aligns you with the people who will help you further your goals. Plus, it allows you to alter your future with each choice that you make in the present. We have freedom of choice and what we focus in on determines what we accomplish, how we feel and what we can handle in life. And, as my dear daughter Alexa is a testament to, what we can accomplish, feel and handle can be more than you ever thought imaginable.

One thing’s for certain – life will throw you some curves, just like it did for Alexa and my family that fateful summer day. But that doesn’t have to be the end. In fact, it could very well be the beginning – as long as you’re open to it. Karen Davis is a certified Ontological Executive Coach working with clients nationally and internationally. She provides one-on-one deep coaching services with high-performing executives, entrepreneurs, business professionals, and coaches who are committed to their success, ready to uncover their hidden potential and make their own unique difference in the world. Karen is also the creator and founder of Mastermind 21™ – The Leadership Exchange. You can reach Karen for a powerful conversation at: 303.665.4301 or learn more by visiting, www.karendaviscoaching.com

“The truth about possibility is that the impossible has already been created. You are one of a kind.”

THE IMPOSSIBLE HAS ALREADY BEEN CREATED When you are free of the world, you can do something about it. As long as you are a prisoner of it, you are helpless to change it. On the contrary, whatever you do will aggravate the situation. ~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

“You are this existence and you have no boundar y, no impossibilities. The only t hi n g b et w een t he infinite possibility that is available to us and the finite ideas we put ourselves in is when we believe our personal thoughts’ the lower case ‘t’ in thoughts.”

It’s interesting to write about possibility. When we think about possibility we think about things like: What’s possible for us? What are the limits of possibility? Is possibility even possible? Why do some things in our life seem impossible? These are all fair questions if only one thing was true; if possibility was not created by the mind. The truth about possibility is that the impossible has already been created. You are one of a kind. Not in a million years, not even in a billion years, yes a billion years will there be the very person that is reading these words. That is impossible. As Osho stated in his book Osho Zen Live14

Mind can accept any boundary anywhere. But the reality is that, by its very nature, existence cannot have any boundary, because what will be beyond the boundary?–again another sky. You are this existence and you have no boundary, no impossibilities. The only thing between the infinite possibility that is available to us and the finite ideas we put ourselves in is when we believe our personal thoughts; the lower case “t” in thoughts. Before we go too deep into this idea I wanted to share something extraordinary with all of you. I recently found out that my wife is pregnant and of course like any good minded husband, I downloaded every single baby app to make sure that I know more than my doctor. With that being said, to my surprise, I have learned so much from some of the apps. Did you know that by week 6 the pancreas, stomach and rudimentary body parts are getting created. Imagine if I told you that out of nothing, some globs of goo are creating a pancreas. Holy shit I don’t even know what a pancreas does but my wife was creating one for our baby while watching The Biggest Loser! And here I am writing this wondering what is possible. The concept seems absurd. The idea of limitations is laughable. Why? Because the same design that created a pancreas out of nothing is the same design that guides us to the infinite potential that we are a part of. My baby is part of my wife. My wife is a part of me and the food that she ate is a part of the earth and the sun that grew the plants and animals is a part of a solar system that is all connected to me…The person who can take it all in and describe it. I know this sounds like a crazy rabbit hole or it may sound like I smoke too much of that you know what…But if we step back and realize how much we limit ourselves when we stand on the shoulders of

this pure infinite potential, the concept of possibilities seems just that…Concepts. So now comes the question; what do we do once we know that we are part of the greater whole? What do we do when we are just a ripple that part of the whole ocean? A better question to ask is what can’t we do when we are a part of this greater whole? Yet we get stuck. We get stuck going back into our lower case “t”houghts. We go back to our personal thinking that tells us “it’s impossible, it’s too hard, what will they think of me?” Interesting enough, people hire me to have them remove those thoughts. But why would I remove something that can’t harm us? Why would I remove something that may at times bring value? Even your stomach has bacteria that beneficial. It’s when you get an overabundance of one type of bacteria that things go out of whack. The problem isn’t your thoughts… they just do their thing. The problem is when you get one type of thought that you think is bigger than the greater whole that you’ve been created from, that’s when we feel it. We feel it deep inside. And you should feel it…because even when you try to jump in with your silly formless ideas of yourself, the Universe kicks you in the ass and says shut up…Sometimes in the form of anxiety, fear or lack of appetite. That’s good news. Even when you go astray the body gives us clues that we are going in the wrong direction. Feel the pain so you can get back on track. Don’t try to remove the pain. I love pain. Well I love that I can feel pain; it allows me to remove my hand from the stove when I’m being careless. You anxiety allows you to remind yourself that you are in your personal thinking and away from possibility. So should we go into strategy now? Should I give you some coaching tips…How can I? How can I give you my intellect when you have wisdom? How can I 15

tell you what I think you should do when you and I both have a bigger game that’s already at play? And the good news is; whether you like it or not, is that you are already on the field of this game… the field of dreams; the field of possibilities. I’ll leave this last quote for you to ponder. I want you to see how much you are needed in this universe, because you are a part of it. And I also want you to see how your hands get dirty when you try to jump in with anything but your pure potential: Actions of the body cannot put any blemishes on the formless, changeless, Pure Consciousness. If you try to paint the sky black, only your hands get dirty. ~Sri Nisargardatta Maharaj

When you realize how vast you are. When you realize your place in this universe, you’ll realize that the Im-possible has already been created… Amir Karkouti realized that coaching is similar to what he does for his father at least twice a month. Every once in a while, Amir’s father spends at least 10 minutes looking for his glasses. He looks and looks and looks, and I show up and remind him that it’s been on his head the whole time. My job as a coach is to remind you how amazing, brilliant and special you are. At times we can feel like we’ve lost those qualities. I get the pleasure of reminding my clients that they’ve never lost their true idea of themselves and to stop searching for them.

“Desiring the impossible puts you in the Miracle Zone.”

THE WAY TO MORE MIRACLES When I think of what is possible for me, I get excited. I become aware of the expansion that exists within what is possible and I feel it in my body. Imagining and seeing what is possible helps me to see ahead and sometimes I even see how to get there.

“You have the capacity to create and receive far greater than you can imagine. What you envision is what will be. What you yearn for is your soul is your soul’s calling.”

Here’s what happens to me, though. It doesn’t stretch me. It doesn’t put me in the ‘miracle zone’ and it definitely does not light me up. Desiring the impossible puts you in the Miracle Zone. As I write this, I am finding myself wanting to go in a completely different direction and pour my heart out to you. Because you see, my journey with what is possible has led me to a land full of impossibilities. When I see what would be impossible for me to create and receive, I gravitate towards that. I feel the longing of my heart and soul for deeper love, deeper impact, deeper service and a deeper life. So I want more of what feels impossible. If there is something I want to create or see happen, something that would require a miracle because it seems that impossible, then I go straight to that impossibility like a magnet. 17

If it feels impossible for me to be loved the way I desire, then I desire it even deeper. If it feels impossible to see peace on our planet, then I work harder at being a conduit for peace. If it feels impossible AND I want it…I stick to it like glue. When my mother had ovarian cancer, her recovery and survival was leaning towards impossibility- the miracle zone. Even though it was difficult, we believed in the impossible which was her complete and total healing free of any type of relapse. She is 100% healthy and here with us today because we all believed in the impossible. So did she. Leaning In Leaning into what is impossible takes everything you’ve got. It can take you on a deep emotional journey and rock your world. It can make your heart ache. It can make you question everything…more than once. And, it can fill you with elation, joy, passion and purpose. Desiring the impossible will pull out of you the deepest parts of your soul only when you commit to the impossible. The commitment to what is impossible can feel like a huge risk. What if I fail? What if I get hurt? What if it doesn’t work out? What if it doesn’t work? What if I lose everything? What if I die?

What if he/she dies? What if? When I am face to face, heart to heart and soul to soul with an impossibility, I ask myself “What if?” There’s another side to that question. A side that is often overlooked because we are all so used to leaning into the negative side of things. We don’t give ourselves and the Universe enough credit for creation. What if it does happen? What if it does work out? What if you do survive? What if what you dream of can come true? Then what? Then playing in the field of impossibilities becomes a no brainer. Then it becomes easy to run through that field of impossibilities and it difficult to stick to what is possible. Then the reorganization of your inner landscape and your life begins to take place. The idea of what is possible begins to feel less exciting when there is a greater and more fulfilling expression and experience waiting to be claimed. Rejecting the Miracle We tend to doom ourselves before the journey into the impossible even begins. You want to be in control. You want to protect your heart. You may be committed to suffering or victimhood in some way and on some level and 18

that hidden commitment ends up running the show. Your show. Your life. Your dreams. Your desires. And that is where most people get stuck. You sell yourself short of experiencing miracles no matter how amazing it would be to have that healing, to make that money, to fall in love with that person. You see what is impossible and you resist it. You resist it even though you deeply desire it. We have been taught to resist. To long and yearn for something we dream of. We dream about it. We imagine what it would be like. And then…we deny it. The Higher Plan Your commitment to the impossible will create a neurological and cellular shift in your body and reorganize events in your life to rise up and align with a higher plan. You are not meant to live in a world of denial and when you focus on what would be absolutely impossible to create, you no longer have room for denial. It can blow your circuits and make you take an honest look at how you have been show-

ing up, your excuses, reasons why not, and how you have been holding yourself back. You have the capacity to create and receive far greater than you can imagine. What you envision is what will be. What you yearn for in your soul IS your soul’s calling. So if you yearn for a healing, a financial miracle, the love of your life, your Soul is speaking to you and through you. Listen to that and do not ignore it any longer. Surrender to the impossible. It will expand your entire world. Marilyn Rodriguez is “The Soul Compass Rose Coach” specializing in guiding thought leaders and visionaries to their TRUE purpose. She has shared the virtual stage with Marianne Williamson, Lisa Nichols and Marci Shimoff as well as other spiritual leaders. A third generation healer, Marilyn discovered her gifts at an early age and continues to transform lives with her gifts. Marilyn is available for one-on-one transformational soul compass rose coaching by application, media interviews and speaking engagements. For more information, contact Marilyn Rodriguez at marilyn@themarilynrodriguez.com or 256-2589357.

THE GAME OF POSSIBILITY

scared of what I might find if I walked away from what I knew. The uncertainty – the possibility – was too much for me until it became my savior. Once upon a time I was really unhappy. I was supremely unfulfilled, and I was spending my days in a soul-sucking job that was slowly and painfully draining every ounce of creativity and joy right out of my body. Maybe that sounds a bit melodramatic, but that’s how I felt. And what made it even worse was that I couldn’t see a way out. I was really successful at what I did. I was described as having the golden touch. And in the end, I dreaded every moment. I used up all of my energy trying to force something positive into an inherently negative and demoralizing situation. I had nothing left for myself or the people I loved. I had a secret dream, though. I could feel the tiny spark of creativity and joy still there inside of me even when it was hiding under the rubble of my broken self. One day, I had nothing to lose and I shared my vulnerability and sadness and found my escape route. Where the day before there was no way out, in the next day – a day like all of the others – there was a new place to go. And in that moment, I began to see possibility, potential, and opportunity where none had existed before. That’s what I told myself, anyway, but it was a lie. It was a story that I told myself because I was so

After that first glimpse of possibility – the glimpse that really said to me, “I’ve been here all along waiting for you” — I started to look for it on a daily basis. And here’s the thing about possibility, potential, and opportunity – it’s like beauty and inspiration: if you are looking for it purposefully, you will see it everywhere. From that moment, my whole life opened up into one big opportunity. It’s one of the biggest transformations that I have made in my own life – this ability to see possibility and potential where previously I saw only a dead end or a one-way street leading to the same place over and over again. And because I have been able to create this shift in my own life, it just happens to be what I help my clients with the most. And it is also what I continue to work on every day for myself. It’s almost a game for me now, and I never get tired of playing it or helping my clients to learn the rules so they can play as well. The Rules in the Game of Possibility: Rule #1: Let go and look around you! You can’t play the game of possibility wrong if you are paying attention. 20

Rule #2: Pay attention. Be mindful and slow down. Rule #3: Open your mind to an alternate perspective or viewpoint. There is always another way. You may not like all of the options, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Rule #4: Find the learning to shift out of the dead-end mindset.

tive — how they view life and their place in it. She holds the space for her clients as they move toward and acknowledge their inherent greatness while achieving their goals and vision for an extraordinary life. Heather’s purpose and passion is to inspire joy and transformation and give people the knowledge, skills, and strategies to live their most authentic and fulfilled lives.

About Heather Doyle Fraser:

If you would like to learn more about coaching or contact Heather, please visit her website at www.beyondchangecoach.com or connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/beyondchangecoach or Twitter @hdoylefraser.

Heather Doyle Fraser is a Transformational Life Coach and founder/owner of Beyond Change, LLC. She is also a writer, editor, musician and general creative. As a coach, Heather works with highly intuitive and successful people who are looking to take their lives to the next level. Her mission is to bring joy, transformation, ease, and abundance to everyone she touches. Heather helps her clients see possibility, potential, and opportunity; she helps her clients create lasting transformation in their perception and perspec-

Rule #5: Take action when it feels like you are at a crossroads. Don’t stay in the same spot if you aren’t fulfilled or finding joy in your life.

opportunity; she helps her clients create lasting transformation in their perception and perspective â&#x20AC;&#x201D;how they view life and their place in it. She holds the space for her clients as they move toward and acknowledge their inherent greatness while achieving their goals and vision for an extraordinary life. Heatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purpose and passion is to inspire joy and transformation and give people the knowledge, skills, and strategies to live their most authentic and fulfilled lives. If you would like to learn more about coaching or contact Heather, please visit her website atwww.beyondchangecoach.com or connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/beyondchangecoach or Twitter @hdoylefraser.

THERE WAS JUST NO WAY IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN…

A genius IQ seemed to be the price to pay for a heartbreaking lack of physical size and coordination. To say my son was not a very good Little League Baseball player would have been kind. Still, ask him what he was going to be when he grew up and the answer never wavered, “a Major League Baseball Player.” The first stop to his ultimate dream, though equally out of reach, to play the High School Baseball team. Players move from far and wide to participate in this elite program. It seemed impossible.

before our eyes. Every day after school he hit the weight room and the field as though he knew something nobody else could know. As his muscles grew, so did his athleticism and grace. Still, I would look at the other young men on the team, all taller than me and wonder how I was going to love my son through the biggest disappointment of his life come the inevitable February cuts.

Though he worked harder than anyone on his Little League and Prep teams, his usual position was left center bench. Between the ridicule and the lack of play he endured, I would have quit a few hundred times. Not this kid. He set his sights on the goal and kept his eye on the ball. If you asked his mom and I if he was going to make the team, the answer would be “We would never bet against this kid, ” while internally wincing with that heartbreaking parental pain of knowing.

In the parking lot, on a freezing February afternoon I waited. I see kids leaving in tears. I text with my son to find out some news, “Still waiting.” His mom calls me every five minutes; yes we were also caught up in his impossible dream. We hired coaches; we drove to every practice, and turned the garage into a batting cage on the outside chance that maybe, just maybe. Over an hour passes and I sit in my car with love in my heart and fear in my head for my precious little boy. “Jimmy made it, Sam Made it, John left in tears” the texts keep coming…. I hate this part of parenting.

Freshman year, still short, rail thin and more determined than ever, this young man transformed

Here he comes. I cannot see his face. I jump out of the car and walk towards him. He just nods. 23

Yes! The impossible transformed to the possible transformed to reality. We hug and I hide my tears of relief. Four Years later this brilliant talented and determined young man is returning for his final year of Varsity Baseball on one of the most elite teams in the country. He is unrecognizable with muscles bulging out of his shirt, a beautiful girlfriend on his arm and about to leave for a prestigious university. Yes, anything is possible. Another little boy, this one very athletic, charming, and wise beyond his years is struggling in school. My younger son is having a rough time through Third grade. We get him tested, evaluated, judged and labeled. He has several learning disabilities hindering his very obvious intelligence. The Label in place, we get the teachers to accommodate his needs; sitting up front, having notes taken for him, a second set of books. Yup, we are good parents, we took care of our kid. “No Way! I am not going to do it.” He refused to be accommodated. “It’s embarrassing and I don’t need it, I get what I need to do.” It wasn’t the sort of protest of a kid just being difficult. There was a fierce determination that we could not ignore. We said we would give him a chance as long as he accepted the help of an organizational tutor and some extra focus from us. We gave him rope and let things play out. Astonishingly, his grades improved immediately. His demeanor also improved. He was starting to find the confidence he had lost. Fourth grade ended a huge success and Fifth was equally triumphant. With a little extra help, and a will to overcome, he absolutely “handled” it for himself.

At the start of Sixth grade, we get a call from the school. They want a conference about our son. “Thank you for coming in. We want you to know that this has never happened in the history of our county. Your son has been so successful in overcoming his challenges, we are recommending we drop the Learning Disability Designation.” What? Huh? Is that possible? When it comes to my two sons, I am learning anything is possible. Desire, Determination, Willingness Support, and a big helping of Grit can get us further than our limiting beliefs and trepidation would allow. I have learned more from my kids walking through the gate marked “Impossible” than any new age book or talk. I had overcome much in my life, but to watch my sons blaze a trail all their own inspired and humbled me. I had no idea I was going to need their example to fight for my own life. A few years ago, my marriage had ended and my career was on the express elevator to the basement. Alone in an apartment, I found myself faced with a life threatening illness. Through weeks of high fevers, I lost muscle mass, energy, and the ability to concentrate. When I finally started to get better physically, depression set in, and that made each step forward exponentially hard. I had no idea how I was going to recover and find the strength to live, let alone support a family. I wanted to die. January came, and somehow I was fortunate enough to land a great new job and hopefully a new start. I still felt terribly weak; my confidence was shot and the depression made any future look bleak at best. But I needed to keep stepping forward.

I was listening to the radio, while waiting for another doctor appointment, when I heard Dr. Oz interviewing some crazy ultra marathon guy. He talked about green drinks, alkalizing, and he believed that everyone could run, everyone. Bad knees, no muscle mass, bad back… I can run? I’ll grab on to the craziest thing. I got his book, devoured it and started the painful walk/run of 1 mile per day. Then 2. Then 3 miles of slow jogging while filling my head with self help books and audios. I made a decision. It was early March and I needed something to live for. I called the author of the book and hired him to coach me long distance. “Do you think I could run the marathon in October?” “No, but the following October, sure.” That wasn’t going to work for me; I needed to do something big, now. I looked at what “impossible” goals would get me through the year and made them my sole focus for the rest of the year. • I would run the Marine Corps Marathon in October, Seven months away. • I would make $1 Million dollars, just in case my health did not come back and my family needed to be cared for. • I would give $60K to charity. My larger goal was to show my kids what was possible in the face of adversity. They were crazy objectives, unobtainable for sure, but I needed the impossible to break me out of my death spiral and leave a legacy they could point to if they should ever hit rock bottom themselves. That October, I ran the Marathon an hour faster than my planned time with my kids and my ex cheering me at the finish line. A Miracle! Although it took me two years to make that Million

and give away the Sixty Grand, I reached those crazy goals also. In a year, I went from the lowest point in my life to achieving endeavors I never thought possible. Today, I spend my day opening client’s minds to the impossible. I learned from my kids so I could experience miracles for myself. I learned for myself so I have first hand knowledge to pass on to everyone I meet. What have I learned? That the biggest barrier between us and making the Impossible – Possible, is us. An unshakable “Why”, a Goal worth achieving, or people we love counting on us, is rocket fuel to leave known lands for places that look out of reach. We may not reach the exact target we were aiming for, but I can promise, we will land further than we ever thought possible. Just ask the three Silverman Boys, we’ll tell you, Go For It! Mark has generated over $90 Million in sales and received numerous awards over his 15 Year Career at Fast Moving, Fast Growing Companies like NetApp, VMware and EMC. He has lead teams to work with CEO’s, Management and Front Line stakeholders to bring mutual success and close multimillion deals. His dedication to the success of all involved through leadership, coaching, and mentorship was the training ground for his passion to support others to achieve their goals. Mark is not a Coach or a Consultant, although he has Coaching and Consulting Clients. Every engagement is unique. The common thread is a leap forward towards the intended result. M a r k J . S i l v e r m a n a n d A s s o c i a t e s .  www.markjsilverman.com

THE THIRD POSSIBILITY

When I sat down to write this text, my head turned empty. Totally and absolutely empty. I had no idea what to write about. Not even a quick nap helped, which it usually does. I felt stuck, which is really uncommon to me, I usually always find my way out of everything, there is always a possibility. The state of mind I was in, made me think about the Archetype The Slave. The Slave is constantly caught between a rock and a hard place, and sees no way out of it. There are no options, no possibilities, and in order for the Slave to be set free, they have to look for the third choice. Although the Slave has a number of possibilities to choose from, they have a really hard time figuring out that one third option. It made me think about how I was a Slave in my business. I bought a very expensive business school program, with a coach and a mastermind group and a personal VIP follow up. The program was easy: you follow these seven steps, and you will have a six figure business in very short time. I followed the seven steps. No figures. I tried again. Nothing. I tried the third time. No success at all.

2013 became a bad year for my business. From all the effort I had creating possible new clients through the seven steps, I got one new client. The first half of 2014 wasn’t much better. I figured I had done something wrong, and was just about to try for the fourth time, when it suddenly dawned on me. There was nothing wrong with the program, it probably works really well for some people. There was nothing wrong with me either, I’m not made to follow programs and systems and certain steps. I do not have to search in programs and systems to find them. On the contrary. Programs and systems are getting in the way, they become barriers instead of creating possibilities. I simply needed to figure out my own way, and have a coach to support me. I found my coach, Stacy, who had the mindset I needed, and she was more than willing to share generously. Through my coaching with her, I discovered an endless row of possibilities within myself. This created a whole new world for my clients as well, and the rest of 2014 was SO much better. Now… endless sounded really scary to me when I was younger. So as soon as I started to think about possibilities as an endless resource, I found that a bit scary too. An unlimited row of possibilities. Where to start? What to chose? Quite frequently, it ended with no choosing, and 26

no start. It did set me a bit back at first, I had to come out of program-mode and into intuition mode. I had to Un-train. It worked, though. Instead of seven steps, I now have an endless world of possibilities. 2015 will be something quite different when it comes to business. Jamie Siv works together with her clients on realizing their life purpose by finding their gifts and talents. She uses the powerful tool of Archetypes, which, in a high vibration, contain all the gifts and talents that added up, point at the life purpose. Her webpage and Facebook pages are in Norwegian, however, Google is your friend, so Google translate anything you want to know. The sites will be in English before the summer.â&#x20AC;¨ h t t p : / / j a t i l m e g . n oâ&#x20AC;¨ https://www.facebook.com/jatilmeg.no

POSSIBILITIES OF GROWING UP POSSIBILITY is the theme of much of my coaching young people. People always think when you’re young anything is possible. When I tell people I coach fifteen to twenty-five year olds I always hear, “Wow, things would have been a lot different if I had a life coach back then.” Here’s the truth about what’s possible when you are young: you have to believe in yourself, your ideas and your future. Think about being fifteen. You want a lot and yet you feel so restricted by rules. Rules from your parents, from your school and definitely status rules from your peers. So IS anything possible at fifteen? Possibility to a fifteen year old can feel very restrictive to the things you can control. Things are possible but they have limits. This is a great time to learn more about what your values are and how to live true to them. Think about being eighteen. You’ve just graduated from twelve years of school and are officially an adult. At this age, the world seems completely full of possibilities. BUT at this stage you are in transition. You are ready to be independ-

ent, yet still often financially dependent on your parents. Choosing a college, new beginnings, new friendships, and finally feeling in control can be very empowering. What about being twenty-one? As a twenty-one year client, a college graduate that is headed back to live with her family, told me recently, “Being back feels like being stuck”. Going out into the “real world” is full of responsibility and can be scary. Many young people this age are anxious to take risks and feel like risk can propel them forward while being safe holds them still. Possibility is all about forward movement. All of these ages have possibilities, but we need to remember that any age comes with struggles and lessons. When we as adults can look back and try to remember those feelings; the insecurities, the dependence, the needs, we can begin to help younger people see what is possible in their lives. Adults are lucky in the sense that we have been there, done that. If we can try to inform young adults about how we felt and not how they should feel, it could change their thinking. 28

Having powerful conversations with young men and women can be a great gift for everyone. Getting to see how things are in their lives and remembering what it was like in yours…that’s the beautiful connection. When asked most adults would not go back to being young, yet they are sometimes “jealous” of the young people. “You have so much ahead of you.” “You have so much left to do.” They say these things, but young people tell me constantly “They don’t understand.” I think adults do understand and I want to see the conversations transition to more positive than negative or pushy or complaints about their stressful life. How can we approach changing the conversation? Here are 3 ideas for you when approaching young people:

2. Tell them about how you are living your dreams and get them acknowledging theirs. 3. Connect with their pain. Life can feel really lonely without connection. Remember that possibility looks different to everyone. Keep your eyes and hearts open to those differences. About Allison Kramer: Life Coach for Young Women… I am a graduate of Teen Wisdom Life Coaching and Coaches Training Institute, with over 150 hours of coach training. My life experiences, as a nanny, teacher, and parent, combined with my extensive training make me the perfect coach to enhance the self work for young a d u l t s a n d t e e n s .  www.xoallison.com

1. Ask them what they are interested in and help connect them with a like-minded adult.

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