It’s simple really.

To move toward your preferred future, you need two things.

First, to identify what your destiny is, and second, you need to take steps toward it.

Simple, yes... But not common, and usually not easy.

The truth is that God has great plans for your life. In fact, He has good works planned in advance for each of us. Ephesians 2:10 even calls each of us a masterpiece.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

So, straight up, here are the 4 threats you need to avoid (and at least two ways to safeguard your future.)

1. Procrastination – knowing what you need to do but not actually getting to it.
2. Apathy – not caring enough to pursue what you need to know or what needs to be done.
3. Ignorance – not knowing what you are designed for and missing out on the pursuit of your personal destiny.
4. Fear – allowing some sort of hurdle to keep you from moving forward.
...

We’ve been studying StoryBrand here at Bridges Coaching and we’d love to pass some of our key learnings on to you.

The “killer question” works in at least 3 ways.

1. It sets up the value of the decision. If you don’t consider what you would be losing, it’s hard to recognize the worth of the choice.
2. It helps with the timing. When you can focus on what you will be missing out on, it expedites the opt-in timing.
3. It right sizes the “fear of first”. Even people who love new things don’t know what they will be like till they try them. For each of us, there are some questions and hesitancy about how things will go when we have never done them before.

Ready for the question?

Hang in there. Just a couple more thoughts.

This question is nearly invaluable in coaching conversations. It creates awareness in exceptional ways.

This question is one you need to weigh as you consider Coach Training or even Destiny Discovery.

Ok, here goes. The...

Clarity seems to be a buzz word lately, especially in regards to goal setting.

I mean really, you absolutely need it to move forward well. No one orders an Uber but then fumbles with giving the driver a destination.

And yet...

Sometimes we do that with our lives.

It’s like the destination for our lives is more like a Sunday drive with no specific outcome clarified.

The Destiny by Design course includes an exercise that focuses on clarifying your Life Purpose Statement. When you have taken the time to drill down to your core and decipher your internal design, it becomes much clearer what your personal best nexts should be.

Clarity is a hoax when you fake it and pretend you have a clear next step.

Clarity is a hoax if you think it isn’t needed.

Clarity is a hoax if you feel it’s only general and not specific like you’re just supposed to be good all the time rather than knowing specifically what you are good at and how to invest in bringing your best self to the...

People often ask what is needed to actually launch a coaching practice.

The answer varies from state to state, but for most, the bottom line is that once you have completed the legal checkoff list for your state, you simply need to be good at your craft.

Most of us don’t check the credentials on the wall of the massage therapist, we just go back if they help us out.

Bridges Coaching Life coach certification is designed to help you do just that – actually help people out! While there is a Next Level Training that Bridges offers (contact us if you want to know more), the first level course was designed to be one-stop shopping. You will have everything needed (skills-wise) to set up sessions that actually help people.

Here are a couple of shout outs to a few of our alumni and their organizations!

Barb Ranck – Your Clear Next Step and Courageously Imperfect

"Barb shared, Hi Cindy! My site is https://www.cicandd.com which stands for CI Coaching & Development. CI...

We all have them, or at least we should.

Good leaders want to hit the mark. They want to make a difference. They want to be worthy of following. Good leaders want to help others toward achieving clear goals and helping them get there in the best way possible.

That being said – here are five fears all good leaders have.

1. Fear of missing the mark.
2. Fear of being status quo.
3. Fear of leading people in the wrong direction, or maybe just not the best direction.
4. Fear of nebulous targets.
5. Fear of a floundering pathway.

These healthy “fears” should fuel good leaders toward good leadership!

Yet most of us have probably had experiences where the goals were not inspiring and action steps were not actually clear. Sometimes, it seems we need to go back to a document or email to remember where we were going or what we supposed to be doing.

Good Coach Training will clear up these concerns and alleviate these fears once and for all!

Before understanding the coaching...

Do you know what an acorn grows up to be?

How about a kitten? Or maybe a tadpole?

Knowing what is “seeded” within you changes everything! And yet, many people don’t know what they are made of, or what they are meant to become.

When we aren’t sure of what’s in us, we run the risk of gambling with God’s intended destiny for our lives.

Psalm 139:13 says God knit us together in our mother’s womb. He’s the one who decided how tall you would be, what color eyes you would have, whether your hair would be curly or straight and so much more.

These external DNA markers make each of us unique, but wait - there’s more.

So much more.

We have an internal DNA that sets us apart from each other even more than how we look.

Our internal DNA consists of things like:

• Personality type
• Motivational gifts
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Five-fold ministry gifting
• 7 Mountains calling
• Personal passions and unique interest arenas

And the list could go on.

...

We don’t mean to, but it happens...

We set out to help people, but sometimes we end up not being effective at best, and possibly even hurting at worst.

Here are 3 mistakes well-meaning leaders make:

1. We tell people what to do.

In the long run, this approach can backfire one of two ways. One, if we are right, we have taught people they need to come to us in order to move forward. This puts a cap on our leadership potential to however many people we can meet within a day or week. Two, if we are wrong, it’s even worse. They can become bitter toward us or even toward God.

What if instead of telling people what to do we taught them how to discern for themselves?

2. We have the same conversations over and over.

Have you ever seen a person’s name pop up on your phone and had a little groan pop up in your heart? Be honest. Sometimes, we have the same conversations over and over with people who are stuck in some sort of way.

What if you were able to direct...

When I got my master’s degree I did these coaching “labs” on the side. Turns out they were optional, but I’m so glad I didn’t know that!

Let me explain.

The coaching “labs” were actually coach training and the education I received through them changed my life!

Coaching does not come naturally to most so when I was going through my coach training I really wanted a few things, so I really got seeped in the paradigm.

• I wanted to be coached, and experience what that felt like. I wanted to see if it really worked.
• I wanted to see others being coached so I could observe it being done well.
• I wanted someone to watch me coach and tell me if I was doing it right or wrong if need be. (To be honest, I was a little nervous about that, but I also wanted the affirmation enough to do it.)
• I wanted to have plenty of time to talk through the concepts with a certified coach and know I was heading in the right direction.

The training I took left me...

So, what EXACTLY is Coaching?

I get this question a lot! Usually whispered under someone’s breath, but I get it - the reason they aren’t sure is that there are a few definitions out there and it’s not clear what’s what.

The word coaching originates with the concept of a stagecoach or a Cinderella-type coach, which takes people from one place to another.

ALL coaching does that –- takes people from one place to another.

Sports coaches take a team from the beginning of the season to the championship.

Consultants take a company from where they are to where they want to go.

Personal Trainers help people move from their current weight to an ideal one.

The big difference is HOW!

All the above may consider themselves coaches and they truly are taking people from one place or space to something new. The difference between this coaching and the kind we are talking about is that they do so by telling people what to do. They are experts and they are in charge of...

I can honestly say there are a number of reasons I like Zoom better than live!

Here are some of my favorite Zoom features.

1) Simultaneous Response.

When in a Zoom room every single participant can respond at the same time. I love the level up of engagement. Try questions like these:

• Choosing from a list. “Of the items mentioned which one stands out to you and why?” The list could be anything, but people have to review the topic to share their responses.
• “On a scale of 1 – 10 with 1 being a little and 10 being a lot where would you rank yourself?” Again, everyone has to think through, apply the concept to their own life, and choose where they fit.
• Making a list together. Ask for ideas of how to apply the principle, or ways people deal with the issue poorly or well. Concurrent engagement is powerfully connecting.
• Picking one option. Of the three types mentioned which one resonates for you.

Each of these opportunities allows for multiple people to...