Values
I’ve always held very strongly to the need for living by my Personal values. However, it was only during training I did with Bec McFarland that the notion of Business and Brand values were introduced into my thinking. Well, duh! Of course, it makes complete sense to have both business and brand values along with personal ones. Naturally, there is synergy and even overlap between these groups, they are intertwined because they’re all elements of me. I have started with listing my personal values because the other ones stem from there. Anyone who knows me knows that I talk a lot, well, the same is true in writing….! 😘 😂 The values cascade – my brand values flow from my business values which in turn flow from my personal values. Some values appear in more than one category, however, there is a different focus based on the category it sits in. The colours indicate the relationship of the values: my Personal values (orange) are a combination of my Business (yellow) & Brand (red) Values.
Personal values
1. Respect: Respect for myself is central to how I conduct my life, this influences how I behave in all situations especially when interacting with others. In return, I expect others to respect me. All my relationships are based on mutual respect. Without respect, I walk away from the relationship, or I have ‘that conversation’ to restore the mutual respect.
2. Justice: Justice at every level is important to me – social justice, legal justice and the way people treat each other. Fairness in everyday life matters, even in little things like not jumping the queue when shopping. To me, that’s also justice. A little OTT, maybe 🙄 😂!? That’s me, regardless!
3. Integrity: My integrity stems from the previous two values – respect for myself firstly and then how I treat others, as well as the need for fairness. To me, integrity is about respecting myself not to do anything I believe is wrong and being fair and above board in all things. Integrity is about my sense of honour, it’s about doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do; treating others the way I want to be treated.
4. Gratitude: As a ‘Pollyanna’, I’m the eternal optimist, the glass is always half full and for that reason I’m always grateful for what is, not what isn’t; for what I have as opposed to what I don’t have. In my journey since 2013, – ‘’the worst year of my life’, gratitude brought me to forgiveness which led me to healing and for that I’m forever grateful!!! I’m now a huge advocate for Gratitude.
5. Forgiveness: Since going through my own journey of pain and growth, I now practise forgiveness wherever I can, including for myself. I have found Forgiveness to be so liberating and ‘cleansing’. My heart feels lighter and fuller when I forgive and the negative thoughts and emotions go away.
6. Financial Freedom: While money has never been a high priority for me. I do want the dream lifestyle that money brings – travel, working anywhere in the world, freedom to work when and how often I want, the ability to help friends and family and contribute to charity. My dream is to start a foundation in my mum’s name to help people who feel disenfranchised from society – youth unemployed, victims of domestic violence, the homeless and so many more.
7. Family: My family is supremely important to me. I’m one of five siblings so, I came from a large family and I was blessed to have a wonderful relationship with both my parents. I also get on well with all my siblings. My children, my partner, my siblings and their families are import to me. I love spending time with my family and the close and loving relationships we share – one on one and as a family group.
8. Love: Love is central to how I interact with the world. It underpins everything I do and the connection I feel towards others. I’m always telling people I love them. This is not because I undervalue the word ‘love’. It’s because I resonate with the word in all its guises – platonic, romantic, family, friends, gestures, the lot.
9. Humour: I’m a smart aleck, can’t help it. Secretly, I like being a smart aleck, being quick witted is something I enjoy. I have a weird sense of humour, something not everyone else gets and that’s okay with me but it can create some misunderstandings when I laugh at the wrong time because of my unorthodox view of the world. I love corny jokes and bond with people who also have a good sense of humour. A sense of humour is a ‘must have’ for any relationship I’m in. I’ve always used humour to diffuse awkward situations which I still do, and I used to use self-deprecating humour but I’ve stopped doing that recently because negative self -talk of any kind is destructive.
10. Contribution: Contribution is about generosity – generosity of spirit as well as of time, money or goods and services. My mum was very big on helping and serving others. She belonged to numerous committees sharing her time, knowledge and expertise. She would also tip people when they had provided good service. One of her favourite things to do years ago when kids rides in shopping centres cost 20 cents, was to go past one of these rides and pop in a 20 cent piece, much to the surprise and delight of the child and their parent/s. Of course, she always made sure it was safe to do so. I have now adopted her approach. I love to tip people who deserve it or lend a helping hand where I can. I won’t go on about what I do because it’s not about advertising how I contribute, it’s about acknowledging that I do because it’s way of making a difference as well as the joy it gives me. I’m happy to say my kids have also adopted this habit.
11. Growth: While I’ve always been interested in learning about my own growth and personal development, my journey following the collapse of my very comfortable life in 2013 has led me to new discoveries about myself, a change in my attitudes about life, about myself and about others. I am now a much nicer person than I used to be, I’m more mellow, more grounded and not only am I living a life I love. I love who I am. I always did, only now it’s more than ever because I’m so proud of how I’ve changed and grown, and I’m more resilient.
12. Acceptance: Accepting others has always been important to me, to put people at ease and make them feel welcome and wanted. Now, acceptance has taken on a whole new level. I accept others unconditionally; I have now come to accept that everyone is doing the best they can with what they’ve got. I now also accept myself, flaws and all. The last one, especially, has been a huge step for me; getting away from perfectionism and judgement has been liberating. Woohoo! Go me! 😘 😂
13. Acknowledgement: Acknowledgement goes hand in hand with Acceptance. Acknowledgement is important to the human soul. Everyone is doing the best they can with what they have and we need to accept and applaud their efforts because no one knows exactly what that effort is costing the other person. Acknowledgement celebrates the person and their effort and also provides them with confidence and the impetus to go on and achieve more. We often think no one is looking or no one will notice what we do, so when someone does and shows their appreciation we feel uplifted and valued. That’s what I love about Acknowledgement it makes people feel valued.
14. Reliability: I’m someone who is quite comfortable to ask for help and support especially with little things like bringing in the washing before dark if I happen to be out. So, I really value being able to rely that what I’ve asked for is done (if agreed to by the other person, of course). I pride myself on being reliable too, because to me it’s another form of respect and appreciation.
15. Responsibility: Responsibility, for me these days, is about accepting my own role in what I do or achieve in life. It’s about not blaming others for my actions or lack of action. Responsibility is also about accepting my share of any relationship I’m in and the health of that relationship – personal or business. It’s about being a ‘grown up’, an adult and being fully aware of what’s happening in my life and how to improve it. Responsibility is also about asking for and accepting help when I need it.
My Business Values
1. Respect: Respect for myself is central to how I conduct my life and how I behave especially when interacting with others, and definitely in respecting my clients as individuals with their individual set of circumstances. No cookie cutter treatment here!
2. Service and Contribution: Serving my clients’ needs by addressing their blocks and the things that are causing them pain in their lives, stopping them from being their best selves and living the lives they deserve. Helping other businesses to grow and flourish.
3. Integrity: Being reliable, responsible, keeping my word and following through on my commitments to my clients. Living true to my values.
4. Love: Accepting my clients as the beautiful souls they are and serving them from a place of love and acceptance, not judgement. Loving myself for the beautiful soul that I am and being a role model for my clients to do the same.
5. Honesty: Telling it like it is with sensitivity and love, sometimes using ‘tough love’ because it’s best for the client. Honoring my clients and myself with total honesty.
6. Trust: Trusting that my clients will do the right thing by me and trusting myself to do what’s right for the clients, the business and myself. This is a triangular relationship with each element as important as the other, neither one of us can succeed without the other two arms also succeeding.
7. Family: Recognising the importance of my own family and the families of my clients and the positive impacts that will benefit the families as a result of the clients’ outcomes. Family is often part of a client’s purpose, their ‘Why’ for seeking the best results.
8. Acknowledgement and Affirmation: Everyone needs to feel valued and honoured when they have achieved something, regardless if the effort and outcomes were big or small. Even small achievements should be acknowledged or, better still, celebrated. Nothing succeeds like success!
9. Financial outcomes: Valuing the financial viability of my business honours me, my vision and my ability to serve my clients. A financially sound business allows me to offer my clients value in the quality of service I provide through investment in my own education, in the business systems and whatever products I might provide my clients.
My Brand Values
1. Empowerment: My main aim in coaching is to empower my clients to take (back) control of their lives by addressing the blocks that get in the way of them living a life they desire and deserve.
2. Purpose: My purpose is to empower my clients with strategies, skills and confidence to become self-sufficient such that they manage their lives by relying on their own resources. My ultimate success is for my clients not to need me any longer.
3. Fulfillment: Power Your Life Coaching is about fulfilment for me, the coach, in empowering my clients to live their best lives; and for the clients to become resilient, self-sufficient and fulfilled.
4. Optimism: While I’m an optimistic person by nature, optimism as a brand value is important for my clients to know that they are whole and beautiful just because they were born and, for this reason, they have the right to live a life filled with purpose, hope and love. Optimism is an important value for my clients to believe that they can be everything they wish to be and that together we can bridge whatever gaps they need to span.
5. Growth: Our whole life’s journey is about growth. From babies we develop through many stages into adulthood. As adults our journeys take us on different stages to help us grow and develop to our full potential. The pain and hardships we meet are the very things which bring forth the growth we require to live our best lives.
6. Commitment: Playing full out regardless of how much we are tempted to run away from challenge and discipline. Commitment is about ‘showing up’ regardless of whatever circumstances may get in the way. Usually what’s “ín” the way “IS” the way; that is, we usually resist the very thing we need to come to grips with to move us forward towards our goals.
7. Transformation: Transformation only happens when we take responsibility for our lives and the results we want in our lives and then commit to doing whatever it takes to bring about these results.