Kim McGuire, CPCC

We had 4 wonderful, inspiring, challenging years in Manhattan and then Brooklyn.  We met many incredible people and those are what we will miss the most.  NYC has many treasures and here is a brief list of the places and I will miss about New York:

The Brooklyn Promenade
The Subway System
Poets Walk in Central Park
Ess a Bagel
LES Knishes
The Union Square Greenmarket
GalConnect Brooklyn
Baby and Me Yoga
Jivamukti
the Cloisters
Falafel sandwiches at Bereket
The rooftop garden at the Met
Fire Island excursions
Teany
PS1
The Berkshires
Fresh Direct
Saturday afternoon cocktails at Cyril’s Fish House
My small town neighborhood in Brooklyn
Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge
Nolita Shops
Houston Street Whole Foods
The dolphin sandbox at Cobble Hill Park
Ted and Honey
MasterMind Groups
The Grand Central Station Ceiling
Mizolla Bakery
Velselka Café
Discovery Wine Shop
Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
7A
Tomkins Square Park sweet greenmarket on Sundays
DUMBO park along the East River
French Bistros…Bar Tabac, Schillers, Felix, Jules, Charbon
The Shake Shack
Delivery Delivery Delivery
The Sacred Center
The Gray Dog Café

There are many more and they will always live in our memories.  We have moved West to Colorado to be close to family and nature.  Change is a good thing!

Tags: attitude, Brooklyn, change, Life of Kim

Check out my latest e-Newsletter on FREE ways to make 2009 Fabulous!

Tags: attitude, life coach, vision

I heard Marianne Williamson the other day on a podcast talking about Change.  She used a train metaphor that spoke to me:  If the train does not stop at your station, it’s not your train.  And if you’re holding onto a train that is not your train, the ‘right’ train cannot meet you at your station.

In other words, if you’re holding on to anything - a relationship that is not serving you, a job that you’re unhappy in, a home or environment that is toxic, friendships that do not support you on your journey - let it go.  If you want a change in any of these areas, you must first let go of what is currently ‘at your station’ to leave room for the right relationship, job, home or friend to arrive.

Forcing a change or trying to force things to stay the same is a battle you will never win. This is because nothing alive is static – everything changes.  Try to embrace your ever-transforming life and know that you can choose to let something go in order to make room for the next big thing in your life!

I have head of people when they are finished with a situation run outside and yell, “NEXT” as loud as they can.  This can be an invigorating, physical and fun way to tell the universe that you’re done with that train and ready for the next train to arrive!

What train are you ready make room for?

Tags: change, life coach

Here is a post I wrote for the New York Chapter of the Young Women Social Entrepreneurs website.  It’s all about how I re-launched my Coaching Practice after having Riley, my now 10 month old son!

I am honored to be a part of this awesome organization!  If you’re a female entrepreneur, check out their website to see if there is a chapter in your area!

Enjoy!

Tags: entrepreneurial women, life coach, Life of Kim

Rather than writing about who I would like to win this election, I would like to just turn your attention to how you look at the issues.

A few of my ‘teachers’ (coaches, mentors, authors) throughout the years have echoed the same message. Be for a cause, a candidate, a movement, rather than against something.  It is a much healthier way to look at the issues.  Are you anti-war or for peace?  Are you anti-poverty or for everyone having enough to eat?  Are you for a greener earth or anti-SUV’s?  Is fighting a drug war the best way to go or might we be better off finding solutions to addiction?

This election, please vote for someone and their cause rather than against the other guy.  Last time I learned the hard way that it feels a lot more empowered to be for someone rather than against.

Tags: attitude

Here is a link to an article written by fellow Life Coach, Nancy Colasurdo called Inner Peace in Troubled Times.

It’s worth the read.

Tags: attitude, life coach

Take a look at my newsletter sent out last week.

How many ways can you be a Leader?

Tags: Leadership, life coach, vision

My colleague Dani Rukin and I hosted a Vision Board workshop last Sunday. What is a Vision Board you might ask?  It’s a place to put images or phrases that encapsulate who you want to be, where you want to go, places you want to live that you have cut out of magazines.  The idea is that when you surround yourself with those images and thoughts, and focus on them daily, you’re more likely to have them manifest in your life.  It goes a bit deeper than writing out a list of goals (which by the way is an extremely valuable exercise).  This way, the things you want are front and center in your thoughts.

First you want to go though the different parts of your life such as Career, Relationships, Fun and Recreation, Personal Growth, Health, Physical Environment and Money.  Think of how satisfied you are in your life in these areas.  Then create a list of things you want in each area and start to gather those images.  Place them on a poster or bulletin board in a place you can see each morning.

Jack Canfield has a wonderful way to create a daily habit of using the Vision Board.  In summary, here are his six steps:

1. Morning intention – take 5 minutes to meditate and focus on your desires.  It’s important to feel the feelings you would feel if you had already manifested that desire.
2. Use external images such as a Vision Board
3. Think a better thought – pay attention to the emotional responses that are not in alignment with your desires.  Focus your thoughts on what brings you joy.
4. Have an Attitude of Gratitude – no matter what your situation, there are always things to be grateful for.
5. Take Action – you must take the first, even small, step in getting you what you want.  If you have an inspired idea or someone comes into your life that could help you – take action!
6. Acknowledge that it is working – when you start to see changes in your life for the better, appreciate it!

Here is a photo of my (always in progress) Vision Board.  I keep adding things to it as create more possibility into my life.  We had an incredibly dynamic, diverse, wonderful group of participants at our Workshop last Sunday… perhaps I will post their vision boards as they send me their photos.

Tags: gratitude, vision

Fear and gratitude are two emotions that you cannot feel at the same time.

I hear the words ‘frightened’, ‘panic’, and ‘uncertainty’ a lot these days.  As the stock market climbs and falls, the housing market drops and the cost of a gallon of milk begins to rise, it is understandable that as human beings we focus on what’s not going right in our lives. And as human beings we also have the power and consciousness to change our focus at any given moment.

Gratitude, something I write about frequently, is often overlooked.  It’s something that we tend to think is a waste of time – why should I focus on what I already have?  Getting grateful for the things you have - not just physical things – brings more of that into your life.  What are the people, opportunities, bits of knowledge, lessons that you are grateful for?  Focusing on your gratitude list only brings more of that into your life!

So what happens when you get truly grateful?  Any sort of fear or panic melts away.  It is impossible for your brain and body to feel both fear and gratitude at the same time.  Your brain does not know the difference between feeling that feeling that something is happening and actually having it happen.  So when you’re grateful, you feel what you already have OR what you’re grateful that you will have in the future.  It’s such a beautiful thing to feel gratitude.  It’s important to heed the message that fear sends you; and it is equally vital to give thanks for what you have already.  What gifts are in your life today?

I find this quote fitting for the modern American to ponder:

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.

H. U. Westermayer

Tags: attitude, gratitude, vision

“Difficulties mastered are opportunities won” - Winston Churchill

During these times of uncertainty and fear, it is easy to fall into the trap of negativity and scarcity.   Feeling like the ‘end of the world’ is coming is easy when it seems like most people fear the same.

Where is the opportunity in all of this?   What kind of attitude do we have?  If we can master this ‘difficulty’ we can create a new opportunity for ourselves – learning, growing, changing, transforming.  What opportunity have these current difficulties presented for you?

There are three simple ways to stay focused on the opportunities:

1. Are you watching too much news?  Understand the news but don’t get consumed by it and have it wreck your day.
2. What kind of company do you keep?  Surround yourself with positive, supportive friends and colleagues.
3. What can you learn from this?  View every circumstance as an opportunity to expand your mind.

Keep the long term perspective in check.  I’m not saying that you won’t have to work longer hours or present to more potential clients to make the sale or reevaluate your spending.  This may be true.  And in the long run, you may find that these tying times opened doors you never thought possible.

Keep an eye out for what the universe is telling you… you just may be surprised at what opportunities you win!

Tags: attitude, life coach, vision