by ken winston caine

The questions you ask and choose to explore shape the outcomes you achieve. The trick is to ask powerful questions.

They cut to the chase. They move you forward quickly and smartly.

Asking powerful questions is at the heart of “coaching” as it was developed by Thomas Leonard. And I’ve been collecting lists of powerful questions, or coaching questions, for 11 years — ever since I was first exposed to Leonard’s approach.

But simply being armed with a mile-long list of powerful questions does not make one a good coach. Or guarantee you magnificent, rapid, sustainable personal success. The good coach and the smart achiever know how to ask the right type of question at exactly the right moment.

Better, I think, to understand what a powerful question is, so that you can instinctively pose one when it is needed, than to have a long list of questions to sort through. (Though a list is valuable.)

So what is a powerful question?

The best explanation I have come across comes not from the world of life coaching or business coaching or corporate coaching, but from pioneers of The World Cafe process, Juanita Brown and David Isaacs.

They write, on their website, that a powerful question has eight defining characteristics: (more…)

Powerful, open-source mind-mapping software for Windows, Mac, Linux and Solaris. Free. With full documentation.

Not familiar with mind maps? Here’s an example of one.

This computer program known as Cmap lets you document and manipulate a visual record of your best brainstorming efforts.

Mindmapping is a great tool for stimulating creative thought and for organizing complex thinking into simple, intuitive and logical patterns.

Cmap lets you create mind maps right on your computer screen.

You can pay hundreds of dollars for this kind of software. Or you can download powerpacked, open source Cmap for free.

Download it at: (more…)

by Ananga Sivyer

Life doesn’t always go as planned. Stuff happens, and things can soon build into the proverbial mountains from molehills if we let them. Here are some pointers for keeping buoyant in the face of adversity.

1. Get Some (more…)

I met Eliza on floppy disk in the early ’80s. This is a somewhat improved version. But Eliza is still just a computer program. You can definitely trip her up if you try. But that’s not the point.

She’s a darn good therapist. Rogerian analyst. Coach. And can help you sort through just about anything, any time, if you use her that way. Do. And enjoy her. She’s not just a novelty, but also a useful resource.

Simply click on “more,” choose your version and start talking to her. She’ll keep the conversation, and exploration going. Journaling doesn’t get any easier than this. Coaching doesn’t get any less expensive. (more…)

If you are exercising daily, eating healthful energizing food, eating in moderation, noticing your clothes getting looser, but seeing rolls of flab appearing on your body — that’s a great sign.

You must reframe “flab.” See it as a tremendous positive. A sign of accomplishment.

Because that’s what it is.

It’s a metric or (more…)