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…)

by Rey Carr
Peer Resources

At a recent teleconference of coaching experts a number of trends were noted that could be predictive of some difficult times ahead for coaching. Here is a summary of the key points.

* No consensus exists as to whether coaching qualifies as a “profession.” While it is often referred to as a “discipline,” “area,” “field,” or “arena,” coaching has yet to fully embrace the criteria typically associated with the definition of a profession. Some experts noted that this was a “good thing” in that coaching maintained its connection with its grass roots origins.

* Too few coaches are actually able to make a living as coaches. More coaches are leaving the field after finding that (more…)

31 days of absolutely free success coaching from a guy who really knows his stuff.

You can stretch it out to 31 weeks, if you like, by taking only one session each week.

Check it out at (more…)

by Jenifer Shapiro

Holistic Practitioners are holistic healing professionals with a gift in one or more areas of healing. From bodyworkers to homeopaths to hypnotherapists, the term holistic practitioner has become one that is often challenging to describe or understand. Hopefully this article will provide you with some clarity on what a holistic practitioner is and how to find one that meets your individual needs.

Saying “holistic practitioner” is similar to saying “doctor.” While there are general practitioners that cross along many paths, most specialize in one or more holistic methods or areas. The main areas of specialization are (more…)

by Ken Winston Caine

You already know how to lose 40 pounds. (But not in three weeks!) And how to keep it off.

We all do.

The missing ingredient, when we are overweight, is finding and maintaining the life-loving mindset and self-esteem that allows that to happen without any seeming effort. Without struggle.

You MUST do this without struggle if you are to succeed.

And you know how to do that, too, because you’ve done it before. (If not with weight, then with some other challenge that you’ve completely conquered to the point that you can’t even imagine how you could have ever been a “victim” of it. Where your enthusiasm and excitement and belief in a completely different set of behaviors and beliefs completely supplanted the old, self-destructive ones.)

How did you do it then?

First examine values, thinking, behaviors that are limiting you, weighing you down, and discover a time when those were not there, were not important, were not in control

What put you in that place where the (more…)

Seasoned business mentor Frederick Pearce has compiled a list of what he refers to as 30 coaching models.

They would not have been called “models” in the coaching schools through which I studied in the late 90s, early 2000s. They were taught more as a variety of tools and techniques a coach would draw upon in any given situation.

And it was expected that a coach would draw upon a variety of them at different, appropriate times — even perhaps within a single 30-minute session with the same client.

A coach schooled that way is likely to be more versatile and effective than one who views each of these “models” as a distinct system (more…)

Just found a great directory of sites offering free clip art.

Need artwork for your web pages, reports, e-books, assessments, Power Point presentations, flyers, etc.?

The site makes one big mistake that I’m finding a lot of people making. Mentioning it here so you won’t fall for it.

It describes Google Image Search as a source for free clip art.

Wrong.

Google Image Search is a handy index of images found on web pages. Just as regular Google search is a handy index of written content found on web pages.

Most images found on web pages — just as most written content — are subject to copyright laws. You need permission to use them, may have to pay a licensing fee and may be required to publish a line crediting the artist or photographer.

There are copyright-free and royalty-free (meaning you pay nothing for each use) clip-art collections available on the web.

Some you have to pay for. This listing is for ones that are completely free — and includes photos as well as drawings. (more…)

I’m testing a new free teleconference service. (That’s a “bridge line,” to you coaches out there.)

It lets me host up to 100 callers at any time — no advance reservations needed.

Immediately after the call, I can download a digital recording of it.

Pretty cool.

Could you use this? Would you like free access? Read on:

The recording can be posted on a webpage or burned to CD or sold as an e-program or given away as a bonus product with some other offer. Or edited and cleaned up and added to a larger recording. Would love to hear other ways YOU use teleclass recordings. (Share by clicking the ‘Comments’ link below.)

How can they afford to give this away?

Will this service be free forever?

How long is forever? This is the Web, after all.

The company hopes to etch out a profit by upselling satisfied users and corporations to its toll-free-dial-in premium conference service — which costs the host from 4 cents to 6 cents per minute, depending upon which pre-pay plan you buy.

Want your own free, 24/7 teleconference line — with free recording capability? Takes less than 30 seconds to set up. Visit this link: (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…)