Amateur to Pro: Recent Episodes
Carolyn Mahboubi
A weekly solo-cast offering insights for leaving the “amateur” mindset behind — no matter your age — and adopting the mindsets, skill sets and practices that can help you live life like a Pro.
I was hard pressed to crack open a text book, but devoured any about human behavior, potential and the metaphysical. But my insights and learnings — those that have led me to becoming a Professional Coach — have less to do with consuming information, and a lot more with taking the time and putting..
Last week’s article — 9 Insights That Changed Me Forever — garnered significant attention from folks in my coaching community. Many reached out with life changing insights of their own. When we slow down to reflect on where we were, or rather who we were, a decade ago, and who we are today, we can’t help but notice change.
I’m often asked to share these very personal insights. So, in no particular order, here are 9 that helped me change my personality and consequently my life.
The antithesis of Good Enough Parenting is Perfectionist Parenting and it rests on the foundation of the belief that we need to optimize every aspect of our children’s lives. But the consequences of raising our children as our projects are now evident to so many of us.
Being a serious person is not about putting on a performance of seriousness, but rather a way of thoughtful and deliberate living. It's the art of being fully present and conscious of our actions, creating systems that keep us alert, awake, and attentive.
I put it to you that every effort we make at communicating stems from one of two mindsets. We are either aiming for connection or for control. How do you identify?
You see, beliefs are simply thoughts that we have practiced over and over again until they appear to us as facts. When we are able to see the difference between facts and beliefs, we realize how much more powerful we are than we imagined.
I’m often asked what I do in a coaching session that is so valuable. I’m also asked to share my “framework” and “curriculum.” The simple answer I give is, “We talk and your life changes.”
“How can I support you?” is one of my favorite questions to ask at the start of a coaching conversation. What I’m really asking is, “What is your support language?” So much has been written about our Love Languages and most people are familiar with their Primary Love Language. Gary Chapman has identified five in his book, and perhaps there are more. But what about Support Languages?
Many times, we scare ourselves before even starting, causing us to never begin. And that’s why, so often, simply to begin is to win. But what happens when we do begin and then realize we had forgotten how hard the effort actually was? I did finish the Borken Arrow Skyrace I wrote about last week. But perhaps due to a measure of Ignorance and Arrogance (I+A). Here are my thoughts in retrospect and what could have happened if it wasn’t for a little bit of I&A.
I’m obsessed with beginnings. Beginnings carry what I like to think of as “Pilgrim Energy”! I’m talking about that effortless stream of vital energy we experience at the dawn of a desire. Think of the beginnings of falling in love, starting a business, or committing to a big mission.
Efficiency and effectiveness are not the same. Understanding the distinction between these two words makes all the difference if our goal is to create more impact with our time, not just check off boxes on our “To Do” list.
In last week’s podcast — The 3 Steps to Creating Money — I left you with a question to explore. The question was: How can we practice serving rather than selling without being taken advantage of? The answer lies in understanding the distinction between giving fiercely and giving selflessly. One of these behaviors leads to creating more prosperity, not only financially, and the other leads to endless hustle, resentment and disappointment.
In my work, limiting beliefs around money are some of the hardest to unearth and transform. Most of us are still carrying around our great grandparents’ beliefs about money and allowing them to decide our present day to day actions. To create prosperity, consider my simple, but far from easy, three step invitation.
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Change your mindset.
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Understand two major facts (which no one talks about).
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Start creating money!
Being part of a community that brings joy and fulfillment, for me, is to be part of one that is based on shared values. And to be honest, I wasn’t able to find one that matched mine. So I went ahead and created it. I call it The Wisdom Circle.
Some people have interesting lives. And some have happy lives. So, what’s the difference?
So many of us believe that if we slow down our thinking, we will come to a dead stop or fall off the cliff — a la The Coyote in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons! Or maybe we’ll just lie on the couch all day and lose the thread of our lives forever, intoxicated by Netflix and chips! I’m here to tell you the contrary.
If you describe yourself as driven, high-achieving and ambitious, then you’ve probably drunk the Kool-Aid. If you’re in your late thirties or above (depending on when you started drinking full out) you’re dealing with a hangover that never seems to go away.
Is it true that 80% of our decisions need to be made and only 20% need to be made right?
Power is not a title, an army or a bunch of strategies for controlling others. Power is not forceful, loud and brutal. Power is not something we acquire or inherit. It’s a state of being and a delivery system for impact. That’s it. But the journey of cultivating power in order to increase our impact begins with an essential precondition I call, Fierce Presence.
It’s the beginning of the last quarter of the year! Imagine yourself on the morning of January 1st 2023.
You’re holding a cup of your morning potion of choice as you sit or stand in your favorite spot.
Reflecting on the last 4 months of your life, you are overcome with thoughts and feelings of deep gratitude and pride.
I put it to you that who you are and how you feel on January 1st 2023 is not a mystery — it’s a result. And to determine that result for myself and my clients, I use a tool I’ve created and named FSD(TM) — short for Future Self Design(TM).
It is a powerful tool that allows you to create your future from the future, not the past, as most of us have been trained to do.