The Four Virtues of Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu is the revered Chinese philosopher whose teachings are explained in the Tao Te Ching. The great Lao Tzu based his life on four basic principles

1. Respect for ALL living things
2. Sincerity
3. Gentleness
4. Supportiveness

Easy. Perhaps. When followed Powerful. When we become soft and gentle, our joy shines through and we are alive. We start to live life in an easy, harmonious way.

When Confucious met Lao Tzu he said, "today I have met a Dragon"

So simple let's give it a try

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann
tkaufmanncoaching.com

Who and What is God?

Who is God?

From Corinthians we know,

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Simply. God is Love.

When we love we are in essence expressing our God like qualities, our divine nature, our divinity, and our communion with the Almighty.  When we love, we are one with God. That is why love is the greatest power in the universe, that is why love conquers all.

We have heard these "cliches" but do we realize the power in the words, the effectiveness, the truth. The more love we have and express in our lives, the more abundant, joyful, content, peaceful we are. So Simple. So effective.

Learn to replace judgement with understanding, compassion, and love, and your whole world will become new, you will look at life with new eyes, you will experience an awakening and life will become easy.

We often hear the opposite of Love is hate, but hate is just another word for fear, the "f" word.  When we let go of the fear, and replace it with love, we see renewal, healing, growth. By eliminating the "f" words in our lives, we become stronger, healthier, more vibrant, and alive.

Let go of all those trumped up fears.

Fear of poverty - Gone  I love leading an abundant life
Fear of failure - Gone    I'm loving success just as I am
Fear of sickness - Gone  I'm love being healthy, vibrant, and vital
Fear of disease - Gone    I love and take care of my body and it takes care of me
Fear of rejection - Gone  I love myself just as I am
Fear of loneliness - Gone I love my solitude but also sharing with others. I am loved
Fear of death - Gone        How does love die? Where does it go? Love lives!
Fear of success/change - Gone Change is growth, renewal, new adventure. Success is sharing your                                                 talents, your love

All of these foolish fears are banished by love and by a replacement idea that we know to be true. Again, we know these things but in our moments of doubt and fear we forget.  The more we ingrain this knowledge in our lives, the sooner we realize a life of joy and happiness.

Yes. God is Love. We are love and as we increase our capacity to love we allow all the goodness, joy, and abundance to flow into our lives

With Love,

Coach K

The Love of the Game

Enjoyed //Coached a great basketball game yesterday.  The boys played well but we came up short on the scoreboard. We as a society focus so much on winning on competition when really the winning and the competition has little to do with the game.

Of course, we've carried these sports qualities into Life and our daily living.  We must Win, Life is a competition, You must be a Winner. This of course is a a lie. Do you win every game, do you win every championship. Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and even the greatest Ali, lost games, lost championships during their time in the game.  The all time coach John Wooden was at UCLA for 15 years before he won his first national championship in 1964.  Today, most coaches would be long gone before getting 15 years in one place. Losing is part of the process, part of the game, perhaps a more important teacher, and maybe patience is really a virtue

 Athletes know this and accept it as part of the bargain in playing the game.  If you asked any athlete whether he could play a sport but only on losing teams or not at all,  all would say I want to PLAY. Why?  For the love of the game.  The fun, the pleasure, the JOY is in the PLAYING the game. Yes we all like to win but alas the winners are the COMPETITORS those that participate in the game. To quote, the great Teddy Roosevelt, the winners are not the critics but those that played, that ventured, that toiled, those that competed, that participated in the game.

And so it is with Life. The joy is in participating in the game, of realizing your potential, of refining and sharing your talents, of living your dream. We know what we love to do, we must do it, and in doing the joy surfaces, we are then content, fulfilled, and at peace. And when we share that joy with others, it spreads, expands, and is returned to us in greater quantity.

This is how the world and society make progress and improves.  Everyone doing what they love and sharing those talents with the universe. Art, Poetry, Film, Engineering, Music, Technology, Spirituality, Writing, Social Sciences, Government, Nature, Sports, etc. We all have gifts in the various areas of life that are to be enjoyed and shared.

When life becomes a competition, a race, it becomes dull, boring, uninspiring. Life is a dance, a symphony, where we are all invited to participate, to enjoy the beautiful dance, to enjoy the lovely song.  No winners, no losers, just willing participants in this wonderful thing called life.

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann
tkaufmanncoaching.com

Abundance Poem

Abundance

If you take a breath is there one left for me

If you take a drink is there one left for me

If you take a bite, is there one left for me

If you take the sunshine, is there some left for me

If you take a seed, is there one left for me

If you take a dollar, is there one left for me

If you take the peace, is there one left for me

If you take the joy, is there some left for me

If you take the land, is there some left for me

If you take the goodness, is there some left for me
If you take the hope, is there some left for me
If you take a love, is there some left for me

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann

Prayer of Gratitude

The Lords Prayer

Our Father  - Family
Who is in Heaven - At Peace
Hallowed Be Your Name - Acknowledge
Thy Kingdom Come - Peace on Earth
The Will Be Done - To Be Happy Joyful Content Expressing sharing your talents with the world
On Earth as it is in Heaven - Heaven and Earth the same when we are loving, kind, joyful, at peace

Give us this Day our Daily Bread -  Nourishment \Food
And forgive us our trespasses - Forgive our mistakes
As we forgive those who trespass against us - Forgive others mistakes

Lead us not into temptation -  Curb our desires
But deliver us from evil -  Lack of love, kindness, goodness in our lives

Amen - Yes

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann

Divided States of America?

We are the United States of America. You hear the politicians and pundits and they make us out to be the Divided States of America. We are the world's metling pot, the shining city on the hill, the beacon of hope, the bastion of freedom, the entrepreneur's dream, the land of milk and honey. Simply the land of opportunity.

The United States is interesting in that when we are in the U.S.A and someone asks us, What are you? We respond with our family ethnicity, Italian, African, Irish, Polish, Jewish, Korean, Indian, Chinese, etc., even though we were born in the USA. But when we are outside the USA and someone asks us, What are you? We respond I am an AMERICAN. Interesting.

We are all Americans. We want wants best for the ourselves, our family, our neighbor, and our country. We can debate the ways to get there but we know that we must continue to grow for growth is the way of nature. And healthy growth is achieved by harmony, symmetry, and order. 

When we keep dividing ourselves what is left? I am a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Tea Party, Radical, Conservative, Liberal, Christian, Atheist, Evangelical, Progressive, NeoCon, Pet Lover, Tree Hugger, Hippy, Billionaire,  and the list goes on.  When we continue to divide we are left with the number one. We can dentify with all the groups in some small way, but is there a better way?

How about I am an American and a Citizen of the world.

I love my fellow man, my country, and all the countries on the earth. What's good for me is good for my fellow man. Yes, we need balance in our personal lives, in our family lives, in our finances, in our health, our desires, and in our appetites.

We are all connected in this dance called humanity, there is enough for all of us, enough oceans, enough water, enough land, enough air, and enough food, enough energy, enough resources,  enough wealth, enough happiness, enough love, and enough peace for the world to thrive as one.  We have been misled to think of Life as a competition when in reality it is a Dance to be joined and enjoyed by all of us. Everyone is able to participate, enjoy the music, and join the dance. There is enough abundance in the universe for all of us

And of course the answer is always YES. There is plenty for everyone, if we share, work together, and love, care, and nurture each other. Together anything is possible, doable, reachable, attainable. We have done it already and will continue do so together.

With Love All Things are Possible

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann

Help That Child

Yes as Whitney said, I believe the children are the future. Yes, the children are the future but more importantly they are the present.

In the present moment, how many of the world's children are cared for, nurtured, and loved. From the farthest reaches of the globe, to the largest cities, to the rural highlands, to the small town, to every local community we have an obligation to love every child.

If a marriage ends, the parenting must go on each parent must love the children

If a relationship ends but results in a child, both parents must love the child

Love is active, love is kind, love is communicating in thought, word, and deed. The love in action principle states that each child is endowed with God given talents that they are here to develop, express, and share. For when we do this we realize our greatest potential. Give up judging, scolding, berating, punishing, and replace with tolerance, understanding, and compassion.

We have a duty, a responsibility, it is in our DNA to love, care, and nurture the children of the world. Each child, every one of them deserves our best and at the very least send them a kind loving thought. Thoughts are energy and we could all use some positive vibes.

Love to write love letters. We all enjoy hearing I love you especially the children. We all know children and adults that can be a bother, send those folks some love, they really need it!

Dear Children of the World

Please know that you are loved
If you are angry, we love you
If you are hungry, we love you
If you are lonely, we love you
If you are abused, we love you
If you are neglected, we love you
If you are abandoned, we love you
If you are dirty, we love you
If you are poor, we love you

Our love is unconditional. Yes we love you just the way you are PERFECT

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann

Fill Their Sails // Children

We have an obligation a duty as parents to raise our children to be loving kind thoughtful human beings that are serving their purpose. While we try to better them by correcting them, chastising them, threatening them, we mean well but our intentions are misguided.

Always be loving, nurturing, caring, supportive building their confidence. Of course we lose our cool from time to time but make it short lived and get back to the affection. As Rumi, said our children come through us not from us, so for the short time they are in our care our first priority is to make sure they know they are loved.

We often buy them all the goodies they need, get them whatever they ask, but what they really are asking for is our attention, our affection. Children equate buying things for them to liking them. Gifts.

Our most important gift is the gift of Love, of hugs and kisses, of telling them often how much we love and care for them, of writing them love letters highlighting their successes, achievements, and talents. A child's confidence can become fragile when neglected by a parent, so we must take care to fill their sails with confidence for the journey ahead. Be Ye Confident!

Yes many children are loved but we must you our words, speak it!, say it!, tell them! The words are easy to say. Get in the habit of telling them to the point where they say yes, yes, yes, I know Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Friend, you love me. The greatest power in the world is to know that you are loved.

Tonight when your child lays his head to sleep be sure to whisper in his her hear by saying the magic sleeping tonic that sends their ships a sailing, I love you.

Coach K

Remember Your Greatness

Hi Friends,

Take time to remember the great moments in your life, we were looking back at some of the great photos and stories of my younger brother's basketball exploits. Back in 1989, he broke the basketball scoring record for Montgomery county, PA scoring over 1700 points. He was an 85% foul shooter and once scored 27 pts in a high school game while going 6-6 from the 3pt line.

We attended all of Chris' games as a family and enjoyed celebrating in his success but this recent reflection made me realize that while I attended most of the games, and am a knowledgeable fan the awareness of watching what he accomplished need time to ripen. Looking back I can see the genius in his play, the greatness in his skill, as the days turn we forget about the greatness and genuis inside us.

We all have these experiences and it's important to realize that the greatness was not in the act but in the awareness.

With Love,

Coach K

Say Yes to A Life of Abundance!

We've learned about the duality of life, the two sides to every coin, but what if we can choose the language the predominates our lives. We do choose the words we use each day. What we speak, write, hear, read, and think is up to us. Where do we spend our daily time? And what is our daily experience.

Think of the words that you use each day, the thoughts, actions, and deeds you do each day. What do they look like? Are they positive, uplifting, hopeful, joyful, abundant, wealthy, grateful, caring, kind, loving?

We know we feel, do, and experience life better when we allow these higher expressions, emotions, energies to pervade our lives. We can make the conscious choice and choose a life of peace, a life of ease,  a life of joy.

Look at the following words in the context of your daily life and ask yourself what is my daily experience. You can find whatever it is your looking for, or asking for, but what is it you seek, what is it you want. Make the choice and notice the difference, then choose to remain there

Love ?
Yes?
Can?
Kindness ?
Abundance ?
Health ?
Joy ?
Hope ?
Confidence ?
Peace ?
Goodness ?

When we spend our time in these higher emotions we of course experience more of them in our life, we radiate them, we BECOME them.

To experience more of these higher energies, we just simply ask and then do. The doing is unique to all of us, it's how we share our gifts, how we create and share our talents whatever they may be. When what we do leads us to this lifestyle you know your on the right path

I want love I am loving
I want wealth I am wealthy
I want peace I am peaceful
I want joy I am joyful
I want kindess I am kind
I want faith I am confident
I want goodness I am good
I want abundance I am abundant
I want health I am healthy
I want forgiveness I am sorry
I want more, I am thankful

This simple process starts with Silence. Lower the noise in our lives and let it be replaced with PEACE and QUIET. As we eliminate the noise of the tv, radio, news, videos, internet, games, movies, we allow ourselves space to be filled with these wondrous qualities. Speak, talk, write, and do these higher emotions and allow them to transform your life. Say yes, talk health, wealth, love, kindness, greatness, joy and then sit back and allow it all to come to you, and when it does just say Thank You and repeat the miraculous process all over, soon it becomes a way of life, and the way life was meant to be lived

Be what you want to experience!  Do what you want to experience! Share what you want to experience! Receive what you want to experience.

Do what you want with Love, Passion, and Joy. Share it with the world. And then receive that same Love, Joy, and Passion back in your life with Gratitude.

Living the higher emotions is like basking in the sunshine. You transmit and radiate these higher energies, and then you magnetize, attracting these same energies back to you.  Like a radio you tune into the music you want to play.

So simple. So Easy.  Play On

Coach K

Get in the Flow Expect the Best

Get in the FLOW!

Yes all accomplishment achievement starts with asking, beliefs, expectations. What do you want, what are your expectations, do you expect good things, do you expect and welcome health, wealth, abundance, joy, contentment, fulfillment, and peace. We are surrounded by all of these energies right now. You have some in your life right now. Allow them in, welcome them, focus on them and let them expand in your life.

Plant the seed and allow it to grow, immerse yourself in these ideas, emotions, and feelings.  Express them, share them, and welcome them back to you. Give and Receive  Inhale Exhale,  Align Allow

Do you allow these things to come to you. We all know people that have excellent attitudes, are creators, builders, dreamers, people that inspire us.  Follow their lead.  Great achievement is accomplished by serving the greater good. The more good served the more abundance flows.

Let it Flow!

Coach K
T. Kaufmann Coaching

The Power of I Love You - Valentine's Day

On this Valentine's day weekend let's remember that Love has the power to transform our lives in such a simple way.

By the simple act of saying I love you. I LOVE YOU!

Say I love you to your husband, wife, family member, partner, lover, son, daughter, friend, coworker. Everyone. And for those of us that find it a challenge to say I love you out loud you can whisper it, think it, write, smile or express in any way. The words are so easy to say but how often do we say them, hear them, share them.

Say it to yourself first and foremost even if you may not believe it. Say it to yourself over and over, this is the road to healing, to transformation, to peace, to fulfillment, to contentment, to joy. Then be sure to pass it on to others. We naturally say I love you to family and friends and we all bask in that warm glow of love and friendship. Remember, the Beatles "All You Need is Love, Love is all you need" or Bob Marley's classic "One Love", Huey Lewis "That's the Power of Love"

And remember to love yourself, there are plenty of others that do love you. There are 6 billion plus of us on the planet all connected by the human spirit, by ONE love. Like trees in a forest, water in the ocean, air in the atmosphere, and sky in the heavens...all connected.  How many of us love one another? Billions, millions, thousands, hundreds, tens, one.

The are millions of people in the universe that love everyone. Yes everyone no matter what. We are all human with human challenges, but when we love we become Divine. We forgive our mistakes and the mistakes of others and in this simple act express our Love. Remember Shakespeare said to "Err is Human to Forgive Divine" and Ghandi "To be strong is to forgive"

We see it every day forgiveness leads to healing, awakening, to love. Listen to the great love songs, read the great love stories, watch the great love movies. Soak it up!

Be easy with your love, give it and receive it with a gentle softness.  Say it to yourself, and others, be generous with it, give it away,  it's free, it's fun, and it works.

On this Valentine's day weekend, Valentine's Day, and everyday say the three simple little words

I LOVE YOU

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann
tkaufmanncoaching.com
215.643.1246
kaufmanncoaching@gmail.com

Facebook Artist $200M - Do What You Love and the money will follow

How to Win Your Own Lottery.  With all the buzz over the $600 million dollar lottery on Friday night, I thought about the freelance artist that was contracted by Facebook to paint a mural at the headquarters and instead of taking the $60,000 commission opted for stock options. Facebook at the time was an unknown startup and wow it turned out to be his golden lottery ticket.

Just saw the report of the facebook artist getting $200 million in stock options. The story of an artist that enjoys painting and creating and spends his time doing what he loves everyday. Facebook offered him $60,000 for his work at the company headquarters or a choice of getting stock options. He took the stock options and it turned into $200 million.

Many of us, including me, would have taken the $60,000 and got a nice pay day, but he took a chance, a risk, and it led to $200 million. $60,000 or $200M are both nice, but I'm most fascinated with how when you spend your time doing what you love, sharing your joy, your passion, it's funny how the money seems to find you. You become a magnet of abundance.

The artist's pursuit of passion led to the gold at the end of the rainbow.

Time for us to chase our rainbows!

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann
Tkaufmanncoachingconsulting.com
215.643.1246

You Are Special

Sounds like a theme from Barney I know. Yes, something we always suggest to our children but we often forget about how special and unique WE ALL ARE. Did you ever stop to really think about how special all of us are, and the tremendous potential in each of us?

There are over 6 billion people on the planet, each with a unique finger print, unique voice, dna, facial features, and body makeup. 6 billion of us, and not one is the same. Regardless of how we got here, we are here now, fortunate to be on the planet. We are each holding a golden lottery ticket. With that uniqueness, comes individual talents, skills, desires, that are waiting to blossom and be shared with the world. We all are good at something, there is something each of us loves, or has a passion for, something that brings us joy. That is the joy you and I are here to share and spread.

The beauty of life is that while we are all unique and different in many ways. We are also all alike. We are all connected. Like trees in the forest, air in the atmosphere, or water in the oceans. This connection can be explained as the shared "human spirit" in all of us. The divine spark that runs through all of us. That's why when we see a tsunami in Japan, or witness Katrina in New Orleans, we "live" the experience and feel for our fellow man. We share in the pain and sorrow, and look to help with donations, volunteering, or just with saying a simple prayer. Why do we do this with strangers, people we've never met, will meet, or have no logical reason to care about their well being?

The answer is because, of course, we see ourselves in them. In a way, they are us. We are concerned for our fellow man, we care about them. We see their suffering, pain, and sorrow, and in a way we feel it also. We then begin the healing with expressing our wonderful emotions/energies of empathy, consideration, sympathy, and generosity.

Where to start? Start with doing what you love to do, something that makes you happy, and spend some time each day or week doing the activity. Just begin. You don't need any other reason than because it gives you pleasure or makes you happy. Paint, write, jog, bake, sew, play a sport, card, teach, speak, new business, cook, music, new language, whatever. As Nike says, Just do it!

I know we're all busy and with many responsibilities, but we have talents to express and share. So remember how special you really are and begin doing what you love, and when you're ready, sharing those gifts. But don't wait too long, time passes quickly and the world needs us.

Get out and spread your sunshine.

All the Best,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann
tkaufmanncoaching.com

Where is God?

I spent a wonderful evening with a good friend of mine the other night and the conversation turned to the challenges we see in the world today, the economy, the high unemployment, the seemingly endless challenges of life today. The question of God surfaced, and he mentioned that his perception of God was someone in heaven, an outside force, separate from the human race.

How many of us think the same way. We we were taught that God is this all powerful, omnipotent force that casts judgement on sinners and saints. That God is in heaven watching us, and evaluating our performances. When we're good we go to heaven and when we're bad we go to hell.

But is that really the relationship God wants to have with us. A separate relationship based on fear, or reward and punishment, on judgement. Like any other healthy relationship, the relationship is not separate but mutual, united, ONE based on love, trust, caring, nurturing, kindness, and communication. There a many other qualities that go into a good relationship but those qualities don't include fear, retribution, or judgement. If so, the relationship fails. God want to be best friends with us.

Our relationship with God is the same way. We need to love, trust, care, and communicate our needs, wants, and desires. We need to have a love affair with God, to be in love with God. For when we do this, what we are really expressing is a love, trust, kindness, and joy in ourselves, our uniqueness, talents and our divine nature. And we can more readily share ourselves with our family, friends, and the world.

God is not separate from us but within us, part of us. We are one.

Many of us know this or were taught this, but there are also plenty of us that have no idea. How can we be sure that we are part of God, and that God is part of us? Well, God is love. The easy way to think of it is in terms of the "human spirit" or the other higher energy qualities of  Love, Joy, Kindness, Gratitude, Empathy, Compassion, Service, etc. These emotions or forces can't be touched or examined by our senses like a body part, but we know they exist, we can feel them, and we can express them, and most importantly we KNOW when they are in our lives. We all know what it's like to feel loved, to feel kindness, to be thankful.

When we feel or express these emotions, we are expressing God, we are exercising our Divinity, we are one with God. When we wallow in the emotions of hate, anger, jealousy, loneliness, envy, anxiety, and fear we break the communication from God. We turn down and even silence our divine volume. We disconnect from Spirit/God. Hence, the term "broken" spirit. When this happens we experience difficulties in life, life appears to be a struggle, joyless, miserable.

Part of the human condition is to experience the range of emotions in life. We all feel sadness, regret, hurt, and lower energies at times but it's important not to linger there. We need to stick with the higher energies of love, caring, kindness, joyfulness, gratitude, etc. We can learn and train ourselves to spend the vast majority of our time in these higher energies for when we do we are again expressing God or our divinity.

One thought about the word "God". There are many expressions for God from different religions and cultures. And Atheists don't believe in God, and may refer to this as nature, science, the universe, the mind, soul, life force, or any other concept. The important thing is not the name used to define God, but in the connecting, the acknowledging, and most importantly the getting to know this energy.  When we recognize and realize that we are one with God, that God is within us, and wants what's best for us. We can smile and know that we are not alone, all is well, and that we can accomplish all we set out to do.

Remember, God wants us to be happy.

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann
tkaufmanncoaching.com