You've Got A Friend - Find A Mentor

You've Got A Friend

We all need family, friends, coaches, someone, anyone that will support us on our journey. We need someone in our corner, that has our back, someone that will be there when we stumble, to catch us when we fall.

Our goals and dreams are precious. We are each unique and have special talents to share with the world. We must remember that and keep at it even when life beats us down. I had some very special people in my life that took me in and supported me during a challenging time, and I was grateful and able to repay the favor. I'm always looking for supportive people to help me improve.

There are plenty of people, too many, that will tell us it can't be done. That we aren't good enough. That are dreams are crazy. These people are often well intentioned but also misguided. The great achievers have to over come self doubt and all those doubters. That's OK. We need to tune those folks out. And not in a mean or angry way but just with the acknowledgement that they don't understand and we need to keep moving forward.

There are people that will support you, guide you, help you, nurture, and love you unconditionally. They are out there. FIND THEM! Ask them for help. If you can't find one, look to history there's plenty of excellent role models that were seeking to accomplish their own dreams, some that may be similar to yours. A good mentor or friend wants to help you achieve your dreams.

The great Toy Story movie was built on the simple principle of friendship between the boy Andy and his toys Woody and Buzz. A main part of the movie's success was the theme song by Randy Newman "You've Got A Friend In Me".

Here's to reaching your dreams. And remember

You've Got a Friend in Me

All the Best,

Tom Kaufmann
Coach K
tkaufmanncoaching.com

Row Row Row Your Boat Gently

We all know the nursery rhyme Row Row Row your boat gently down the stream, but how many of us realize that this a suitable motto to live our lives. Look at how hectic and busy our lives have become. Our children our so stacked with activities that they don't have time to be a child.

We spend our days in a blur from one activity to the next. We are living at warp speed. Is it any wonder we can feel disconnected. Where do we find time for each other, our families, friends, colleagues, and ourselves. Maybe we should focus more on quality and less on quantity. Stop eating with both hands!

Slow down, unplug. You don't row a boat in a frenzied mad dash but with a smooth rhythmic stroke. Just think how much better we would all feel if we just slowed down. My friend Dave always reminded me that the race does not always go to the swiftest but to those that keep on moving. Life is a journey to be enjoyed, or a joyful experience

Relax. Smile. Let's allow more time for joy and happiness to find you. And let's remember to row row row our boats gently down the stream. Merrily, Merrily life is but a dream.

All the Best,

Tom Kaufmann
Coach K
tkaufmanncoaching.com

The Great American Angst

Turn on the TV or radio and you can hear the fear through the airwaves. the headlines read America is finished, half of the population is in poverty.  The land of  plenty is covered by a big rain cloud these days. The people I talk to can't help but tell me how America's better days are behind it, how bad the economy is, and we are being passed by the likes of China, India, and other booming countries. What we forget is that China and India are countries and cultures that are thousands of years old with many cycles of boom and bust.

Many people that have built successful businesses and families, the backbone of the country, are genuinely concerned and fearful for their futures. One thing we have to continually remind ourselves to do is to ignore or unplug from the negativity. We don't have to ignore it but we don't have to wallow in it either. Many of us and our liveliehoods are being displaced. Our careers, businesses, and lifestyles may be obsolete. Time for new direction, a change, a new Adventure!

Great ideas, inventions, and innovations are happening everyday around us regardless of the political and economic climate, it's just that these folks are too focused on delivering their dreams that they don't let anything get in the way of pursuing their passion. Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon, Facebook are all companies that were planted and bloomed in various economies. The key is that the founders were too busy making their dream a reality to get distracted by naysayers.

That's what we need to do. Focus on your dreams whether it's opening a restaurant, going to college, being a dentist, finding your soulmate, having a child, a new business, getting healthy. Whatever!

Life is short, time is fleeting. Unplug from the doom and gloom. Time to get busy.

Our Dreams wait for no one.

All the Best,

Tom Kaufmann
Coach K
tkaufmanncoaching.com

Christmas Time - A Mother's Love

This time of year always has me reflecting back on our childhood Christmas celebrations. My three brothers and I would be so excited with what Santa was going to bring. The tree was decorated, the Christmas music with Johnny Mathias wafting through the house, and the fresh smell of pine created the perfect atmosphere.

I think of the gifts we received the latest electric racing car set, a new basketball, or a favorite team sweat shirt and that was all great, but the best was celebrating and sharing the holidays with Mom and the brothers. I think of all the gifts Santa brings our kids and wow they seem to get more in one year than we received in a lifetime but I'm not sure it's better.

Santa was a miracle worker! Despite limited resources, he always found a way to make Christmas special and I'm grateful for the greatest gift of all

A Mother's Love

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

All the Best,

Coach K

Free Cheese

Welfare to Wealth

Helen grew up like any other young girl with dreams of being a princess, marrying prince charming, and living in a nice house with a white picket fence. But somewhere on the way to Oz her prince turned into a frog and hopped away, leaving her at the tender age of 25 with four boys under the age of 9 to fend for themselves.

Her dreams shattered, her bubble burst, she did what she could to provide for her boys and make a good life for them.  Her sole purpose in life became the survival of her and the boys. She begged and pleaded for money, food, and to make sure her boys were educated. Out of necessity, the young princess became a street fighter. She was an Irish Catholic from working class roots, and has an abiding faith in God. She would do whatever it takes.

Helen did something many of us will not do when life beats us down and crushes our dreams. Yes, she cried with a broken heart but she got back up and fought. She was determined to raise her boys as best she could. She made a simple but powerful choice and that choice was to STAND and DELIVER to do what was right, to sacrifice her life and dreams to take care of her boys. She didn't say poor me and pout. She fought tooth and nail and she battled with her boys to try and keep them in line. Dealing with her four boys on a daily basis was an emotional and physical drain, but she had a spirit that would not be broken. She was determined to survive.

Helen never had two nickels and she would send her boys to stand in line for free cheese and powdered milk, but she was a woman of great accomplishment, of tremendous achievement, and the most successful person I know. When it seemed that everyone else turned their back on Mom, she knew that her faith and God would be there for her no matter what.

All the Best,

Tom Kaufmann
Coach K
coachkaufmann.com

Move Mountains - Intergrity

Integrity

A great story that illustrates integrity or just plain old stubborness. A good friend of mine is a contractor and was contacted about installing a sidewalk. He provided the quote to the wife, the buyer accepted and the work began. Upon completion of the concrete sidewalk, the husband is unhappy with the shade of gray color that the concrete dried.  The husband refuses to pay and my friend is dumbfounded.  Still in disbelief he explains the unpredictable nature of concrete curing and that the color will have natural variations. The husband refuses to pay and calls the police. The wife is embarrassed and mortified.

The police arrive and after hearing the explanation suggests that the husband pay up.  My friend at this point is angered, shocked, disappointed and most of all hurt. The wife put her trust in him and his craftsmanship, he delivered the work and did an excellent job. Before the husband could write a check, my friend had another idea.

Since the sidewalk was not paid for he felt it still belonged to him. He asked the police officer if instead of taking payment he could remove the sidewalk. The puzzled officer said yes and my friend proceeded to spend several hours chopping out the hardened concrete sidewalk by hand. The husband, wife, and officer watched shaking their heads in disbelief. My friend did not want to do business on any terms with the husband. Believe it or not my friend took his sidewalk home!

The wife afterwards called my friend and apologized profusely explaining how her husband was out of line, how he humiliated her and the family. She even sent him a check in the full amount for the work.

So I asked my friend, you did the work you deserve to be paid did you cash the check?

What do you think?

Wow!  At the end of the day, these are the people we should do business with, that we want to have as our friends. With a friend like that we can move mountains.

All the Best,

Coach K

A Life Well Lived

Harry the father of a good friend of mine passed away this week at the age of 91. I did not know the man personally but after listening to friends and family describe him, you couldn't help but think that the spirit of Harry is alive and well. I thought wow that's how we all should be remembered.

Harry was a great lover of life. A renaissance man. An acclaimed architect, a skier, a dancer, an artist, and perhaps most importantly a lover of people. Everyone felt welcomed and comfortable in his presence. Harry was not a millionaire or a financially wealthy man, but to listen to his friends and family describe him was to know he was the richest and most fortunate man in the world. It's funny how we touch so many lives without realizing it, how much influence we have, and how our spirit permeates others.

We all know people that are very successful and have accumulated tremendous riches. We all know fathers or mothers that are great providers but barely know their children or could share two words with them. I came away from the gathering and thought if we provide a nice house, nice cars, college educations, and all the goodies life has to offer but somehow didn't find the time to love, nurture, and connect with the people in our lives then we really wasted our short time together. We missed the juice of life, all the good stuff.

It's nice to provide for our families but when you hear people say that person is a "Great Provider" it's time to take notice and regain some balance in our lives.  Look to harness two of the most powerful forces in the universe Love and Kindness, be generous with them, use them often and freely. Just like the river is returned to the ocean that love and kindness is returned to us.

Like Harry let's all be known as Great Lovers of Life.

All the Best,


Tom Kaufmann
Coach K