Category Archives: Reaching Your Potential


How To Recapture The Optimism Of Youth

By Sarah Cooper | Published July 3, 2009

www.flickr.com/photos/zaqography/ /
CC BY 2.0
We all know that being positive is a Good Thing. But as we get older, it’s not that easy to break long-held habits of negative, self-defeating thinking.
I wonder if it’s because our thoughts are both so familiar and invisible that we don’t always appreciate their serious effect.
Imagine that every negative thought we [...]

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The Importance of NOT Being Earnest (with apologies to Wilde)

By Sarah Cooper | Published June 26, 2009

Photo credit: flickr user fernallan

As a relatively new blogger I know it’s important to spend some time getting acquainted with the experts. My favourite is Pamela Slim of Escape From Cubicle Nation. She always manages to sound like a real person, which is harder than you’d imagine.  This “living your dreams” territory can be a minefield [...]

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Ann’s Story - Why You Should Never Give Up

By Sarah Cooper | Published May 1, 2009

One of the few downsides of my coaching practice is not always knowing how things turn out for a client.
People come to coaching when they want to make a major change - and that’s not easy. In an ideal world, we’d continue the coaching until the client successfully made all the changes they wanted. But [...]

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Taking Inspiration From My Daughter

By Sarah Cooper | Published March 13, 2009

 
Two days ago my daughter Elsa (3 1/2) announced that she’d like to cycle herself to school - a local Chinese kindergarten just round the corner from where we live. Her bike was last year’s birthday present from her ayi (like a Chinese nanny). But Elsa never really got the hang of it before winter [...]

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Also posted in Building Self Belief, Managing The Transition | Tagged , , | 2 Comments
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Embracing Imperfection: What You Can Learn From a First Pancake

By Sarah Cooper | Published March 9, 2009

 
In shifting from your former or current job to your dream work, it’s likely that you’ll be moving from a position of expertise to a position of relative ignorance.
 
Often, we’re a bit embarrassed by our lack of skill or knowledge in our new area, forgetting that we had to learn the ropes of our [...]

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Also posted in Managing The Transition | Tagged , | 6 Comments
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Immigration Officer to Children’s Boutique Owner: Karen’s story

By Sarah Cooper | Published February 9, 2009

What did you do before opening your own children’s store?
 
Originally I taught English, first in Canada (I’m Canadian) then in China for many years. Just prior to starting my own business however I had been working as an Immigration Officer at the Australian Embassy in Beijing.
 
What motivated you to start your own business?
 
The [...]

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Are You Watering Down Your Dream?

By Sarah Cooper | Published January 30, 2009

 
One of the things I often notice is how quick we are to water down our dreams. I know that sometimes we do have to bend to reality, but much of the time we don’t even give our dreams a chance. We compromise up front, before even testing the ideal. Or we lose focus, distracted [...]

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Uncover Your Buried Dreams – By Writing The Perfect Obituary

By Sarah Cooper | Published January 2, 2009

I know this sounds rather morbid, but writing your own obituary is actually a great way of uncovering the dreams you have for your life.
 
Often we don’t acknowledge – let alone achieve – our dreams because we prefer to carry on with our hands in the sand, living our “good enough” day-to-day lives and [...]

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Also posted in Defining Your Dream Work, Useful Tools and Techniques | Tagged , | 1 Comment
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Give Yourself An “A”

By Sarah Cooper | Published December 12, 2008

 Benjamin Zander is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a teacher at the New England Conservatory.   Zander was concerned that the conservatory’s practise of grading students at the end of their course was causing them to play conservatively – holding them back from expressing their individuality and reaching their true potential.
 
He therefore came [...]

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How To Present Yourself As An Expert When You Feel Like A Fraud

By Sarah Cooper | Published November 28, 2008

 
5 “F-words” to help you quickly believe in and market your expert status! 
 
Facts, Focus, Fees, Follow up, Feedback
 
The 5 Fs are most relevant for those of you who are thinking of starting a consultancy or service business, but I hope everyone will be able to glean something useful.
 
Tip 1 – FACTS
 
When you’re [...]

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