1. Committed individuals go beyond seeing possibility:

   Individuals who have a high level of commitment can clearly articulate the opportunities which are available to them. They understand that seeing only possibility is reflective of pipe dreaming; seeing opportunity brings dreams into the realm of reality.
   

2. Committed individuals have and communicate strongly held beliefs that they can succeed:

These beliefs are internally, not externally driven and are stronger than the critical view of others. Committed individuals are undaunted by others' judgments.

3. Committed individuals set goals - - big goals:

The goals they set take them much further emotionally than would mere wishes or hoped-for outcomes. Words such as if, maybe, should or could are absent from their vocabulary.

4. Committed individuals invest fully in their goals:

They invest time, money, emotion and other resources, the quantity and quality of which are substantial. In other words, their goals are important enough to re-orient their lives around

5. Committed individuals do and are their best:

They do and are their best reservation or suffering. They are focused and attend closely to the results they obtain. Mistakes or non-successes are viewed as momentary setbacks or the basis of new opportunities.

6. Committed individuals are able to handle the value added as well as the limitations of their choices:

They enjoy the focus, energy and momentum and do not suffer about having given up other projects or activities in order to pursue their goals. Their perspective about what is important, and thus worth wanting, shifts. They extend boundaries which preclude those who are critical about their goals from disrupting them.

7. They form deep relationships with their projects or endeavors:

Their relationships result in a discernable shift in their way of being, thinking and feeling, not just in the way they do things.

8. Their self awareness is enhanced:

Committed individuals have heightened awareness of the impact of their actions, thoughts and feelings and of the shifts and changes they have made. 

9. Committed individuals' awareness of their surroundings is enhanced:

They are highly sensitized to all kinds of information in their environment which relates to their goals, and they use that information to identify subtle differences, sharpen their focus and evaluate their results.

10. Committed individuals are passionate about their goals:

They radiate their passion, and others are intrigued by or attracted to it. Committed individuals' passion inspires and energizes others. 

(Back to Top)

The Top 10 Steps to Becoming Personally Empowered

Written and submitted to Coach U by Shale Paul, Executive Coach

Brought to you compliments of Donna Daisy, Ph.D.
Personal and Professional Coach
Phone: or (239)-403-9506
E-mail: donna@donnadaisy.com

1. Start from where you are and take one step at a time:

When you think about it, that's the only place you CAN start, i.e., where you are at this moment. Begin with your present perceptions, understandings, and strengths and move forward, one step at a time. In this world of objectives, goals and big plans, we often focus too much on the future, with the result that our ability to concentrate fully on the present is severely compromised. Yet, it is only in the present that we can make a difference

2. Examine your resistance points - - the things that irritate you, limit you, or cause you to react. 

   We often resist what we most need to learn. The next time you find yourself resisting new information, a particular situation, or something someone else is saying, ask yourself, "What is it that is really bothering me about this? Is there something that I need to learn?" 

    

3. Recognize that whatever you are experiencing at this very moment is appropriate to your need to grow.

Implicit in this "rule of appropriateness" is the concept that there is a larger plan of which you are an integral part. Until you're willing to acknowledge the possibility that such a plan exists, you will never be able to see it.

4. Stop worrying about whether others are getting theirs!

It's easy to become preoccupied about what the other person is doing, getting, achieving, etc. This kind of worrying is useless and wastes time and energies that are better spent on yourself.

5. Realize that it doesn't matter what happened to you or who did it to you; the only thing that matters is what you do about it.
   
   What happened and who did it to you are in the past. You can't change the past, you can only change your perception of it. The ONLY thing that counts is what you do NOW in order to move forward.
   

6. Learn to refrain from having judgment.
   

To refrain from judgment is to accept what is. How often in conversation do you find yourself mentally correcting, criticizing, or re-phrasing? When you do, you risk hearing the real message which may not be in the words themselves. Rather than saying to yourself, "that's inaccurate" or "he/she is incorrect", try accepting the statement as simply a representation of the way that person thinks, feels or what he/she intends to convey. This simple technique can open up a whole realm of hidden meaning, AND it enables you to respond more objectively and dispassionately.

7. Learn to operate holistically by opening up to the other possibilities that are always there.
   

There is always more than one way to solve a problem. You're most likely to get "stuck" when you foreclose your options by setting up conditions, expectations, fears, positions and prejudices.

8. Finish your unfinished business.
   

Most of us have "unfinished business" - - failures, a relationship gone sour, or a good deed left undone. Getting beyond (fully resolving) is not always easy, but there's a three-step process that, if followed, can do wonders for your psyche. It's this: (1) Acknowledge the wrong, mistake, screw-up, etc. to yourself, (2) Admit it to one other person, preferably the person you've wronged and, in the latter case, apologize and ask simply: "What can I do to make this right with you?" (Sometimes there really isn't much you can do, but the simple act of asking is healing in itself), and (3) Move ON. You've admitted your mistake, taken whatever corrective action you could, and now it's time to go forward.

9. When faced with an apparently hopeless situation, take action, any action.
   

There's something called the "logjam" theory that applies here: when logs in a stream become all jammed up, moving ANY ONE log frees the others to move, because the act of moving a single piece creates space which in turn allows the other pieces to move. It's important to recognize that you're not trying to reach a final solution in a single move; you're simply taking "one step at a time" (Step #1).

10. Consider the wisdom of doing absolutely nothing!
    

As with the rule of appropriateness (above), there's a hidden assumption here, namely, that we each possess an inner wisdom that is always available if we know how to tap into it. Call it intuition, spiritual sense, whatever, the fact is that this "still small voice" is audible only when we are very quiet. It's a bit like a point in which you can see the bottom only when the surface is calm and the water is un-muddied. Doing nothing means exactly that: nothing physically, nothing mentally, nothing at all! The Japanese call it, "kokoro-no-mizu", literally, a "mind as water" - - smooth, flowing and undisturbed. Try it. It works, and it's fun! 

(Back to Top)

The Top 10 Most Important Components of any Human Being

Written and originally submitted to Coach U by Thomas J. Leonard

Brought to you compliments of Donna Daisy, Ph.D.
Personal and Professional Coach
Phone: or (239)-403-9506
E-mail: donna@donnadaisy.com

1. Their Needs:

What you need is important to know, satisfy, be proud of and be responsible for, i.e., love, touch, time, space, power.

2. Their Values:

Values are those things or activities that naturally interest us, such as beauty, contribution, creativity, discovery, adventure.

3. Their Boundaries:

Boundaries are the behaviors of others that you don't permit in or around you. Boundaries are a "No."

4. Their Standards:

Standards are the behaviors you hold yourself to, out of choice, not obligation.

5. Their Gifts:

Gifts are the talents, skills and abilities that make us special.

6. Their Experience:

What you've accomplished to date is a very important part of who you are today.

7. Their ability to relate well and experience love:

You ARE very much WHO you come across as and how you communicate with others, i.e. phrasing, grace, effect.

8. Their level of Attraction:

Attraction refers to the ability we have to "bring to us" what we want or need. The opposite of attraction is promotion or seduction.

9. Their level of Awareness:

The more you know and can sense, the more sensitized you are to Truth.

10. Their Rolodex:

What you know extends who you are.