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Celebrate and Reflect

Published on December 23, 2013November 13, 2017 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Christmas is nearly here and as we slow down in the holidays it is a good time to reflect and consider the year that has been. So here are some questions to ponder as you lounge on the beach, in the sea, on your back deck or on the couch:

What is the one thing you will remember of 2013?
What has been the most surprising?
What has been the saddest?
What has been the happiest?

and what do you want to CELEBRATE? Make sure you tell at least one person what you achieved for 2013. And make sure you celebrate really well. You deserve it!

If you would like to discuss what you would like to create in 2014 then give Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coach a call.

Thank You!

Published on December 18, 2013December 16, 2013 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

To all my teenagers, parents, career explorers and life changers. To those who have learnt more about themselves, those who had the courage to reach out, those whose pain is still raw, and to those who I have connected with in some way I would like to give you a gift for Christmas.

Through my Career Coaching and Life Coaching work I have met many wonderful people. I thank you for your honesty and openness.

To thank you I’ve gathered together some articles for you to simply enjoy. Here are a whole variety of articles from ideas on social media to living a full life:

7 Positives only Introverts would understand – Introverts you will love this it affirms your allowed to be who you are!
Social Media Mistakes for Older Job Hunters – Come on get up with the play you can do it!
12 things to do after getting laid off – There are things you can do and action is the key.
Brene Brown – her ted talk on Shame – So Inspiring.
Grateful Kids at Christmas – How to encourage gratefulness in your children.
30 things to ask yourself before you die – Life is short so ask yourself the right questions.
Living from a 10 – Live well and from your own values

and finally and most importantly a gorgeous video on Gratefulness, Beauty and Connection

Please relax in the holidays, and as you reflect aim to let go of the stuff in 2013 that you don’t need anymore and ask yourself, what do you want to bring into your world in 2014?
A very merry Christmas to you all.

Blessings from Allison

5 Reasons Why We Don’t Achieve Our Goals

Published on November 15, 2013April 25, 2016 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Do you struggle with achieving your goals?

Did you stop or start a habit or learn a new skill, a new language or a new sport?
Did you change a belief about something or someone?
Did you have fun, find new friends, begin a new relationship?
Did you grab life and love being who you are?

If you didn’t achieve what you wanted, what happened??

5 Reasons Why We Don’t Achieve Our Goals

Too many goals – so many wonderful things to do in life but overwhelm kicks in with the enormity of it all, it’s all too hard then nothing happens
Lack of Planning – yep you want to do it but somehow something else always got in the way
Too big – the dream or goal just seemed so big and you just didn’t know where to start
Lack of belief – did you really truly believe you could achieve it? Was there self-doubt or a lack of confidence?
The Why – sometimes we think a goal is important but then find the reason we wanted to do it actually isn’t a strong enough motivation to achieve it

So for your first goal commit to creating powerful goals and doing them well.

To discuss achieving your goals contact Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coach.

Coaching The Spark!

Published on October 10, 2013 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

As a Career & Life Coach I’ve always believed that everyone has a special something that they are gifted to do, that special talent that we are born with, the something we love to do and are good at. I’ve discussed this often in career coaching and life coaching sessions and have just read a book that sang to me about this very fact. It’s called The Spark: a mother’s story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett. A true story about her autistic son, Jacob.

This book is about the power of love and courage in the face of overwhelming obstacles, and the possibilities that can occur when we learn how to tap the true potential that lies within every child, and in all of us.

Kristine made available all the usual therapies for Jacob from the age of 18 months after discovering he had autism and was slowly retreating from the world. However in therapy she realised that he was doing things he really wasn’t interested in doing rather than the things he was interested in.

Allison Fisher Career & Life Coach — Kristine and Jacob

Typical Therapy sessions focused on the lowest skills. Kristine says “I’d watched my son nod off during a session still holding a therapy putty ball. So instead of hammering away at all the tasks these kid’s couldn’t do. I thought we’d start with what they wanted to do.” (pg 68) Through this approach nd a lot of hard work Jacob gradually came out of himself.

Kristine goes on to say “It’s hard for many people to relate to, but Jake genuinely thinks math and science are the most beautiful things on earth. The way a music lover thrills to a crescendo, the way a lifelong reader catches her breath in delight over a perfectly crafted phrase” (pg 202)

Jacob does have an extremely high IQ, higher than Einstein’s! Very exceptional in that sense however these principles were proven to be successful with other autistic children and teenagers when Kristine opened a school for autistic children. There were many examples of children with varying IQ’s that once Kristine and her helpers found their interest whether it was cooking, maths, writing or making clothes, once that passion was found then the kids would develop in other areas too.

Kristine believes all we have to do is find the gift in the child and the other stuff that they aren’t so good at or don’t like to do will come along just fine as long as they have a passion, something they love to do.

Jacob at the tender age of 15 is currently studying theoretical physics at the Perimeter Institute in Toronto! Just imagine if his parents hadn’t allowed him to focus on what he loved what the world may have lost.

So for you what is your spark, the “thing”, the talent that you have that is unique to you and you love to do? Would love to hear about it or discuss how you could discover it. Contact Allison Fisher, Career and Life Coaching.

Life Coaching | The Joy and the Pain

Published on September 18, 2013 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Allison Fisher, Career & LIfe Coching — The Joy and the Pain of Life

I recently read the singer Shania Twain’s autobiography. She grew up in a poor family and literally went hungry at times, lost her mother when she was young and had a terrible betrayal by her best friend and then husband. I loved this quote:

Even when life hits you like a Mack truck that’s come out of nowhere, there is still a chance that you will survive, and although the road to recovery may be slow , long , and even permanent, this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the rest of your life and be happy again. (Page 397)

It really struck me what perfect words for pain and joy. Life isn’t perfect and often doesn’t deliver all we want. However it can be possible to live with both – the pain of what has happened and the joy of a happy life. In coaching I find people sometimes struggle to talk about the pain but the best way forward is to speak of it. Let me know your experiences of life struggles and being able to feel the joy again. Contact Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coaching.

Life Coaching | Is it a 10?

Published on August 29, 2013 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coaching — Make it a 10!

Decisions can be so difficult at times and as a coach coaching clients, when a decision needs to be made by them it can be tough to decide what is the best decision in this moment, the best course of action or simply what do I really want? A useful way to make decisions is to ask yourself which of the options is a 10? 10 meaning the best possible option, makes you feel great, gives great satisfaction or excitement, a 10 means you really want to do it. It just feels right! For instance taking up a new hobby and deciding which one to choose. Choose the one closest to a 10. If your asked to go away with friends for a weekend but you also want to stay home with your partner. Ask yourself which is a 10? And if not what number is it? If the weekend was a 10 what would you be doing? Similarly performance in a job or career what does a 10 mean? What are you doing, being or achieving that will make it a 10? Is an 8 or 9 good enough? Sometimes there is so much to do in life and asking the 10 question can really help to reduce the options to the ones you really want to do. Ask yourself each morning what will make my day a 10? Find out more as I discuss this further in my recent newsletter Living from a 10.

To discuss your Career or Life journey give Allison a call today.

Top 10 Tips for a Career Change

Published on July 31, 2013April 25, 2016 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Thinking about a career change but there’s some confusion, the should and shouldn’t I discussion going round and round in your head?

Is the Clash song “Should I Stay or Should I go Now” ringing in your ears?

Would a career change be better elsewhere?

Maybe these career advice tips will help you evaluate and reflect on the best career decision for you.

Top 10 Tips for a Career Change

1. Be clear about why you may want to change careers.
Make a list – write down those thoughts as getting them out of your head and onto paper helps the thought processes. Some common reasons for career change are:

Bored and uninspired
Dislike what the organisation does to people
No clear career path
Lack of challenge
Have gone as far as I can, time for a change
Unappreciated
Don’t get on with your manager or colleague

2. Explore thoroughly your reasons for change.
If it is one of the points above have you tried hard to find what you need within the organisation? Have you been able to have conversations with your manager about career opportunities and let them know what you seek. Is needing a change about moving out of the organisation or could you find it within a different area of the organisation? Or if tired of the company could you do the same job in a new industry or sector rather than begin a new career?

3. What kind of work do you want?
What will make your job more enjoyable? If you could choose what would be the top 5 things that you would love to do each day in your job? Are those things what you currently do and if not what needs adjusting or do these things require a new role? Obtain some career advice if you struggle to work this out.

4. Will the reason for change still be there in the next job?
Dig deep on this one. Even if you change jobs will that really make a difference? The fact you don’t get on with your boss is that their fault or yours? The job has no challenge – have you actually sought out new work, new projects and talked to people in the organisation who could help?

5. Don’t assume, engage.
It’s very easy to sit back and think you know what the company is thinking about you or assume there are no opportunities or a career path for you. Sometimes we don’t know what is happening in the wider organisation or changes that are a head from senior management or the company board. Conversations within the organisation are critical to ensuring you have all the information possible to make a decision.

6. Work with integrity.
Part of your brand as a person is about how well you are able to end your relationship with a company. Do it well you will have fierce supporters and continuing networks to pull on for years to come. Do career change badly, it may be difficult to get a good reference and you may be criticised with conversations spilling outside of the company. So take the opportunity when you are considering leaving to explore all options as openly as possible with your employer so that if you do resign you know you have behaved with integrity and they know you tried to explore all possibilities in order to stay.

7. How much money do you need to make?
If you change jobs and you may not get the same money or you’re looking at a complete career change make sure you do a budget and assess the implications!

8. What are your values?
Surprising how important these can be in a job. As a Career Coach I find 70% of the time people want to leave organisations because their values aren’t being met. Values such as being able to make a difference, doing work for the greater good, having influence on decisions, being appreciated, being creative etc. Find out what yours are.

9. What is your vision?
Where would you like to be in 10 years time in your career? What is success for you? Success is different for everyone, for instance for some the ultimate is being a CEO for others it is making a contribution to the world. Until you have clarity of vision it can be very difficult to make change and make an informed decision.

10. I wish I had?
If you choose not to change how will you feel in two years or five years time? Will you have the thought I wish I had?

Contact Allison Fisher, specialist in supporting adults & teenagers in career & life choices.