CYNTHIA SPRADLIN | THE CORE FOCUS COACH - Blog

WHAT IF We Flip Our Focus?

2/28/2017

by Cynthia Spradlin, PCC, CPC, MS

What if We Flip Our Focus This Season?

Lent begins tomorrow. Many of us who honor the Lenten season and engage in spiritual practices during this time are familiar with the notion of using this time specifically for reflection, for examining how we can grow in our belief and for focusing on how we can better align our life and the work we do with those beliefs and God’s will. One common practice, especially during this season, is to reflect regularly on what our shortcomings are, in order to acknowledge and face them, with the intent and resolution to amend our lives going forward in order to “do better” in the future. It is a time for reflection, examination of conscience and intentional spiritual growth.

With all that we are now learning about the brain, and how our very own neuro-pathways can be primed and rewired based simply on our repetitive thought habits and our emotional experiences that result from these thought habits, I wonder what if.....

Core Focus Coaching...where great change begins

11/2/2016

I believe that what we do and how we do it should fuel and inspire us. When our ventures match our values and our endeavors honor our core, we live healthier, happier, more productively and successfully. Without this congruence, we suffer long term. With it, together we can positively change the world.

I am a professionally trained, ICF credentialed, experienced coach, speaker & trainer, passionate about helping clients and their organizations make the positive changes that sustain healthy outcomes, improve performance and foster wellness. I use evidence based approaches to help clients lead more effectively, stress less, perform better under pressure and accomplish their goals while living a healthier, happier life.

My programs promote performance and wellness, and support personal, business and career growth. My health coaching specialties include healthy lifestyle interventions & chronic condition support. I also offer a range of assessment services for both individuals and teams.

If you are serious about creating a "whole life" you absolutely love and a business with a meaningful, positive impact in the world, I'd be honored to be your partner in building health, wealth and wellbeing so you (and your team) can enjoy the energy, vitality and success you really want and deserve.

As your co-pilot, I help you design and adopt a customized plan to:
-- live, work and lead more authentically and effectively from your core
-- make sustainable, positive changes that foster wellness, and lift your mind, body and spirit
-- create a work life that honors you and a work culture that honors your team
while still accomplishing what's most important.

If you are ready for a career change, we can work together to
-- craft a career consistent with your calling
-- profitably match your ventures with your values and
-- map out a career progression plan that empowers you to serve at your best and highest.

What is waiting to change costing you? your business?
Let's connect today & let's get started!

The Blessing of Being

5/24/2016

This summer my daughter is heading off to college. This year has been bittersweet for me. I know that this phase of both our lives is coming to an end and a new phase beginning. This year has been a year of profound reflection for me as well. I have lived my life in pursuit of performance excellence. From my early school days, through college and graduate school, through each career move, and each next step (including raising my daughter), I have endeavored to help, to give my best, and to serve authentically from my heart. These efforts have inevitably kept me very busy over the years.

More recently, I have been focusing less on the activities of "doing" and more on the blessings of just "being":

Being present physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally with my family as we bring this precious chapter of our lives at home to a close.
Being with my daughter as she stretches to make the decisions that, yes, will affect the rest of her life, and which, no, are not going to mean the end of the world if things don't go exactly as planned.
Being with the memories of all of the people who influenced me as I grew up, and hoping that I have honored them in how I have lived, loved and served others, including my family.
Being in forgiveness of myself and others - accepting the times when despite our desire otherwise, we have not been at our best or would like to have done better, knowing we are human.
Being grateful for the blessing of knowing those special souls who see only potential in others. My experience with them has had a profound effect on my spirit, empowered my own resilience through very hard times and guided my soul in my professional journey, and, finally,
Being fully present in the moments that slip away so easily as time inevitably marches on.

Original photograph, special thanks to Mr. & Mrs. George Erwin

As I reflect on days gone by and those special mentors and "human angels" of mine through the years, I am so grateful for their influence on my life. I wish I had said: “thank-you” more frequently, and kept up our connection more regularly. Of course, we did not have Facebook or Twitter back then, and it was easier to lose touch when moving back and forth across the US and overseas for so many years. Associations, both personal and professional, can also change dramatically after graduation, job changes, and yes, divorce, especially the high conflict type. We all get busy with day to day survival and pursuit of dreams and passions. It becomes more of an intentional effort to stay connected (Facebook notwithstanding). We get busy and lose touch. We tell ourselves: “our association was a season,” and we just keep moving forward.

The blessing of "being" for a change, is that it offers a chance to pause and to reflect, and to focus on the core of what really matters in this life. For each of us that can be different and for many of us it is the same:

Connection, Meaning, Gratitude, Relationships,
Authenticity, Accomplishment, Contribution
Purpose, Passion, Peace….
Energy, Enjoyment, Genuine Joy...

Q: What really matters for you?

I can’t say that I would or could do things differently again, but, if I could connect with those human angels and significant mentors, I would say THANK-YOU and also ask for forgiveness.

Forgiveness for my part in our lost connection
Forgiveness if I did not say thank-you enough or at all
Forgiveness for not looking back sooner

It is my hope that I can still honor each and every one of them in the way that I choose to pay forward their care, kindness, compassion, belief, passion, inspiration, enthusiasm, support, example, friendship, mentorship and commitment to excellence, and so much more which they so graciously shared with me. It is my hope that I can one day (sooner rather than later) share with them personally how grateful I truly am for their influence, however recent or long ago. And it is my sincere hope that anyone reading this might be inspired to pause, however briefly, to be present in the moments that matter, to appreciate the seasons and to say a heartfelt, sincere, “thank-you” sooner, and more often.

Q: Who would you like to thank if you could?

Q: When?

When No Means Yes

4/22/2016

I remember standing there, staring at the desk in front of me, and at the phone I had just replaced on its cradle. I looked out of the window and took a deep breath, and then another. “Now what?” I remember thinking. “What am I going to do now?”

Four Questions Core Focus Leaders Must Answer About Employee Engagement

12/17/2014

by Cynthia Spradlin

As we continue our series on 10 Top Performance Tips to Revolutionize Your Business in 2015 and as many embark on celebrating this special time and prepare for the new year it is appropriate that we talk about the importance of employee engagement. Four questions to ask about employee engagement include:

What is Employee Engagement?
Why Does Employee Engagement Matter?
How is Engagement Measured?
How Do We Effectively Impact Engagement?

Today in this blogpost - we will be dealing with questions one and two. We address questions three and four in our Performance Breakthrough Blueprint Program which is an 8 week coaching and training program.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT DEFINED

There are many definitions offered for engagement which include some confusion with happiness, well being and satisfaction. For this discussion we define engagement to mean...

What is Core Focus?

12/1/2014

by Cynthia Spradlin, The Core Focus Coach

I am often asked the question "so what is it that you do"? My short answer is that I help people to live and work from their CORE and express themselves authentically through their work and in their life so they can enjoy the success they really want while improving their health, wealth and relationships in the process. We then usually end up talking about my Core Focus Coach Approach which I use in my work and inevitably I am asked what I mean when I talk about "Core Focus".

To begin to answer that question, I will usually start by asking one or more of the following:

Have you ever felt stressed out and frustrated or felt out of sync with what you are presently trying to do or how you are presently trying to do it?
Have you ever thought or even been told by someone else that you are doing all of the right things and to just keep it up, but you are still for some reason feeling like you are swimming upstream or trying to run in quicksand?
Do you have competent and capable people on your team who just can't seem to get it together in terms of the results they are producing?

Most people can relate to one or both of these scenarios. How about you? Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions? Have you ever wondered "Why?" This was such a common question among my clients over the years which is why the Core Focus Coach approach was developed.

Core Focus is a process that can help transform those feelings of stress, disconnect and even overwhelm, into calm, confidence, and clarity by partnering with a professional coach to create a compass and a roadmap for accomplishing what you want in a way designed uniquely for you. It's a process that can help turn a team around as they learn to work and lead from their core, as individuals, as employees and as a team. This approach, when implemented organizationally, can increase employee loyalty and engagement, improve performance, reduce costs and also improve profitability." How is that possible?. Well, everything leads from the CORE because that is where really great change begins. Core Focus is...

2 BEST PRACTICES - To Drive Performance (in Life and Business)

11/22/2014

by Carla Walter & Cynthia Spradlin

Last week we shared with you 10 Top Tips to Revolutionize Your Business in 2015. This week we are going to get more specific about tip number one: Set the bar to be the best. Here are two proven practices to help you, your team, and your business be the best.

10 Top Performance Tips to Revolutionize Your Business in 2015

11/19/2014

By Carla Walter & Cynthia Spradlin

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to level up your business with greater ease and speed? Core Performance Leaders know that this is the time of year to evaluate what is working well and where improvements can generate better results going forward. Here are 10 Top Performance Tips to Revolutionize Your Business in 2015.

3 Keys That Unlock Performance (Part 3)

10/29/2014

by CYNTHIA SPRADLIN, The Core Focus Coach, MS, CPC, Eli-MP, CCVP

CLARITY

VISION

FOCUS

How do You Define Focus?

How is Your Focus Working for You?

What About Your CORE FOCUS?

During Part 1 of this series, we mentioned that without CLARITY, there is confusion about goals, direction and how to accomplish what leaders want. Performance cannot be achieved without clarity. During Part 2 of this series, we discussed the need for VISION and that a leader's vision needs to encompass more than just the destination but the overall experience of having attained and arrived at the chief aim in question. In this post, we explore a bit further, the third key to individual and team performance, FOCUS. Read More.....

3 Keys Leaders (at Work and at Home) Must Know (Part 2)

10/19/2014

by CYNTHIA SPRADLIN, The Core Focus Coach, MS, CPC, Eli-MP, CCVP

How clear is your vision for your business? for you life? for your own AUTHENTIC SUCCESS?

Last week we mentioned the 3 keys leaders must have include clarity, vision and focus. We talked about the importance of clarity and how clarity creates calm in the midst of chaos and how clarity supports leaders (and their teams) in generating the needed energy to accomplish the performance they want. Until is leader is crystal clear on what they want to accomplish, why it is important and the most desired path forward, everyone can feel like they are just spinning wheels, doing tasks that aren’t connected and aligned and missing the mark time and again. Clarity is the first key to leadership and to improving team performance.

Vision: The second item we mentioned last week is vision. Vision is not just knowing where one (or a team or a family) are going, Vision is not simply knowing the place or destination on the map. True clarity of vision is about sensing fully both the arrival and experience of being already at that destination. How does it look? How does if feel? What smells and sounds surround you? What is going on within you when you reach this goal and what is your holistic experience of it once you arrive?

I would submit that much of the disappointment we experience in life has to do with a disconnect between what we hoped or expected (either consciously or subconsciously) and what we find once we arrive (depending on the core focus profile we bring to the situation (more on that later). So if you find yourself feeling disconnected from your work and having low energy toward various aspects or your career or your life - ask yourself, where is the disconnect occurring for me? More important - ask yourself - what is it that I want specifically? For my business? For my life? How specific have you really been about your aim? How clear has your vision (either for yourself or for you team) really been?

Busy can feel productive when in fact that’s all it is. Sometimes as leaders we can get so busy spinning plates and spinning wheels that we fail to see the forest through the trees. We become bogged down in tasks and don’t even realize we have lost sight of the bigger picture: What are we here for? What really matters? Who is really important to us? How is what I am doing connecting with who I am, my role and my purpose? What am I missing out on and how much will that matter to me in my future?

Now, I might add that nice but vague answers like: "I am here to be happy and live life and enjoy it", are not what I am talking about here. If you answered in this way with no further thought to the matter then I invite you to consider...Read More

Cynthia Spradlin

PCC, CPC, MS
Professional Certified Coach
Speaker, Trainer
Executive Leadership & Integrative Wellness
Founder
Connect Coaching & Education Inc.

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