Category Archives: Coaching

First Book: Self-Coaching For Career Change And Personal Growth

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In 2008 I had an information product idea called, “Self Coaching For Career And Life Change“.
Alas, this went nowhere because of two career-related changes I made, and one that Nature imposed quite suddenly:

  1. I started a freelance writing business.
  2. I stopped coaching clients directly and decided to let my words here be my ‘coaching voice’.
  3. The earthquake and tsunami disaster in North-Eastern Japan on 3/11, last year

Almost four years on from that post and I’ve been thinking about writing a book – a real one, not an eBook. Despite the rise of tablet computers and eBook readers, there is still a very large market for physical books.

The Effortless Authorship System – What?

What convinced me to start writing a book was an email from my good friend James Brown, a successful Internet Marketing consultant, and also based in Japan. He had been working on his own book (due out in 2012) with an experienced business ghostwriter, Michael Levin. Of course, being the consummate marketer that he is, not only did he create a book with Mr. Levin’s assistance, but he also partnered with him to promote Michael’s effortless authorship system for ‘writing’ and self-publishing books.

The Effortless Authorship System is designed to get rookie authors past the roadblocks (both physical and psychological) that often frustrate writers and destroy their publishing dreams. I purchased the course during an ‘early-bird’ marketing launch and also signed up for the monthly mentoring option to see what I can learn about writing and self-publishing books ‘behind the scenes.’

Which Book should I write?

I’ve been thinking about the theme of my first book for a few weeks now and it’s clear that there are two possibilities.

Book choice #1 is centered on the topic of (mid) career change and personal growth; something this blog has focused on for over four years.
Having been through two career changes so far (in my mid-20s and again in mid-life), I have learned a lot and would like to pass on that knowledge to others.

By ‘others’, I mean people who want to make changes in their life or career (the two are often inter-linked, in my experience) but hesitate to put plans into action, or falter on following through.

Of course, I could compile a top 20 list of posts from this blog and use them to publish an e-book. These posts might even be sufficient to publish a 100+ page book. However, I’ve been selective in what I’ve shared here, while the blog itself has changed direction as my plans have changed e.g. from offering coaching products and services, through to describing my transition from coaching to freelance writing and teaching.

While I hope ‘markmccluretoday‘ is still interesting to readers, I don’t think it’s the only ‘communications vehicle’ to get this message into the world. I believe that a book, well-planned and researched, is also able to reach a wide audience.

Book choice #2 is focused on how to get the best from content marketing assets in the Asia-Pacific region; a topic that fits well into my freelance technology writer’s blog.
The ideal reader is a marketing manager for an Information Technology vendor or reseller; someone who is based in the Asia-Pacific region, and charged with providing marketing content (e.g. white papers, case studies, blogs and  social media conversations) that prospects and customers can identify with.

And The Winner Is…

From the post’s title you might have guessed that book choice #1 is going to be my first (self-) published book. The core ‘self-coaching’ message strongly appeals because I aim at living it every day. And I’ve had many conversations with friends (online and offline) and coaches who say they’d like to know more about self-coaching as a strategy for dealing with career and life change.

So, ‘Self-coaching for career change and personal growth‘ it shall be. That’s a working title and good enough for now.

What I will probably do is blog here about topics connected with the book’s theme, and post on justfiverules.com about the project of creating and publishing the physical book.

Book #2 Waiting for CSMA/CD Clearance

While my focus is on writing the self-coaching book, not much is going to happen publicly with the “content marketing in Asia-Pacific” book. I’m already planning at least one lead generation report for samuraiwriter.com. And there’s also a monthly newsletter launch to attend to.

Your Questions and feedback on book #1 are very welcome.

Mark ‘self-coaching book’ McClure

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Your Free 2011 Goal Creation Map Template

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At this time of year many people start thinking about goal setting, New Year’s resolutions, and what they’d like to achieve over the next 12 months.

Despite this well-intentioned approach, you might think that ‘goal setting’ would be neglected once people get back to work and become busy again.

It seems not, because among this blog’s most viewed posts each month is one I published three years ago on New Year’s Day.

It’s titled: “Your Free 2008 Goal Creation Map Template”

I still use this template for creating and setting goals in the main areas of my life and see no reason to change a format that works well – everything’s summarized on one page.

Reviewing the guidelines in that post (and you should also read those if you plan to use the same template I’ve linked to again below), the only thing I’d add is that there are now lots of mind mapping applications to choose from.

For example, in addition to commercial tools such as ‘Mind Genius’ , I also like the free open source program, FreeMind.

Your Free 2011 Goal Creation Map Template

And so, that makes releasing this year’s goal setting template a simple job.
I’ll just link to that same pdf file!
(Click on the map icon below to open it or ‘right-click’ it to save on your desktop.)
goals-template

Update: Goal Creation in 2012

This is a March 2012 update to remind readers that the 2011 goal creation maps template works just fine for this year… and most likely, for many more years to come.

Here’a short video all about ‘how to set and create incredible yet reachable goals on a one page mind map.‘ The process is straightforward but does require some time to think, and then to ‘tweak’ the map.

(Please note that the goalcreationmaps.com site mentioned in the video is being refreshed. If you want to be notified when it’s ready, then subscribe to this blog’s email update or follow me on twitter, @markmcclure2day.)

If you’re on Twitter and found this post helpful please retweet it or alternatively, share it via the Email, Stumbleupon and FaceBook icons below.

- Mark ‘goal setting’ McClure

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Online Goal Setting For 2011 – Special E-Coaching Offer

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[Online Goal Setting - March 2012 Update:
The goal creation maps site is being refreshed. Follow my twitter account, markmcclure2day, for news of that project.]

The quote below is from Brian Tracy’s book, Maximum Achievement (Chp 5 “The Master Skill”, page 138), one of the few self-help books I recommend to people interested in learning how to set and achieve goals.

“Success Equals Goals And All Else Is Commentary”

From my experience over the years, it seems many people avoid or even loathe the whole process of setting goals.

There are probably two main reasons for such behavior:

1- People don’t know how to set, monitor and adjust their own goals.
2- People are busy achieving, sometimes unknowingly but often reluctantly, other peoples’ goals…

Setting Goals is a Skill

Fortunately, reason number one is a skill that can be learned and improved on, at any age. It requires just time and effort.

Number two is trickier to overcome because ‘other people’ can be family, friends, colleagues, bosses, even celebrities and sports stars.

Add in a fear of failure / embarrassment plus a trained desire to conform / please and it’s no surprise that goal setting gets a bum rap.

The Value Of an Experienced Coach

And that’s when an experienced coach can be a good investment. Someone who can act as an independent sounding board and mirror for your plans, hopes and dreams.

This was my experience five years ago as I began to plan a mid-career change. I had lots of ideas, some vague and others that were detailed but wildly optimistic. My coach became a trusted confidante who didn’t belittle my clumsy or ill-conceived goals with withering criticism, sarcasm or indifference.

Instead, she patiently listened but astutely called me on the what, where, when, how and why of these invariably conflicting goals. This is what I mean by ‘sounding board and mirror’.

She didn’t tell me what I should be doing. Rather, she let me thread these stories about my possible future together in my own way and in my own time (it took about 5 sessions, if I recall correctly, over a couple of months). Some ‘future stories’ I could choose to discard while others morphed into the various freelance activities I’m pursuing today.

Discover How To Set Incredible Yet Reachable Goals

Inspired by the progress I’d made with my coach, in the Spring of 2007 I set out to create an online, home-study course that shows people how to create meaningful and practical goals. Here’s a screenshot from one of the course videos:

goal-setting-2011-online-home-study-course

And while the course delivers everything it promises, I still hear from people who have problems in following through and completing the material.

A small number are unable to even get started.

What to do? What to do?

I had no plans to offer 1:1 phone coaching around goal setting at that price point. Especially as my own copywriting career was gathering momentum and requiring more time and attention.

And so the course remained as an ideal way for self-starters to discover and set their goals.

Nonetheless, my coaching persona still wants to find a way to be creative and help people create goals they can believe and achieve. I’m thinking about starting a goal setting membership site next year where people can get e-coaching support and help on a regular basis.

How that pans out is yet to be decided but as a test, I’m going to introduce the following e-coaching service.

One Month of Email Coaching Support Plus lifetime Access to the Goal Creation Maps Online Course

Here’s how this e-coaching service will work in the ‘test’ phase:

1- You purchase the online course at the standard price of US$ 67.

2- You send me your email receipt and tell me that you want the e-coaching option at no extra cost. (This is a benefit only available via this blog.)

3- I’ll reply to you within 1 business day with the e-coaching email address, and then we begin!

To keep things manageable for us both, you can email me one question/issue each day (for a full calendar month) that is connected with what you’re doing on the goal creation maps course.
I’ll reply to this email in as much detail as necessary within 2 business days, often sooner.

(Please note that ‘business day’ means Monday to Friday, excluding any Japanese National Holidays. And the time zone is Japan Standard Time.)

But you must act soon…

This Offer Expires Midnight Tuesday 30th November

As I’m busy with other projects I can only except a limited number of clients for email coaching. If you’re ready to start today, then head over to this link and click the order button at the bottom of the page.

Click here –> GOAL CREATION MAPS: E-Coaching Service

The offer expires at Midnight on Tuesday 30th November – in any timezone!

- Mark ‘Goal Setting E-coach’ McClure

PS – Note there’s no risk to you in this offer as ClickBank, the payment processor I use to handle billing, has a 60-day money back guarantee. If you’re dissatisfied for any reason whatsoever, just email me within 60 days of purchase, and I’ll process a full 100% refund.

In the three plus years this course has been running there have been only 2 refund requests. Both of which were promptly and politely given. I stand by this guarantee 100%.

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Free Self-Esteem Advent Calendar

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Liv Miyagawa, the self-esteem coach, has just released an online Advent Calendar you can get for free just by submitting your name and email address.

I signed up a few minutes ago and look forward to receiving the daily messages starting on 1st December.

I’ve met Liz once in Tokyo (she lives on the Western side of Japan, so we don’t have much chance to meet up in person). She’s a trained coach, specializing in self-esteem coaching, and also has an academic background in psychology.

In these tumultuous economic times, there’s a lot to be gained from having a robust and grounded confidence in your own abilities and inner self-worth. That’s why I’m treating myself to her free gift.

That link again: online Advent Calendar

- Mark ‘yes, you can’ McClure

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How To Silence Yourself and Prosper

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Earlier this year I was privileged to be coached by one of the top white paper copywriters around.

Although the call was recorded and later downloaded in mp3 format, I didn’t listen again because the top 3 actions were in my head and the next step was obvious… to start implementing them.

On a recent weekend’s computer tidy-up, I came across the file quite by chance and decided to give it a whirl again while commuting by train.

Imagine my befuddled brain’s surprise around 7:03 am when the copywriter’s introduction came through loud and clear but little old me was nowhere to be heard!

At first I was annoyed at possibly having damaged the file and therefore losing the benefit of my contributions. However, as I listened carefully, a most interesting dialogue was taking place:

ME: (probably, since there was only silence. 1 minute, 2 minutes passes. What could I possibly be saying that takes so long? It must be really important or complicated!)

COACH: “It’s not a question of ‘trying’. You CAN do this.”

And so it went on for about the first 15 minutes.

I wasn’t consciously aware of it but I must have been asking questions from a position of doubt and insecurity. We’re talking about making significant monthly sums as a copywriter here – and that possibly ‘explains’ my hesitation – even so, it was a revelation to come across so negatively.

Ask For and Listen to Feedback

Although this copywriter is not a coach by profession he had an uncanny knack for picking up on my inexperience and self-doubts, and coaching it gently to begin believing that “specific and regular actions + application of learned knowledge” are the sure way forward.

To be honest, I’m pleased that my voice has gone AWOL from the recording. Why? Because all I need is the advice he was giving.

My excuses are simply irrelevant to the matter at hand.

You might not have the luxury of recorded coaching conversations to go over but where you do have trusted friends or family to discuss plans and goals and dreams with, why not take the opportunity to ask them what they really thought YOU were saying.

Their responses may surprise you.

I’d also recommend that you write some of these down and then really think about what their perspective of you and your actions/behaviors might be saying. Is it possible they’re right? And what can you do right away to begin making constructive changes by using that feedback?

- Mark ‘I was silenced’ McClure

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