So Kate–what exactly did you, uh, do?

Truth? I did a whole lot of “nothing”–but I made it into “structured” nothing. The structure that I created took far less time than you would think. I’m sharing this video so that people who might be interested in doing their own sabbatical can piggyback on what I’ve learned and see what works for them.

Click and watch to get:

– what I did do during my 30 day break
– practices that I took on that helped me to get back to “me”
– the fear of confronting that which could be devastating and raw
– how sitting in stillness prompts more courage than “doing a lot of stuff”
– how much time this actually took
– one of the most beneficial things that I did at the beginning of my 30 days, that ended up being incredibly informative
– offering you your own 30 Days of Courage

I offer all of this in the interests of the kind of full transparency that you deserve. I’m a bit burned out my internet posturing. I’m guessing you are, too.

I ask a few questions at the end, and I’d love to hear your responses–feel free to email me (perhaps put “30 days” in the subject line?).

So. Yeah. The tacit implication that when you’re running a business online, you’re supposed to put up a rosy-cheeked front?

I’m not great at that. (That’s okay with me.)

This video is the true story behind why I decided to take a monthlong digital sabbatical.

The truth that:

– some systems were breaking down in my life (and they needed to).
– I was giving the world something that I was increasingly failing to give myself.
– some “shame tapes” were playing.
– I don’t see anyone else talking about this (why is that?).
– my truths about running a business.

Ooops, I broke a “rule”
The rule I broke is that one about keeping videos to under four minutes.

Oops. This one is about 8 minutes long.

But I did break it up into parts–so a “Part Two” is on its way.

And here I sit.

Declaring completion.

Actively practicing courage.

The Coaching Blueprint is here, ready to go, available for download–all of it. HERE. After six months–half a year–of work…here.

Sort of unbelievable, but mostly–nodding. Yes, indeed, it has arrived. It’s beautiful. It’s epic. It’s 300+ pages of content on aligning your Coaching practice so that you’re creating something you feel excited about when you get up in the morning.

Simply put, it’s exactly what I would have wanted when I first became a coach.

Today, celebrating will mean that I will spend today taking things relatively low-key. I will sit quietly. I will drink in the smell of the rain. I’ll meet with clients. I love low-key.

On October 14th I’m co-hosting the sassiest live launch party in San Francisco, and you are invited. It will be good people, flutes of champagne, exchanging hugs, nibbling on deliciousness–and it would not surprise me if I were compelled to break into dancing (and then relax in the hot tub).

If you live in San Francisco, don’t be shy :: Email me to get the address.

Not a coach? It does not matter. This is just about celebration :: Of life. Of creating. Of what it means to go towards the challenging thing. Of expansion. Of connection. Of all of us.

See you there.

Pam Slim has something for you. When I first saw her blog, Escape From Cubicle Nation, well over a year ago, I think I kept on clicking because I made a snap judgment that since I wasn’t “escaping” from the corporate world, what she had to say probably wasn’t a fit for me in particular.

Then I saw her speak at the World Domination Summit. She stepped on stage and the power of her stories, her presence, and her message inspired me to want to ask her to participate in The Coaching Blueprint via an interview. But as with anything that is “your baby,” you want to suss things out first. I spent a month reading her blog, going through back entries, really making sure that the tribe that was coming around her was of people who were interested in truth, not quick fixes.

I believe Pam has something for you, too. In particular, I think you’ll really resonate with her (if you don’t already) if you start looking at her blog’s sidebar and going through the blog posts that consist of her personal favorites.

In this short excerpt of our interview for The Coaching Blueprint, I ask Pam about the must-haves that are needed, in her opinion, even for those people who know that they want to strike out from the crowd and do things a little differently. The rest of our interview covers topics as wide as what her personal game-changer was that took her to another level in what she was doing as a coach, as well as her personal vision for her world and her life (it’s beautiful). Enjoy!

Pamela Slim is a seasoned business coach, author and professional speaker who helps frustrated employees in corporate jobs break out and start their own business. Her blog, Escape from Cubicle Nation, is one of the top career and marketing blogs on the web. Pam’s book Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur was named Best Small Business/Entrepreneur Book of 2009 by 800CEORead and Editor’s Choice and Reader’s Choice for Best Small Business Books of 2009 from Small Business Trends. Pam is frequently quoted as an expert on entrepreneurship in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Money Magazine and Psychology Today. Pam is certified as a master life coach. She is married with three kids and lives in Mesa, Arizona.

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Julie Daley is the type of person with such a richness about her, when she’s brought up in her absence, people say her name while tilting their heads to the side and putting their hands over their hearts. The response to “Do you know Julie Daley?” is: “Oh! I loooove Julie Daley.”

Our interview for The Coaching Blueprint became this discussion of not just the wisdom that she has to pass on in her practice, but of the changing paradigm of coaching entirely, as it moves from being about externalization of goals to more of an approach to life. Our conversation went well past the 30 minutes I’d allotted in my mind for how long it would be, but I couldn’t bear to cut out the goodness that she shared, so I am providing the full interview with The Coaching Blueprint so that people can truly drink in the richness of what she has to offer.

Julie Daley is coming forth with some beautiful goodness of her own–an e-book with the best writing from her website, www.unabashedlyfemale.com. As an advance reader of the book (!), I’m really excited to drink in her luminous words and think that for people who want the experience of sitting back and settling in with something that gets them to think, gets them inspired, gets them to consider, gets them to ask themselves what in life they’re craving, Julie’s writing will tap them into that.

Certified Coach, teacher, and writer, Julie Daley has led hundreds of people from all walks of life to take an inward journey of the creative heart–the source within each of us that guides us to knowing, healing, and personal evolution.

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Here’s the short story of how I got into coaching: I’d considered it for a few years, and then decided that I’d go ahead and make a few inquiry calls about programs. I saw a notice for this program called Interchange and called the number and left a message to get more information.

Fast forward a few weeks later. I’m sitting at my desk, journaling about how frustrated I feel about teaching. I push back from my desk, fold my arms, look up at the ceiling, and say to the Universe at large, “I wish you would just tell me what I needed to do!”

The phone rang.

On the other end of the line was this guy, Steve Bearman, and he spent some time talking to me about his program and what it entailed. An orientation evening was being held the next night, and I went. By the end of the orientation evening, I had pulled my checkbook out of my purse and written a check for the deposit.

That’s saying something. I am not an impulse shopper, and I consider things carefully. But truly, an Interchange orientation evening was that good, so I had no doubt leaving that evening that the entire program would be amazing.

It was. I emerged from that program feeling like I’d been truly given this opportunity to work on myself, and get out of my own way so that I could be with others in a deeper capacity. There were no “gimmicks” with this training. This was the real deal, the heart-centered approach that I’d been searching for. There were even people in my training class who had already been through MSW or MFT or coaching programs, who came to Interchange because they felt that it offered something they hadn’t been able to get in those programs.

I liked this program so much that I decided to do it again, a second year, because I knew I’d get more out of it. It was that good.

I’m really thrilled to share that during this upcoming year, I’ll be joining the Interchange faculty! I’ll be teaching a series of live, in-person seminars that are based on the principles of The Coaching Blueprint, teaching coaches and counselors how to grow and develop their practices. I’ll be there to answer questions directly and guide people through the process, so that when one finishes their training with Interchange at the end of the year, they won’t be “thinking about” starting a practice–they’ll have the tools in hand to do it, because they’ll have already started to grow what they do in a really powerful way.

It’s also definitely worth saying: Interchange is one of those programs that is not only for people who want to become counselors or coaches. At its heart is the belief that when you grow who you are, you show up in a way that is more empowered to make a difference in the world. Many people take Interchange simply to show up more fully in their lives. Established therapists, coaches, and counselors take the Interchange training so that they can play to their own leading edge, developing an even greater capacity and skill-set.

Steve Bearman, Ph.D. is founder of the Interchange Counseling Institute, a year long, community-rich training program for people who want to become masterful counselors and coaches, and for people who want to grow in their own lives. Steve is a counselor, social justice educator, and workshop leader residing in San Francisco, who believes everyone can, and should, learn how to counsel.

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Michael Bungay Stanier happened to sit next to me at the World Domination Summit. I’d seen him walking around, a tall guy rocking a paisley shirt, and I’d read what he said in one of the WDS materials–he was named Canadian Coach of the Year…and he was skeptical about coaching.

I dig honesty, and as he started to tell me about his skepticism, I thought, “I need this for The Coaching Blueprint.” I have not wanted to craft this e-program from a place of blindly cheering “You can do it! Rah rah rah!”

It has been important to me that the program gets into the stuff that can be gritty or hard for coaches to work with. I do see some areas where the coaching industry is out of integrity, and I’ve seen coaching websites that strike me as not being fully in integrity. This needs to be spoken into, especially because I know I cannot be the only coach seeing these things. So–collectively, what do we do about it?

Michael’s the guy to ask. His book, Do More Great Work, is all about figuring out how you can rise above the fray of mediocrity and really step into doing your personal “Great Work,” the work that plays to your edge and pushes you and challenges you.

Speaking of Great Work, here’s some: Michael has put together a book in support of ending malaria for end malaria day. This book is not a bevvy of depressing stats about malaria–it’s about business, and includes short essays from people you probably already know and love on the internet. Click the link, check out the list of contributors, order the book–and you’ll be helping to save lives.

Michael Bungay Stanier is the Senior Partner of Box of Crayons, a company that helps organizations do less Good Work and more Great Work. Michael has written a number of best-selling books, was the first Canadian Coach of the Year and was a Rhodes Scholar. He’s Australian and is based in Toronto, Canada.

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Tara Sophia Mohr is a wise living coach–and emphasis is here on the “wise.” I had no idea how much we had in common–how many similarities we’d experienced during our first year of building our coaching practices–until we had this interview.

In this excerpt for The Coaching Blueprint, Tara shares about the truth of how hard the first year of starting your practice can be. At one point during the interview, I said to her, “I wish we’d known one another, then!”

It’s so hard to feel alone while floundering.

This is one of the reasons why I’m offering Blueprint Circles as an add-on with The Coaching Blueprint. My thinking about them is that coaches who participate in a Blueprint Circle will have this built-in support system–they’ll have other coaches to launch ideas off of, or other coaches who can help them share their e-books or retreats when the time is right.

It’s so much easier to walk this path with others.

Tara, thank you so much for your addition to The Coaching Blueprint!

Tara Sophia Mohr is a writer, coach, and personal growth teacher. She’s the creator of the global Playing Big leadership program for women and is a regular writer for the Huffington Post. Visit HERE to sign up to receive Tara’s her free poetry ebook as well as her 10 Rules for Brilliant Women Workbook.

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Dyana Valentine is hot.** That is, if you find hotness in women who are tuned in, wise, funny, direct, witty, honest, unselfconscious, and grounded in who they are.

There was this great moment during our interview for The Coaching Blueprint where I was hesitating in going after the “juice” and trying to stick too closely to my “standard set of questions.”

She commanded me to take the reigns of my own interview (for crying out loud!) and step it up.

So I did, and it felt great.

I can see how this is the gift that she can bring to her sessions with people–that working with her would have you step it up a notch, and dump the hesitation in favor of going fully towards your personal version of Great Work.

In just a few minutes, you can get a little taste of what she has to offer.

** Note: She also revealed to me that she is currently single. If you are unattached, now is the time for action, people.

Dyana Valentine is not for the faint of heart. She’s spent the past 12 years instigating entrepreneurs and teams to complete seemingly impossible projects—we’re talking major brand overhauls, six-figure product launches, full-fledged manuscripts. She serves up straight-from-the-hip advice in online magazines and columns all over the ‘net…in a past life, she was an idiot-savant microsurgery tech, worked for the Olympic Games organizing committee, and was personally approached by the FBI with a recruitment invitation—for classified reasons – on two separate occasions.

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Jamie Ridler is not just a friend–she’s also someone I consider an informal mentor. During my first year of moving my coaching practice from part-time to full-time, I found that she was someone I could look to, to set an example of…the big-hearted thing to do. The generous thing. The classy thing. The “there’s enough room for all of us” thing.

It wasn’t so much that I wanted to model myself after her exact practice of coaching creatives. It was moreso that I saw something really powerful about how she was choosing to show up in the online world, and I knew that it was a match for how I wanted to show up.

Watch this short excerpt of our interview, and you’ll see what I mean.

She’s cheering for you. She wants you to win. There is enough room for all of us.

That’s what Jamie Ridler practices, and it’s what she lives.

Jamie Ridler is a creative living coach and the founder of Jamie Ridler Studios. From coaching to workshops, from podcasting to blogging, Jamie’s work helps women find the confidence and courage to discover and express their creative selves so they can be the star they are.

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