After many requests from parents and students over the past several years I am so excited to announce my brand new 4-Week Coaching Program for Teens.

“Play Big in the Game of Life”
4-Week Coaching Program for Teens

This is an exclusive opportunity to work with me where I give you the game plan to play big in the game of life. For over 18 years I have shared this powerful message with teenagers across North America. Now, I’m taking all of these experiences and lessons and have put them into a fun, high energy virtual coaching program done by teleconference that helps teens change their attitude, find direction, and discover the power they have to be leaders in school and in life. For all of the details please feel out the form below and they will be e-mailed to you immediately.

“Play Big in the Game of Life” – 4-Week Coaching Program for Teens is a post from: Copyright 2010 Ed Gerety's Dream Big Blog

On a recent flight from Boston to Phoenix I sat next to this amazing person. I did not know it at first, as is often the case on an airplane the person next to you is a stranger. We exchanged hellos when she first sat down and that was it until about 30 minutes into the flight I asked her if Phoenix was her final destination. She said no, and that she was flying to LA to go to the Grammy Awards as her partner had been nominated for one.

“How cool is that!” I said to her and then I asked if she was excited, and for what category he was nominated. The pleasant conversation continued from there.

It turned out that the woman I was talking with was the best-selling author of the book The Art of Possibility – a great book about transforming your entire world and living your life in the universe of possibility.

Rosamund Stone Zander and I had an amazing conversation and it made the 4.5 hour flight to Phoenix a short one.

What if I had never bothered to say hello to her when she first sat down next to me? What if I never asked her a question? What if I just ignored her, put on my iPod, and read my book?

I would never have made that connection and I would have missed out on an opportunity to learn from her experiences and life lessons. It’s easy to mind your own business when you are traveling, to just talk on your cell phone and text away as if there is no one around you. When we do that we miss out on meeting someone that could help us personally or professionally. We miss out on making a connection with perhaps a new friend.

If you are one of those people who are shy about meeting new people. Here are three things that you can do to improve your social skills.

1. Smile- It’s the one universal thing that we can do to let another know that you are friendly.

2. Be Present- Really listen to the other person so they know you care about what they are saying. Ask them questions about what they are passionate about.

3. Don’t complain- There is nothing worse than meeting someone for the first time and listen to them complain and whine about something. People want to be around people that are positive and upbeat.

The next time you find yourself in an opportunity to meet new people, take a positive risk. Smile. Say hello. You never know who is sitting next to you.

Who is Sitting Next to You? is a post from: Copyright 2010 Ed Gerety's Dream Big Blog

One of my passions is reading great books on leadership and peak performance. I love to learn about how individuals and organizations are able to overcome challenges and produce extraordinary results. My new favorite book is by Steve Zaffron and Dave Logan titled, The Three Laws of Performance: Rewriting the Future of Your Organization and Your Life (J-B Warren Bennis Series) The book is inspiring and well – just awesome. Here’s why. What makes this book unique is that it does not give you steps, strategies, or secret tips about success. It is a hands-on practical approach to living an extraordinary life with real life examples.

A key insight in the book is that it is so easy to get caught up in the game of trying to fix the things that are not working in your life and the more that you try to fix them the more concrete and fixed they become. This pattern becomes a “probable predictable future” that leaves you frustrated and operating at a performance level way below your potential.

In my keynote presentations one of the messages I share is how important it is to focus on the positive and what’s possible. That what we think about, we become. Whether you call it the “law of attraction”, “manifesting your destiny”, or “the secret” it is a universal principle about focus and energy. What this book does a great job of doing is taking this point to a higher level of understanding and a deeper meaning. In the book the authors talk about how what you “resist in life persists” meaning the more you avoid or suppress something the more energy and attention you give to it. Thus, leading to more of what you don’t want.

Another great insight in the book is that our access to power, freedom, and true self expression lies in creating a new future that is filled with possibility. This possibility is created through understanding and having compassion for how the world “occurs” to the people around us. It is this compassion along with using “generative language” that leads to us creating a new future at a level of performance that may have never before seemed possible.

How do you create that compassion? I believe that compassion comes from remembering that we don’t know everything about anyone. Real compassion comes from listening, understanding, and respecting what makes us different. It is at the heart of not only a new level performance but an extraordinary life.

A New Level of Performance is a post from: Copyright 2010 Ed Gerety's Dream Big Blog

Going into a new year I am always excited about the new goals that I have planned that I sometimes have the tendency to create high expectations of how things will turn out. It almost happened last week when I took my four-year-old son Ryan skiing for the first time. We were both so excited and I was ready for a long fun-filled day on the slopes.

Once his skis were on we proceeded to the “beginner hill”. I enthusiastically began to teach Ryan about “french fries and apple pie” which is an easy way to remember how to position your skis. French fries for keeping the skis straight and apple pie for making the shape to snow plow down the hill.

The lesson ended after about five minutes as Ryan became more interested about when we could go up the giant chairlift, on why he could not have his own ski poles, and when could he ski really fast by himself.

It was at that moment I could feel myself becoming frustrated because this was not the way that I thought his first time skiing should go. I expected it to be easier and never thought of the work out I would get from continually picking him up and putting his skis back on. I realized I had set up this high expectation of what our day together skiing would look like. It was at that moment that I stopped and said to myself, “let the expectation go, everything is happening just the way it’s supposed to.”

Our remaining time on the mountain involved me picking him up, answering questions, and lots of laughing. After only a half an hour outside he declared he was done for the day and that it was time for hot chocolate. Perfect.

If I had not caught myself on the slopes that day with him I could have made the whole experience a miserable one for me and most of all Ryan. It’s a great lesson for all of us to remember as we go into a new year filled with possibilities.

It’s important to dream big, clearly set your goals, and to take action in achieving them. But none of that really matters if our expectations are set so high that we never get to truly enjoy what we are experiencing and what we have accomplished. To make 2009 the best that it can be I think you have to go into each day with no expectations. When you do that you not only don’t force things to go a certain way, you also are able to relax, be in the moment and have more fun.

No Expectations is a post from: Copyright 2010 Ed Gerety's Dream Big Blog

Capture Life’s Moments!

A special note about this video shot at Cannon Beach, OR: I didn’t know at the time when I was shooting this that Haystack Rock can be seen in the opening and closing scene of “The Goonies” (A 1985 adventure-comedy movie that is one of my all time favorite movies) *All the more reason to capture life’s moments because you never know what you will learn and discover.

Capture Life’s Moments is a post from: Copyright 2010 Ed Gerety's Dream Big Blog