Measuring Success

I often get asked how results from coaching get measured.  How does one know that the coaching worked? What is success? What does success look like?  How is it measured? The answer is very subjective.  In individual coaching It depends on the individual and what he or...

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A powerful start does not always guarantee a strong finish

It’s a new year, and for many, that means a recommitment to resolutions made in a moment of celebration and excitement (however you celebrated New Year’s Eve).  In my earlier post, I wrote that I start the planning process much sooner than now.  What is required now...

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My Second Marathon – Suzanne Ness

A few weeks ago I ran and finished my 2nd Chicago Marathon. I ran it 4 minutes faster than the first one. While that sounds like a lot of time for an elite athlete to make up, it was not that much time for the speed I run.  I actually thought I was doing better than I...

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Keeping Focused – Suzanne Ness

When I was 15, I saw a documentary called So you Want to be an Actor.  It was about the Acting program at the DePaul Theatre School.  (To date the DTS is still around and very active).  After I watched it, I decided that was where I was going to go to school. In...

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Perspectives – Suzanne Ness

  A perspective, according to Google, is defined as “a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.”  All of us have a perspective or a way of seeing the world through our relationship with it. We have a perspective regarding...

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The Art of Completion – Suzanne Ness

Author's Note: I wrote this article 5 years ago, and reading it today made me realize that it’s still relevant and still difficult, yet something worth practicing.  I wanted to share it again.  For the past several weeks, I have felt a sense of wanting to complete...

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Time – Lou Ness

Time: we made it up, you know? We determined how the days and weeks and months were chopped into tiny segments of seconds and minutes and then became slaves to the round, tiny face attached to our wrist (though today it’s the cell phone). Recently when I was traveling...

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New Beginnings – Anna Blaho

I’ve been with Living Forward for almost three months now, and I feel that together Suzanne, Lou, and I have accomplished a lot in a short span of time. Living Forward is in the process of creating new programs in order to reach larger audiences and continue teaching...

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Do Not Give Into the Darkness – Suzanne Ness

If you have watched any news over the past few weeks, you may feel like I do: "What the heck is going on? Where is all of this leading to?" You may also feel anxiety, fear, hopelessness, or anger. I catch myself somewhere between anger and sadness. I’m sad for the...

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The Roots Run Deep – Lou Ness

Last year we cut down a very old tree that had been standing since early 1900. I loved that tree, however when very young it began to lean and left to its own devices was then leaning on my house. A recent storm was all I needed to know the tree was a danger - so I...

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Leveling UP – Suzanne Ness

Life is often compared to an onion: peel back the layers and there’s always another layer to uncover. Change is that way, so is growth and transformation. Every new edge or “layer” reveals another one underneath. Businesses function this way as well; that’s why...

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A Shift in Focus – Lou Ness

The house is quiet and the dogs are perplexed. Where did all the energy and activity go? Last week five of our sixteen grandchildren spent the week with us. We picked them up in Lafayette, Indiana on June 11 and returned them on June 19.   Several things were...

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Compassion Toward Our Fellow Human Beings – Anna Blaho

Desmond Tutu once said: “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” This statement implies the connection that humans have to one another. It implies that to be human you must not only be present in the experiences of your life, but also in...

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One Story, Two Experiences – Lou Ness

When I was a small child, I used to watch my grandfather cook in his huge airy kitchen. He was old and bent with a jaunty cap sitting sideways over unruly hair. He would blend ingredients into tasty pastas, gravies and other Italian delights. I loved his kitchen....

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Living with Uncertainty – Suzanne Ness

Last week I wrote about the relevance of time and used running a marathon as a metaphor to describe it. It is about staying in the game for the long haul, which brings me to uncertainty. In many of my training classes that I facilitate all over the United States,...

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You Have Time – Suzanne Ness

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. This is the phrase I have been saying over and over in my head for the past few months. This is probably because I was in training for a half-marathon and seriously considering a full one next year, so it is only fitting that my...

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I Ran My Race

On October 11th of this year I ran and finished my first marathon: the Chicago Marathon. My time was 5:05:05. For those of you that have read my newsletter over the years, you know that running inspires me in countless ways. I am amazed at how many things have...

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Completion: The Art of Letting Go

This past week my partner’s mother died. At 92, she was frail and withered by the time death reached out its hand to pull her close. Still the loss of a parent is sad and there will be that empty place at the table to remind us of her missing. Marybeth spent this last...

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Storms-Breakdowns to Breakthroughs by Lou Ness

Last night I watched as storm clouds rolled in and lightening began to dance across the sky and I thought finally. All day the wind was brutal, ripping and tearing at everything not nailed down. The heat and humidity were palpable. The clouds began to roll in around...

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