Hi —

I'm a little bit behind this week, work wise. My sister Tina has been in town this week visiting and celebrating her birthday, so I've been joining in the fun. Here's a photo of me and all my sisters! That doesn't happen too often (back row left to right is Virjean & Leslie and in front is Vivian, Tina & me).

I can't believe it's already Apri,l and Easter is right around the corner! It's also month THREE of my business anniversary celebration and that means a NEW GIFT for YOU! If you read my last article, 5 keys for taming your inner slumdog, I shared with you the expression I learned working in Information Technology (IT) "Garbage in, Garbage out". To combat that, we need to be putting more good stuff in and this month's gift will help you do just that! Gift #3 is an audiobook version of the Napoleon Hill's famous book Think and Grow Rich that has helped literally millions of people to lead richer, fuller lives. I hope you enjoy this!

This month's Guilt-Free article

Life is busy! I get that. If you're like me, you are juggling the demands of your profession, managing a household, caring for your family, maintaining a variety of relationships, volunteering, and maybe trying to squeeze in a long lost hobby. Can you recall when you had a hobby?! So, how do you remember to keep the key actions, habits, and changes for success in the forefront?

When clients desire to make progress in an area, we use special reminders to help them remember. Read more about this strategy for creating focus and discipline to get done the important things below.

To your continued success!

Victoria Cook, ACC
Your Guilt-Free Coach

PS: A great big "Welcome!" to all the new readers who attended my Work/Life balance talk last month and joined my guilt-free community! You're going to love the resources you'll find here to help you create more time and focus to get done what's most important...Guilt-Free! Enjoy!

It´s my 5 year business anniversary and I´m celebrating, but YOU get the gifts!! For the next 5 months, I will be offering you a different gift each month. To see what gifts you might have missed, go to www.TheGuiltFreeCoach.com/anniversary.

Gift #3 - Think & Grow Rich complimentary audiobook.

"Anything your mind can conceive and believe --- you can achieve."
-- Napoleon Hill

It is said that Napoleon Hill has made more millionaires and inspired more successes than any other person in history.

Think and Grow Rich revolutionized the whole concept of self-help writing. To this day the book remains the standard against which all other motivational literature is measured, and it has helped literally millions of people to lead richer, fuller lives. Now this audiobook edition is adding to those millions.

GET YOURS NOW!

Our next Best Year Ever Coaching Call is MONDAY, April 6th, 12 pm CST

"Where does the time go?"

On this call we'll be talking about the time crunch we all face. Members will:

• Learn how to identify time leaks
• What to do to plug the holes
• Review a strategy for prioritizing time

Then get personalized coaching on anything holding you back!

This call is ONLY for Best Year Ever Group Coaching members. Not a member?
Join now to access this call with Victoria's special FREE 1-month Membership trial
(plus a small $5 shipping/handling fee).

One of the biggest challenges in achieving goals is sticking to the necessary action steps with focus and consistency. If that´s been a challenge for YOU and you´re tired of your plans fizzling out before year end, then you've got to check out my Best Year Ever Group Coaching program.

The purpose of the Best Year Ever Coaching Program? For you to make SIGNIFICANT improvements in your life and business, and to ensure that 2009 is your best, most successful year— EVER! Each biweekly call includes a brief lesson on a relevant topic and expert coaching to keep you focused on creating your Best Year and give you the specifics to get going with momentum. The calls will also provide accountability, support, and the resources to implement strategies that will keep your business and your life continually getting better and better.

I am so sure that you´ll get incredible value from this program that I´d love to give you the opportunity to try it out —for F.R.E.E.! When you sign up for the group program, you will receive your first month for free* along with an audio CD including introductory information and detailed notes to get you started before your first call.

Join now to access my special FREE month membership trial

*$5 for shipping and handling of the CD

How not to forget!

The last three articles I've written in The Guilt-Free Times (Can you take a baby step?: 3 Keys to getting and staying in action; Did you pick a good one?: 5 keys to creating a more positive attitude; and Are you changing for good?) all talked about how to make change. However, in order to MAKE the change, you need to REMEMBER to do it. Good intentions aren’t enough.

Life is busy! I get that. If you’re like me, you are juggling the demands of your profession, managing a household, caring for your family, maintaining a variety of relationships, volunteering, and maybe trying to squeeze in a long lost hobby. Can you recall when you had a hobby?! So, how do you remember to keep the key actions, habits, and changes for success in the forefront?

When clients desire to make progress in an area, we use special reminders to help them remember. In coaching we call these reminders “structures”. Structures are a device to help create focus and discipline to get done the things deemed important. They help you to hang onto and remember whatever it is you are trying to do (create a new habit, recite your affirmations, or accomplish a specific goal). When we’re in the midst of a challenging situation, structures are there to be the trigger that reminds us to focus on the bigger picture of what we’re after. But they only work when people notice them. This leads to learning and new habits and ultimately to the actions required to get where you want to be!

If you have ever watched my favorite Christmas movie, It's a Wonderful Life, you saw George Bailey's Uncle Billy trying to use structures, though not very successfully). Uncle Billy would tie a piece of string around his finger to help him remember to stop at the bank. I suppose if his structure HAD worked, we wouldn't have had such a great story!

Here are some structures successfully used by some of my clients:

A specific picture to capture the essence of a goal or view of the bigger picture

Changing their screen saver message to remind them of their new habit or goal

Leaving themselves a special voice mail message

Set an alarm on their watch or appointment reminder in an electronic calendar

Put a sticky note by the phone or on the bathroom mirror

Invite friends over once a month. This can be a great structure to ensure you get the house cleaned or keep up on relationships.

Send yourself an e-mail

Put an appointment on your calendar

Have a regularly scheduled appointment or call with a friend, mentor, or COACH to check in on progress made

Ask a friend to send you a predesigned postcard once a month with encouragement or a reminder

Whatever works for you!

Your Guilt-Free Assignment (should you wish to accept it)

Look over your goals and pick two or three tasks, habits, or reminders that will help you move forward on what's important to you.

Create a structure to help you remember. It can be one of the ideas listed above or something all together different, creative, and suited to you.

Begin using the structures and see how well it works (or doesn't). If it doesn't, try something different! There are no failures, only learning's!

One of the key benefits to coaching is having the structure of regularly scheduled times to talk with your coach. I know when I commit to MY Coach that I'll have something completed, I making sure I get it done prior to our call, even if it means burning a little bit of the midnight oil!

My Best Year Ever Group Coaching program provides TWO structured calls per month to help you stay present to the changes and goals you are working to achieve. Each call provides accountability, support, and the resources so your business and personal life continue getting better and better. You also get a brief lesson on a relevant topic (TIME MANAGEMENT - For April) and expert coaching to keep you focused on moving forward and creating your Best Year.

Visit www.BestYearEverCoaching.com for details or to register so you don’t miss a call!

© 2009 Victoria Cook. All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine? No problem! But here's what you MUST include:

Victoria Cook, The Guilt-Free Coach, helps ambitious working Moms create more time and focus to accomplish their goals, grow their business, and live guilt-free! To get YOUR F.R.E.E. resources for increasing YOUR time and reducing stress, visit www.TheGuiltFreeCoach.com/gift.

Victoria Cook is the founder of The Guilt-Free Coach, a company devoted to helping working Moms grow their business or career in alignment with their priorities at home.

Through her workshops, courses, and coaching programs, Victoria assists her clients in creating the time and energy to get done what's most important so they can live Guilt-Free.

To begin experiencing Victoria's coaching, you can enjoy one month of her Best Year Ever group coaching program at no charge, beginning right now (plus a small $5 shipping/handling fee).

You may absolutely share this newsletter with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including mycontact and copyright information or just use the Forward to a Friend button below. Thanks and enjoy!

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© 2009 Victoria Cook. All Rights Reserved.