February 5, 2004
From Kim George
Communications Director, CoachVille/Schools of Coaching
40,058 members in 125 countries.

Conversations with T

I've been reading many of the "conversations" with Thomas that folks have submitted. It's incredible to think about how he was able to touch so many people in such a personal way - inspiring! Then I think about the five years when I spoke with him almost every day and the thousands of "conversations with Thomas" that I participated in.

I remember this one in particular. It was about a year or so into our friendship and he was explaining to me his strategy to always have a close relationship with a coach that was "kind of clueless". The idea was that if he could explain his ideas to this person in such a way that they would "get it" then he knew that his points were clear and that he wasn't skipping over anything important. I thought the idea really made good sense for someone writing for such a large and diverse audience.

A few minutes after we hung up the phone it hit me - I was the "clueless coach"! I could recall hundreds of conversations where he would explain his new idea to me and most of the time I wouldn't understand what he was trying to say and he would explain it several different ways until he could tell that I got it.

Several things happened for me in that moment. A) I realized that there was no place for my ego in our relationship and it was a zen-like moment of realization about how unimportant my ego was. B) I realized how much I was growing just trying to keep up with him and that that was a gift I couldn't get anyplace else for any price. C) I realized that I really couldn't tell if he was being mean or just sharing with someone who he could trust and I decided to make it the latter - the opportunity to simply choose to think the best of someone is always a moment to cherish.

My love for him is still so strong. I'm thrilled that we'll be sharing his wisdom for many years to come.

To subscribe to this very special ezine celebrating the life of Thomas, visit http://conversationswiththomas.com/. You can also continue to add your stories and experiences to the collection.

Announcing...
The Coaching Business: Create Your Own Magic
The 3rd Annual Coaching Conference and Family Reunion

We have designed the most amazing conference you have ever experienced!

The three themes we are honoring this year are:

Business

What does it take to make a great living as a coach? We know that coaching is a wonderful, enlivening, enriching and enjoyable thing to do. We know that coaching makes a difference for people, society and life. Many of us have been coaching in some form or another our entire lives, but that doesn't mean that we have the business skills that allow us to be successful and to thrive as a coach. We are dedicated at Coachville to providing every coach with the skills, inspiration and resources they need to be wildly successful. At the Annual Conference this year we have lined up world renowned speakers on topics like marketing, attraction, publicity, personal presentation, improvisation, living networks and more.

Magic

What does it take to be attractive and open to success? Sometimes even if we do have the business skills needed to be successful, there can be internal roadblocks we need to disappear. We at Coachville are committed that being in business as a coach can and should be a magical experience and we are dedicated to being pioneers in the area of personal development and attraction. We are holding the Annual Conference this year at the Magical World of Disney in Orlando, Florida. We hope this setting as well as the content of the conference will re-ignite in you the magical powers of attraction that you possess to be used to cause your success.

Family Reunion & Connection

What environments and structures do you need in your life that will ensure your success as a coach? No matter how much skill and personal attraction we have, we also need an environment that compels us to succeed. We at Coachville are committed that a strong, connected coaching community is essential to success. We are committed that the Annual Conference will give each of you a real connection to the community of coaches worldwide and will eliminate you ever feeling lonely again. The conference will include:

Not only will you be inspired and educated at this conference but you will walk away with powerful, effective plans for your business and success as a coach.

A few of our confirmed speakers include:

"0-60K" Mentor Features

Jane MacAllister Dukes

I heard about Coachville by searching the net for coaching information. I liked its innovative and exciting feel and became a member quite near the beginning. I loved interacting with Thomas Leonard and was a member of his R&D team. I know there were many of us but he always came back with a response, a comment or a continuation of the discussion which was incredibly impressive and charming too. I also discovered there were many other wonderful coaches at Coachville, all different and all interesting.

Coaching for me is interactive, co-creational,inspirational. It is about 'working' with others to enable them to become the best versions of themselves they could ever imagine and then going beyond that......

I love going beyond......I love the excitement in a client's voice when they surpass themselves. I love helping them find their magnificence and the best bit is 'seeing' them step into it. There is no doubt that coaching is a very rewarding profession and it is a privilege to enable others in this way.

The other thing I love about coaching is that there are as many different types of coaching as there are people and the Coachville Proficiencies for example are such brilliant highlighters to enable us either to learn what to do or to realize and be able to articulate what we are already doing.

I bring my passionate love of life to my clients. I bring my love of humanity and my belief that we are all extraordinary in our own way. It's remarkable how many of us walk around not realizing how amazing we are.

In ten years time coaching will have revolutionized the world. There will be coaching opportunities we can not even conceive of yet. Coaching is a movement for evolutionary change. We not only want to change the world, we are actively doing it......one heart at a time...and as our numbers increase, well just let your imagination roll!

Jane is president of TNM Coaching UK. She can be reached at 00 44 1797 229 537 and at jane@tnmcoaching.com. Her website is www.tnmcoaching.com

Mentor Feature - Stephanie Wood

I've always believed in the power of the complimentary session, but more of my comp sessions turned out to be nice chats, and didn't always turn in to new clients. As a result of the "How to Conduct an Effective Complimentary Coaching Session" class, I created a script to use that helped me get more consistent results and gave me the confidence to close the sale. It helped me turn those nice chats into new clients.

One of the most exciting things I am working on is developing something I call Body Knowledge(tm). I've always been involved with movement (dance, choreography, personal training), and now I am finding a way to include what I know about movement into my coaching.

Instead of just being a fitness coach, I want to help people understand the knowledge and language of their bodies, which gives them a kind of
confidence for moving forward that can apply to all areas of their lives. If you want to know more or be part of shaping this new area of understanding,
please visit http://www.cvcomunity.com or http://www.davebuckcommunities.com.

I love being part of CoachVille's community of incredible coaches who are so willing to share how they practice their craft. Having access to the wide range of SOC classes fills my need to continually grow and learn. As a busy business owner, I appreciate being able to access the knowledge base 24-7. I don't know where else in the world you can get that combination of community and learning without going back to university!

One of the things that got my practice off the ground was developing a free Teleclass (Resist Exercising? Want to Know Why? Discover Your Active Personality Style (c))that showed off my strengths and created a doorway for people to hear what I have to offer. For me, the key to making the class an effective practice-building tool was to give people a taste of what I could do for them, without giving them so much information that there was no longer any need for them to hire me.

Stephanie can be reached at coachstephanie@att.net and 908-654-8459. Her website is http://www.dancefitnessplus.com.

There are lots of great coaches out there who aren't succeeding in their coaching business. It's our mission to change that. We've cracked the code for what it takes to succeed as a coach. Really succeed...personally, professionally and financially! Join Dave Buck in a one hour interactive teleclass, and learn about the 3 Masteries of the Professional Coach: Master of Coaching Proficiencies, Master of Business Skills, and Master of Yourself (imagine that!) Learn how the 3 Masteries combine to make you a better coach and a financial success.

Class # 2136, The 3 Masteries of the Professional Coach: Introduction to the 0-60K in one year Mentor Program
with Dave Buck

Whether you are a new member to CoachVille or have been with us for the 2 1/2 years that we have been in business, you have undoubtedly received at least one or two communications which were generated by someone in the Member Services Department. More than likely, you received many of those emails, but you might not have realized it. That's because, in the early days of this company, we tried to use automated responses as much as possible or mask them to look like automated.

We now see, however, that the best way to serve our ever growing membership is with a more openly personal touch.

With that in mind, we have made some changes and additions in staffing, including appointing me as the Director of Sales and Member Services. This is a totally new position. As many of the folks who are in our Schools of CoachVille know, I had been the Admissions Manager for the SOC since Sept. 2002. Now that role has been expanded and I am kiddingly referred to in-house as the "bring 'em in, keep 'em in gal".

I love that title - as it plays to my strengths and past work experiences, including customer service for an international pharmaceutical company and sales for both a US-based special events company and the 5-network public TV and Radio station in Connecticut. And I love being able to work with the fine team of folks from across the US and Canada, who spend their days, nights and weekends working on solving your problems and making your experience as a CoachVille member a great one.

One thing about providing a "personal touch", it is personal. With that in mind, we have decided to create a special highlight in this publication for the next few weeks to introduce you to the people who are here to take care of you. After all, in a member based organization, it is all about the people, right? In fact, we refer to ourselves internally as the "People Department". <g>

Stay tuned, as you will learn more about these great people in the coming weeks. You'll hear about some quirks (mine is hugging trees) and read some funny stories. We hope that you will enjoy this. And, perhaps come to realize that this incredible team of folks, from all walks of life, is here to ensure that if you or anyone you know has ever helped someone - "solve a problem, make a change or reach a goal and do it more quickly then they could do it themselves by providing objective, consistent support" - than that's coaching and CoachVille can help.

Then we want to give you the tools, resources and education you need to become a masterful coach.

Our belief is that every coach has a home at CoachVille. And, we like to think that at this "home", everyone you meet is someone you would love to know. Welcome Home!

Gail Stone
gail@coachville.com

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