Kamjah .. The Chronicles

Do you ever get the feeling like you could be more, or as if there is something else out there for you? Maybe you wake up feeling like something is missing, like there is that ’something else’, but you can’t put your finger on it.  Then again maybe you can put your finger on it but find creative ways to justify ignoring it, thus at the end of the day deep down feel that perhaps you are not being true to yourself.

You get these feelings ’signals’ from your unconscious when something is out of alignment. Your unconscious always knows. When people suppress these feelings and keep them hidden / pretend they don’t exist then you start to  feel less then what you deserve and maybe even feelings of sadness. On the flip side when you give yourself permission to accept and embrace them you then begin the natural  journey of  exploration  toward your real  joy and life purpose / fulfillment.

On a scale of 1 – 10 rate yourself in the following areas:

> I know my purpose:

> I have a clear identity:

> I know what my passion is:

> I know what my unique gifts are:

> I take consistent action toward my intentions:

Now add up the score..

If you scored between 43 – 50 then congratulations, you seem clearly on point, if you scored between 37 – 43 not bad though you can probably benefit from some tweaks here and there and if you scored below 37 then it’s time to take control and create a solid plan.

To move toward your passion you must first truly understand what it is. As there are many definitions of passion I will share five beliefs that may fit your concept nicely.

1. Passion is an intense desire

2. Passion is inspired action

3. Passion is a powerful connection with what you do

4. Passion is a natural extension of your own unique brand of love

5. Passion is acting from divine guidance

Take 5 minute to think about what you can apply the 5 beliefs listed above to… When you are finished and have a few ideas, give yourself some time to answer the following questions:

– What do you have an intense desire to do?

– What inspires you?

– What is it that you do that you feel you have a powerful connection with?

– What feels like a natural extension of you that you love?

– What is it that you enjoy doing that feels so natural that it’s like your coming from a place of divine guidance?

No hurry, take your time and relax with these questions..

Congratulations, if you completed that exercise then you have arrived at a point farther down the road then you were at before.  Imagine what it would be like to be able to finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together completely and begin living your passion daily, starting now.

Act on your inspiration!

Recognizing and then living according to you’re natural alignment can take some practice.  The good news is that ANYONE who wants it bad enough and simply takes the right action and practice to allow it to happen can DO IT!  As you can imagine with the right support you can arrive a lot faster.  Toward reaching your passion!  Cheers!

~ Geoff

(305) 851-2459

Ready to move forward? Geoff provides  Life Coaching,  and NLP services.  Geoff calls home: Miami - Palm Beach - Los Angeles - Boston //  Start living your best life and contact Geoff today.

When I started my coaching practice one of the first things I wrote down as part of my coaching practice vision was: “Within one year - have a thriving socially responsible and socially conscious coaching practice”. This means actively helping out the organizations I support.

In the past I have volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and have always found their cause to be a noble one. When I found out that they had a project taking place only 10 minutes away from where I live I couldn’t resist showing up and offering to lend a hand.

Here are some pictures from the job site:

I’m extending a special thank you to all of my clients who continue to trust my expertise to help guide them toward living a richer life filled with more clarity, focus and direction. Without YOU, this would not be able to happen at the level it is. This means that by working together with you choosing me as your coach, YOU are helping out too. Imagine that.  Now, as you might have already imagined, as I’m working to help make a difference in your life, TOGETHER we are helping to make a difference in lives of many others.

The project is open to everyone. If you are reading this blog and you want to lend a hand by physically helping out the Habitat for Humanity cause in Boynton Beach, then come on down as they can always use more volunteers.

The job site is located at: 507 NW 13^th Ave. in Boynton Beach, Florida. The recipients of the house: Levi and Cynthia Gregg, not to mention Habitat for Humanity will be most appreciative.

~ Coach Geoff

For more information on Geoffrey Schmidt’s coaching, NLP or speaking services please contact him directly at: www.kamjah.com/contact.php or call: (305) 851-2459

Part 2 in a 2 Part Series

Part 1 - “Learning a New Behavior - Forming a New Habit” - read it: click here

Part 2 - “Replacing an Old Habit with a New One”

In Part 1: “Learning a New Behavior – Forming a New Habit” you learned what to do in order to let go of old habits that are not serving you and the steps to take to install new ones’ that will.

Assuming you have read Part 1 ( click here to read ) and you are in the process of adding or changing up  habits  then here are some things to be aware of as well as some additional information you will find useful.

The Process of Habit Change:

Whenever we start the process of habit change there is a natural set of steps we go through. These steps include:

1. Pre-contemplation - This is where we think about changing a habit. We say to ourselves “I don’t think this habit is serving me any longer.”
2. Contemplation - This is when we consider what it will take to move forward and make the change.
3. Preparation – This is when we assemble the resources we are going to need (like an NLP life coach) to facilitate the process.
4. Action - At this stage we have put the wheels of action into motion. We are now actively pursuing to evict the old habit and working to replace it with the new and better serving one.
5. Maintenance – Maintenance is necessary because old habits die hard. This can come in the form of solid support structures in place like working with a coaching and daily reminders.
6. Termination - The time and place when the non-serving habit is completely gone and fully replaced with the one that serves you better. This is what we are aiming for!!

Stay alert and aware for Negative Responses to Habit Change!

As I’ve mentioned before old habits die hard so watch out for the following tricks that old habits will try to play on you:

1. Immobilization: Here you will feel confused and begin to question if getting rid of this old non-serving habit is truly possible and even worth it. These feelings are not good so move forward each day knowing that you are only being tested. Old habits don’t want to go so will try every trick in the book to stay. Remember to stay strong and stay focused and know that those feelings are only temporary and there is light at the end of the tunnel no matter how long that tunnel may seem.

2. Denial: This is a big one that creeps up so stay alert. This is when you start to convince yourself that the belief you want to change really does not need to be changed. Say for example you drink excessively; through denial you may convince yourself that you really don’t have a drinking problem even though all the while deep down you really know you do. Be on the lookout for denial.

3. Bargaining: This is where you try to tell yourself ‘ok I can follow the old habit a little’. No - shut your mind off to any and all mental negotiating. Bargaining is what slowly brings you back to where you started. Always remind yourself why it is you want to change that habit in the first place.

4. Depression: This one can hit hard especially when the habit you are working to change really affects a large part of your reality. Depending on the strength of the habit and its size it may go as far as impacting your whole identity. I remember talking to someone who said I quote: “for 15 years I was a drug addict, pills, heroin, you name it…and then after I beat the addiction and quit drugs (killed the drug habit) my whole life and reality changed. I got new friends, a new outlook, a new perspective, a NEW IDENTITY. Now maybe it isn’t a drug habit for you but you get the point. Change and evolution is a good thing and everyone’s journey is different so feel free to embrace yours and whatever come from with it.

To help minimize the negative responses you may experience there are some things you can do like focus on the positive reinforcing responses instead.

1. Informed Optimism: Take 15 minutes to write down all the benefits you will gain from adopting this new habit.

2. Informed Pessimism: Take 15 minutes to write all the negatives associated with keeping that old non-serving habit.

3. Realism: Take 15 minutes to write the hard core realities you can truly see yourself experiencing by fully adopting the new habit.

4. Completion: Take 15 minutes to write down how much you see your life being changed and improved and what you will be like after the new habit has become fully integrated and part of you.

Make sure to take 15 minutes each day to read over your positive reinforcing statements. Doing this will help make the process flow by quicker and smoother, not to mention feel more natural as well.

Changing habits is rarely easy and entirely possible. If you think you can benefit from adopting new habits that will serve you better and can see the value of being supported by a trained and experienced professional along the way, please feel free to contact me for a complementary consultation. I’ll review your issue and be able to make the determination if coaching and NLP is right for you.

If you haven’t done so already then I highly recommend that you read Part 1  as it was written to go hand in hand with this one. Go to Part 1 now: click here

~ Geoff

For more information on Geoffrey Schmidt’s coaching, NLP or speaking services please contact him directly at: www.kamjah.com/contact.php or call: (305) 851-2459

On September 17^th, 2009 Geoffrey Schmidt was the guest speaker for Professor Jose Fernandez’s Masters level class on leadership at Sacred Heart University in Puerto Rico.

Via teleconference for 1 ½ hours Mr. Schmidt spoke to the class and answered questions on the benefits of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) based coaching. Students were made aware that many of today’s top leaders, business people and entrepreneurs hire coaches to help keep them on track and improve their performance.

Geoffrey was quoted saying: “It’s counter intuitive to think that today’s top business leaders and success stories are mostly the one’s hiring the coaches when on the surface most people wouldn’t think that they are the one’s who need it. Smart people recognize value, and understand how to leverage it - coaching is valuable. In many cases these top performers hire coaches not because they are struggling but because they want to do even better thus enhance their performance even more.  Coaching literally has become the new success secret of every savvy businessperson hungry for better performance and faster results”.

Geoffrey made sure to share some time with the students to explain how his coaching system works.  According to Geoffrey the system he developed was based on taking many things that were initially complex and then reducing them into their simple and easy to understand forms based on principles and techniques found in: Evolutionary Psychology, NLP, Nature, and Hypnosis.

He explained to students that his system has four main parts:

First - Diagnose the clients needs
Second - Have the client project their goals
Third -  Identify as many useful and destructive behaviors as possible
Fourth - Develop an action plan that unlocks their unlimited potential to succeed in any area of life or business

By the end of the class the students had been introduced to, and made aware of a field that many had not clearly understood before listening to Geoffrey speak. In closing Mr. Schmidt said, “Years ago many people wouldn’t have had access to, much less even known about coaching services existing. Today coaching is reaching more people then ever before and is no longer a highly guarded and coveted secret of the rich, famous and successful. It’s becoming more and more mainstream thus giving the people who want it  from all walks of life and backgrounds the real opportunity to experience the benefits “.

For more information on Geoffrey Schmidt’s coaching, NLP or speaking services please contact him directly at: www.kamjah.com/contact.php or call: (305) 851-2459

In this world there is opportunity all around you. Do you see it? Can you hear it? Perhaps you can feel it. Either way it’s there for the taking when you are ready. If you don’t move through the world from this perspective then you are setting yourself up for failure.

To have the most success in any endeavor you must adopt the viewpoint that you have limitless options for your life. If you don’t succeed with one opportunity then you brush it off knowing there’s another one right around the corner waiting for you.

Instead of operating from a place of ‘fear’ or ‘loss’, try operating from a position of gain. If you see a job you want, a person you want to meet or have a new idea that you want to leap forward on-then abandon all fear and go for it.

Think about this.. If you’re constantly running from things that scare or intimidate you, you’ll be running for the rest of your life.

Most people who consider themselves truly happy & successful typically share a common mindset and that’s a mindset of abundance as opposed to a mindset of scarcity. This means that they are not afraid to approach something that catches their eye and equally are not afraid to walk away from something if it doesn’t meet their criteria. In their eyes, they don’t believe in wasting their time, as they know ‘what works’ is only a matter of time away, so they keep moving forward.

The fact of the matter is that the world is filled with opportunities to get anything you want out of life.

If you don’t already have it then work with a life coach to adopt the Abundance mindset so that you can:

> Find THE perfect job
> Meet ANYONE with ease
> Live ANYWHERE you want
> Achieve ANY goal you desire
> Live the LIFE you have always wanted

Having a “The Abundance Mindset” means rising above the norm. It means that you do the things that the unsuccessful / unhappy people would never do.

Like asking your boss for that much deserved raise. Hiring a coach to reach that next level in life. Starting that new business you’ve always dreamed about. Asking for help. Ending that relationship that is no longer serving you. Moving to that place you have always though about and wanted. You get the idea..

Finally, truly embracing this mentality means CHALLENGING  yourself to do the uncomfortable things that most people wouldn’t bother doing.

This means that when you see something you want, you ignore that little negative voice inside your head that likes to focus on everything that’s negative and can go wrong. Instead you replace that voice with the powerful one that reminds you of how much can go right!

Do you want to know how to adopt the Abundance mindset for yourself today?

Contact me now for more information.

Till next time!

~ Geoff

(305) 851-2458

Ready to move forward? Geoff provides  Life Coaching,  and NLP services.  Geoff calls home: Miami - Palm Beach - Los Angeles - Boston //  Start living your best life and contact Geoff today.

2 Part Series

Part 1 - “Learning a New Behavior - Forming a New Habit”

Part 2 - “Replacing and Old Habit With a New One”

Learning a New Behavior
Forming a New Habit

Can you imagine letting go of the habits that are not serving you and replacing them with ones that are. I bet you notice how good it feels to imagine that. You may even find that you like the idea so much that you keep reading to see what comes next!

Lets start with defining what a habit is..

A habit is an automatic response / reaction to a specific stimulus. Once you experience the stimulus you do the habit without thinking. We form habits for two primary reasons: 1. to bring us closer to what pleasures us and 2. to move us away from what we perceive as causing us pain. Another way to put is is that every habit has a positive intention, whether we are conscious of it or not.

First lets go over the stages in learning:

1. Unconscious Incompetence - This is where you are unaware that you don’t know

2. Conscious Incompetence - This is when you are aware that you don’t know

3. Conscious Competence - You know what you need to know but you still have to consciously think about it

4. Unconscious Competence - You know what you know so well that you don’t even have to think about it

Here are some examples of activities that many people in their life have achieved the level of unconscious competence in: driving a car, making toast, taking a shower, brushing their teeth, riding a bike, etc…

See if you can think of some things that you might benefit from having a level of “Unconscious Competence” in..

Say for example you want to become a more social person and perhaps you suffer from social anxiety. If you recognize that it will benefit you to become a more socially aware human then you are starting at the level of “Conscious Incompetence” and through practice and coaching you can rapidly reach the level of “Unconscious Competence”. That’s the level where you automatically know the right thing to say and do in almost all situations.. Kinda like you don’t even have to think about the right words instead they just come.

The steps involved in forming a new habit:

1. Map the Behavior - The first step for learning a new behavior is to have a mental map of it, to understand what you are learning and why. Take 20 minutes to imagine yourself stepping into the new behavior and living it. Notice all the details and how good it will feel and the benifit you reap because of it. It’s always good to be clear in the purpose and how it is going to serve you. Take 45 minutes to write this down in detail. If for nothing else, clarities sake.

2. Practice - Once you have a mental understanding of the behavior, you need to practice the action over and over again in order for it to become a habit.

3. Positive Feelings Catch Up - Initially, as you practice the new behavior you will probably feel uncomfortable, awkward, and worst of all…phony. As you continue to practice, you feel more and more comfortable. Feelings lag behind thinking. The you practice over and over again is so the you can become more and more comfortable during the behavior.

4. Behavior Becomes Automatic - With consistent practice, emotional comfort increases. Eventually the new action becomes automatic; thus it becomes habit.

What new habits do you want to acquire?

For many people it’s the habit of knowing what to say in social situations, for others it’s the habit of waking up early, and for some it’s gaining the habit of going to the gym daily. Right now, choose the new habit you want to create and get to work. Do you want to reach your habit goal faster? If so then sooner or later you may want to contact a life coach like me. I wrote this article so naturally as you can imagine and see I know a thing or two about this subject. Either way good luck and stay tuned for Part 2: Replacing an Old Habit With a New One.

————————

~ Geoff

(305) 851-2459
www.kamjah.com

Get Life Coaching Today! — Phone Coaching and In Person Coaching Available

Life Coaching & Career Coaching & Dating Coaching

Walk the Fire Part 2 “The Birth”

Haven’t read part one? “The Idea”: click here

I said a while ago part two was coming so here it is. Now run to the kitchen and grab some pop corn, and your favorite carbonated beverage, sit down, calm down, relax and enjoy.

The time came for that ultimate leap of faith in myself. I had hit that point where I no longer was willing to tolerate the heavy price the 16 - 18 hour days were charging on my: mind, body and spirit. The time had come to resign from my career and build what I had started.

I remember making that decision on a Friday. My Saturday and Sunday were not easy. Every kind of thought that you can imagine that might come from a decision like the one I was weighing raced through my mind. “What about the company-they need me”, “I like the company owner, he is my friend, is this right?’, “Will my business succeed?”, “Do I really know what I am doing?”, “What will my family think?”, “What if my business fails, my girlfriend (soon to be wife) leaves me, and my family disowns me and I wind up homeless - then what?”.. It’s remarkable what goes through one’s mind when they choose to leave security to move forward into the unknown.

That Monday, I woke up wanting to throw up. Walking into my boss’s office, I was nervous and I’m not a person that gets nervous easily. Sweat running down my arm, a lump in my throat, and my stomach twisted in knots I felt like I looked like I was taking a walk to the electric chair. I sat down, got myself together as best I could to give him my two weeks and tell him what I was doing. He about fell out of his chair. I wasn’t surprised, as I was a good earner for the company and even more so I was part of the family. This was not resigning from any normal, run-of-the-mill, pedantic job. I was extremely close with my boss, his wife, mother, brother. Needless to say it wasn’t an easy break.

In the end it wasn’t such painful a process. He reminded me that I always have a place to come back to, and wished me the best of luck. I really couldn’t have asked for a happier ending. I’ll never forget what he said as I was walking out the door… “Geoff, always remember one thing-the squeaky wheel gets the grease”. That quote still makes me laugh, and it’s true. We spend so much time agonizing over moments like this-ending a relationship, quitting a job; always keep in mind the very worst that can happen-it’s probably not that bad.

After the decision went into action it was time for me to inform those that needed to be informed. Naturally my family was at the top of the list. That night I remember calling them. I figured I had already surprised a few people that day so since I was on a roll why stop and better yet lets go straight to the top with my mom and dad. Like everyone else they acted surprised. I got an earful on “What about your retirement?”, “What if you have kids someday?”, “What about this….and what about that?”.. I heard it all.

Over the next two weeks while I finished up at my day job I continued to bring people into the loop. Like anything in life, the first few were the hardest and then over time it became easier and easier. After all it was my opinion that mattered most to me, and that’s what I was sticking with.

After everyone was notified, I incorporated and my new company was officially born.

More in the next blog: Part three of Walk the Fire - “How high can you jump”..

Life & Business Lessons from part 2:

- Believe in Yourself…IF you want to make big things happen then you have to believe in yourself FIRST.

- Perspective…Nothing is ever as bad or as good as it seems.  It is what it is.

- Opinions…Everyone has one, it’s your opinion that matters most.

- Decisions…Have the courage to make them, and never look back.  With decisions you either get what you imagined or a learning experience.  Only good can come if you look at it right.

————————

~ Geoff
(305) 851-2459

Get Life Coaching Today! — Phone Coaching and In Person Coaching Available

Life Coaching & Career Coaching & Dating Coaching

John Grinder and Richard Bandler are the founders of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP).   As they founded this field together, it’s my understanding they went their separate way after years of working together.

If you haven’t heard them speak before, then give yourself the opportunity and take a few minutes to open yourself up to what they have to say.

You never know, you may like what you see so much that you recommend NLP to all your friends and family. It’s easy to get intrigued because the more you watch this stuff the more intrigued you may feel yourself become.

As you may or may not know I’m a certified NLP Practitioner (Master status pending approval).. If you think I can help then contact me.

Now relax in your seat and enjoy the videos!

If you are curious and ready to experience NLP for yourself then: click here for more info

“Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian. ”
Shari R. Barr

“We teach what we live. ”
Unknown Author

“Whatever is flexible and living will tend to grow; whatever is rigid and blocked will wither and die.  ”
Lao Tzu

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. ”
Buddha

~ Geoff
(305) 851-2459

Life Coaching & Career Coaching & Dating Coaching

Do you subscribe to the fact that we are in a recession? According to most economic indicators we are in pretty bad shape and things don’t look like they are going to be turning around anytime soon.  So what does that mean for you..

I look at things a certain way and maybe after reading this article you will too.  I see the recession as being a wake up call.  For too many years it was too easy to make a living in the United States.  For example,  not to long ago anyone who carried a real estate license could buy and sell  houses fairly easily and make money.  Where I’m located in South Florida this place was no exception. I know of a 24 year old Miami based Realtor who made close to half of a million dollars in 2006 doing just that.  The requirement to fill certain voids were far and few.  In those days anyone who had a basic understanding of HTML could call themselves a web designer and get a decent paying job.  Demand for goods and services were at such an all time high that made the supply of truly experienced, and professional providers at an all time low. These easy times seduced many people into  taking jobs and moving in directions that may not have really been for them. Now, as times have changed we are experiencing an unveiling and weighing in to see who really belongs where they say they are.  Take a look around and you will notice that the strong elite of any industry and profession always seem to survive both bad and good times.  This happens because they come from a place of LIFE PURPOSE and deep rooted CONNECTION to what they do.  These kinds of people are so passionate about what they do and their clients / jobs / customers that they conserve during the ups so they can still serve their life purpose during the downs.   Why would someone with a deeply rooted strong purpose live and govern them self any other way?  As you can probably imagine, many in this elite club do pretty well even in times like these.

If you haven’t though about it by now then take a second to ask yourself why many professionals are struggling today.  It’s easy to blame the economy, but the real answer lays within the individual.  The actual truth is that everyday of every week there ARE, for example, real estate professionals out there selling houses and doing profitable business.  Get this, there are actually some Realtors who are going to make 2009 their best year ever! Why do you think that is?  Is it because they are lucky?  That is a convenient thought, but it isn’t the truth. The answer is because these exceptional elite few found their TRUE calling instead of being swayed into following the heard during ‘good times.’  This mind set resulted in  these individuals making themselves into essentially recession proof individuals.   The recession is a state of mind more then a state of being.

These kinds of people I’ve been talking about do what they have to do based on purpose and following a personal path  rather then a sense of obligation. Sure, obligation somewhat goes hand in hand but to be elite and essentially recession proof then you need to be coming from a rooted place of purpose.  By now you may get it, then again there are always some people who don’t.  It’s kind of like how you can’t have: rich without poor, good without bad, and strong without weak.  Its the way nature designed things.

As you are reading this you may be finding yourself curious to know if you are truly on your path. A quick and easy way to get some insight into this answer is to figure out if  you are worth enough to invest in, and if you have the courage to take the first step.  Some of the most successful, happy, and purposeful people in the world invest in themselves through materials, consultants, coaches and courses that make them more rooted and connected to what they do.   When I had my last company I spent as much as I could afford on training, coaching, consulting, and self improvement. It was all for one reason: I loved what I did and because of that I naturally wanted to deliver the best services to my clients and customers that I was humanly capable of.   Understand that  people in this elite club see, feel and understand the cause and affect relationship with investing in yourself leading toward the bigger picture.

Everyday you have a choice to be either: rich or poor, average or great, happy or sad, a sheep or the herder. Where you are right now is a reflection of the choices you have made and the meanings you have placed on those choices.  It’s never too late to figure things out and begin the journey to where you want to be.  First, you need to know how to take the first step and where to start.  Figure that out and then you will be on your personal path toward success and happiness.

Good luck and Namaste.

~ Kamjah

Thought to ponder #1: Demonstrate that you are strong in a down economy, and experience your success exploding in an up economy.  That how’s the elite work.

Thought to ponder #2: Take the down economy as  an opportunity to discover your true calling and then move forward to demonstrate to the world exactly what that is.   Because when you tap in and do this, no matter what the economy is doing, people will find you for what it is you provide.  There are a few billion people in this world, so the keep in mind that the best providers of anything always have business.  To be the best you need to be on your path, and coming from a place of purpose.

Geoff Schmidt (aka Kamjah) is a Life Coach,  and certified NLP practitioner.
CONTACT me today: (305) 851-2459