Passion To Performance

Passion to Performance

Formula for Self-Mastery

By Aneesah Bakker

Contents

The Power of Passion 1
Sow your OATS to reap the benefits 3
The Power of Collaboration 6
Person-Centred Collaboration
The Power of Experience 9
The Big Picture 11
The Power of Creative thinking 12
I-VOLUTION
The Power of Perception 20
The Power of Imagination 21

Phase I - Find your Passion 24
Level 1 - Initiation 26
Level 2 – Immersion 32
Level 3 - Incubation 38
Level 4 – Innovation 45
Level 5 - Integration 51

Phase II - Create Passion-Driven Goals 57
Level 2 - Immersion 68

Phase III - Cultivate your Resourceful State 101
Level 2 - Immersion 109

The Power of Connection 140
Create Congruent Connections

Passion to Performance 141

About the Author 146

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my father who taught me the value
of personal authenticity and how to be ‘big on planning’.
He taught me the good habits of relaxation and training
my imagination. He always encouraged me in my dream
to nurture mind-power and to help others in their Quest.

The Power of Passion

Even a thought, even a possibility can shatter us and transform
us
Friedrich Nietzsche

My dream and my passion are to extend a hand to others, to
spark a small insight that has the potential for profound and
lasting transformation.

When I decided to write this book; my objective was to write a
book that could stand on its own, with its’ own merits and
benefits. This was intended to benefit those whom I did not
coach directly. I wanted to reach more people – people who
wish to add value to their coaching partnerships and those who
choose to self-coach. Of course, there are many other potential
uses for my book. This would include providing a guide for those
who wish to coach others, be it in a formal or informal,
everyday context.

My purpose is also to write a book that can be used by my
clients to supplement our coaching collaboration. In the same
vein, I also want to make available a more comprehensive
supplement to the workshop training manuals and workbooks
for those who wish to continue on their journeys of self-
mastery.

This book integrates in-depth research and experience on a
topic which was presented in various forms, including a thesis
on Personal and Professional Goal Setting and Goal Management
in Coaching. For my thesis, I seriously contemplated using the
alternate title of Creating Congruent Connections - Managing
Your Goals to Manage Yourself. Instead, I decided on the more
academic version. The point is, when deciding on your mission
and goals; you need to consider the outcomes sought.
Furthermore, when you have clear outcomes, you can afford to
have and benefit from being flexible in the means you choose to
attain your goals.

This book is also based on a humanistic approach to goal
setting. I believe in starting with where the person is and
honouring and prizing the person’s strengths and their potential.
This is the foundation of an approach I have named OATS™.

1

OATS™ is intended to emphasise the creation of options and
opportunities as well as the use of tools and techniques across
contexts. My specific focus is on mobilising opportunities and
assessing benefits and value from an ecological perspective. I
will elaborate on the ecological perspective throughout this
book.

I have also developed a model which serves as a framework to
facilitate the process of goal setting and management. I was
tempted to present this as the title of this book. Perhaps, now
that I have written this book, I might choose to write an
independent book on the SMARTEST STAR model.

At this point it is important to me to present the overall concept
of using a goal management model within a particular context
and also, and most significantly, creating a goal that is
congruent to who you are and where you want to be. I have
sought to demonstrate, how you might also add additional
dimensions to this process. A dimension I concentrate on is that
of creativity.

I seek to start with your passions and to enable you to connect
this to not only what you want to achieve, but also to how you
want to achieve it.

This book has evolved out of the framework I use to guide my
face-to-face coaching, training and workshops as well as
consultancy service. I call this framework “From Passion to
Performance – A Formula for Self-Mastery” and so this has
become the title of my book.

I have sought to be clear and transparent in my position on the
topic so that you may benefit not only from the actual content
but also from my modelling of the processes involved in all
three phases of self-mastery. This book, therefore, also serves
as an actual example of how I developed and applied its
contents based on a specific aim, focus and other aspects I
perceived as being significant, viz. a humanistic philosophy and
features of creativity as these align with my belief in human
potential.

2

Sow your OATS to reap the benefits

All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of
times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over
again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience
Johann Wolfgang van Goethe

OATS™ is an approach and a unique system of worksheets that
I have developed to enable you, in a creative, effortless and
playful way, to achieve successful and personally authentic
outcomes. OATS™ concentrates on sourcing your potential as
well as creating opportunities for experiential learning.

My assumption is based on a strengths-based approach. This is
my belief in prizing and optimizing the person’s strengths to
give better outcomes and more meaningful, sustainable and
personally fulfilling outcomes. It is based on the belief that we
all have unique strengths and talents that open up a wider
variety of potential, viz. opportunities and options. Opportunities
and options can also be referred to as alternatives.

Why are OATS so significant? The most significant feature of
OATS is that it is designed to target and mobilise your
strengths. This refers to all of your strengths as represented by
the acronym. OATS™ is a creative and versatile system that can
easily be adapted to your learning style.

The benefits of using a strengths-based perspective are obvious.
Your strengths as represented by this acronym are the central
focus of my book.

The following table represents various areas of strengths. This
representation is certainly not exhaustive, for example, you can
add aptitude, abilities, talents, and many other internal
resources that you possess.

O Opportunities, Options
A Achievements, Attitude
T Tools, Techniques
S State, Skills

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Opportunities

Both opportunities and options thinking fall within the realm of
positive thinking. This is not optimism though it does involve
one’s ability to perceive and develop opportunities.

Options

Options refer to being flexible and open to objectively assess
what options are available. This includes developing the skill of
generating a multitude of options and alternatives as a way to
moving towards what you want.

Achievements

The experiential approach to learning provides opportunities to
build on your achievements. Your past achievements empower
you to succeed in the present and the future.

Attitude

Attitudes include perceptions, values and beliefs. It includes the
approach you bring to any circumstance. Real personal
development as well as success and fulfilment are only possible
when you work on cultivating a constructive attitude.

Tools and Techniques

This book provides you with many tools and techniques to add
to your toolkit. I also concentrate on sourcing, mobilising and
refining tools and techniques you might be unaware that you
apply.

State and Skills

Your skill set includes your abilities, talents and strategies. This
book emphasises the importance of your state and how you can
read, access, interpret and mobilise your states to create a
Resourceful State. This book is about your State for Excellence.

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Objectives:

The main objective of this book is to provide you with the
OATS™to:

• Enable you to explore your passion
• Enable you to successfully set personal and/or
professional goals that match your passion
• Enable you to creatively connect and stay connected to
your passion
• Enable you to use your passion to drive your actions
• Enable you to nurture your resourceful state so you can
engage it more easily

Who will benefit:

• Anyone who wants to be successful in any personal or
professional goal will benefit.
• Anyone seeking to develop their creativity will benefit.
• Anyone looking for personal authenticity or greater
congruence between their dreams and actions will
benefit.
• Anyone with the courage to pursue personal
development.

5

The Power of Collaboration

Whether you are embarking on this quest of personal
development on your own or with a coach, the foundation of
your quest is relationship and communication.

The foundation of any good collaboration is a sound rapport. In
this section, for the purpose of clarity, I will focus on the coach-
client collaboration. These attitudes and skills are equally
relevant to self-coaching or self-management and will be found
to be valuable in any personal and professional relationship.

Person-Centred Collaboration

Coaching is a collaborative partnership, focusing on empowering
the coachee in goal setting, goal accomplishment as well as
facilitating personal development and fulfilment.

The benefit of contractual coaching is that one has the added
value of a different, an original, objective and fresh perspective.
Even after working on a short term basis with a coach, you can
benefit from reflecting what you think his/her objective, non-
judgemental, prizing and creative perspective might be. This will
help you think of more options and alternatives, to become
unstuck and to find positive ways forward. A coach helps you
focus on your resources and to mobilise strengths which may
not be apparent to you. Coaching might help you restore and
increase your self-confidence.

Taking a different perspective leads to a change in State. It is a
useful technique to deliberately choose what kind of state you
would like to be in for the task at hand. This is not unlike the
common expression ‘I’m not in the mood for this’. There are
times when you choose to make a deliberate effort to ‘get in the
mood’.

Other examples of a state-change is when you are influenced by
the movie you are watching, music you are listening to as well
as state changes caused by humour and art.

When you collaborate with a coach, a good coach is attentive to
your state and helps you increase your self-awareness so that
you can become more accurate in assessing your state.
Collaboration will help you align your state to your tasks and
challenges. Collaboration will help you determine and choose for
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yourself what would be a more appropriate and constructive
state for that moment. Collaboration thus, will help you align
your efforts to your goals.

This alliance is person-centred in terms of the coachee as a
person is the centre of the relationship. Of central importance is
respecting and prizing and honouring the ‘real person’ inside the
coachee. This means honouring the person’s needs, personal
well-being, skills, talents, and strengths. It means
unconditionally accepting the other in his/her uniqueness,
values and beliefs even when you do not share their sentiments.
It is being non-judgemental of perceived differences or
eccentricities which is not the same as condoning these nor of
adopting that behaviour.

The alliance is coachee-centred because it is centred on the
coachee’s goals. The coachee determines what he wants for
him/her i.e. coachee self-determination. The coach empowers
and enables the coachee to look at his/her goals from different
perspectives and in different contexts to envision and create
other options and possibilities. The coach asks non-directive,
open ended questions as much as possible to enable the
coachee to explore what they really want and even their
motivation for wanting it.

Coaching intervention is focussed on actual goals, behavioural
efficiency and performance levels in a context that sustains
coachee motivation and commitment as well as promoting self-
sufficiency.

The foundation of the collaboration is a relationship built on the
principles of the person-centred approach as advocated for by
its founder, Carl Rogers. The coach believes in the true potential
of the coachee, that only the coachee knows best what direction
he wants to take. The coachee is motivated to do what is best
for himself/herself i.e. the coachee is driven to and has the
power for self-actualisation.

The coach provides the foundation for coachee self-
determination by fostering an environment of trust through the
following rapport-building skills:

• Empathy
• Genuineness
• Unconditional Positive Regard

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Empathy

Empathy refers to the coach’s willingness to connect to and
understand the coachee’s reality as experienced by the coachee
i.e. from the coachee’s frame of reference. The coach expresses
this willingness through investing time and energy to build
rapport with the coachee.

Genuineness

Genuineness refers to the coach practicing self-awareness in
his/her experience of the coachee. The coach needs to be
genuine/ transparent in his/her willingness to share this
awareness with the coachee in the interests of coachee
development and learning. For example, if the coach realises
the coachee’s goal to be wealthy conflicts with the coachee’s
values and beliefs about wealth/money, it is the coach’s
responsibility to share this in a constructive way with the
coachee. The purpose would be to enable the coachee to close
the gap between his/her values and goals.

Unconditional positive regard

Unconditional positive regard refers to the coach respecting and
prizing the coachee through providing a safe and non-
judgemental atmosphere/ relationship. The coach demonstrates
acceptance, respect and trust through his/her verbal and non-
verbal behaviour.

While the coach consciously and consistently builds rapport with
the coachee, this is not an end in itself. Coaching is about
results, targets, outcomes, achievement, success and
accomplishment.

The coachee’s experience of this attitude from the coach will
empower the coachee and help him/her to reclaim personal
power. Personal power refers to increased self-esteem, self-
confidence and restored faith in one’s own potential.

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The Power of Experience

It is said that ‘experience is the best teacher’. I would like to
give you this opportunity to experience immediate benefits from
momentarily adopting a different perspective. Scan over the last
two weeks. Scan over interactions you have experienced that
involve others. More specifically, consider an interaction that
may have preoccupied your thoughts after it happened and
might even still have you pondering aspects of what you
experienced. This can be a relatively low key incident such as an
inconsiderate act or word – someone cutting in front of you in a
queue, perhaps. This can be any incident no matter how small
that nevertheless troubles you in some way. Now I would like
you to fade the characteristics of that experience from your
memory. Now, think of your ideal life 5 years from now. Ten
seconds is enough. You can see yourself in the future. You have
left this experience in the past. You are removed from this
experience which by now is long over. In the meantime, you
have had many wonderful and positive experiences. You might
even be relaxing on a sunny terrace. Look back at that
particular distant, vague and now insignificant incident. You
probably don’t want to be bothered with this right now. And you
know what; you don’t have to be bothered with that right now.
Savour your moment of peace and tranquillity and leave that
incident in the past where it belongs. You have no need for
excess baggage.

You may want to take the opportunity to reflect upon how this
other perspective benefited you… on the other hand, you might
simply want to go on and savour a few more moments in your
altered perspective.

My experiences with my children, partner, friends and others
have convinced me that no amount of advice even when
consistently applied (nagging included!), will have the same
powerful and lasting impact on others as their own experiences
have on them.

There have been many times that I have been profoundly
touched by a particular experience or demonstration. I have
also benefited most from training and workshops when there
was a strong emphasis on practical and experiential exercises.
In fact, personally, I tend to evaluate training and workshops on
the quality and relevance of their practical and experiential
exercises. Of course I believe that there is a place for an
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adequate balance between theory and practice, but what
constitutes “adequate balance” is beyond the scope of this
article.

As far back as sometime between 551 BC and 479 BC, the
Chinese philosopher and reformer Confucius had this to say “I
hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I
understand.” I am certain that quotations like these coupled
with sayings such as “seeing is believing” amongst others, have
helped form and maintain my belief in the power of experiential
learning.

When I studied for my degree in Social Sciences, my lecturers
and supervisors taught, through theory as well as through
practical and experiential exercises, the benefits of experiential
learning. They modelled an inspiring attitude towards learning
and change. I believe the powerful influences on my learning
and changing perceptions was due to firstly, a willingness and
openness to learn; secondly, a transparent agenda/structure
that I agreed to; thirdly, my perception that I had some choice
in what activities to follow; and most significantly, the actual
experience of the facilitative relationships with my “lecturers”
and with my “supervisors”.

I experienced genuineness or what I call honesty and openness
on the part of the other to share his/her perceptions of our
interaction/dialogue in a non-threatening way. I experienced
respect, prizing and understanding. I felt safe and accepted. I
felt an honest, open-hearted willingness on the part of the other
to always look at and acknowledge things from my point of view
while at the same time sharing his/her perception as an equal.

Thus, the foundation of my education was the person-centred
approach as pioneered by the American psychologist Carl R.
Rogers. In my understanding, Rogers was also the pioneer for
experiential learning in the modern world. This approach, he
recommended in fields as diverse as relationships, parenting,
education, business, intercultural diversity and government
amongst others. He also maintained that all parties stand to
benefit when relationships are governed by humanistic
principles.

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The Big Picture

The process of goal setting and project management follows a
general direction as indicated by the table below. The same is
true of your collaboration with a coach. Awareness of the stages
for successful and sustainable outcomes means that you can
increase productivity and the resulting benefits.

Initial Working Sessions
Setting the Agenda The coachee is actively involved in
Plan of Action generating the agenda, The coach
Mobilising Resources enables the coachee to set a
unique and customized goal or
project to work on. They
collaborate as the coachee decides
on a strategy or plan of action
made up of measurable and
manageable milestones. The
coachee takes a decision on how
to mobilise resources (the coachee
is the most important resource).
Ongoing Working Sessions
Reflection/Feedback Self-reflection and self-monitoring
is used as the coachee checks
his/her progress against the
previously established milestones
on an ongoing basis.
Re-assessment and Adjustment Session
Re-assessment The coachee is enabled to re-
Modification assess progress and may even
consider making modifications or
implementing corrective actions to
adapt to changing needs and
circumstances.
Closing Session
Optimizing Benefits In the final session, success, new
skills and learning is consolidated
and generalized and integrated
into other areas of the coachee’s
life. The coachee may wish to
examine how to further maintain
and maximize positive outcomes
and benefits.

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The Power of Creative Thinking: I-VOLUTION
Coping with Change, Creativity and Learning

Change happens… Creative Change needs a helping hand.

The Big Picture provided an overview of project management. It
applies equally to the process of coping with change, creativity
and learning. I have synthesised this approach with the power
of creativity thus creating an integrated process that I refer to
as I-VOLUTION.

I-VOLUTION is about change management, it is about
managing transitions and transformation. It is a fluid process
that shows distinctive patterns and phases of development and
flow. Awareness of these naturally evolving phases can lead to a
more deliberate and productive learning and change experience
with more personally fulfilling outcomes.

Entrepreneurs, outstanding learners, scientists and creative
people habitually mobilise this process. When studying
successful people one is able to observe particular
characteristics (attitudes) and skills as they progress through
each level.

These characteristics and skills are evident in babies, for
example, when learning to walk. One can observe the
behaviours and attitudes that are typical of each level. Why and
how a person uses less of this resource as they get older, I can
only guess. There is an indication that these attitudes and skills
need to be resourced and cultivated for continued benefit.

I personally experience these levels every time I relocate. It is
evident in the phenomena of ‘Culture Shock’ that is observed in
expatriates during their transitions. It is also true of anyone
experiencing any new and challenging experience.

It is also true when setting goals as goal setting concerns
creating change through transforming circumstances. The
process of goal setting requires the use of creative potential,
creative thinking, creative skills and ability and a creative
attitude. This is particularly true when a person is empowered to
look at options and to think in terms of possibilities so as to
create opportunities for change.

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Goal setting is a creative and innovative process with your
resourcefulness being your greatest asset. This book
encourages and supports you to consciously use creativity tools
and techniques such as brainstorming and visualisation as well
as to enable you to enter into a resourceful state for more
effective and fulfilling results. This can be called Creative
Consciousness or Mindfulness as one deliberately adopts and
practices positive attitudes and beliefs one seeks to reflect
through ones’ behaviour. I call it Creative or Innovative
Thinking.

Innovative thinking is about producing a unique service or
product which is what takes place when goal setting. You are
seeking to achieve results that are tailored to your needs,
through a process of generating multiple options and
opportunities.

Studies of successful people show that creative thinking plays a
central role to their success. Creativity is evident in
characteristics such as flexibility, positive and optimistic
thinking, high toleration for frustration, thinking in terms of
possibilities, amongst others, and they all contribute towards
successful outcomes.

Through my experience and research, I have identified five
primary levels that characterise change. These are Initiation,
Immersion, Incubation, Innovation and Integration.

Initiation Induction, Introduction, Inception, Ideation,
Interested, Information, Initialisation,
Imitation
Immersion Investment, Involvement

Incubation Intuition

Innovation Insight, Inspiration, Inflammation,
Illumination

Integration Incorporation, Idealisation, Independence,
Inclusion Institutionalisation , ‘Iconising’

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These processes when applied deliberately is an excellent
vehicle not only to generate new and unique solutions, but also
to lead one through any transition experience.

Level 1 - Induction

Induction refers to the initial process of acquaintance. One
focuses on various aspects of the task at hand. This level of
interaction involves engaging with the task and ‘getting your
feet wet’ so to speak. Introductions and briefings fall under this
category.

Level 2 - Immersion

One invests time and concentration as well as other resources
on the task. One becomes more invested in the outcome of
one’s involvement. Characteristically there is active and deep
engagement. Typically, this stage involves making a
commitment and letting down boundaries. One becomes more
and more immersed until there is the impression of reaching
‘saturation point’. This state involves focus and single-
mindedness.

Level 3 - Incubation

One feels that one has reached an impasse or that one has
reached a point when no more options seem apparent. It seems
like it is necessary to takes time off away from the task. In
other words there might be a sensation of feeling stuck or
frustrated. Successful people expect to succeed. They are
confident that there is a solution and that they will find a
solution after a break or letting go.

Level 4 - Innovation

The time out is beneficial and one is able to see the solution
which now seems obvious. Such an experience is referred to as
the ‘Eureka!’ effect or the ‘Aha!’ experience.

Level 5 - Integration

One relates and applies insight and learning to other interests
and areas. This step involves transferring benefits obtained to
other, not necessarily identical, contexts. Learning when applied
becomes part of one’s knowledge base and skill set. Debriefings
include this element.
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Level 1 - Induction

This level is also known by terms such as initiation, inception,
and ideation. People have different preferences as to how they
approach situations. Some are able to immerse themselves
immediately while others need to approach tasks more
gradually. No matter what one’s preferences, the first step is to
get started. To do something, anything, that is related to the
task or project or learning experience at hand. This might
involve the activity of ‘modelling’ the desired behaviour or
outcome or acting ‘as if’ you have already achieved the goal and
desired outcomes. This is not different from when children ‘play
house’ as they try on for size certain roles.

Initiation may also include an external representation of one’s
idea. This could be the process of thinking about what is to be
written, jotting down a few ideas, mind-mapping, playing a few
notes on a piano, etc. Initiation might also include the act of
gathering the materials necessary to begin one’s task, project,
etc. It could also be attending a briefing, reading an
introduction, and so on.

Induction usually explores factors such as current resources,
challenges, opportunities, demands, previous experience and so
on.

This exploration might include:

• What are the main challenges of the task?
• What identical tasks have I performed before?
• How much time will I spend on this task?
• What do I want to get out of this project?
• What unique strengths, abilities, and attitudes am I
bringing to this project?

Depending on the person and the nature of the task, one might
discuss one’s plans with others and this may lead to greater
commitment and bonding with the task.

One might even experience a sort of ‘honeymoon’ feeling.
Optimism is high and one usually ignores or denies the
existence of possible obstacles, ignoring weaknesses and
limitations. This is not unlike deciding to start a family. If one
were aware of exactly what lies ahead, mankind will be in
danger of extinction.
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Level 2 - Immersion
Immersion, Investment

In this phase, one uses as many skills and strategies one can
think of to solve the problem, attain a solution or to cope with
and rise above the change/challenge.

One actively seeks to come up with as many possible ideas and
solutions as possible. First one might look for ideas to emulate,
imitate, role models, etc. One also seeks inspiration from
experience and applies tried and tested strategies. The focus is
to generate as many ideas as possible, with little attention given
to quality. As ideas are generated, one favours certain solutions
over others. This is called brainstorming. This creative thinking
technique, even when applied haphazardly and without
deliberation, is a natural and not uncommon strategic choice.

Then one sets aside limitations and opens up to other
strategies. There might be a fleeting temptation to quit – the
more one learns, the more one realizes how much more there is
to know, in other words - how little one knows. Self-doubt and
other anxieties might pose an additional challenge. One might
experience resistance from others, social pressures which might
give rise to hesitation. Engaging with the situation or task
usually deepens one’s commitment to pursue one’s ends.

When motivation and commitment is sufficiently high; one
realizes that one has already invested too much into the task or
that one has nothing to lose. There might be a feeling of
frustration or a sense of chaos and uncertainty. One perhaps
feels overwhelmed and yet at the same time realises that there
‘is no turning back’. At this point there may be the belief or
perception that there is more to gain than to lose were one to
withdraw or retreat from the task.

People who succeed through this phase exhibit the following
characteristics. They desire the end result, and believe in the
inevitability of a successful resolution. They expect a successful
outcome and are determined to move through frustration. They
show great perceptual and behavioural openness (curiosity) and
flexibility.

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Incubation, like the other levels, is a natural evolution in
change, creativity and learning experiences. A deliberate
mobilisation of any of these levels will lead to more productive
outcomes.

Sometimes one becomes so immersed in a task and fails to read
signals of when to ‘have a break’. One continues working
beyond the stage where it is useful. This may even leave to
burn out and abandoning the project.

Useful questions to ask are:
• Have I given 100% to this task?
• Can I make any more progress right now if I were to
continue?
• Do I feel stuck?
• Could I benefit more from leaving things alone for
awhile?

Incubation gives the creative subconscious the time and
opportunity to process disparate information and for
assimilation and patterning to occur, uninhibited by conscious
processes. Even in cases of feeling that one is no closer to the
answer than at the beginning, scientists have found this to be
the most fruitful stage of the entire process.

Certain activities are associated with the incubation phase.
These include exchanging ideas with others, sleep (the dream
state), taking a bath, going for a walk, and many others. These
all help one connect at a deeper level which can give rise to
flashes of insight.

To encourage this transition from incubation to innovation, you
might consider:
• priming yourself in your task before taking your bath
• priming yourself in your task before going to sleep
• priming yourself in your task and then taking a short nap

One is encouraged to keep a notepad and pencil in the
bathroom, next to your bed, and so on. These flashes of insight
typical of the Innovation /Illumination phase are so intense and
clear that one cannot imagine forgetting them. However, if
other interruptions are present or you go back to sleep, these
insights might be lost to the conscious mind.
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Eureka! Aha! Yahoo! Oh Yeah! Yes!

During immersion, failure to recognise that an interruption
(incubation) will be beneficial, might lead to feelings of defeat
and giving up (I’ve bit off more than I can chew).

Confidence, faith and courage, accompanied by a planned
incubation generally lead to a stage of illumination. There is
desire and an expectation of success in spite of feelings of
frustration.

There is a sudden, surprising flash of insight at an unexpected
moment as an insight is revealed, accompanied by feelings of
exaltation. An idea presents itself ‘out of the blue’ so to speak.
Cartoons depict this moment with a light bulb or a lightning
bolt. You have reached the peak of your performance or the
summit so to speak. There is a sensation of surrealistic
experience, a feeling of timelessness and weightlessness and of
being one with the universe.

There is a feeling of connectedness and a knowing and a feeling
that this is ‘right’. There is the feeling that one has arrived!
Evaluation of success at this point is internal and non-
judgemental.

This feeling may be brief, instantaneous or momentary. There
may be a feeling of pride and abundance. This may be followed
by doubts, anxieties and fears, such as fear of censorship, of
losing what one has gained, of standing out, of competition, of
failure, and so on.

Generally doubts are very short-lived and the person moves
onto the next level… integration. This can be facilitated when
the person realises that the idea is separate from him/her.
While you might be personally invested in your idea, your idea
is separate from your identity. You are not your idea. You are
more than your idea.

Perhaps one does not feel a flash of insight nor that one has
made ground breaking progress. All is not lost. Your groundwork
has been done and your work goes ‘underground’. Connections
continue to be made through your experiences, even if those
connections are currently outside your conscious awareness.
Have confidence – when you are ready, the idea will emerge!
18


After a new experience, the person evaluates the outcomes. An
assessment is carried out to determine if the solution is in fact
satisfactory. This involves a cost-benefit analysis of the solution
to answer the question - ‘does it work?’

One might consider factors such as:
• Does the solution fall within the budget and other
constraints?
• Does the solution give added value and benefits?
• Is the solution sustainable?
• How can I put this into practice?

This is then followed by a process of generalization and
synthesis. One reflects upon the meaning and value of the
solution and learning experience. One explores other areas to
which this learning can be applied. This includes generalizing
this experience as it relates to your life situation so that it can
adapt and improve your life. This does not have to be done
explicitly: a good practised learning automatically draws on
one’s ability for integration and assimilation.

I encourage you to consider the potential of a more informed
and deliberate process such as I-VOLUTION. Just giving
attention to any of the levels will certainly add value to your
experiences.

The person might consider the intrinsic benefits of the
experience to be valuable. Through sharing, the person might
also seek acknowledgement as well as to assess the social
acceptability of his/her findings. If any of these rewards are
judged to be sufficient, motivation is high for the next
challenge.

For example, you might read literally hundreds of self-help
books but have the impression of having made no real or lasting
gains. Part of the gains is the empowering inspiration and focus
you receive on a continual basis. This leads to small and gradual
yet significant changes. The best books are those that provide
opportunity for experience and integration, starting with where
the person is, and taking them through experiences that
become integrated in a natural way. Experience that empowers
through promoting self-awareness and personal power is the
most valuable.
19

The Power of Perception

Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.
Confucius

As a coach, I am occupied with adult learning and development.
All human interaction involves the dynamics of learning with an
altering or reinforcing of the perceptions of those involved.

The American Philosopher and Psychologist, William James
(1842-1910) had this to say: “Many people think they are
thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.”
Generally speaking, we learn from and assimilate our
experiences based on what we already believe to be true. In
other words, we act and react to ‘reality’ based on our existing
perceptions of that reality, no matter how we have come to hold
those views. We do not usually pause to examine our beliefs,
their origin and how to change these. Yet, we all share a natural
curiosity, the potential and under certain conditions, the desire
to do all of these things.

Our perceptions create our reality as well as the way we act and
react to situations. This reminds me of an excerpt I once read.
“Do not give permanent reality to temporary things.”
(Unknown) I believe this referred to giving permanent reality to
arguments, ill-fortune and real or imagined slights. I consider
this to be sound, and valuable advice.

My reflection on this is that if I fail once, (I might want to
redefine my perceptions of what constitutes failure and
success), I might want to ask myself ‘what positive value can I
see in this that I might want to keep?’ I can choose not to label
myself a failure, exaggerating the extent of this failure and so
creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. To me self-fulfilling prophecy
means perpetuating negative outcomes and circumstances
through our behaviour; be it physical, mental and/or emotional.
Confucius shared a similar view when he advised us to ‘Be not
ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes’.

I can choose to benefit from breaking or interrupting this habit
and cycle. I can deliberately choose to give certain experiences
over others a more permanent and sustainable reality.

20

The Power of Imagination

To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.
Confucius

Just one of the examples of the use and power of imagination is
the processing of information through replay and filtering
(exaggeration included) of certain aspects in our experiences
over others. This process is automatic, inevitable and therefore
habitual. This process can be deliberately changed to create
constructive habits.

From the above example, it is obvious that perception is
dependent upon imagination. Philosophers from the beginning
of time have always said that we create and recreate our own
reality through our very perception of that reality. There are
countless quotations that all tell us the same thing – what exists
in reality first existed in imagination.

Perception, creative thinking, visualisation, mental rehearsal,
dreams are all examples of the use of imagination. Planning any
activity and taking a decision, no matter how mundane, involves
visualising the future. Memory too is possible because of our
power and ability to imagine objects, events, etc. Life as we
know it is not possible without the use of our imaginations.

In fact, many cultures, for example the Aborigines of Australia,
believe that life as we know it, the world, our entire physical
reality was created through acts of imagination.

Imagination is ability, skill, a tool, a strategy, a technique and
much more. Studying the features of imagination can lead to a
better use of it. Paradoxically, one can only study its features
through its use.

Research has shown that the mind cannot tell the difference
between real experience and one that has been imagined in full
detail. The most celebrated example of the deliberate use of
imagination to improve performance is its use in sports
coaching. Sportsmen, especially golfers devote a huge amount
of their training time to mental rehearsal and practice
(simulation). When one researches other examples of where the
power of imagination is mobilized to improve performance and
enhance the quality of life, they seem to all have one thing in
common. That is, clear goals and outcomes!

21

We are surrounded by proof of the benefits of harnessing this
great power. What is imagination really? It is the ability to form
a mental image of something. I would replace the word ‘image’
with representation. While imagination is strongly associated
with mental images and mental pictures, many people have
other strong mental representations of objects and events.
Kandinsky, the famous artist, is said to have had a skill called
synaesthesia …. When he heard a sound, he saw a colour and
visa versa. With this ability you can even taste words! Can you
taste the word ‘lemon’?

Through imagination we create a mental ‘reality’ with
representations that include all of the five ‘senses’ and more –
feelings and emotions, amongst others. One can imagine a
sound; taste a smell, and there are many other possibilities.
For some people it is easier to see mental pictures, others find it
easier to imagine a feeling, and some are more comfortable
imagining the sensation of one of the five senses. Training of
the imagination gives the ability to combine all the senses –
synthesis or synaesthesia.

Imagination is the mental manifestation of what has existed and
of what could exist as a physical manifestation. For many
people, their inner realities are more real to them than the outer
physical manifestation. Their ‘inner experience’ is more
profound and real to them than their experience of the outer
‘real’ world.

Imagination can be a mental ‘manifestation’:
• Of what already exists
• Of what does not exist
• Of what existed in the past
• Of what did not exist in the past
• Of what could exist in the future
• Of what may never exist in the future

Whatever the features of imagination, collaborating with our
imaginations offers unlimited potential and opportunity.
Imagination promises success, satisfaction and happiness.
Imagination has been linked to the ‘Power of Attraction’ – if you
can imagine something you will attract it!

Be careful of what you ask for you might get it!

22

Passion2Performance

When I designed my workshop “Passion2Performance”, I was
aware that there were other equally appropriate and effective
options, such as:

• Get Real!
• Personal Power – The Seven Powers
• The Bridge to Personal Authenticity!
• Passion-Driven Performance
• Peak your Performance
• Raise the Bar
• Tailor-made Goals!
• Smartest-Star Goal Management
• You Always Get What You Want!
• Be Careful What you Ask For!

Formula for Self-Mastery

• Find your Passion
• Create Passion-Driven Goals
• Cultivate a Resourceful State

Whether your definition of mastery concentrates on
relationships, wealth, career, health or life enrichment amongst
others, there are 5 essential elements for success. Successful
people:

Know what they are passionate about.
Make sure their goals match their passions.
Use creativity to keep their passion alive.
Use their passion to drive their actions to successful
outcomes.
Nurture their resourceful state.

23

Phase I

Find your Passion

To your own self be true
William Shakespeare

Purpose:

This part of the workshop provides you with the OATS™ to:

help you explore what you are passionate about
help you see how your passions influence your behaviour
introduce the concept of personal authenticity
increase sensitivity to the positive energy tied to your
passion

24

Phase I

Find your Passion

To Be…
Or Not To Be
William Shakespeare (Hamlet)

The experiential exercises are designed to enable you to find
your passion follow the five natural levels of learning and
creativity to maximise their benefits.

Level 1 - Initiation
Level 2 - Immersion

For each of these five levels, the OATS used are:

• Opportunity Exercise
• Options Exercise
• Achievements Exercise
• Attitude – Perception Check Exercise
• Tools and Techniques
• State and Skills

The specific OATS™ used are:

• Reading/ Research/ Reflection
• Behavioural Interviews –through the use of facilitative
questions
• Reflections – through the use of inspiring quotations
• Free Association – through the use of prompts to
stimulate creative free thinking/ writing
• Brainstorming - to stimulate the generation of as many
options as is possible within a time limit
• Imagery Techniques – to facilitate visualisation of the
outcomes you want
• Universal Shapes Value Generator ™ - as a tool to
empower and enable you to access and optimize your
values, beliefs, passions and strengths
25

Opportunity Exercise

My Goal

My goal is to enable you to create and achieve goals that are
aligned to your values and beliefs as well as to your passions
and your strengths.

My Philosophy

Stated simply and briefly – I passionately believe that we all
want to experience success and mastery in our lives and we all
have the ability to achieve this.

• I apply a ‘humanist’ philosophy to my relationships.
• I am committed to mobilising one’s personal power
through promoting personal authenticity.
• I believe in deliberate and systematic goal setting and
self-management.
• I believe that confidence, motivation and commitment
come from goals and strategies that are aligned to one’s
personal philosophy.
• Creativity is the essence of a Resourceful State.

These factors represent my personal formula for self-mastery. I
call them the five pillars for a successful and fulfilling life...

26

Options Exercise

Creative Assumptions

My work is founded on the following assumptions:

• The source of our strengths is our passions
• Our passions are generated by our values and beliefs
• Our passions are the primary motivators and generators
of our actions

What assumptions and presuppositions do you make regularly
about yourself and others?

Which kind of thinking reflects your assumptions about yourself
and others?

• Win – Lose

• Win – Win

• Lose – Win

• Lose – Lose

27

Achievements Exercise

Creative Methodology

Change happens... it is Creative Change that needs a helping
hand

I will engage you in a variety of activities using my unique
system of experiential worksheets called OATS™.

I have designed OATS™ to source and capitalize on your unique
strengths patterns. This strengths-based approach ensures
greater motivation and optimal goal attainment and fulfilment.

Personal authenticity refers to self-determination of goals that
are congruent with your passions. This too, increases motivation
and as a result ensures optimal goal attainment (excellence)
and fulfilment. This process is regenerative - which means you
move forward from strength to strength.

What methodology do you favour?

• Do you start a project from your inner strengths or from
your limitations?
• Do you start a project from a position of personal power
or from a position of weakness?
• Do you start a project from a position of abundance or
from a position of lack?

28

Attitude – Perception Check Exercise

Positive Focus for Unconditional Abundance

We are what we focus upon all day long…

• What value do you give to genuineness, congruence and
personal authenticity?
• Describe a time when you gave priority to your values
and beliefs?
• Describe a time when you where grateful for what you
have?
• What are the limitations (conditions) you put on things
that causes a reduction on its’ perceived value?
• Describe a time when you only realised the value of what
you had when you lost it?

29


Experiential Learning or a Learning Experience?

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I
understand
Confucius

I utilise tools and techniques that promote experiential learning.
I believe real learning happens chiefly through personal
experience, for example, when being taught a skill; one learns
the skill through its use and application.

What kind of learning do you prefer?

• Being taught through lectures?
• Being shown something by means of presentations?
• Hands-on learning?

Learning through Reflection

When exploring any topic, it can be useful to begin by
answering reflective questions. I find the ‘six faithful serving-
men’ to be a valuable tool which I can apply to most tasks.

I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew);
their names are: What and Why and When and How and Where
and Who.
Rudyard Kipling

• What am I passionate about?
• Why am I passionate about it?
• When do I feel most strongly about something?
• How do I know that x is my passion?
• Where do I feel most energised?
• Who is someone I admire for their passion?

30

State and Skills

Embrace your Passion

Nothing great has ever been accomplished in the world without
passion.
Hebbel

Through the use of a quotation, you have the opportunity to
explore your passions. These questions serve as a ‘warm up’ or
initiation for this module. I find that my passions reflect my
priorities, principles, philosophy and paradigms.

• What do I think passion refers to?
• Why is passion important?
• When have I been most passionate about something?
• How do I feel when I am using my talents and strengths?
• Where do I get my motivation from?
• Who has impressed me because of their passions?

31

Level 2 - Immersion

Drive your Passion

Your passion is the steering wheel of your life. Take hold of
your passions to drive your life to success and fulfilment.

This exercise provides you with an additional opportunity to
explore your passions. Prompts can be a single word or a series
of words and even a picture, statement, quotation, or even an
ink-blot. These, like questions, stimulate and access your ideas
on a given topic. Prompts offer freedom and flow. Because of
their great potential for in-depth exploration, they are popular in
journaling.

Prompts to stimulate creative free writing and thinking:

I am happiest when….

I get most angry about…

Qualities I admire in others that I would like to possess myself
are…

32

Level 2 - Immersion
Options Exercise

Creative Brainstorming

Brainstorming is like rolling a snowball down a hill!

Brainstorming continues to be experienced by many to be an
extremely useful technique to create and generate options as
well as to facilitate exploration on any topic. The aim is to
generate as many options and solutions as possible while
suspending judgement. Initially, all options are taken to be
acceptable and as having equal potential. The objective is to
gain flow on the topic and to move toward rather than away
from, the solution and outcome desired.

Brainstorming is a natural tool and technique that anyone can
learn and practice to use with greater confidence. It is a positive
process, because it encourages an attitude of being non-
judgemental, open and flexible. It is self-generating and helps
one move from strength to strength.

Please use the following diagram to generate your strengths,
talents, skills and passions.

33

Level 2 - Immersion

My strengths are…

My talents are…

Passion Indicators

Passion indicators refer to the characteristics you would
probably observe in a person who is passionate about life, work,
a hobby, etc.

If you have ever been deeply engrossed in a task, hobby, etc.
you will find some of these descriptive words resonate with you:

Willing Motivated
Desire Aligned
Expectation Initiative
Intrinsic motivation Interest
Direction from within Enthusiasm
Purpose Peace
Self-directed Life is meaningful
Values Sense of belonging
Fulfilment Balance
Confidence Personal power
Energetic Essence
Heart Guided
Soul Driven
Focus Connection
Effortless Natural
Talented Gifted
Spirited Generous

34

Level 2 - Immersion

Habits

I believe human beings like to order their experiences and
develop certain systems to simplify their lives. I call these
systems habits. But sometimes our habits no longer serve their
original purposes and might even become dysfunctional – in
other words they get in our way.

This simple exercise demonstrates this. Fold your arms in a way
that you find natural. This probably feels comfortable and usual.
Now fold your arms the other way round. This probably feels
different… How do you find this experience? While change can
be uncomfortable, sometimes all it takes is small adjustments
done consistently before it starts to feel natural and
comfortable. Were you to relearn how to fold your arms, you
will find that in a short time you become habituated to this new
way!

List 5 things that reflect your passions, strengths, values,
beliefs, priorities and dreams.

1. ……………………..

2. ……………………..

3. ……………………..

4. ……………………..

5. ………………………

35

Level 2 – Immersion

Universal Shapes Value Generator ™

Instructions:
Draw each of the following five shapes on a single sheet of
paper. Position the shapes anywhere you please. You may
choose to represent a shape in a way that is most instinctively
meaningful to you.

Triangle
Circle
Spiral
Square
Cross

Now, alongside each shape on your drawing, write down one of
the five priorities, passions and strengths you identified in the
previous exercise.

36

Level 2 – Immersion
State and Skills Exercise

Association

Instructions:
Write a list numbered one to five. Alongside each number, write
down the corresponding shape and passion/strength identified
in the previous two examples.

For example:
1. circle – success
2. square – foundation
3. spiral – progress
4. triangle – connectedness
5. cross – focus

1. ………………………………………………………

2. ………………………………………………………

3. ……………………………………………………..

4. ……………………………………………………..

5. ……………………………………………………..

37

Opportunities Exercise

Free Association

Instructions:
Now complete the following as shown in the examples that
follow. There is no right or wrong responses. This exercise aims
to stimulate a process of free association and needs flexibility
and being non-judgemental. It is not necessary to over-analyse
your responses. Feel free to make any adaptations you wish to
make the exercise more meaningful or fun for you!

This exercise reflects your achievements so far on this venture
of discovering and affirming your passions and strengths.
Continue as shown below, getting into the flow of the exercise.
The ideal is to complete the entire exercise without interruption.

38

Opportunities Exercise (continued)

Example:
The circle reminds me of cake
Cake represents celebration.
Celebration is important because it means there is something to
celebrate.
The cake is round like the sun
The sun is orange like fire
The circle is complete and whole.
I like to achieve my goals.

the 1----------------------- reminds me of 1a----------------------

1a--------------------------------------represents 1b---------------

1b-------------------------------------- is important because ------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The 1----------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------- Like -------

---------------------------------------------------------- Like -------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I want ----------------------------------------------------------------

39

Options Exercise

Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.
Samuel Smiles

(PS. Sow your OATS and you’ll have something to smile about!
The first step in changing any habit is to state that habit in the
positive. For example, “to stop frowning” equals to smile more
often.)

Describe a situation where your habits reflect your values and
priorities? To facilitate your response you could include:

• What were your specific actions?
• What did you do?
• What did you say?
• How did you feel?
• What was your reaction?
• Does this reflect your typical approach in such a
situation?

40


Determination

• What have I managed to do successfully that required
perseverance?

• Why did I persevere?

• How have I successfully adapted to change in the past?

• When have I shown flexibility?

• Where have I proven that I can be optimistic and
confident?

• Who is a successful person I admire?

NB: You might have noticed that these questions have been
phrased in a way that elicits responses which open up further
exploration of the relevant behavioural elements. This is called
‘Behavioural Interviewing’. Behavioural based interviewing
focuses on the person’s specific actions in relation to specific
situations and specific tasks.

41


Feedback

You may refer any of the exercises that you have completed so
far. Please choose an exercise that was challenging to you. I
would like to suggest that you use the Universal Shapes Value
Generator exercise.

Explore the following:

• How did you experience carrying out this exercise?

• Did you experience any frustration?

• How do you feel when you are uncertain?

• What does it feel like to not know the direction, purpose
or outcome of an activity?

• When did you feel most comfortable (if at all)?

• Which parts of the exercises used your strengths?

42


You only realise how limiting your philosophy is when you
experience how liberating it can be!

For example, for a long time my philosophy included the
following ‘don’t criticise, condemn or complain’. Yet I still found
myself doing these things to a greater extent than I was
comfortable with. After many years, I realised that this motto
can better serve me if I rephrased it in the positive. My motto
became ‘Do compliment, connect and collaborate’. My new
motto is much more empowering and easier to live up to.

Another example of when my motto serves me well is as
follows... Being an accompanying spouse of a diplomat, I
relocate every three to four years. I decided to develop a motto
to empower me and to keep me focused on my goal to use
every move as an opportunity. My motto helps me to embrace
my transitions so as to create a life enhancing transformation…

Life goes on… only differently!

My artistic and computer skills have helped me to create digital
art and paintings to represent my philosophy. My art depicts
this motto by means of a magnificent butterfly emerging from
eggshells that open like oysters! I enjoy sharing my experiences
with other expatriates and have featured in various publications.

My motto serves as a point of reference and a ‘lighthouse’ to
keep me focussed and on track.

Speaking metaphorically, I believe your ‘Mission Statement’ will
prove to be the most useful tool you can have in your personal
toolkit. Your mission reflects your ‘purpose’ and your ‘personal
philosophy’.

Your mission can be represented by a statement, a quotation, a
picture, a photograph, a book, a movie, a poem, a fairytale, and
even a metaphor. I am sure you can think of other possible
ways to represent your purpose.

43

State and Skills

Revitalize, Renew, Refresh

Make a list of 5 things that you have found to be useful
whenever you need to relax and revitalise yourself. For
example, take a bath, go for a walk, have a cup of tea, etc.

1. ……………………………………….

2. ……………………………………….

3. ……………………………………….

4. ……………………………………….

5. ……………………………………….

Are you ready to start looking for a motto, quotations, painting
or any other tangible object that can serve as a visual
representation of your passion, goals and/or philosophy? Why
not start with the poem you created in the Value Generation
Exercise above?

44


Begin at the beginning… with the end in mind.

‘Begin at the beginning’ refers to starting with your passions
and your strengths. The ‘end’ refers to the results and outcomes
that you want. This module focuses on sourcing your passion
and your strengths with the aim to mobilise them to get what
you want.

List your priorities and the values that are important to you.

1. …………………………………

2. ………………………………..

3. ………………………………..

4. ………………………………..

5. ………………………………..

45

Options Exercise

Three Wishes

If you were given three wishes, what would you wish for?

…………………………………………………

………………………………………………...

………………………………………………….

Complete the following:

• If I won the lottery, I would …………..

• Wealth means …………………………………

• If I did not have to worry about money, I would …

46


How well do you know yourself?

• My virtues are…

• I consider my vices to be?

• My idea of an ideal vacation is…

• What I say most often to myself is…

• Three things I like best about myself are…

47


Personal Authenticity

Personal authenticity and personal development focuses on
aligning your values to your habits or visa versa. This exercise
helps you to source five of your values and to compare them to
five of your habits, or visa versa.

Write down five of your habits. Alongside each habit, write down
a corresponding value. NB. Please indicate whether you think
that habit supports (or is in conflict with) the corresponding
value.

For example:
Exercise – Good health and discipline
My commitment to exercise supports my values about good
health and the high value I place on self-discipline.

Habit Value Yes/No

Exercise Health and discipline yes

48


The Seven Habits of Peak Performers

Habits can be useful tools that support your values. In the same
way, your characteristics really refer to your habits. For
example, ‘The Seven Characteristics of Peak Performers’ can be
translated to ‘The Seven Habits of Peak Performers’.

Imagine that one of your values is ‘Good Health and Fitness’.
List at least 3 habits (behaviours), which would be aligned to
this value.

1. ………………………….........

2. ...............................

3. ...............................

List Seven Habits of yours that can support Peak Performance

1. ……………………………………

2. …………………………………..

3. …………………………………..

4. …………………………………..

5. …………………………………..

6. …………………………………..

7. …………………………………..

49

State and Skills Exercise

Character Traits

Habits can be useful tools that support your values. In the
previous exercise, you would have noticed that personal
characteristics are inevitably reflected in our habits.

Consider how the following characteristics can be reflected in
your behaviour:

1. Being flexible

2. Being curious

3. Being congruent

4. Thinking ‘Win-Win’

5. Being proactive

50

Level 5 – Integration

Self-Actualisation

As described earlier, a humanistic philosophy is one that focuses
on human potential. My core principle, based on this philosophy
is ‘each of us knows best the purpose of our existence
and we each have the potential to realise this purpose’.

The process of striving to realise your purpose in life is called
‘self-actualisation’. The basic assumptions is that humans have
a self-actualisation drive and each person knows best what path
to take to fulfil this purpose. Exploring your passions and your
strengths, I believe, will guide you in the direction of your real
purpose.

Principles that reflect this humanistic approach include integrity,
responsibility, and self-determination, amongst others.

• How do you think these principles can be reflected in
your behaviour towards yourself and others?

• List three of your habits that reflect a belief in yourself,
others, in your potential or confidence in your abilities.

• Think of a situation where you ‘do it anyway’ in spite of
anxiety or self-doubt.

51

Options Exercise

Fairy God-Mother

• If you had the power to give a gift of three principles to a
newborn, what would these be?

• If I had to choose three powers a newborn already has
and make a wish for these to never be lost, what would
these be?

52


Man in the Mirror

If you were to start with the ‘Man in the Mirror’, as the first step
to changing your ways, what would you do?

Look in the mirror and smile at yourself three times a day for
the next seven days. What would you say to yourself? Research
has shown that we all talk to ourselves all of the time. This is
called ‘self-talk’.

Pep-talk is when you talk to yourself or others to increase
motivation. You can choose to give yourself a mini pep-talk to
accompany your smile.

• What would you say to yourself?

• What words and sentences would you use?

• Think of a specific situation where it could be useful to
say more positive things to yourself.

53


Global Attitude

What general all encompassing attitude/approach do you have
towards yourself, others and life in general?

Which of the following characteristics best matches your overall
view towards yourself, others and life in general?

• Optimistic view
• Pessimistic view
• Realistic view
• Idealistic view
• Constructive view
• Magical view
• Your view?

54


Tools and Techniques to practise in this module include:

Self-talk which is saying positive things to yourself

Pep-talk which is deliberately telling yourself that you can do
something so as to increase enthusiasm and motivation

Affirmations which incorporate a compliment to yourself. For
example, ‘everyday in every way it is getting easier and easier
to drink two glasses of water by midday’.

Mantras are a more basic form of self-talk and pep-talk. One
repeats a short phrase or word over and over again (mentally or
out loud) to produce a kind of humming sound. It is said that
this sound causes positive physiological changes. It also
suspends judgement of the conscious mind to liberate your
reserves of life-enhancing energies.

Physiology modification is when you deliberately change
something about your physiology even for a fraction of a
second. For example, smile, sit upright, stand up and stretch,
and so on. It might be useful to study the non-verbal behaviour
of someone you admire and try it out in front of the mirror. This
serves as a way of focussing on your goal.

Positive Rephrasing is when one takes the undesirable
behaviour one wants to change, rephrasing it in such a way as
to become personally empowering. The undesirable behaviour
includes mental, emotional and physical elements such as
negative self-talk, anxiety, physical behaviour such as
procrastination, amongst others.

Put simply, select any behaviour or habit you want to interrupt
and restate it in positive terms, i.e. in terms of what behaviour
you would like to see more of.

In a way the undesirable behaviour is used as a lever, hinge or
pivot to help you define the desirable behaviour.

55

State and Skills

Believe in Yourself

The statement ‘believe in yourself’ might be called a cliché. This
is true when a statement is overused to the extent that people
no longer register its’ actual meaning. Paradoxically, such a
statement has reached this unfortunate end because of the
powerful meaning and message it initially conveyed.

If ‘believe in yourself’ was your motto, how would you show this
in your thoughts and other behaviour?

How you behave in a given situation will give you clues to
assess your values and strengths. These can be used as a
starting point to examine your passions and how they influence
your behaviour. This gives you the options and opportunities to
align your values to your behaviour or visa versa.

• I believe passionately in…

• I am willing to receive…

• When I am less playful, I need to re-connect. The signs
that I need to re-connect to my positive energy is…

56

Phase II

Create Passion-Driven Goals

Success if often, due neither to ability nor to courage, but
simply due to organising your creative energies around a goal.

Purpose

This part of the workshop provides you with the OATS™ to:

enable you to set goals to match what you want to see
more of in your life
enable you to set sensory evidence that would indicate
successful goal achievement
ensures your goals are more achievable through sourcing
and mobilizing your resources
helps you set realistic goals by activating and stimulating
the use of a more creative perspective
enables you to create a useful yet flexible time-frame in
which to achieve your goals
help you set goals so that your outcomes will be
congruent with who you are and what you really want;
and to give more sustainable and fulfilling outcomes
empowers you to take charge of your resourceful state
increase your motivation and commitment through
creating options and opportunities for immediate,
manageable and sustainable action

57

Phase II

Create Passion-Driven Goals

Do the thing and you will have the power
Unknown

The module provides you with experiential exercises to enable
you to create passion-driven goals. The experiential exercises
follow the five natural levels of learning and creativity to
maximise your benefits!

Level 2 - Immersion

For each of these five levels, the OATS used are:

• Opportunity Exercise
• Options Exercise
• Achievements Exercise
• Attitude – Perception Check Exercise
• Tools and Techniques
• State and Skills

The specific OATS™ used are:

The Life-Balance/Peace Wheel™
SMART, SMARTER and SMARTEST STAR goal setting and goal
management technology
Brainstorming to generate multiple options and opportunities
NOSE™ analysis and the related SWOT and SWAT analysis to
enable you to set realisable goals
ROI – Return on Investment and Cost/Benefit analysis

58


The Benefits of Goal Setting

As a rule we disbelieve all the facts and theories for which we
have no use.
William James

The main use of goal setting is that it is a useful tool to manage
our needs. Goal setting is useful because:

• It helps us manage change
• It provides a context for our planning and resources
• It gives direction and meaning to our efforts
• It provides focus and purpose
• It helps manage our expectations
• It facilitates action planning
• It gives perspective by providing a timeline
• It indicates our position in relation to where we want to
be
• It increases commitment to ourselves
• It increases motivation
• It helps identify opportunities
• It opens up options and gives alternatives
• It teaches flexibility
• It provides choice
• It allows for self-determination
• It promotes responsibility
• It increases confidence
• It is empowering, giving a sense of personal power
• It allows one to be proactive
• It gives hope
• It prepares us mentally and emotionally for change
• It facilitates optimal use of resources
• It helps identify limitations and challenges
• It clarifies and sets expectations
• It helps use resources including time, finances and
energy more productively

59

Options Exercise

Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that carry them far
apart.
Confucius

In our pursuit of need and value fulfilment, we develop patterns
of behaviour called habits. Habits are really an organised
system of goal management – a system we have developed to
meet our goals. Goal setting is about habits. ‘Habit’ refers to
repeated acts or behaviour patterns. Actions and reactions exist
in one moment of time but can repeat and perpetuate existing
circumstance. A question I will help you explore on a more
consistent basis is ‘do my goal setting habits support my
passions and skills?’

Your goals may have been formed haphazardly or they may be
outdated. Maybe they were formed to please others or for some
reason that is no longer valid.

Whether your goals need to be revised, adjusted or renewed; it
makes sense that you take time to deliberately develop a more
reliable system. It is logical to seek a system that positions you
advantageously. You want to manage your goals effectively so
that your goals can manage your life effectively.

Whether you choose to work with a coach or to self-coach,
successful goal management involves three crucial steps:

• Find your Passion
• Create Passion-Driven Goals
• Cultivate your Resourceful State

These steps are interdependent because success is only fulfilling
and sustainable, when it combines all three elements. Thus
when using any goal management system, you want to make
sure it respects your passions, values, beliefs and strengths.
Lasting and life-enhancing success depends on authenticity and
personal power.

60

When you set your own goals and decide how you will know
when you have achieved them, you will have the personal
power that you deserve. Moreover, you will feel more energised
and motivated to achieve your goals. This success will more
likely be aligned to who you are and is more likely to be long-
lasting and sustainable.

Do you have the skills and a strategy to set goals that are
creative and at the same time aligned to who you are and where
you really want to be?

This book will guide you so you can determine your own goals
and agenda. You will be empowered to choose goals that are
aligned to your core principles and purpose. You will determine
what positive results you want to see and you will determine
when you want to see those results.

Problem-management and opportunity-development goals will
be compared as well as the types of goals that might be
addressed in each of these categories.

You will be able to assess the value of using an existing pre-
designed model of goal setting and management. You might
choose to adapt an existing model to design a system that is
congruent to your values and preferences and based upon your
past successes and special skills sets.

You will be able to compare existing systems that have been
proven to be successful for millions of people and organisations
in varied contexts. You can assess the corporate SMART model,
the NLP adapted SMARTER model and whether there can be the
SMARTEST way still.

Whether you decide to self-coach or engage a coach, one of the
significant tools and techniques used is ‘prompting’. Prompting
is when the coach prompts the coachee through the use of
open-ended questions to facilitate and guide the process of
clear, creative and congruent goal and strategy determination.
Possible questioning that focuses on defining solution-oriented
outcomes will be integrated throughout my book. A related
technique, behavioural interviewing helps you focus on specific
situations, tangible tasks, actions and responses.

61

In addition, I will look at the SWOT, SWAT and NOSE analysis as
tools to fine-tune your goal setting strategy.

I have purposely emphasised creativity and innovation. This is
because you are creating the life, behaviour and outcomes that
you want. To ‘create’ is a natural instinct and talent. Whatever
we say or do or think, involves an act of creation. Some thought
or action exists now that did not exist in the moment before.
Consistent and repetitive ‘creative acts’, create a consistent and
sustainable reality.

62


Solution vs. Opportunity-Development Goals

Problem-management/ Project-management
goals

Goals might be selected in relation to problems or difficulties
experienced. The person feels they are not coping or managing
the problem situation, frustration or concern. Therefore one’s
goal is to manage the specific situation, to come to terms with it
or to transcend it. Problem-management I believe should be
extended to include project-management. In France, coaches
talk about helping people manage their “projects”, pronounced
in French [pro-jay]. Projects can be anything from trying to lose
weight to organising a wedding.

In coaching, the individual is responsible for goal setting and
implementation. Any other people involved directly are usually
formal and informal resources, e.g. financial advisors,
accountants, dieticians, personal trainers, networked contacts,
mentors, etc.

Projects in this category might be:

• A person wanting to reach a certain target weight by a
set target date.
• A coachee sets a deadline to attain a certain target
income.

Imagine a genie emerging in a cloud of scented translucent
vapour from a golden magic lamp. You are promised unlimited
power and potential. All you have to do is visualise yourself
succeeding, once a day, for ten minutes only, for a period of
seven consecutive days.

Your wish is my command. What is your wish?

63


Opportunity-development goals

If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as
my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and
imitate them and the bad points of the other and correct them
in myself.
Confucius

These goals focus on personal development, well-being, self-
mastery, quality of life and life-enrichment. The person wants to
make more of life and wants to feel happy, challenged and
fulfilled. These goals are related to missed opportunities or
unused potential and resources. One may be feeling blocked or
stuck in general or in specific areas.

Examples of opportunity-development goals are:

• The person would like to feel healthier and fitter and
more flexible.
• The person wants an interesting and stimulating career
which uses and develops his/her skills and potential.

To help you identify unused opportunities and potential, please
explore:

• What could I become good at if I focussed on developing
and using this one ability?

• Which opportunities can I focus on?

• What opportunities could I be paying more attention to?

• Which role models do I admire because I would like to
develop my similar talents further?

64

Holistic Goal Setting

Success is creativity transforming circumstance

It is recommended that goals have a combined focus in
problem-management as well as opportunity-development. The
person-centred approach believes in the person’s inherent drive
towards self-actualization. Therefore, even in a problem
situation or a situation that requires coping, a person would
often seek to become more and to become better. These goals
focus on improvement, adding value and developing unused
potential as well as creating new opportunities and addressing
missed opportunities. A contemporary movement that focuses
on this area is called Positive Psychology.

This is in keeping with the view that coaching is strengths based
and aims at empowering the person to go beyond coping;
towards personal development, fulfilment and happiness.

Balancing your goals will certainly balance your life. When you
strive to achieve goals in different categories, certain value
clashes might become evident. This is a great opportunity to re-
assess your values so that you no longer sabotage yourself…. Or
at least you will become aware of when you are doing it! This
also gives you the opportunity to increase the connection
between your conscious and subconscious abilities so that they
collaborate with you to create congruent outcomes.

65


The Right Tool for the Job

A tool and a technique is only useful if it helps you to get the
job done!

Potentially useful tools and techniques that may help you define
areas for change and improvement are:

• Behavioural interviews that seeks to explore specific
situations, tasks, actions and responses.
• Checklists such as those found in popular magazines
• Evaluation forms
• Satisfaction forms where you might be asked to rate
your satisfaction on different areas of your life, for
example, how satisfied are you, on a scale of one to five,
about your relationship with your boss?
• Questionnaires

These tools are adapted to focus on your personal or
professional life in general and even specific target areas within
these categories. The quality of these tools depends on their
depth and constructive focus.

Some useful questions you can begin to explore are:

• What would I like to focus on with a coach?
• What are my current goals?
• How would I know when I have succeeded in reaching
these goals?
• What other changes would I like to see take place in my
life?
• My current priority is…

66

State and Skills

Goal Definition

Think of a goal that is important to you. This goal can relate to
your personal or professional life. Please answer the questions
below:

• What is the goal I want?

• What am I prepared to do to achieve this goal?

• What outcomes will achieving this goal give me?

• What benefits do I expect?

• Does my goal have an end date?

• What resources may help me to attain this goal?

• What can I do right now (immediately) to introduce
these benefits into my life?

• Are there other ways to achieve similar benefits?

67

Level 2 - Immersion

Goal Categories

There are as many different goals as there are people!

For the purpose of simplicity, I will identify certain categories of
goals. The interpretation of any category depends on the person
making the interpretation. Categories are not etched in stone
and one category can overlap with or include another category.
Any of these categories can be of the problem/solution-
management type and/or of the opportunity/development type.
It is preferable that any goal has both of these elements.

Goals under these categories could be as follows:

• Relationship/ Social
• Finance/ Wealth/ Abundance
• Education/ Skill development/ Personal Development
• Health/ Well-being/ Fitness/ Body Image
• Coping with Transition/Change
• Stress Management
• Time Management
• Leisure/ Relaxation
• Philanthropic/ Voluntary Work
• Work/Career/ Professional
• Spiritual/ Personal Development/ Personal Philosophy

Under which of these categories would the goal you just defined
fall?

68

Level 2 - Immersion
Options Exercise

Start with one small step applied consistently and this will lead
to
Giant leaps!

Goal Category Exploration
This exploration uses tools such as interview questions and
prompts to explore diverse areas of one’s life. While the
exploration is extensive, it is by no means exhaustive. You may
start off by selecting just three areas to explore. These three
areas represent topics that you are drawn to. The assumption is
that low levels of satisfaction and/or imbalances will give you
clues as to which goals are your priority.

Family & Friends
• On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with your social
life?
• Are you satisfied with the quantity and quality of time
you spend with your family?
• If you won the lottery, who would you share your
winnings with?
• If you were to set a goal regarding relationships and
communication, who would be part of this goal?
• Is there any relationship that could benefit from more
attention?

Partner & Spouse
• How did you meet your partner?
• What can you tell me about your partner?
• Do you and your partner have any goals in common?
• If you could improve one thing in your relationship, what
would that be?
• What is your idea of an ideal vacation with your partner?

Playtime & Leisure & Relaxation
• How do you enjoy spending your free time?
• What do you do with others for fun & leisure?
• What are your hobbies?

69

Work & Career & Professional
• What is it like for you at work?
• What are your responsibilities?
• What kind of relationships do you have
o with your colleagues
o with your supervisor
o with your subordinates
• Are there any specific factors you experience as
stressful?
• If money was not a concern, what job(s) would you want
to be doing now?

Money & Finance & Wealth & Abundance
• Do you feel stressed about money matters?
• What is important to you regarding money and finance?
• What kind of relationships do you have with money?
• Do you feel you have sufficient finances to lead the
lifestyle you want to lead?
• What were the values and beliefs your parents held
about money and finance?
• What are your thoughts about a wealthy life?

Physical Environment
• Does your physical environment contribute towards your
feeling of well-being?
• Does your physical environment reflect the way you want
to live?
• Does your physical environment support your goals?

Spiritual & Esoteric & Personal Philosophy
• What is important to you as far as spiritual growth is
concerned?
• What are your ideas about spirituality?

Education & Skill Development
• Could I benefit from further learning and education?
• Could I benefit from time management skills?
• Do I need to learn better ways of managing stress?

70

Health & Fitness & Well-being & Body Image
• What is important to you when you consider your health?
• Do you or members of your family have specific health
concerns?
• Would you consider yourself to be a fit person?
• What are you most happy with about your body?
• Are you happy with your age?
• Do you consider yourself as having a good memory?
• To what extent are you satisfied with your:
o Sleeping habits?
o Eating habits?
o Exercise habits?
• Do you consider yourself as someone who gets stressed
easily?
• Do you use any techniques to cope with stressful
situations and feelings?

Personal & Professional Development
• Are you satisfied with the education you received?
• What is important to you in your personal development?
• What vices do you dislike in yourself or others?
• Are there any particular values and beliefs that play a
strong role in how you live your life?
• What virtues do you admire in yourself or others?
• Who are/were your role models?
• Are there any strengths that you make regular use of?

Coping with Transition & Change
• How do I cope with transition and change?
• Do I welcome or resist change?
• Do I like change for the sake of change?
• Am I open to learning?
• Am I open to new experiences?
• How attached am I to my comfort zone?
• To what extent am I attached to my habits?
• To what extent do I need to be in control?

71

Level 2 - Immersion

The Coaching Wheel – Life-Balance Wheel

There are many techniques to translate your responses into a
format that is more useful to you. Many have found graphical
representations to be particularly user-friendly. They provide a
clear, concise and easy to read indicator to guide goal definition
and to focus one’s efforts.

A commonly used representation is the Wheel of Life or Life-
Balance Wheel. In its most basic form, this is a circle divided
into eight segments where each segment represents a different
aspect of your life. Each segment is labelled according to the
topic you wish to set goals in.

This is also known as the Life Satisfaction Wheel since it can be
used to reflect your satisfaction with selected categories of your
life. For each segment, e.g. social/relationships, one indicates a
level of satisfaction rated from one to ten. Least satisfied is
represented by the centre as zero, five would be halfway up the

72

Passion To Performance

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