It’s Time for the 6th Secret of a Can Do Life

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Cathi Coridan

Remember, life comes in cycles. It’s quite simple and quite timely, this 6th secret: Remember, life comes in cycles. Just when we are SO READY for winter to be over and SPRING to get here.

Spring is COMING! There are little signs around us. It’s March. Spring training games started in Florida and Arizona this week. Daylight savings time starts this Sunday. While it is sure to snow a couple more times in many places across the US, it is a bit easier to take because Spring is COMING!

One of life’s great blessings is that our life comes in cycles. Daily. Monthly. Seasonal. Repeated, yet always changing.

How is Life Comes in Cycles a Secret of a Can Do Life? At the core of my Can Do life is a commitment I make every day (sometimes more than once a day!) to live my life with a positive attitude, grounded in gratitude and based in reality. The great thing about life coming in cycles is that no matter how yesterday went for me, I get to start each day new with this commitment.

Life cycles give us two opportunities – one is to start over! Not in the Scarlett O’Hara procrastinating way of “I’ll think about that tomorrow!” But in the ability to recommit with new energy to how we live our life and work toward our goals. The sunrise brings new light and new energy.

As does spring. For spring, we have rituals, like spring cleaning to brighten and light up our environment. For some of us, it is a re-commitment to exercise after the winter hibernation filled with comfort food and loose fitting sweat pants! Some people go away for Spring Break to play in the sun. In the Christian and Jewish faith traditions, we celebrate Easter and Passover, both of which are filled with symbols of new life, freedom, promise and hope.

Life coming in cycles also gives us the opportunity to remember moments, such as anniversaries and birthdays. To remember and to learn important lessons from the past for our future. Then, to recommit. For me, February 14th is much more than Valentine’s Day. It marks my anniversary of remission from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. It reminds me of how precious my health is and how privileged I am to have it restored! I try to keep that in mind every day, but I celebrate my health and my new life in a special way on Valentine’s Day! And I use that day to commit again to working on my goal of keeping myself healthy.

As spring awakens the earth after the long, cold, grey winter months, I invite you to join me in recommitting on a new level to a whole and healthy life – YOUR Can Do Life.

Imagine how much happier, more productive and stronger our families, neighborhoods, workplaces and communities would be if everyone made a commitment starting today to live his or her life with a positive attitude, grounded in gratitude and based in reality.

I hope that this spring, you Imagine, then Discover What You Can Do!

P.S. One way you can do this is to participate in the new Live YOUR Can Do Life online workshop. Registration starts on March 6th and the workshop launches on Friday the 13th. The multi-media program is open online for two weeks. Learn more by clicking here.

The First Secret of a Can Do Life Is….

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Cathi Coridan

It starts today! Each Wednesday for seven weeks, I will share one of the Seven Secrets of a Can Do Life on this blog. These are not earth shattering revelations by any means. They are what I like to call “hidden in plain sight.” In naming them and focusing on them, these secrets emerge and connect to make life fuller, healthier and more rewarding. They are distilled from my years of training and work in behavioral health, trying to find better ways to support people to work through problems and live a healthier life. And they come from reflecting on my personal life-changing experiences that I narrate in the Can Do Chronicles.

So, without further delay, here is….

The First Secret of a Can Do Life:

Develop and keep a positive attitude, grounded in gratitude every day.

Sometimes so easy. Sometimes so difficult. Always, so worth it!

So easy? Really?

Yes! Take 5 to 10 minutes every morning to intentionally focus on what the possibilities are for the day and what you have to be grateful for. Make it a habit. Do it while you brush your teeth or while you get dressed or something else you do every morning. Then write it down. See? So easy you can hit the EASY button with this one!

BUT WAIT!! It’s NOT so easy when life gets so full of distractions and stress that the first thing we do when we wake up is look at email messages on our phones and start building our anxious mental list of TO DOs and off we go….into traffic and meetings… with people and deadlines… and stress and problems. Into the “messiness and stressiness” that is life!

One of the most important things I realize and accept for a fact is that life is messy and filled with challenges and detours that are out of my control on the path to achieving my goals and dreams. That is why taking that time everyday to make that intentional commitment to possibilities and gratitude is so important to me, and why it is the FIRST and most important secret.

I know when I don’t take those special minutes in the morning, or even sometimes more than once a day, to make that commitment to stay focused on the positive and grounded in gratitude, that those are the times I become unglued and stressed out. Life starts to run me, I don’t run my life! And, I lose sight of the many, many things and people that I have to be grateful for and the many, many possibilities that life holds for me each day.

In the old days, I really thought it was okay to blame other people for how I felt and what was going wrong… the contract with deliverables and deadlines that were impossible to meet… the staff that did not follow the directions… the data in the report was wrong, and on and on and on… I had a hit list of people and reasons that my life was not going according to plan! I call it the chip on my shoulder, and the but in yes…BUT!

Then I grew to realize that it is not the circumstances in my life but how I react to them, my attitude, that makes all the difference. I am responsible for my attitude = how I react and how I feel. It is a real value to me that I keep control my attitude and take the BUT out of my YES to life. Blaming other people and things puts them in charge of my attitude, and to some extent, in charge of me! And, I don’t want to give control of my attitude to other people, whether things are going well or going poorly!

Taking that time every day to focus on the possibilities and grounding the day in gratitude keeps me more focused, and life’s “messiness and stressiness” are much less annoying. I am open to discovering new ways to approach challenges and solve problems, rather than hitting the mental “play button” with a rant about how life is not fair.

Making this commitment every day – and like I said, sometimes more than once a day! – has built a very healthy habit that helps me resist hitting that “play button,” protects me against stress, helps me think more clearly and makes it much easier to recover when things aren’t going well. And, I have realized that it makes me a much more attractive, enjoyable and engaging person to be around! That discovery is one of the biggest things in my life that I am grateful for.

There you have it. The first secret. I hope this little secret makes as big a difference in your life as it has in mine!

HELPFUL HINT: Make and keep a gratitude list every day. You can have repeats, but add at least two new things you are grateful for to the list each day.

Announcing the Seven Weeks of The Seven Secrets of a Can Do Life

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Cathi Coridan

The first Seven Secrets of a Can Do Life virtual workshop series wrapped up its two week run last Friday. It was fun and filled with many firsts and special moments for me, including taping the two videos using my laptop webcam and coordinating the new series of podcasts. Taping the videos was definitely outside my comfort zone, and fraught with crazy mishaps like the calendar falling off the wall with a LOUD crash, and the cell phone that I thought was turned off creating very loud feedback BUZZ in my computer speakers about 9 minutes into a REALLY GOOD take! Through it all, I learned not to take it all – or myself – too seriously!

My biggest fear was “what if I gave a workshop and nobody came?” so I was thrilled that dozens of people from around the world signed up, and then showed up and invested the time to make a Can Do difference in and with their lives. The feedback so far has been quite good, and I am still waiting for a few more of the workshop-ees to complete their surveys on Survey Monkey (hint, hint, if you can hear me, you know who you are!). Part of me wishes I could follow it right up with another series and build momentum and keep it going and growing, but I want to let my experiences and their feedback simmer together, and carefully unpack the lessons-learned before making final decisions about the next round of workshops that will start in the spring. And, I am working hard on my new book, The Can Do Workplace, which has grown to be an engrossing project, filled with great wisdom in the case-stories I am currently writing about some awesome people and five extraordinary organizations from around the world.

So, I asked myself, am I just going to stay quiet about these Can Do Secrets until the spring? NO WAY! So, what to do? I thought about it for a while and came up with a great idea!

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Starting next Wednesday and for the following seven Wednesdays, I am going to use this blog to reveal the Seven Secrets of a Can Do Life to the whole wide world, one secret at a time!

Want to hear a secret? Looking for some motivation to keep your New Year’s Resolution alive? Need some inspiration to offset what is on the news and to beat the winter blues?

Check back here next Wednesday and you will find just that!

Until then, I hope you remember to imagine and discover what you Can Do!

Moving from My Story to Our Story…. A BIG Step

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Cathi Coridan

Stories not only teach us how to act – they inspire us to act. Stories communicate our values through the language of the heart, our emotions. And it is what we feel – our hopes, our cares, our obligations – not simply what we know that can inspire us with the courage to act. Marshall Ganz

Last year, when I wrote The Can Do Chronicles, I was attempting to find my voice, to tell my story out loud and in the open. I was such a reluctant author! I told my story of personal transformation during a prolonged time of challenge and adversity, hoping that someone, somewhere might maybe, possibly get some inspiration from it. The whole experience felt awkward, like I was walking in high heels on a slippery sidewalk, and one false step would either totally humiliate me or cripple me for life – or maybe both.

I got the story out there. Whew! Met that goal. Ticked that box! Then in the months that followed, I realized I want to do more with it – with this Can Do “thing” that had become the center and focus of my life.

I want to share more than just my story. I want to spread my Can Do world view and its life-giving message.

I want to shift from telling my story to leading to shape “our story.” Sure, my background in counseling, nonprofit leadership, training and writing comes together and positions me very well. But O.M.G., it’s taking a big leap of faith and courage for me to get out there!

But, I need to do it, so I am! I don’t want to keep it to myself because I believe CAN DO is too important!

Why? In today’s world, where there is so much division, blaming, negativity and drama, I am totally convinced that a Can Do attitude and world view makes a fundamental difference in peoples’ personal lives, families, neighborhoods, workplaces and communities. I feel called and compelled to GET THE WORD OUT THERE about the promise and potential of Can Do.

So, for the last few months, I have been busy creating, writing, discussing and developing numerous strategies, venues and channels to GET CAN DO OUT THERE! I am very excited and, I have to admit, more than a little scared about pushing, marketing and being OUT THERE. The age old anxiety questions pop up: What if you don’t like me or my message? Or don’t agree with me? What if I mess something up? Well, questions or not, I have put my “Big Girl Shoes” on, and back out there onto the slippery sidewalk I go! I know it will not all go perfectly, but I am giving it my best shot with the resources I have today. I trust the voice inside me which has guided the creation and growth of Can Do for almost five years. And, I gotta say, I am pretty darned proud of myself for doing that!

So how and where is it all GETTING OUT THERE, you ask? Here are a few good places for everyone to start:

The Seven Secrets of a Can Do Life FREE virtual workshop series launches on January 2nd
You can read The Can Do Chronicles with this early bird special savings of 15% – it’s the quiet launch! To take advantage of this special offer, click here and when you check out, enter discount code 5K243YTD. The Chronicles is still available in Kindle format on amazon.com, but without the updating and refreshing I did for the paperback.
The Can Do Dialogues, my new series of podcasts with inspiring guests sharing their Can Do stories, launched on December 2nd. The newest post is a great, fast-paced conversation with my friend, colleague and fellow cancer survivor and writer, Judy Leaver. Check back regularly to hear new, inspiring stories.
I am writing my second book, the Can Do Workplace, and I just learned last week that it was accepted to be published by Motivational Press later this year. WOW!
I have restructured Coridan Consulting to provide writing, training and interim executive services that help nonprofits and small businesses navigate change & growth with excellence so they can make a Can Do kind of difference.

I am grateful that I have the combination of leadership experience and the gift of words – written and spoken – that allow me to share my story and begin to tell “our story” of the promise and potential of Can Do.

BUT

I cannot do this alone! My BIG 2015 goal is to use the phenomenal potential and opportunities afforded by the internet and virtual technology to create an online Can Do Community that spans and touches all part of the globe. Check back, I will be posting much more about it in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, I hope you will check out other posts on the Can Do Blog, take advantage of the early bird discount code to buy your copy of The Can Do Chronicles, listen to the the new post on the Can Do Dialogues and sign up for the The Seven Secrets of a Can Do Life FREE virtual workshop series…. And, imagine what our world will be like when we all make a little bit of a Can Do difference every day.

With heartfelt thanks –

Change & Growth, Meet Reality!

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Cathi Coridan

I am all about change. I believe in it, embrace it and plan for it. I spend my days talking, researching and writing about it. It is at the core of Can Do Model of Change & Growth™.

For the last few months, I have been intensely focused on and working hard to make big changes in my consulting business. My goal is to shift from being a contractor back to being the CEO that runs a successful small business. The contracting approach served me quite well when I was sick. The entrepreneurial model makes much more sense now, for me and for my clients, present and future!

At the onset of this professional change process, I made a commitment to create a business plan, and to be very thoughtful and strategic about the consulting services to include because I want Coridan Consulting to be the model for The Can Do Workplace. I developed a very strong business plan with three well defined areas: Training, Writing and Interim Executive Services. I excel at and really enjoy all three areas. They fit me, and they fit together, so perfectly!

With the support of a great web designer (http://www.daedalcreations.com), I have developed a website (http://coridanconsulting.com) that captures the look and feel of me and my work. It still needs tweaking and some additional detail, but then again, don’t we all?!

The pieces for both of my books are coming together, slowly but surely. The corrections to the proof for the paperback edition of The Can Do Chronicles were submitted to the publisher yesterday. I am between 60% and 50% of the way through a solid first draft of the second book in the series, The Can Do Workplace. And yes, I did mean to put the percentages in that order.

At this moment, the most critical next step for me to be successful in my new business model is to GET OUT OF MY CAVE and do some guerrilla networking with people in the local nonprofit and small business communities. To my surprise, this vital next step has not been so easy for me.

Networking comes very naturally to me. I love meeting people and hearing their stories and linking two or more people together to move projects and missions forward to help save the world. I have over 800 friends on Facebook, and know over 95% of them to recognize on the street and call by name! I get the most enjoyment in the grant writing process when I make introductions and connect the people and organizations to pull a proposed project plan together. I am not just good at it, I am quite gifted at it!

A BIG SURPRISE: What I have come to realize very recently is that staying in my cave now comes very naturally to me. Who would have thought? Not me!

Part of the reason for this change, I am sure, is my new commitment to my health, adopting a saner pace for my work and life. As a grant writer for the last four years, this has meant staying put in my home office and focusing on the research, writing and deadlines. And, as I have been writing and recovering my health and stamina, my natural Introvert tendencies have re-emerged and grown stronger than ever, making the networking which I love, feel and seem a bit odd and awkward to me.

Also in play is my very real (and very normal!) apprehension about making another career change. When I started the grant writing four years ago, I did not have time or the luxury to let “what if’s” get in my way! Both my husband and I were unemployed – my unemployment was planned; his was by crisis as his job got eliminated, which made mine into a crisis too. This time is different. In doing a great job of planning for this transition, I am experiencing what I call the “space between Can & Do”… the time between the plan and the outcome that so easily fills up with anxieties, second guesses and the distractions we call “life”. It is normal and I know it is normal, but it does not make the unsettled feelings any less unsettled.

It is at this juncture, which can last a while, that Change & Growth Meet Reality. The reality is that change is hard, even for those of us who are its fans. And sometimes, the barriers we encounter are not in the places we expect.

My recommendations to myself for getting through this time successfully are to: 1) establish my priorities based on my goals; 2) focus on what I CAN DO to get to those goals and let the rest go; and 3) keep my priorities front and center, no matter what distractions and challenges come my way.

For me, this means that networking IS PRIORITY #1. In the last few days I have signed up to attend three networking events over the next two weeks. It’s a good start, and I need to remember that networking needs to REMAIN my PRIORITY and that these three networking events need to be replicated a dozen times during the next three months.

Change is a good thing, but it is hard and often quite messy. In my quest to promote the Can Do Model of Change & Growth™ , and from my own recent experience, I want to conclude this blog by sharing some questions that I hope can help make change a good thing for you, too:

What is the goal of the changes are you making in your life?
How have you planned well and set the right priorities? How and where “not so much?”
How can you keep them as a PRIORITY when “life happens”?
What are the barriers you have found that you were not expecting?
What old fears are getting in your way?
What CAN you DO to move beyond the barriers and fears? When will you do them? (Hint: sooner is better!)

Good luck. Change & Growth may be hard and messy, but the results are worth it – and so are you!

New York Times, Meet The Can Do Workplace

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Cathi Coridan

I have been devoting big, no huge, chunks of my time over the last six weeks researching and writing my new book, The Can Do Workplace. I have thoroughly enjoyed my dozen-plus interviews with Can Do minded folks from around the world. The outline is almost “there,” and the introduction and chapter three are both final drafts. Writing a book is a marathon, not just a race and I am still quite far from the magic moment of loading the manuscript onto its first stop, the Kindle e-bookstore shelf. My plan is to hit the PUBLISH button the week of Thanksgiving.

Recently I have been feeling a bit itchy because I really miss the feeling of accomplishment that comes from meeting concrete goals and getting some immediate gratification. Then last night I had an idea to help scratch the itch! I decided to begin to offer “sneak peeks” of the book’s contents on my social media platforms. First thing this morning I made a couple of notes, and then tucked them away planning to return to them after I finished the projects that were due today for my paying clients. (FYI: both deadline-driven documents were delivered before I started working on this blog!)

This afternoon, just after my favorite client from Atlanta called to postpone our meeting, a friend of mine posted an Opinion piece on Facebook, titled Why You Hate Work from the May 30th edition of the New York Times, and it moved me into action. The authors do an excellent job of describing the challenges and problems I have been identifying about workplace culture in the book, and of articulating and supporting why I believe that building and sustaining Can Do Workplaces is a pressing need that is critical to our economic future.

…just 30 percent of employees in America feel engaged at work, according to a 2013 report by Gallup. Around the world, across 142 countries, the proportion of employees who feel engaged at work is just 13 percent. For most of us, in short, work is a depleting, dispiriting experience, and in some obvious ways, it’s getting worse.

Demand for our time is increasingly exceeding our capacity — draining us of the energy we need to bring our skill and talent fully to life. Increased competitiveness and a leaner, post-recession work force add to the pressures. The rise of digital technology is perhaps the biggest influence, exposing us to an unprecedented flood of information and requests that we feel compelled to read and respond to at all hours of the day and night.

(The research shows that) employees are vastly more satisfied and productive, it turns out, when four of their core needs are met: 1) physical, through opportunities to regularly renew and recharge at work; 2) emotional, by feeling valued and appreciated for their contributions; 3) mental, when they have the opportunity to focus in an absorbed way on their most important tasks and define when and where they get their work done; and 4) spiritual, by doing more of what they do best and enjoy most, and by feeling connected to a higher purpose at work. The more effectively leaders and organizations support employees in meeting these core needs, the more likely the employees are to experience engagement, loyalty, job satisfaction and positive energy at work, and the lower their perceived levels of stress.

These issues seem, as my undergrad statistics professor used to say, “intuitively obvious.” So, you might ask: why do I need to write the book when the NYT and Gallup have done such a great job defining the problem and articulating the solution? Enter the Can Do Model of Change & Growth, with strategies that help motivate and move people to go from CAN and get them to DO. The challenge is not in defining the problem, it is in designing and implementing ways to move organizations, filled with people who are highly resistant, to make significant changes in how they organize and conduct business. That’s where the book’s outline that I (well, almost) finished this weekend comes to life.

Change & Growth happens in that tricky and remarkable space between CAN & DO!

Stay Tuned!

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A Place to Discover What You Can Do….

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