Category: Opinion & Philosophy

Shall we reconsider ‘free speech’? One of the leading concepts of my life and work can be summed up in the word ‘abracadabra’, which etymologically is an Aramaic word meaning ‘I create as I speak’. From almost two decades of experience in the use of […]

Last week I was sat in front of a tall chain link fence at a wolf sanctuary. Part of a group spending the afternoon there, we had been given time to be alone in silence with the wolves. I was just sitting there in the […]

My friend James Tripp pointed out to me that a lot of public speakers speak with what he calls ‘backfilled content’. What he means by this is that some people first get the idea that they would like to be a ‘speaker’ and they then […]

The most powerful coaching I have ever participated in has come as a result of letting go completely and allowing love to carry me. Water is flowing against my chest, bubbling up under my chin and around my neck, making sound as it empties over […]

It struck me once that everything comes from nothing. We don’t typically think of it this way though. We consider things to have come from things that preceded them. Apples come from trees, kids come from parents, etc. What struck me though is that in […]

What if all the questions we ask – all the things we say and do in coaching – are a superficial dance, the impact of which is minute at best? What if the conversation we think we are having is just ripples on an ocean? […]

Last year, a few months after finishing a coaching program, one of my clients emailed me saying: “Hi John, It’s incredible how much more productive I’m being since we stopped the coaching. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m on fire!” Sitting upright on […]

“You’re in your head.” If there’s a single phrase I’m sick of hearing, and yet always curious as to when I’ll hear it next, it’s this one. In fact, I heard it this past weekend when I was speaking with Mel Carnegie, a woman I […]

I thought I knew what presence was… …until I held my first nephew in my arms and stared into his eyes. I thought I knew what presence was… …until I stood beside my father-in-law as he took his final breath. I thought I knew what […]

We cannot create what we cannot see. Since our choices are always limited to the options evident to us, one way we can powerfully impact people is to show them what they can’t see. For example, if your client’s two considered options are (A) raise […]

The words we think, speak and write create the world around us. Not just the world as we perceive it – but the actual, tangible world. Loving words create love. Fearful words create fear. Constructive words manifest. Destructive words tear down. Limiting words limit. Opening […]

When it comes to being a powerful coach, ‘integrity’ is something I have found to be crucial. When using this word, I am actually referring to BOTH it’s two definitions. Integrity /inˈteɡrədē/ noun 1. The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral […]