Dear True Blue Coaching readers,
So I've been looking at my own life, thinking about holistically applying my values. This is intense! I wonder what it would be like always to consider the lives of people and creatures and the life of the land itself.
I ask myself, if I'm so excited about this idea, what does that mean about how I live now, and what do I need to change?
How can I put my values into action?
Specifically, for instance, how must I care for the soil in my 4'x4' garden on the property I rent? Right now, there's a snowstorm shedding 1-3 inches of snow per hour. Lots of that will turn into ice. The ice will make the new cement porch treacherous. I wonder how the landlord's ice-melting product affects the soil. I know it hurts their dog's feet, poor thing.
And, hmm...to be a steward of the land. That's what Wendell Berry's point was. I like Wendell Berry's values and vision, too.
So many things to consider and re-consider: Is being a steward of the land what I value? Well, of course, it is.
But how much am I responsible for? What is my vision for not just now, or the near future, but for the future of grandchildren not even conceived yet but whom I already love when I imagine them, for the future of the grandchildren's grandchildren, for the plants, the animals, the land, the soil, the microbes in the soil, for quality of the air, the water, the oceans, all humans.
It's the 7th generation idea. That's the big idea.
It's mind-boggling to think that far ahead.
I wonder what would happen if we all made our own holistic plans - starting with what we value so much we'd do anything to save, what's so incredibly dear to us not just outside of ourself but deep inside. Values that lead to vision. A vision, or joint vision, or community vision, or national vision, or world vision that's so compelling, so very dear to us that we must make considered decisions to be true to our vision.
What would it really take to have a holistic vision that's so big?
Individually, it might be overwhelming. But as individuals, we can start small, I think, by asking ourselves, "What are my values? (Are those really my values?) What must I do to live by my values? What is my own personal vision? How do I make a plan to reach that vision?
And what actions will I take to stay true to my deepest self, my values, my vision?
It's not like I haven't done this before. I just haven't done it on a holistic level. So. One step at time.... first values, then vision, then a plan, then action. What does that give you? True success. True blue success. That's what living your True Blue life is. Why live any other way? Well, lots of people choose not to. Or maybe they don't know how.
P.S.
I love helping people figure out their true values, and basing their lives on those values. That's part of my coaching practice. Email me for a no-cost, no-obligation coaching session - all done by phone. 30-40 minutes of deep reflection - and fun, too. Ann@TrueBlueCoaching.com.
Showing posts with label career coaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label career coaching. Show all posts
Monday, March 2, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
What's the Big Idea? A Holistic Business Plan Riff
What's the Big Idea? A Holistic Business Plan Riff
Hi, True Blue Coaching fans! A young couple visited me last week. They're writing a holistic business plan. It's not the kind of business plan that I've seen before, and I like this version a lot. They're farmers in Vermont. They've had a dream of owning their own farming business for years, so they decided to learn the ropes by working for other farmers, first. Now they have a chance to make their dream come true, in a small way at first. The woman was raised in suburban Connecticut. She got started in farming when she left a job that wasn't satisfying, even though it seemed at first to fit exactly what she'd wanted while in college. She left that city job and city life and in a matter of weeks, took a job as a shepherd on a distant relative's farm in Vermont. The man was raised in Detroit. They met when she sat down in the only empty chair at a coffee shop, and next to her was a guy reading a book by Wendell Berry (a great writer, a big advocate for being good stewards of the land). Having Wendell Berry as a shared interest was a strong connection, and within weeks, this guy joined her in Vermont.
Now, 5 years later, they've lived and worked on farms. The first, of course, was the farm that turned sheep milk into high quality cheese. The farm had been in the farmer's family, so the farmer had long experience in taking good care of the sheep and the land - and used movable electric fences to make sure that the fields weren't over-eaten. (I'm sure there's a technical farming term for that, but you get the idea.) Then came a farm whose product was meat. The couple cared for goats, lambs, chickens, Jersey cows, and veal calves - veal calves who had plenty of room in the barn and frolicked in their paddock, too. (Can animals that big really "frolic"? Well, when I saw them, those calves seemed really happy hanging out together in their paddock, kind of like kids at recess - and boy, did they move fast when they knew it was time for yummy goat milk!) The animals were raised humanely, and eventually were slaughtered.
The meat was sold through a co-op to high-end restuarants in New York City and Boston.
The third farm that they worked on had a lot going on. The farmer plowed the soil for vegetable farming without a tractor! Saved fuel. Didn't pollute the air. They use a team of 2 Really Big Strong Horses to pull the plow. You can tell that I can't remember what kind of horses they were, right? I have never seen such big horses in my whole life. This was the biggest farm this couple has worked on - they cared for pigs, lambs, chickens, sheep, and Jersey cows. The farm rotated the animals on the land, so the fields didn't get worn out - the soil actually prospered from the animals who lived on it. The farm sold vegetables, but primarily meat, as a Community Supported Agriculture (CAS) business.
Let's see if I can explain what a CAS does - let's say, it's like subscribing ahead of time to buy the products from a farm.
Now this young couple are doing the groundwork to build their own farming business. The standard model business plans that they'd examined just didn't suit them.
Then they found a new kind of business plan, one that includes a whole-life outlook. Their Holistic Business Plan includes a great big vision, and great big values, not only for income but for what the money can buy ...and for what the money can't buy - a community of people who love and support the couple, and well-cared for land that will support not just this couple and their hoped-for children, but also generations to come.
They're planning how to get what they really want out of life - for their life as a married couple, for the family they want to have, and for whoever lives off the land after they're gone. They told me that what they want is a great life that serves and enhances the lives of people...
But not only people! They're also planning to protect and enhance the quality of life of the animals they'll raise, the vegetables and fruits they'll raise, and the land itself. That means the life of the soil, and the microbes that live in the soil. That includes the water supply and waste water, what they put into the air, what they put into their own bodies...
This is BIG thinking, a big plan. It'll take a lot of attention. A values-based life does take attention.
True Blue Coaching is all about values, figuring them out and paying attention.
Hi, True Blue Coaching fans! A young couple visited me last week. They're writing a holistic business plan. It's not the kind of business plan that I've seen before, and I like this version a lot. They're farmers in Vermont. They've had a dream of owning their own farming business for years, so they decided to learn the ropes by working for other farmers, first. Now they have a chance to make their dream come true, in a small way at first. The woman was raised in suburban Connecticut. She got started in farming when she left a job that wasn't satisfying, even though it seemed at first to fit exactly what she'd wanted while in college. She left that city job and city life and in a matter of weeks, took a job as a shepherd on a distant relative's farm in Vermont. The man was raised in Detroit. They met when she sat down in the only empty chair at a coffee shop, and next to her was a guy reading a book by Wendell Berry (a great writer, a big advocate for being good stewards of the land). Having Wendell Berry as a shared interest was a strong connection, and within weeks, this guy joined her in Vermont.
Now, 5 years later, they've lived and worked on farms. The first, of course, was the farm that turned sheep milk into high quality cheese. The farm had been in the farmer's family, so the farmer had long experience in taking good care of the sheep and the land - and used movable electric fences to make sure that the fields weren't over-eaten. (I'm sure there's a technical farming term for that, but you get the idea.) Then came a farm whose product was meat. The couple cared for goats, lambs, chickens, Jersey cows, and veal calves - veal calves who had plenty of room in the barn and frolicked in their paddock, too. (Can animals that big really "frolic"? Well, when I saw them, those calves seemed really happy hanging out together in their paddock, kind of like kids at recess - and boy, did they move fast when they knew it was time for yummy goat milk!) The animals were raised humanely, and eventually were slaughtered.
The meat was sold through a co-op to high-end restuarants in New York City and Boston.
The third farm that they worked on had a lot going on. The farmer plowed the soil for vegetable farming without a tractor! Saved fuel. Didn't pollute the air. They use a team of 2 Really Big Strong Horses to pull the plow. You can tell that I can't remember what kind of horses they were, right? I have never seen such big horses in my whole life. This was the biggest farm this couple has worked on - they cared for pigs, lambs, chickens, sheep, and Jersey cows. The farm rotated the animals on the land, so the fields didn't get worn out - the soil actually prospered from the animals who lived on it. The farm sold vegetables, but primarily meat, as a Community Supported Agriculture (CAS) business.
Let's see if I can explain what a CAS does - let's say, it's like subscribing ahead of time to buy the products from a farm.
Now this young couple are doing the groundwork to build their own farming business. The standard model business plans that they'd examined just didn't suit them.
Then they found a new kind of business plan, one that includes a whole-life outlook. Their Holistic Business Plan includes a great big vision, and great big values, not only for income but for what the money can buy ...and for what the money can't buy - a community of people who love and support the couple, and well-cared for land that will support not just this couple and their hoped-for children, but also generations to come.
They're planning how to get what they really want out of life - for their life as a married couple, for the family they want to have, and for whoever lives off the land after they're gone. They told me that what they want is a great life that serves and enhances the lives of people...
But not only people! They're also planning to protect and enhance the quality of life of the animals they'll raise, the vegetables and fruits they'll raise, and the land itself. That means the life of the soil, and the microbes that live in the soil. That includes the water supply and waste water, what they put into the air, what they put into their own bodies...
This is BIG thinking, a big plan. It'll take a lot of attention. A values-based life does take attention.
True Blue Coaching is all about values, figuring them out and paying attention.
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