Turn the page

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It is October 1st and we turned the page of our old fashioned wall calendar this morning.

October 2015

October 2015

It was exciting to take a peek at all the adventures this month has to offer. To top it off, we even have real Fall weather today – a cool morning and a bright, sunny blue sky day! Just a few minutes outside reinvigorates and grounds you. Boy, do I love those basics.

Today is even more exciting because it is DAY 1 of my 30 day commitment to clearing out the clutter in my life. Every day for the next 30 days I will GIVE AWAY or THROW AWAY something. At the end of each week, I will donate the items to our local thrift store. Here is what went into the GIVE AWAY pile today…

Going to Goodwill!

Going to Goodwill!

Would you like to join me? I know I do better with an accountability partner! That reminds me, I will be talking about all kinds of tips for making accountability more engaging in my FREE TELECLASS this month. Check it out!

HAPPY AUTUMN!

April Showers Brought SNOW!

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So the April showers brought SNOW. Now, May 1st brings a Winter Weather Advisory. The tulips are wearing sweaters!

Yellow flowers in the snow

Even though the snowflakes are flying, the trees are budding, the flowers are blossoming, and the grass is turning green. Spring is unfolding steadily each day. May is an exciting and busy time.

I am thrilled to be co-hosting another round of the Inner Champion Series with fellow master coach Helen House. MORE INFORMATION HERE!

And, if you are feeling overwhelmed by all the busy-ness of this time of the year, sign up for my FREE TELECLASS – Too Much to Do? Let Me Help You! – HERE!

Join me for some fun!

Mary

Hello Darkness

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“Hello Darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again…”
P. Simon 1964 “The Sound of Silence”

I love the quiet darkness of winter. It brings a peaceful calm to my heart and mind. In the midst of a frenetic time of year, the darkness invites me to sit down, to slow down, to just be in this moment. When I embrace the quiet darkness, I am treated to wonderful surprises – the sharp contrasts of the shadows cast by a full moon, the fiery brilliant colors of the sunrise, a wonderful sensation of being connected to everything and everyone! My heart tingles with aliveness! I am grateful for the invitation to slow down and come home to me.

Thank you Winter Solstice!

What surprising invitation do you find in the quiet darkness?
Leave a comment and let me know!

Mary

Navigating Transitions with Grace

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“Life is one transition after another” according to one of my wise friends who attended my free teleclass earlier this month. It is true. Some transitions we navigate are BIG – getting a new job or losing a job, becoming a parent or losing a parent, getting married or getting divorced!

When challenged by transitions, our natural human tendency is to RESIST change. We automatically tighten our grip on what is familiar when we face something new and unknown even when that unknown is something positive.

When we are unaware of this reaction, we struggle and make the transition even more challenging.

What helps everyone in any transition is to become aware –

How am I reacting to this change?

What are my options?

What do I want to retain?

What do I want to let go of?

What are my obstacles or challenges?

What obstacles am I creating?

How do I want to be in the midst of this change?

These are the kinds of questions that help my coaching clients successfully and powerfully navigate transitions. If you want more grace and less strain in your transitions, call me (952-939-0277). Let’s see if coaching is right for you.

Mary

Navigating Transitions – Free Teleclass

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TRANSITIONS: Successfully Navigating the Moments In-between
Thursday, October 14 at 10:30 AM CT

It’s Fall in the heartland. The trees are changing from vibrant green to shades of red and gold. The days are shorter; the air is crisp. We are slowly and surely moving from the heat of summer to the chill of winter. FALL is a season of TRANSITION.

This month The Growing Edge Teleclass will explore TRANSITION. Sometimes they are challenging, sometimes they are graceful. They are inevitably part of the natural rhythm of life.

Join me on October 14 as we tap our collective wisdom and knowledge about navigating transitions.

• Why are some transitions smooth and easy?
• How come some are rough and require lots of effort?
• What makes a transition exciting?
• What has you dreading a transition?
• What resources do you count on when you are in the midst of a transition?

I will share some strategies for staying sure-footed as you dance with the rhythms of life’s transitions.

I promise that you will leave our conversation inspired and ready for any transition that comes your way (or is already underway!)

I am looking forward to growing with you this month!

Click Here To REGISTER

Challenging. Empathetic. Creative.

My time with Mary has been invaluable.

I began working with Mary at a time when I was approaching a major life change:  I wanted to change my career and re-balance my life. Mary was an incredible accountability partner in helping me navigate, plan, and adapt during this transition, and — most significantly — she helped me get in tune with what I truly want in this next chapter of my life.

Her direct, no-bullshit, empathetic coaching style and her ability to push me beyond my surface responses were critical to helping me take real ownership of my life, career, and relationships. Furthermore, her coaching – especially with the PQ program – has been transformative and has given me the tools to continue growing on my own which is a true treasure.  I am grateful to be in a new place, with new insight and compassion for myself and others.  It’s been an amazing journey–and Mary is an amazing coach!

Jeanne F Testimonial

Three Words: Energetic. Challenging. Creative.

Mary is a true “coach’s coach”. I learned so much from her as my supervisor during the coach certification process that I hired her to coach me again…and again…and again. Mary was so effective that I engaged her at several key moments in my career. Our work together was always up-lifting, insightful and action-oriented, and I am grateful for both the wisdom and the kindness she shared with me. Thank you Mary!

Laura Weiss Testimonial

For sales people in general a great coach is an asset because we are forced to deal with negative emotions every day – there is a lot of rejection and fear. The resilience needed to withstand that is greater when you have an asset like Mary.

She helps me think through what is going on. If there is conflict with my values, she helps me articulate what is going on. From that we trade action steps to progress through a challenge, or take on an opportunity. She takes what is within me and helps me make sense of it and create actionable steps.

Mary does not bring a one-size-fits-all approach – this is a customized approach we have worked on over the past four years.

Gabriel-Harren

THREE WORDS: Professional, Humor, Authentic

Mary’s sense of humor, coupled with her raw authenticity, gave me a huge play ground to be myself and to experiment with letting go of concepts about myself that no longer served me.  Our work was, and continues to be, life-changing.

I send my closest friends and family to Mary when someone needs a coach.  Enough said.  I know you’ll get nothing but excellence when you work with her.

I’ve pretty much doubled business over the course of working with her. I know it is tough to attribute it to one single thing, but I know with certainty that she is a part of what has allowed me to do that. And, working with Mary has helped me have much more authentic conversations with people in my life, whether those are people I’m dating, or my relatives, friends or colleagues. She’s helped me get a clear sense of my voice in all those types of relationship.

She has helped me get out of my own way on the goals that really, really matter to me.

Annemarie-Estess

I am somebody who needs homework. I need someone to say ‘Do X Y and Z and get back in touch,’ instead of ‘Think about this and we will talk.’ Mary structured things for me in that manner. Otherwise it is easy for me to put things on back burner.

There were two big main issues that Mary and I worked with: I had too much on my plate, and my marriage was blowing up. So we worked on both.

I gained a good sense of not only who I was but trusting that I had the answers, which is really where you want to get to: That you can trust yourself with the way you are feeling and that the decisions you are making are right for you.

Dayle-Quigley

My coaching journey with Mary has been wonderful. She was a sounding board to test ideas, conversations, and dreams about what I want in my career and my personal life. Coaching with her helped me grow into a stronger leader and find my voice to speak up for myself. Coach Mary helped me gain the confidence and skills to self-advocate and ask for what I deserve from my superiors. This was the catalyst for opening doors to a new career role that is a wonderful fit for me, a role that I didn’t even know was an option when I began.

Leslie S - Testimonial for Mary Olk

There is no colleague I respect more than Mary Olk. She has an unwavering commitment to personal and professional growth for her clients and herself. She is a truly gifted inner guide—extraordinarily insightful, self aware, highly skilled, and wise. I am especially proud she has chosen to integrate the Gremlin-Taming® method into her own naturally potent style of facilitating others to tap into and channel their potential.  Her clients are beyond fortunate to have her in their lives.