Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
I guess the fist thing I could place here is the links to my sites.

The best place to see all my links (and to which I'm constantly adding) is at
http://claimid.com/thea

Then there are also all my blogs here at Apsense
http://www.apsense.com/user/forwardsteps
You'll see the link to 'More Articles' under the blogs already listed.

Then of course there is my Apsense ABC, at
http://forwardsteps.apsense.com

Lately I call myself a Personal Success Facilitator rather than a Life Coach because I find that I'm tending to prefer providing online resources. I'm expanding that side of things at www.forwardsteps.com.au

Feel free to ask me anything related to your online business activities, your web sites, internet marketing or personal development. I'll let you know what I know, and if I don't know, I'll direct you too a good resource.

Nov 10th 2007 10:24   

Tina Schraier   Professional Network Marketer, Affi
Hello Thea,

Appreciate your sharing your knowledge with our group here at Apsense. I haven't said hello in awhile, so glad to see you here in the Coach of the week Role !

I am wondering 3 things currently.

1 ) What is the best resource for learning how to set up an autoresponder ?

2) What is the best way to get my website " up there " I know I need to learn alot about the secrets to SEO, what direction can you point me in

3) Best Resource if you know of one , or more of places to build a downline team
of business builders.

4) I am trying to meet professional non profit fundraisers who specialize in
" ephilanthropy " how would you go about finding them .

Thank you again for being here.

Best Regards,

Tina Schraier
incentivewave
Appreciate your feedback
Nov 10th 2007 12:28   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Hello Tina, I've copied your questions below, along with my responses.

***1 ) What is the best resource for learning how to set up an autoresponder ?

I currently run two lists, one monthly ezine that's been going for 4 years and another daily message that's been going about 6 months or longer.

I wrote a free ebook that you can have, at
http://www.forwardsteps.com.au/FreeEzineBook.htm

***2) What is the best way to get my website " up there " I know I need to learn alot about the secrets to SEO, what direction can you point me in

I have learned gradually over years by reading lots, from reputable sources and keeping an eye on what the successful people are doing.

Two of my favorite tools are
http://www.quirk.biz/searchstatus because it helps me quickly see if the site I'm on is already experiencing success, and
my other methods of getting my site out there are at http://claimid.com/thea You'll see that I'm quite big on article writing and submitting those to good quality, relevant to my niche, and highly ranked submission sites.

It's also great to right click and view the source code of successful sites, to see what they do with their keywords and descriptions.

Read lots of further information here: http://googlerankings.com/googlefriendly.php

My articles about online business will also give you some ideas regarding mindset:
http://www.forwardsteps.com.au/article/TheRightMindsetForSuccessInBusiness.htm
http://www.forwardsteps.com.au/article/MakingMoneyWithAnOnlineBusiness.htm
http://www.forwardsteps.com.au/article/InchbyInch-DaybyDay-StepbyStep.htm
http://www.forwardsteps.com.au/article/TheUniverseLovesSpeed.htm

***3) Best Resource if you know of one , or more of places to build a downline team
of business builders.

Listen to http://www.kimklavercast.com and definitely hop over to http://adventuresinnetworkmarketing.com/marketing_audio.html it's one of the best I've heard and fun too.

Again, at http://claimid.com/thea you'll find the communities in which I mix. There are many. Find good quality ones and make good friends.

***4) I am trying to meet professional non profit fundraisers who specialize in "ephilanthropy" how would you go about finding them .

I simply did a quick Google search and found these possible sites that you can explore further http://tinyurl.com/2tlj5d
You can change the search terms and discover yet more.

I'm certain that I can expand on everything I've written here and on what I will write in future responses. If you want to go into greater depth and get much more information, then I recommend www.ask-thea-about.com

Nov 10th 2007 20:36   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Any questions tonight? I'll pop back in later and answer any comments.

It's helpful to remember that I'm in Perth, Western Australia.

Here is a very, very useful link regarding out time difference etc.
http://www.worldweatherserver.com/weather_in_AUWA0001.aspx

Nov 12th 2007 04:32   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
As there are no questions tonight, I thought I'd present you all with a link to a site that has excellent information regarding Search Engine Optimization. Something in which many of us are interested.
~ http://www.omniture.com/resources/webinars ~
At the link above you'll find some very useful webinars that you can download immediately and for free. They should keep you going till you have some questions for me! :)
I think you'll also very much enjoy the series presented at the following link:
~ http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=webmasters ~

Nov 12th 2007 08:58   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Hi guys, I dropped in again to see if there are any more questions for me today. I have a bit to do tonight so I'll not be back till tomorrow. See in a posting below, the current time in Perth, Australia.

Today I thought I'd leave you with the link to my blogs.
I updated them all today and you may enjoy taking a look at each.

Drop in at http://www.forwardsteps.com.au/FSBlogs.htm or at http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/ForwardSteps

Plus of course, there are my Apsense blogs, filled with information.
http://www.apsense.com/user_stories.html?id=forwardsteps

You may see some ideas for your own blogs or, handy tools and information for your sites.
Perhaps you have questions about some of the items at each of the above listed.
See you tomorrow. Thank you again for this opportunity Cheryl.

Nov 13th 2007 04:11   

Cheryl Baumgartner   Medical Billing/Coding/Insurance
Thank you Thea. I know I have been doing quite a bit of reading and as I get through all the information I will probably have some questions here for you. We do appreciate you taking the time to be our educator and guide this week!
Nov 13th 2007 05:44   

Cheryl Baumgartner   Medical Billing/Coding/Insurance
What is the best way to sort things out. As far as what needs to be done and what we can let slide?
Nov 14th 2007 05:47   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Great question Cheryl.
It is really a matter of what is "urgent" versus, what is "important" - to you. Your own values and your personal agenda will determine what you attend to first, last or not at all.

For example, if you highly value friendships then you may respond to emails from friends, before attending mail related to business. Or you may set aside specific time every week to contact friends and respond to their communications regularly.

If you have particular goals in mind, then you would determine the actions that need to be taken for their fulfillment. Your schedule would reflect these actions being taken, along with a feasible time line.

For example, an author wanting to publish a book and yet who also works a day job, will have an extended time frame for completion of the book - in comparison to someone who could easily devote 6 hours a day to writing.

The first thing is to determine your own personal priorities, and to be crystal clear about what you are committed to accomplishing. From that place, you can create a personal schedule that includes all the things to which you're committed. Do your utmost best to keep promises to yourself, as much as keeping promises to others. So when you schedule leisure time, keep that promise to yourself - regardless of the tasks that are beckoning. We are not indispensable. I simply tell clients that I have a pre-existing appointment at their requested time, and ask if they have any alternative times available.

Most of the things that pull our attention usually come from the requests of others. It is important to remember that we have three options in response - "yes", "no", and a "counter offer".

I had an email just a few moments ago from someone who wanted me to consider a product. I am not obliged to say "yes", especially as they contacted me out of the blue. Instead I quickly sent a brief yet friendly reply to thank him, and that I'd be responding by end of Monday (giving me the weekend to check it out). That was my "counter offer", rather than saying "yes" or "no" in that moment. It is then up to the other person to let me know if he needs my response sooner. I then scheduled in a 30 minute block of time on Sat., to be able to read his material and reply.

Your question to me was:
What is the best way to sort things out. As far as what needs to be done and what we can let slide?

We usually already know the answer to what needs to be done. We simply don't schedule our activities well enough to get them done, consistently.
We also already know what we can let slide. However we often still allow them in, to distract us and allows us to be able to say to others, "Look how busy I am!", and therefore avoiding responsibility for creating our own lives.
For example, we have no problem deleting spam & not spending time to read it. What is the source of us making that decision?

It is all about clarity, being committed and vigilant with our personal space. A few of my favorite quotes regarding 'time', are:

Other people's interruptions of your work are relatively insignificant compared with the countless times you interrupt yourself…Brendan Francis

Time is our most valuable asset, yet we tend to waste it, kill it, and spend it rather than invest it...Jim Rohn

Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it….M. Scott Peck

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion…Northcote Parkinson

You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it…Charles Buxton

A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time….Anne Dillard

And my favorite, that really tells us all...

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein….H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

I think you'll also want to visit this blog page of mine, with a free e-book about 'Time Abundance':
http://www.apsense.com/article/112331.html

Plus, these are very relevant too:
http://www.apsense.com/article/111774.html -and- http://www.apsense.com/article/110811.html


Nov 14th 2007 08:08   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Oh yes, and if you simply want a quick, handy formula, go to:
http://www.apsense.com/subject/24377.html :) lol


Nov 14th 2007 08:13   

MichaelAp Clayton   I Earn My Income Online ...Join Me
Thea

What qualifications does one have to be a life coach?
What training has to be completed?
I a life coach a recognized profession by government in Australia?

Thanks Michael

Nov 15th 2007 07:23   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Hello Michael,

Currently, no qualifications are required to be a life coach. Life coaching is a self-regulating profession. As a coach, I personally choose to abide by http://www.coachfederation.org/ICF/For+Current+Members/Ethical+Guidelines/Code+of+Ethics

I highly recommend being familiar with the 15 Coaching Proficiencies.
These are a distillation of over 20 years work by hundreds of coaches. Originally developed by Thomas Leonard and Susan Austin, the 15 Proficiencies were tweaked and perfected by the CoachVille R&D Team of 1,000+ coaches over a year period. This material is an evolution of previous coach training and most coaches will improve their skills and knowledge by incorporating the 15 Coaching Proficiencies into their work with clients - http://www.certifiedcoach.org/certify/certification.html

No training has to be completed, however I have 4 degrees in the field of education, plus have been through many years of taking myself through some rigorous personal development programs. I've also made many changes in my own life that now allow me to support people with many and varied challenges and pursuits.

Recently I have made a new personal decision, which you may find of interest:
See my 12 Nov. 2007 post at http://forwardsteps.blogspot.com

With regard Aust. Govt. recognition of life coaching, the following extract is from The Age newspaper - "Stressed principals get life coaches" By Farrah Tomazin State Political Reporter January 12, 2005,

"The State Government is providing "high-performing" principals with coaching in a bid to improve leadership skills, prevent burn-out and balance work and personal lives.
The move comes after a report last year said principals were suffering so much stress that nearly half had work-related medical problems. At the time, Williamstown Primary School principal Tilly Barger, whose husband Jeff, a fellow principal, killed himself, called the report "a wake-up call".
The coaching program began in October. It was recently re-tendered and documents show that coaches will be paired with 100 principals in May. Education Minister Lynne Kosky said the program would enhance the public school system."

In Perth, Australia there is also a university degree in life coaching on offer.
http://handbook.curtin.edu.au/courses/30/309080.html

The Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF 2007) comprises national standards for the registration and auditing of training providers and accreditation of courses, and national standards for state and territory registering authorities. I think that the ICF (International Life Coach Federation) has training available, registered under this framework.

My personal favorite training pathway would be http://www.certifiedcoach.org/certify/certification.html

A wonderful, 'must listen to' audio is Preview Call #3 with George at http://www.coachingbusinessrocketlauncher.com/retreatcalls.html
It definitely answers questions about the coach training dilemna.

Nov 15th 2007 09:25   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Here you are Michael...
At this link http://tinyurl.com/39zrze you can see the coach training in Australia that is registered with http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/training_skills/policy_issues_reviews/key_issues/nts
for example, http://www.lifecoachingacademy.com.au
In Australia, training organizations must meet these standards in order to deliver and assess nationally recognized training and issue nationally recognized qualifications.

Nov 15th 2007 09:46   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Last day for questions to me is 17 Nov.
I'll visit again tonight, Saturday Perth, Australia time zone, to see if anyone else has a question or two for me.

Nov 16th 2007 14:36   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Thank you for the great week Cheryl and I'll have to take a peek at who is this week's new expert!
I hope I've been a great help to someone here. Have a wonderful weekend.

Nov 17th 2007 01:42   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Actually, just realized that I have a few hours still to go (time zones)...one last question everyone!

Nov 17th 2007 01:43   

Beth Schmillen   
Hi Thea...

I just read through your week as expert to see what is involved... see how you're my life coach online and don't even know it! (smiles)

That is very good way to allow for time to consider a request, send reply that you'll get ba k to them by a future date and pencil in a block of time to look thru the material... I think structuring my time around what i need to do and the requests, like what you explain are the distractions, is what I'm dealing with...

it's kind of nice to have Cheryl invite me to be expert because it gives structre to my next few days while I'm also working on some things that go along with what I do online....

self-work i guess it is!

Does your Life Coaching ever have to do with Energy Work? I talked with someone the otherday who has a friend that is doing this....Energy Work and was wondering about it!

I know this is past your week but if I know you...you will see this and reply!
Beth

Dec 2nd 2007 18:10   

Thea Westra   Adding Wings To Our Unique Life Journey!
Hi Beth, and others...

You may like to read the following regarding my changing (changed services)
http://forwardsteps.blogspot.com/2007/11/coach-changes-future.html
or simply listen to my 3-minute message at http://www.forwardsteps.com.au

I am no longer offering one-to-one coaching services and changing my focus.
It's due to that, that I have been a little absent here.

I've also been highly focused on getting my ebook complete. It's time! :)

Dec 12th 2007 02:18   

Jennifer Underwood   Promoter
Question for Thea?
What has made you who and what you are today? When did you finally say.....I control this life?

Dec 12th 2007 02:35