THE BALANCING ACT
Building Balance for Better Living

NOVEMBER 2006

In This Issue....

Always Personal...Thank you!

Always Professional...Passion and connection.

Forever Playful... Pimp Skinny.

 

 

 

 

Read back issues of The Balancing Act eZine.

Forward this issue to family, friends or foe!

 

 Brent O'Bannon, MBS

(Author, Speaker, Counselor/Coach)

 

 

What's Up??

Nov. 6 Shared Technologies-Using your EAP

Nov. 15 Guaranty Bank-Balance Driven Communication

Nov. 28 NSA Showtime-Power of Connection

Nov. 30 Fidelity- Surviving the Holidaze

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always Personal…

Thanksgiving is all about gratitude! I would like to share some personal thanks!

Thank You God for forgiving me where I have failed. Thank You for comforting me where I hurt when no one else knows my pain. Thank You for waking my spirit and drawing me back to you this year when my heart had fallen asleep! Thank You God for an awesome church home and incredible priest.

Thank you Rhonda for not giving up on our marriage when you had good reasons to leave. Thank you for your strength of compassion, loyalty, and willingness to grow this past year!

Thank you Tara and Trent for teaching me more about love, life, and character. I have not always been the best father or raised you the way I should. Thank you for raising me!

Thank you to my parents, in laws, and extended family. Mom and Dad you have given me the gift of balance. Thank you for giving me roots to grow and wings to fly. Thank you Joe and Phyllis for giving me space to grow and your willingness to understand me. Thank you Werner family for sharing your heart and life with Tara and Trent this year. Thank you to all my family for such a diverse, humorous, and accepting heart.

Thank you to my best friend Michael and all of my buddies. Michael, you truly understand me, accept me, and encourage me! Mike R., Tommy, and Randy thank you for all the laughs on the golf course. Thank you Lee for giving your time, knowledge, and inspiration.

Thank you to the world's best couple friends. What would Rhonda and I do without you all? Traci and Sheila, Dwayne and Julie, Mike and Lynn, George and Andrea, Tommy and Sharon,  you make us laugh, you make us open up, you hold us accountable.

Thank you to all of my counseling clients, eZine readers, and speaking audience. Thank you for sharing your stories, your heart, your insights. Thank you for your input, your praises, your evaluations, and your belief in what I do.

Thank you to Toastmasters and Discovery. Thank you Toastmasters for the journey of friendship, growth, leadership, and communication. Thank you Discovery and all my Discovery family for the heart warming experience of my life this year! Thank you Carter for being my Discovery buddy!

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order,
confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into
a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into
a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today, and creates a vision
for tomorrow."

                         -- Melody Beattie
 

Call 903-819-0301 or  Contact Brent now for counseling or life coaching!

Keep looking for Brent's soon coming book... Stick me with a fork, I'm done!

 
Always Professional…

I was recently amazed at the power of passion and connection!

In a recent Toastmasters conference the presenter had us pair up. We were instructed to talk about something we are passionate about for 90 seconds while the other person listened without interrupting. My partner was shy, uncomfortable, and stuttering. What amazed me was how this gentleman blossomed in front of my eyes as he shared his passion. His passion was ballroom dancing.  He shared that he had always had a low self esteem and was fearful about stuttering with his date. When he began dancing and discovered how good he was, Ron found his groove. Instead of talking to his dance partner his dancing did the connecting!

As Ron shared his passion he was connecting to me. He was confident, excited, and sharing himself.

Every professional needs to have the power of connection to be successful. The writer needs to connect with the reader. The teacher needs to connect with the student. The nurse needs to connect with the patient. The salesman needs to connect with the customer. The manager needs to connect with the client. The speaker needs to connect with the audience. The CEO needs to connect to the employee.

Help your client talk about their passion and you will CONNECT with your client!

Care

Open body language

Notice the needs and passion

Nod

Eye contact

Childlike playfulness

Touch

Send this newsletter to your CEO, HR, or training department and invite your representative to...

Call 903-819-0301 or  Contact Brent now for a keynote or training.
 
Forever Playful…

How do you keep your sense of humor, optimism, and playfulness in hard times?

My client had been bored to death in the county jail. In his spare time he caught a lizard that climbed through the bathroom drain. All of the cell mates quickly adopted this new jail house pet and named him "Pimp Skinny."

The cell mates built a house for Pimp Skinny out of toilet paper! They were having fun taking care of Pimp Skinny, and I'm sure training him for future lucrative Broadway shows.

Something happened to Pimp Skinny. He was lethargic and appeared sick. They assumed that Pimp Skinny was getting too cold. My client attempted to warm Pimp Skinny by laying him on the stainless steel toilet lid since hot water runs through the toilet. The unthinkable happened. Pimp Skinny died. The cell mates became angry with my client and have now charged him with 1st degree murder.

The angry cell mates found enough connection in their hearts to bake a birthday cake for my client. They bought cinnamon roles from the commissary and flattened them out on a piece of foil. Then they spread a hot chocolate paste over the roles. They topped the cake with Butterfinger crumbles and Snicker morsels. Then they baked the birthday cake on the top of the stainless steel toilet lid. My client said the cake was delicious!

Laughter removes chains and creates new freedom!

                                                                               - Anais Nin


How do you lighten up? What's your funny story?

This month ONLY, a 15 minute free phone coaching session if you...

  Send your story to Brent now!  

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View Brent's resources at www.brentspeaks.com
                                                                                    

   
     
Brent O'Bannon, MBS, LPC, LCDC  Email: brent@brentspeaks.com
115 S. Travis suite 103  Sherman, TX 75090 & 2600 Ave K - Suite 211 Plano, TX 75074
Telephone: 903.813.0723 or 903.819.0301  Fax: 903.813.5452
Copyright © 2003-2006 by Brent O'Bannon.
All rights reserved.