October 2020
ISSUE 152
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You Can't Climb a Smooth Mountain...


I watched a great video conversation recently which a colleague of mine, Megumi Miki, did as part of her regular interviews for a series she developed during the COVID lockdown called Calm in Chaos. She has been interviewing different people and having some insightful conversations on a weekly basis. I was a guest on it a few months ago and we discussed Conscious Ageing.

The most recent episode was an interview Megumi held with Annalise Jennings, a community and business strategist and Maryann Coconut an elder of the Thanikwithi Indigenous group of Queensland. The session was entitled, “Applying the Wisdom of Indigenous Australians in challenging times of Transformation”. They discussed the transformation of the town where MaryAnn lives. It took a number of years with Annalise helping to drive community engagement. The town faced many of the challenges that Indigenous people in Australia must deal with – poverty, unemployment, low education engagement rates, lack of access to health resources and crime. The community was able to unite and turn the situation around which brought about some significant shifts to the town and its people. It was very uplifting to hear such a positive story and see the changes and shifts that came about from vision. During the interview, MaryAnn conveyed that challenges are a part of life, and although we may not like it there is much that we can learn from it. The wisdom and elderhood she demonstrated was impressive. Here is the link to the interview. https://megumi.clickfunnels.com/reverse-squeeze-page1602847080563


The discussion helped me reflect on what the benefits of this difficult year are. I have definitely been forced to improve my technical skills and my ability to deliver interactive and engaging webinars in a different medium. I have had to shift so many face to face client focussed activities online. It has also provided the opportunity to stop traveling, slow down and become more involved in my local community. There has been lots of learning and I would hope that as a result of that I have made some positive progress in a few areas. What have been the silver linings for you?








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Book Recommendation:

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Narrative Coaching: The Definitive Guide to Bringing new stories to Life (second edition), David B. Drake

Grounded in both academic rigor and a deep personal understanding of how people change, this is an interesting book. Derived from information and insights based on over twenty years of experience, it will enable you to get to the crux of people’s issues in less time and help them make significant shifts in the moment. This book is an indispensable resource for anyone who works with people’s stories and wants to develop themselves, so they have more impact.

The tools and models are presented in simple and clear language. However, there is a depth here that offers a limitless guide for your learning. Narrative Coaching is timely because it works at the level of identities, addresses the collective narratives that shape our stories, and expands the roles and modalities we can use to bring about transformational change with individuals and teams. The book will both challenge you and inspire you to think in new ways about what is possible in your life and in your practice.