28/12/22 Out Like A Lamb!

 

                                       

                Out

                Like

                A

                Lamb!

Hi and thank you for joining me here on what is to be the final post of 2022.

I have to report that in general 2022 was a good year for yours truly although not without it's ups and downs.

We spent a few weekends at the caravan, had a fantastic holiday in Cornwall.  Spent time with good friends, made some new friends and sadly lost one or two old ones.

Alison ordered her new hybrid car, has healed from her operation back in January and is now back to fine health, working in a general shop and thoroughly loving it. 

Working on her own account has seen Dawn go from strength to strength, she has grown her confidence,  the jewellery / gift business has done well and her childcare business is proving extremely busy.  Earlier in the year she ordered her new full electric car and is now eagerly awaiting delivery.

I changed my white PHEV for a metallic grey version and I absolutely love it!  I have not had many commercial photo gigs this year mainly because the paper I freelanced for was taken over (and now appears to have been closed completely) plus the situation with Alison's mobility didn't help, but I am hoping that the photo opportunities will come again in 2023.  

The year also proved to be fairly static on the coaching / personal development front and this is something I intend to address early in the New Year.  The website will be updated and there will be something of a marketing "push" taking place!

So all in all a very busy year is closing and I am quietly confident that 2023 will prove to be much busier for us all.

And with that said I would like to thank you for your support and wish everyone of you and your respective families a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2023.

DAve x

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About Dave  Personal development coach; a therapist; speaker, radio presenter

                               

"A number of years ago I founded my coaching practice and although it has gone through various incarnations the core of Altered Image Coaching has always remained the same to help and encourage people to live their best lives".  

Certifications
I hold qualifications in each of the following disciplines:-
Life Coaching (Honours Diploma)
Music Therapy (Diploma)
Crystal Therapy (Practioner)
Reiki (Practitioner)
Dementia Awareness
In addition to the above I am compiling a series of short videos that will provide an 
Introduction To Mindfulness
To find out more about how we could be able to work together or to just dive straight in and book a session, then please send me an email

If you would like to join our Facebook group just follow the link to the new
 Altered Image Coaching page. 

This page is home to a group of like - minded people (also affectionately known as "The Tribe") and as a thank you for their continued support people who join "The Tribe" often receive exclusive content that I do not post anywhere else.  

Plus the page also provides advanced information about forthcoming projects and events.

So, please spread the word about the blog, the tribe etc. to your friends and family and I hope to see you as a member of our "Tribe" soon.





LINKS

Website:
https://moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/alteredimage

Wytchwynd Photography:
http://moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/photographyportfolio

Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/davethemerlin/under-blue-skies/


Workbook



Keep an eye open for the 2023 Workbook (#7) 
IT HAS STARTED TO FORM!


Please email: devonlifecoach@mail.com for more information



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Subscribing To The Blog

To subscribe to the blog please go over to the right hand side of this page and click the button that says “Follow”.  Once you do that you will be added to our list of subscribers.

Feel free to share this and other posts with your friends and associates


Have a fantastic day, live a life of Passion and Power.

And again, above all remember

"Don't Predict The Future - CREATE IT!"
DAve x

A Great Weekend and a Sad Farewell (in memory of Maisie)

I really can't believe that we are standing at the start of the 2nd half of 2022 already!

So last weekend was a momentous one for us, we had a whole weekend filled with promise and friendship.  Arrangements had been made for some spectacular things to take place, including attending a concert by ABC (one of Alison and my favourite bands).

So how did it go?

Overall it went well!  To begin with on Thursday we dropped my car at the garage (as planned) for a rear brake disc replacement and then we headed towards the North East in Alison's car.  Although  busy the journey proved uneventful and when we arrived at our destination the kettle was well and truly "on"!

In her usual manner Maisie showered me with numerous kisses and visits onto my lap.  We were treated to a tour of the house and then a long catch up conversation took place and before we realised what was happening bedtime had arrived!

Friday morning took us to Durham with both the magnificent Cathedral and the wonderful river bank areas.

"Durham City" by Wytchwynd Photography

After a wonderful lunch it was time to head back and prepare for the evening gig in Newcastle.  It was a wonderful gig and we were both buzzing when we headed back.  However the shine faded a little when we discovered that Maisie was a touch "off colour"

On Saturday we headed off for lunch with an old school friend and his wife (little did we know it was to be their treat!). Anyway after a lovely lunch surprise and a long "catch up" we took a steady drive back and took in a few local sights.

When we arrived back we found that Maisie's health had deteriorated, she had not eaten and was sleeping a lot. so a call was made to the vet's and they asked that we take her in..... she was given a tablet and we took her home.

During the evening her condition appeared to worsen and she was sleeping a great deal, eventually another call was made to the Vet's on Sunday  and she had an appointment booked for Monday morning.  

Maisie was transferred to hospital later on Monday and she was diagnosed as having severe pancreatitis and kidney problems.

On Tuesday morning her temperature had risen again and at 2.49pm I received a post that simply said " Maisie has gone to sleep.........."

"Maisie"

I cannot begin to tell you how sad I feel to be writing this, I loved my little friend even though I did not see much of her but I know that she was not our pet but there was a great bond between us - she was a part of our extended family.

Sleep well Maisie xx

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                 Affirmations Blogging BLOGGING TIPS Blog Traffic Books                                  Recommendations Change Your Life coffee break ideas                     SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

oooOOOooo

About Dave   I am a personal development coach; a therapist; speaker; and  radio presenter.  A number of years ago I founded my coaching practice and although it has gone through various incarnations the core of Altered Image Coaching has always remained the same to help and encourage people to live their best lives.  

Certifications

I hold qualifications in each of the following disciplines:-

Life Coaching (Honours Diploma)

Music Therapy (Diploma)

Crystal Therapy (Practioner)

Reiki (Practitioner)

Dementia Awareness

In addition to the above I am compiling a series of short videos that will provide an 

Introduction To Mindfulness

To find out more about how we could be able to work together or to just dive straight in and book a session, then please send me an email

If you would like to join our Facebook group just follow the link to the new

 Altered Image Coaching page. 

This page is home to a group of like - minded people (also affectionately known as "The Tribe") and as a thank you for their continued support people who join "The Tribe" often receive exclusive content that I do not post anywhere else.  

Plus the page also provides advanced information about forthcoming projects and events.

So please spread the word about the blog, the tribe etc. to your friends and family and I hope to see you as a member of our "Tribe" soon.

LINKS

Website:

https://moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/alteredimage

Wytchwynd Photography:

http://moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/photographyportfolio

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/davethemerlin/under-blue-skies/

2022 Workbook

The 2022 Workbook is now available as a "paid for" publication.  For more details please contact me by email devonlifecoach@mail.com

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Out-going 2021 Work Book 

Please email devonlifecoach@mail.com if you would like to purchase (for a very reasonable £8.50) the link that will let you download a copy of our out going workbook:- 

                         The 2021 Altered Image Coaching 90-Day Workbook 

Subscribing To The Blog

To subscribe to the blog please go over to the right hand side of this page and click the button that says “Follow”.  Once you do that you will be added to our list of subscribers.

Feel free to share this and other posts with your friends and associates

Have a fantastic day, live a life of Passion and Power.

And again, above all remember

"Don't Predict The Future - CREATE IT!"

 

A New Look At Goal Setting!

Hi thank you for joining me here at Under Blue Skies                   

        

This week I would like to propose something that may be new to you, but before I do I have to explain a little about who I am and the path I have followed to get here.

I am a life coach and I was first drawn into this world during my years at Secondary School.  People would often ask me to give them my thoughts and advice about things that were bothering them.  These ranged from things in their day to day life to relationships to romance, and as I grew older these patterns continued and still do today.

Despite my personal life being something of a financial train wreck (not so much now I hasten to add!) people still turned to me for some guidance on personal matters and matters of the heart.  This is something that still continues to this day.

As a result of this I decided that it could be a useful service to offer on a more structured basis and so I enrolled on a course that provided me with a certificate in basic Counselling Skills. By this time I was also a meditation leader, a Crystal Healer and a member of the National Federation of Spiritual Healers.  The learning continued with a course in formal study for which I was awarded a Diploma In Life Coaching followed by a number of years building my practice that I styled "Altered Image Coaching"!

Since then I have added more to my "Coaching Toolkit" and am now trained in Mindfulness, Goal Setting, Dementia Awareness, Suicide Awareness and more lately Reiki (gaining my Masters approximately 4 years ago).

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However, recently I have been thinking that maybe there could be a different approach, one that leads to the same ultimate destination but uses a somewhat easier route!

The best way to describe this (and this in no way decries or takes away from the Goal Setting work that I have been using for many years) is to use an analogy of "getting from A to B"

Let us say for example that I want to travel to London........... I could set off from my home at 6am and drive the 220 mile journey in one hit and  that would take me approximately 4.5 hours..

However, that journey could leave me mentally tired and perhaps I would not be able to provide my client(s) the service they should reasonably be entitled nor may I be giving them the best advice.  So I started to look at alternatives................

What would happen if I broke down the journey into smaller steps?

So I began to think about how I could do this............and as my theory began to unfold it looked like this:-

Step 1        Drive from Ilfracombe - Tiverton            43 miles        1hour

Step 2        Comfort Break                                      15 minutes

Step 3        Drive from Tiverton - Bristol                   68 miles        1.5 hours

Step 4        Coffee break                                         15 to 20 minutes

Step 5        Drive from Bristol - London                    117.8 miles    2.5 hours

This would mean that by taking the 5 step approach the journey might be an hour longer but you would reach your destination much more relaxed and better able to work - which in turn would produce better results.

So now let us transpose this into daily life

You can set a goal - such as you will achieve something at the end of the day - this may look like a monumental task and if you go straight for it as in the first example there is every possibility you would miss the target completely.

BUT

If you adopt the more measured break it down approach you will be able to celebrate small accomplishments along the way and eventually reach the intended result.

In conclusion I contend that setting smaller goals and achieving them will enable you to get to the same place more easily and probably in a far less stressed manner.

DAve

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                 Affirmations Blogging BLOGGING TIPS Blog Traffic Books                                  Recommendations Change Your Life coffee break ideas                     SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

oooOOOooo

About Dave   I am a personal development coach; a therapist; speaker; and  radio presenter.  A number of years ago I founded my coaching practice and although it has gone through various incarnations the core of Altered Image Coaching has always remained the same to help and encourage people to live their best lives.  

Certifications

I hold qualifications in each of the following disciplines:-

Life Coaching (Honours Diploma)

Music Therapy (Diploma)

Crystal Therapy (Practioner)

Reiki (Practitioner)

Dementia Awareness

In addition to the above I am compiling a series of short videos that will provide an 

Introduction To Mindfulness

To find out more about how we could be able to work together or to just dive straight in and book a session, then please send me an email

If you would like to join our Facebook group just follow the link to the new

 Altered Image Coaching page. 

This page is home to a group of like - minded people (also affectionately known as "The Tribe").

By way of a thank you for their continued support people who join "The Tribe" often receive exclusive content that I do not post anywhere else.  

Plus the page also provides advanced information about forthcoming projects and events.

So please spread the word about the blog, the tribe etc. to your friends and family and I hope to see you as a member of our "Tribe" soon.

LINKS

Website:

www.moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/bluesky

Wytchwynd Photography:

http://moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/photographyportfolio

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/davethemerlin/under-blue-skies/

Workbook

Scan This QR Code for Free access to the 2021 Altered Image Coaching 90-Day Workbook

Subscribing To The Blog

To subscribe to the blog please go over to the right hand side of this page and click the button that says “Follow”.  Once you do that you will be added to our list of subscribers.

Feel free to share this and other posts with your friends and associates

Inspirational Phrases

In addition to the above I am able to send out a daily email containing an Inspirational Phrase. 

To ensure that we comply with the relevant regulations this is a subscription only service and to  be included please send an email using “add me” as the subject to:- 

underblueskies@zoho.com

Once you have subscribed the phrases will be delivered to your mail box every day at no cost to you whatsoever.

Have a fantastic day, live a life of Passion and Power.

And above all remember

"Don't Predict The Future - CREATE IT!"

Life Planning 2021

Hi and welcome to this week's post on the Altered Image Coaching blog.

A few years ago, having read an article on the subject of "life planning", I wrote a post that set out how I saw my personal life plan.  So now I have decided that it is time to review what I believed then and how it has developed into today.

So what was the process that started it all?

I had to sit quietly for a while and think carefully about the things I wanted from my life after several minutes I started to get responses.  I wrote these responses down for future reference so that I could monitor my progress towards the life I wanted.

The responses that came up were as follows:-

a) be a successful life coach

b) be a successful blogger

c) be a successful photographer

d) be a successful musician

e) travel around the world

f) own an Aston Martin

g) become a media celebrity

A definite pattern emerged and the underlying basis of that pattern was that I wanted "success".  Now that raised a question - how did I quantify success?  What did it mean?  How would I measure it?

So in response to that I decided I needed to determine "What Constitutes Success?" 

My responses were as follows:-

a) people seek me out because of my reputation, my results and my knowledge

b) people ask me to guest post, to have a core of regular followers and that core to continue to grow

c) being booked to photograph events / locations, to have exhibitions of my work, to sell my work and to have re-orders

d) to record my own albums and to be asked to play on other people's recordings, to be booked to perform at gigs

e) travelling around the world speaks for itself.

f) a shiny Aston on the drive

g) continuing to have my own shows,invited to speak on other people's shows.

So where am I on the journey?

a) I have written several books on coaching, recorded several mindfulness meditations, compiled a Personal Development workbook every year for the last 4 years and these products have sold steadily year on year.  The situation concerning Covid has meant that for the past 18 months there have been no face to face consultations........... the various video conferencing platforms have proved useful but have certainly not reached the same level as pre-Covid face to face work. 

b) I have guest posted for bloggers, written articles for publication

c) In 2018 I was invited to become the official photographer for the Ilfracombe Ladies group "Tangles" that is a part of the Round Table organisation. Each year for the past 8 years I have produced and sold a calendar of local images and in the last 3 years I have sold out and had to restock and sold out again.  This year 2021 I have now been commissioned  by "The Natural Approach" (an organisation that promotes and practices interventional therapy work with humans by involving them with horses) to produce their 2022 Calendar and to take photographs at their events through the year.

d) Musically I have been working on a number of new projects and have not been able to do any live work because of the Covid issues.

e) Again because travel has been severely curtailed by the Covid situation my globe trotting has had to go "on the back burner" however before that I had visited Turkey, Bulgaria, Morocco, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, North America, The Canaries, Holland, Luxembourg, Qatar, Dubai, Portugal - but there is still a lot of the world left to see!

f) Sights still firmly set on this one..................!

g) Because the main focus of my work is based in the entertainment industry it has opened doors for a few broadcast video interviews, a couple of radio interview and my experiences have also enabled me to put pen to paper and write another book that is now nearing completion.

So all in all I am feeling that my life plan is working and that I am on course for that to continue for the forseeable future.

If you feel the urge, why not create your own life plan and see what that throws up for you.  If you need any help with this you feel the need to chat through issues etc. please drop me an email or you can visit me on my various Social Media platforms

oooOOOooo

About Dave   I am a personal development coach; a therapist; speaker; and  radio presenter.  A number of years ago I founded my coaching practice and although it has gone through various incarnations the core of Altered Image Coaching has always remained the same to help and encourage people to live their best lives.  

Certifications

I hold qualifications in each of the following disciplines:-

Life Coaching (Honours Diploma)

Music Therapy (Diploma)

Crystal Therapy (Practioner)

Reiki (Practitioner)

Dementia Awareness

In addition to the above I am compiling a series of short videos that will provide an 

Introduction To Mindfulness

To find out more about how we could be able to work together or to just dive straight in and book a session, then please send me an email

If you would like to join our Facebook group just follow the link to the new

 Altered Image Coaching page. 

This page is home to a group of like - minded people (also affectionately known as "The Tribe").

By way of a thank you for their continued support people who join "The Tribe" often receive exclusive content that I do not post anywhere else.  

Plus the page also provides advanced information about forthcoming projects and events.

So please spread the word about the blog, the tribe etc. to your friends and family and I hope to see you as a member of our "Tribe" soon.

LINKS

Website:

www.moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/bluesky

Wytchwynd Photography:

http://moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/photographyportfolio

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/davethemerlin/under-blue-skies/

Workbook

Scan This QR Code for Free access to the our latest tool the Altered Image Coaching  90-Day Workbook

Subscribing To The Blog

To subscribe to the blog please go over to the right hand side of this page and click the button that says “Follow”.  Once you do that you will be added to our list of subscribers.

Feel free to share this and other posts with your friends and associates

Inspirational Phrases

In addition to the above I am able to send out a daily email containing an Inspirational Phrase. 

To ensure that we comply with the relevant regulations this is a subscription only service and to  be included please send an email using “add me” as the subject to:- 

underblueskies@zoho.com

Once you have subscribed the phrases will be delivered to your mail box every day at no cost to you whatsoever.

Have a fantastic day, live a life of Passion and Power.

And above all remember

"Don't Predict The Future - CREATE IT!"