Jamie Smart | Archive | Understanding

JST 65 – Instant Awakening: A brutal yet gentle subtraction

Earlier this week, I saw a post on Facebook from one of my clients, Juanita Jay Johnson (a coach, copywriter and content creator). I met Jay a few months ago at the Business Startup Show when she came and listened to a 45 minute talk I gave. It was a busy, noisy environment, but Jay heard something. I mean really heard something. It's a story of the instant awakening that's there for every person, including you, and all the people who matter to you. When I read her post on Facebook, I knew I had to share it with you.

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JST 64 – Lies, Damned Lies and Belief Systems

(Photo courtesy of Steve Rhodes)

“Whether it is to be Utopia or Oblivion will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment. . . .
Humanity is in ‘final exam’ as to whether or not it qualifies for continuance in Universe.”
– Buckminster Fuller

Many of the biggest problems we face in our lives, and in society as a whole are the result of belief systems; habitual patterns of thought that often diverge wildly from reality, and can be profoundly limiting. In this article we’re going to explore the distinction between belief systems (BS) and facts. You’re also going to discover why aligning yourself with fact can be a massive leverage point for creating results.

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JST 62 – The Eternal, Creative Fire of Your Perception

People often ask me what the difference is between thoughts, thinking and the *principle* of Thought. A few months ago, I was answering a question from one of my Coach Training clients and came up with a metaphor to describe the principles behind clarity, and how they create our perception. You can listen to that audio below…

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JST 58 – The performance-trance – Have you been hypnotised without realising it?

There’s a widespread piece of ‘cultural hypnosis’ that lies at the root of stress, worry and anxiety. It’s the cause of poor performance, and of most relationship problems. In this article, you’re going to find out if you’ve been hypnotised, and how to snap out of it. And as you ‘wake up’, you’re going to find yourself experiencing more peace of mind, better relationships and better performance where you need it.

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JST 56 – Coaching Transformations Part 3: Impact: Your interpersonal transformation

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
– Marianne Williamson

It’s my last day in the office before I head off for my winter vacation, so by the time you read this, I plan to be sitting under a palm tree in Cape Verde, with a cold drink and a gripping crime thriller. I trust that 2015 has started wonderfully for you! In this article, we’re going to be exploring the second of the 3 transformations you have to go through to become a professional coach: Your interpersonal transformation.

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JST 55 – Coaching Transformations Part 2: Grounding: Your personal transformation

“A man may imagine things that are false, but he can only understand things that are true,
for if the things be false, the apprehension of them is not understanding.”

Isaac Newton

In this article, we’re going to be exploring the first of the 3 transformations you have to go through to become a professional coach: Your personal transformation.

Grounding: Your personal transformation
I love having conversations with professional coaches and change-workers. One of the first questions I often ask them is “What first sparked your interest in becoming a coach?”

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JST 52 – Praise, criticism and the clarity polarity phenomenon

"A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience."
Oliver Wendell Holmes

I'm delighted to be able to announce that my publisher, Wiley, will be releasing a "slimmed down" version of my CLARITY in the spring, entitled The Little Book of Clarity. I'm really excited about this, as it will give us an opportunity to share this understanding with an even larger audience, and touch more lives. As a taster, I've decided to share the Preface from the new book with you. The Preface sheds light on a curious "clarity polarity" phenomenon that I've seen since the original book was launched in 2013. I hope you enjoy it, and would love to know what you think of it (feel free to post your comments on the blog).

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JST42 – The Secrets of Coaching with Clarity: Part 8 – No, it’s NOT just your thinking

Photo courtesy of Susan Allen

“You’re always living in the feeling of your thinking”
Keith Blevens PhD, Clinical Psychologist

For the past few years, I’ve noticed a troubling trend. A person is feeling distressed, sad or bothered in some way, and a well-meaning friend or colleague tells them “You know it’s just your thinking, don’t you?” This comment doesn’t usually help, and sometimes makes matters worse (I’ve met plenty of people who try telling themselves “It’s just my thinking” as a way to try and escape from uncomfortable feelings, but to no avail.) In this article, I’m going to reveal why telling yourself (or others) “it’s just your thinking” doesn’t help, as well as offering you a much more valuable alternative.

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JST40 – The Secrets of Coaching with Clarity Part 6: Coaching by Subtraction

“It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.”

– Muhammad Ali, Boxer

In his excellent book, “Antifragile”, Nicholas Nassim Taleb explains that we tend to be suckers for positive advice, the “additive” approaches offered by how-to books, top ten tips, government interventions, crash diets, medication prescriptions, get-rich-quick schemes etc. Sadly, in practice these “additive” approaches often don’t deliver the hoped-for results, and can even cause actual harm. For instance, in the USA, it’s estimated that iatrogenic illness (illness caused accidentally by medical interventions) is the 3rd biggest killer after heart disease and cancer. So if addition isn’t as strong a bet as we’d like it to be, what’s the alternative? In this article, we’re going to explore the unexpected power of subtraction.

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JST39 – The Secrets of Coaching with Clarity: Part 5 – Distinction: The Queue VS The Ride

(Photo courtesy of Roger Blake)

“The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are.”
– Bill Hicks, Standup Comedian

For years, my youngest daughter Tallulah has wanted to go to the amusement park, Alton Towers. She was desperate to go, but she decided to wait until she was 1.4 metres tall (that’s the height you need to be to go on the biggest, scariest rides). It was her eleventh birthday last month, and she’d reached the 1.4 metre mark, so last week, she and I decided to spend a day riding roller-coasters.

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