Sheila Thomas - We Can Do Anything!

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2013 Sheila Thomas. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/21/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8425-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8426-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013920718

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Thank you for choosing this book. I hope you enjoy reading about Lottie and George, a brother and sister who discover a new way of spending their time and achieving their goals. Through their adventures, they realise that they have a lot more control over what they do and how much they enjoy themselves.

As you progress through each section, please do all the exercises listed and answer all the questions posed. They will help you to think of challenges in a more creative way. I have put the most important lessons I think you will learn from the book in italics .

I hope you have fun reading my book and set yourself fantastically rewarding goals for your own life.

All the best,

Sheila

Life coaching was a discovery I made in my late twenties. The simple, positive tools and techniques of life coaching and the questions it poses make people think about life differently. Although I already had two business degrees under my belt, I found that my diploma in coaching practice gave me a discipline and a way to think in order to gain the life I wanted.

I wanted to share some of the tools I have acquired with children and thought the best way to do so might be to combine storytelling with interactive exercises. This process enables children to grow, explore, and have fun at the same time. I wrote this book with the intention of helping children to learn. I want them to see that they can achieve lots in life if they focus on what they want, set goals, and follow through with action.

It might be beneficial for you to assist your child with some of the assignments in order to expand their thought processes and become more creative. In fact, I suspect that you too will benefit from the Reflective Moments sections. I really hope you enjoy this book and it helps your child to open his or her eyes to a world of possibilities!

Sheila Thomas

BBS MBA (Exec) MCIPD DIP COACH

I want to be on television like Aunt Gemma and be the greatest actress in the world! exclaimed Lottie to her twin brother, George.

Id like to be James Bond and travel the world doing stunts, George responded, laughing.

Lottie and George had been discussing the kinds of jobs they would like when they grew up. They were eleven now and had spent a long time thinking of jobs that would be fun, and this was the first time they had agreed on the same job. Georges face lit up as he said to Lottie, Ive got an idea! Why dont we talk with Aunt Gemma and ask her how easy it is to get on TV? Lottie thought this was a good idea, so they both set off immediately to see Aunt Gemma.

Aunt Gemma, when you were young, what job did you want when you grew up? asked George when he met with Aunt Gemma.

Well, I wasnt sure what I wanted to do when I was your age, but when I reached fourteen, my parents taught me a secret to help me get the things I wanted.

Both Lottie and George were very interested and asked their aunt to teach them the secret too. Aunt Gemma said that she had been interested in lots of different jobs when she was fourteen. She had thought about becoming a teacher, a ballet dancer, a policewoman, a spy, a dentist, a doctor, and an actress. Gemmas favourite pastime was to pretend she was someone else. She had talked to her parents, and they had agreed that she could go to drama classes. They had then told her a secret that would help her to plan her future. The secret was known as setting goals.

What do you mean by setting goals? asked Lottie curiously, as she had not heard that expression before.

Well, said Aunt Gemma, they are like targets that you aim for to help you reach the result you want.

George didnt fully understand this explanation from his aunt, so he asked her to explain goal setting more clearly. Aunt Gemma gave Lottie and George some examples to help them understand what goals really meant. Aunt Gemma started her explanation by saying, I knew that I loved acting. It sounded so much fun, and I knew that I needed to do some work to get there. My big goal was to be a famous actress, and I broke this down into little goals. My first goal was to go to drama lessons, so I found out about local classes and learnt about the best drama school to go to when I was ready to leave school. I went to the theatre to see local productions and read books about famous actors I admired and followed their careers. Nobody else at school had done so much research. I studied people in the street to see how they spoke, moved, and behaved so that I could easily copy them when I was acting. I did lots of little things like that to help me with my dream.

Lottie and George were very interested and were eager to hear more about how to get the things they wanted in life.

Aunt Gemma wanted to help Lottie and George to ask questions for themselves, so she said, Lets look at my goal to go to a good drama school when I was eighteen. What actions could I take to get me there?

You could look up drama schools on the internet, said George, who was now more comfortable with understanding what goals meant.

Exactly, replied Aunt Gemma, thinking that would have been possible for her only if they had had the Internet at that time. Now, to make the goal really great, it is a good idea to allocate a time limit next to it. She knew that the children would be able to get almost anything in life if they set goals for themselves and took clever actions to reach their targets.

You could make it a goal to talk to your drama teacher by the end of the month to ask her which drama schools were best, suggested Lottie.

Aunt Gemma was pleased with Lottie and Georges understanding of how they might get the results they wanted. She said to them both, Your life is full of habits, including simple things like brushing your teeth every morning, getting dressed, and combing your hair. All you have to do is make sure you fit in good habits each day, and they will become a normal part of your routine and will help you to get where you want to be. So I used to think of myself as a famous actress, revealed Aunt Gemma.

What do you mean? asked George, kicking his foot rhythmically against the table leg.

It can be a good idea and a lot of fun to really imagine yourself in the job already. I used to think of myself on stage acting in front of lots of people. They would clap when I finished, and I looked beautiful in costume. I imagined how happy I would feel during a performance. It is called visualization and is a way to think, feel, and become. Famous sports people practice it all the time, seeing and feeling themselves already achieving their goals.