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Sojourner Newsletter...
"The Sojourner" Newsletter
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THE SOJOURNER
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| Inspiring Hearts Toward Authentic Transformation |
January 2007
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Message From Michael
Welcome to 2007! I pray this will be a year of
profound, life-giving transformation for you and those
you love.
OK, wait. Wow, that's a pretty heavy prayer, isn't it?
Profound, life-giving transformation? Woo. Is
that possible? Is that what I even want?
Well, check it out: If you knew you could experience
profound, life-giving transformation in your life this
year, what sort of transformation would you want?
What part of your life do you most want to see
transformed?
It's looking more and more like this will be a year of
profound transformation for me as well. One of those
changes you can see in this month's Sojourner. My
company name and structure has changed.
Expanded, really. What was "Eaglesong Coaching &
Consulting" has now become the "Ascent Coaching
Group Inc."
I've made the change to accomodate the growth in
my coaching
work and to set the stage for more growth this year.
Like all transformations of this sort, it's both exciting
and a little terrifying. A corporation? Me?
By God's Grace--you bet!
Welcome to the Ascent.
Contact Me
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Coaching Corner: Charting Your Relational Universe
It's not an understatement to say that the
quality of your relationships is critical to your life
success. This is especially true of the relationships
that fill your "inner circle"--that is, the handful of
individuals who know you best and whom you respect
and value the most in your life.
As important as your inner circle may be to you, it
can be difficult at times to accurately measure just
how those key relationships are going. How healthy
are your key relationships--really? Which
aspects of the relationships are inspiring your
forward, and which are holding you back?
Defining the current status of your relationships can
be like trying to define the size and shape of a forest
while standing in the midst of the trees. So here's a
fun and revealing exercise that I use with clients to
help them take a fresh look at their "inner circle"
relationships from high up...and I mean really
high up!
You'll need two sheets of paper, a pen, and a bevy
of multiple-colored markers. It's helpful if the second
sheet of paper is much larger--like a sheet of paper
from a flipchart (you'll see why in a minute).
On the first (smaller) sheet of paper, make a list of
the five or six most important adult relationships in
your life (your kids don't count...unless they're grown
up!). This list should include only those people whom
you consider to be a part of your "inner circle"--the
people who know you best and whom you most
respect and value in your life.
When the list is complete, set it to the side and pull
out the larger sheet of paper. In the center of the
paper, draw a small circle and write your name in the
middle of it. Imagine this is you--the "sun" in the
center of your own universe. Then use your
imagination to create your own personal "relationship
solar system"--one that reflects the closeness of
relationship you have with each of the people on
your list, and the way they typically "orbit" your life.
For example, a very close, trusted friend with whom
you have regular deep talks might be illustrated as
having a tight, circular orbit that is very close to you-
-something like the planet Mercury does with our sun
in real life. Conversely, a friend that you have a deep
conversation with once every year, but otherwise
rarely connect with, might be illustrated as having a
wildly elliptical orbit around you, coming close on
occasion but spending the bulk of the time far away--
-something like Haley's Comet does with our sun.
Those are just examples to get you started. But keep
in mind--there's no need to obey the laws of physics
here. You might have a person/planet who
simply "hovers" some distance away and never orbits
you at all, or you might have two people/planets in
your life who are constantly colliding with one
another, and their debris keeps raining down on you.
Feel free to create it in a way that works for you.
The sky's the limit! (Pun utterly and unapologetically
intended.)
After you've completed your personal relationship
solar system, take yourself on a personal tour
of your relational universe.
- What do you notice as you look at your
relationships in this way?
- What surprises you?
- What alarms you?
- What delights you?
- What needs to shift or change in your relational
system?
- What will you do this week to move toward
making that change?
My thanks to The
Center for Right Relationship, whose terrific
material on relationship systems forms the basis for
this exercise.
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The BraveHeart Fellowship
Imagine a group of men who come together
under the banner of a common hunger for their Bigger
Purpose. They are already leaders—every one of
them. But they want more from their lives. They
want more from themselves. They are weary of the
ordinary, the settled, the small—and are ready to
embark beyond their comfort zone and into the
uncharted territories of their hearts. They are ready
to face down their own personal Balrog. They are
ready to put their faith...to really put
their faith...in God. They may not know where this
road of challenge will take them. But one thing they
do know: Living small isn't enough for them anymore.
They MUST be what they CAN be...not only for their
own sakes, but also for their families, and for the
world itself.
And so they agree to walk together through a 9-
month journey of extraordinary transformation. They
become a BraveHeart Fellowship—a circle of
nine men who are hungry for authentic
transformation, for real abundant life. The Fellowship
is no run-of-the-mill accountability group. It's way
beyond that. It's like the Fight Club of the
Heart. It's like the Band of Brothers for
the Soul. These leaders may or may not know each
other before the journey begins. But that doesn't
matter—because by the end, they will know every
nook and cranny of their fellow warriors' souls.
And more importantly, each and every one of them
will be irreversibly changed forever by the journey.
Sure, their lives will be better—much better, in fact.
But it's not only about that. They will be changed for
the good of the world. And for the glory of God.
Now, imagine yourself in a fellowship like that. If you
had a cohort of fierce-hearted men standing at your
side for the next nine months, watching your back
and cheering you on, what would be possible for
you? What potential, what calling, what greater
purpose might (finally!) be unleashed?
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Yep, you guessed it! It's Finally Done!
After months and months of waiting, and a
marathon of patience and support from you, the last
word of my novel, Waymaker, was finally
typed into
the computer at 10:57 pm on Friday, January 12th,
2007.
Oddly, there were no peals of thunder, or angels
singing (that I could hear). Just a deep sigh of relief.
And multiple waves of gratitude.
The manuscript is right about 570 pages, which is
right where I wanted it to be. It's 40 chapters. Do I
sound like a new parent giving out stats on the
baby? Why, yes. Yes, I do.
So what's next?
• Update the glossary & map
• Submit the manuscript to a national contest
• Sign the book to a new publisher, along with
the first book, Gideon's Dawn
• Dive directly into the third and final book in the
series, The Final Word.
• Once the publisher sets a schedule, let
everyone know exactly when the book will be
available for purchase. (As soon as I know, you'll
know.)
I'll keep you posted on the next steps as they unfold,
so just keep reading The Sojourner, and watching my
blog online.
You guys are the best. I wanted you to be the first
to know. Thanks!
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DreamMaps Course
7 Practical Steps for Naming Your Purpose and
Charting a Course to Make It Real
In this 8-week teleforum journey, Michael will
personally walk you through his proven Visioneering
process that will break you out of stuck patterns
of behavior, reawaken your heart’s capacity to
dream, guide you to create a crystal-clear vision for
your future, and provide practical tools for stepping
up to the bigger life you were created to live.
* You'll discover your deepest life purpose, and
describe it in detail.
* You'll transform your
dreams into specific, clearly-defined visionary goals
that you can and will achieve.
* You'll forge accountable friendships with
others just like you—people who've had enough of
living small, and are committed to stepping up to the
life of their biggest dreams.
* You'll learn practical tools to move beyond the
obstacles that have historically stopped you from
your goals.
* You'll "plan for success" by designing a
practical, personalized road map to get you from
where you are to where you want to be.
* You'll move from what you want to do to what
you will do.
* And much more!
THE NEXT 8-WEEK SESSION:
WHEN: Mar/Apr 2007
COST: $250
CLASS SIZE LIMIT: 12
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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DreamMaps Course |
Bringing Purpose to Reality |
Contact for More Info... |
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BRAVEHEART FELLOWSHIP |
9 Men, 9 Months: A Lifetime of Transformation |
More... |
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Closing Powerful Thought
"We are in the process of being unveiled. We were
created to reflect God’s glory, born to bear his
image, and he ransomed us to reflect that glory
again. Every heart was given a mythic glory, and
that glory is being restored. Remember the mission of
Christ: 'I have come to give you back your heart and
set you free.'"
—John Eldredge
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Life Coach, Author, & Speaker |
Michael Warden |
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