One simple Question:
Are you presently living for what you say you will die for?
Do you say you would die for family and friends and yet spend most of your time, talents, and treasure on success at work or play? If so, you're not alone. Many of us have struggled with putting first things first.
Hello, my name is Martin Jones. At age 63 I can confess to you that I have struggled to make relationships my highest priority. Even as a minister for over 40 years, at times I have made work and play too high of a priority to the neglect of family and friends. As a result, I found myself amid people and activity, feeling empty and alone, having no claim to real peace. It was these good things in the wrong places that eventually led me to burnout and, for a time, leaving the thing I loved and felt called to do.
Why are relationships so crucial? Well, consider yet another question. If you were on your deathbed, would you rather be surrounded by the things you have acquired or the people you have loved? If your answer is "things," then STOP NOW. Reading this is a waste of your time, and you probably are a narcissistic, greedy, unpleasant person who will die alone. If your answer is "people," then you would have to agree that living for them is as important as dying for them. Life is all about relationships. It is about people more than things.
The context of our relationships is found in 3 arenas: home place, workplace, and play place. Our home place is where we interact with family and friends, our workplace is where we interact with bosses, subordinates, and coworkers, and our play place is where we might include family, friends, bosses, subordinates, and coworkers. We engage relationships in all of these arenas throughout our week, and managing the relationships in each can be quite challenging at times. In addition, these arenas and the relationships within them are continuously competing for our limited time and energy. Sometimes we need help! No, I'm not talking about life-or-death, reached-the-bottom, turn-my-life-around kind of help. I am talking about help that is more of an early stage course correction that can help point me to a more significant life with a priority on relationships. I have had these kinds of people in my life--not all of them smarter than me but all of them wiser than me. They came at the right time, and although I did not understand it at the time, they coached me to the next level. Often they inductively led me to an understanding that I could not see on my own and to action steps that I would not do without accountability. It was not just their knowledge and insight that taught me a lot but also their process. Their method became my method and one of the most important messages of all great coaching: "truth discovered is more powerful and easier to implement than truth delivered."
Your first question is probably, "Who are you and why should I consider coaching with you?" This is a an important question. The answer is found in the About link at the top of the page or by clicking the "Read More About Me" button below.
Your next question might be, "What do you have to offer me?" For the answers to this question, I invite you to look at the Services page or click the Services button below.
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