Philosophy

FuturePathways has a fresh perspective on many “old notions” about how people adjust to change. Following are some of those notions and an explanation of our approach.

Notion: People know what they want and how to get there. They grow by self-care and personal empowerment.

FuturePathways: People most often don’t know what they want or how to get there. They come into coaching with a need, a desire, or a question and usually must do some self-analysis and exploration of their values, preferred styles, strengths and weaknesses in order to know the “I” who is looking for answers.

People do ultimately grow by self-care, but often they enter coaching without even knowing what self-care means. They have to be taught what that means or have it modeled for them. Self-care is not just a bubble bath or a massage. Sometimes people have to learn to give themselves permission to care for themselves in more meaningful ways.

Personal success – small steps of self-acknowledged achievement – must precede personal empowerment. But even very successful people don’t always feel truly successful; they feel as if they are a sham. To notice our achievements, to acknowledge them and then to “metabolize” them, confident they can be repeated -- that is the key to personal empowerment.

 

Notion: People will achieve goals when they focus clearly on what they want. Coaches need to provide techniques to help people change their thinking and feeling styles.

FuturePathways: People will achieve their goals when they can truly perceive them, and when those goals are aligned with their strengths, preferences and values. When we don’t have true alignment we often sabotage ourselves. Finding that true alignment stops the internal saboteur, allows us to focus clearly and eliminates the roadblocks to achieving our goals.

People can change their thinking once they have an understanding of the reasons and traps behind their old ways of thinking. Although people don’t tend to make major changes in their personality styles, they can make huge changes in the ways they react. And by doing so, they achieve new successes.

 

Notion: People need to find their own truth – finding your essential self will bring fulfillment.

FuturePathways: Yes, this is true. Finding your essential self will bring fulfillment, but only if you’re able to manifest it in an external way. Self-knowledge alone does not bring sufficient fulfillment. A life that aligns with and reflects one’s knowledge is fulfilling.

Notion: People need sales and networking techniques and are perfectly capable of applying those techniques to their business, once they learn what they are.

FuturePathways: Techniques are not the initial place to focus. First, people should develop an understanding of the needs of their potential clients. If we approach prospects as if they are our “dinner” (our prey) their reaction will be to run away. We need to know how we can help/benefit our clients…not just what they can do for us. We must be able to verbally express how we benefit others. Once we can do this, we are ready to develop an action plan.

Oftentimes we have to find new ways of “networking” that are different from traditional networking techniques. Networking does not always mean walking into a room full of strangers, shaking hands and giving out business cards. There are many more effective ways to build a customer base that are in keeping with a person’s preferred style and comfort level. These new approaches are individual and must be aligned with a person’s strengths, values and preferences.