Within seconds, I heard his wife Meg cheerfully greeting me on other end of phone. She began by explaining that she was in middle of "cleaning gunk from drain," but she wanted to know what life coaching was all about. I took a deep breath, preparing to give her my quickest rap, and out of my mouth popped "life coaching is like cleaning gunk out your drain."

After power of that image sunk in, and I wondered if she thought I was crazy, I realized life coaching is exactly like cleaning gunk from our drains. Life coaching is about clearing gunk from our lives!

Our lives can be full of debris and gunk that interrupt effortless flow of a purposeful, passionate and fulfilling life. The gunk accumulates and gradually zaps our energy and creative passion, usually without us even noticing it. Many people learn to tolerate it, and some eventually experience a crisis, an illness, or simply find themselves wondering "is this all there is?" These are reasons most of my clients come to me.

Here are top 6 sources of gunk that could be blocking your flow. I invite you to take a minute and consider following possibilities:

1. Limiting beliefs Have you ever stopped and listened to what’s going on inside your head? We are so full of shoulds and woulds that we don’t even know what we truly think or feel. No wonder we have difficulty imagining life we want. The first step in changing our lives is changing our thinking.

2. Draining relationships Are you happy? Are you loved for exactly who you are and do you love without condition? Everyone deserves emotional fulfillment. Developing balanced partnerships add quality to life.

The names of famous people often stand for talent they brought to world.

A young child is on her stomach on floor painting. Her father looks at her art and comments, "She is going to be another Picasso."

An aspiring writer works at perfecting his craft. He dreams, "I am going to be a Hemingway."

A student of trumpet needs encouragement. Her teacher tells her, "You are sounding like a Basie."

THAT'S ME

For what does your name stand? If someone said, "She is going to be another [your name]," or "I am going to be another [your name]," or "You are sounding like a [your name]," what would that mean?

What are your strongest talents or traits? Of course, they may not be in area of arts. Perhaps they include being a friend, peace-making, loving, gardening, supporting a cause, gossiping, networking, being stubborn, selling, problem-solving, arguing, pet-raising, parenting, criticizing, making people smile, building a business, motivating people.

For what does your name stand? You can make a choice as to how that question is answered. Right now.

AND TODAY . . .