A recent note – testimonial- from a client:

“Hi Martha!
I just experienced pretty much my worst nightmare.  And here’s how I used the skills you taught me to overcome the extreme nature of this encounter.
My husband and I participated in a grown up gym party last night where the school gym teacher has grownups playing all kinds of kid’s games- including my least favorite game of all time — Dodgeball.
I was never the athletic kid – more the cheerleader than the track star– and quite frankly, to be honest, I was dreading this event.  Because we only knew the host couple, we decided to go to be open to making new friends – you know, do something different.
So back to Dodgeball…
The gym teacher divides 40 adults into two teams either side of a middle line and the players start hurling balls toward each other.  And, (and here is the worst nightmare part of the story) after a very long session of this, I end up being the last person standing on my team.  As luck would have it, the other team had 10 people still standing with 6 balls.  To make matters even worse, the other 30 people were on the sidelines watching and cheering.
So here I am for a good 5 minutes – at the end of this horrid game – I am literally a sitting duck – standing on my big empty half of this huge basketball court with 10 people on the other side just trying to nail me with these damn balls – and, horrors of all horrors, in front of a room full of strangers.
Wow!  So metaphoric to my work life lately— and I decide, “OK – I can apply my learning here.”

I went right to my new skills – if nothing else, I can look the part and portray confidence with ease.  Here was such a physical manifestation of all of the principles we have worked on!  I connect to my breath, center, ground my feet, place my shoulders back, stood tall, made eye contact – don’t look the least bit panicked …you know the drill!!

It was so funny because everyone went to the local tavern afterward – and the buzz was they thought I was SO poised and focused, calm and collected.  Many people were saying stuff like “You owned it!!” Or “You were great.  I would have been freaking out.”
Looking back, I pretty much was about to pee my pants and REALLY didn’t want to be in that spot.
So yet another example of applying the tools you have helped me with!!
Thought I should share – thinking of you!
Thank you for helping me, I am much better equipped than prior to our work together.”

If this story resonates with you and you’d like to learn more about how you can embody the skills to maintain composure under fire contact me at martha@presence-impact.com

It’s not a call to action, it’s an invitation to play!