The blog’s twitter account regularly shares quotes that are there to spark inspiration, provoke action and generally interest coaches. I haven’t done this for some time but here are the most popular quotes that the blogs twitter account tweeted during the month of April.

Tweet with the Most interactions overall and the most RT’s

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

(Maya Angelou)

Tweet with the most favourite stars

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

(George Bernard Shaw)

I know many coaches like quotes and we also generally love questions so in no particular order I thought I’d share some questions prompted by these quotes. You’re welcome to share your answers below if you so desire but I’d love for you to actually take any relivant action that occurs to you from answering!

 What does success mean for you?

If it didn’t matter if you were successful or not, what action would you take on a project that you’re currently working upon?

 What is one thing you could do that would increase you liking yourself, liking what you do or how you do it? – what else?

 If your brief for a project was to play whilst working on it – what would you be doing differently?

 If it really doesn’t matter what your age is, what would you be doing?

These are just a few of the questions that occurred to me about these quotes

 What questions and thoughts do theses quotes prompt for you?

It may just be a certain element of geekiness in me but it struck me as interesting that some quotes generated many RTs and little favouriting, whilst other quotes generated the opposite behaviour. In the interest of true transparency there were also quotes ignored or equally loved – I’m not implying it was an either or response just that there was a complete range of behaviour to quotes sometimes with similar messages. That train of thought did prompt another couple of questions that may be revelling for you so I’ll also share:

If you are sharing a message do you actually want people to take a specific action as a consequence of your message? – If you do is it actually clear to others that action is an option and how they can take that action?

(For the record when it comes to sharing quotes on twitter I’m sharing them as an additional resource for people to use or not as is relivant for their situation. I’m happy if people then RT, favourite and generally interact but I’d really love it if when a quote sparks your inspiration or gives a gentle nudge that it provokes action. And whilst I’m clarifying, by action I don’t just mean doing something that wouldn’t look out of place on a traditional to do list, I also include actions such as just taking a moment to take a breath, notice your posture then letting your shoulders relax etc.)

 If you were allowed to play with the language in a message you want to deliver how else could you word/deliver that message?

I know that there are various aspects that can influence if a quote attracts your attention – if you saw the tweet, personal style, if it speaks to something happening in your life at that moment, if you feel it’s something that will resonate with your own followers. Many thanks if you’ve taken the time to RT, clicked favourite, and generally interacted with the quotes on the twitter feed.

(For those of you as geeky as I am and wondering what tool I’m using to measure individual RT’s this week I’ve been playing with www.twitonomy.com and Twitters own analytics system)

P.S. Wondering how to use quotes in your coaching? Back in 2012 I wrote a couple of posts around using quotes in coaching, Do you use quotes in your coaching? and a follow up one answering a readers question Using quotes in coaching – remembering them in the first place.

About Jen Waller

Jen Waller is on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond.

As an experienced coach and trainer Jen is happy to utilise all skills at her disposal to assist clients from getting out of their own way and making a difference in the world with their coaching. One of the aspects of her role Jen loves the most is seeing individuals find their voice, grow their confidence and take the next steps so that they make a massive positive impact and difference with their coaching.

In her spare time Jen is a volunteer for the UK based charity The Cinnamon Trust who support elderly and terminally ill pet owners provide care for their pets. As a volunteer, Jen regularly walks dogs for owners who physically often find that more challenging then they once did. As a pet owner herself, Jen finds it really rewarding to be able to assist an owner stay with an animal that has become part of the family. (Plus it’s a great aditional motivator when working from home to get out and get some fresh air and exercise)

Jen also loves theatre and has been known to watch certain popular science fiction films and TV shows!