A few years ago,when I was doing my coaching certification program, I wrote this short article on the wonderful lessons found in children’s literature. These lessons can be applied to any part of life, including riding. I thought I would share this now. If you ave favorite quotes from children’s literature I would love it if you shared it in the comments below. Enjoy!
“You’ve always had the power, my dear. You’ve had it all along.”
– Glenda, the good witch?(The Wizard of Oz)
I have seen this quote a few times when someone shared it on Facebook and each time I read it I love its simplicity and how it is really what the coaching relationship is all about. I like it so much I have it saved in my business folder as I want to use it as part of my coaching model or power tool.
It was just shared again recently and it made me think about how many profound quotes there are from all types of literature that relate to coaching. Though coaching has not been a formal practice for many years, wise literary minds from history often pondered on life’s purpose and our potential if we just tap into it. They write great life lessons with their words reminding us that we need to be authentic and if we are, we have all the power we need to live our best, most wonderful lives.
What intrigues me the most is that authors of children’s and adolescent literature often send out the message to children that they should be true to themselves and that they have all they need to live an amazing life. This interested me so much that I went on a search for more quotes. Here are a few:
?You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who?ll decide where to go?
“Oh, The Places You?ll Go!”? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
-Dr. Seuss
“The Moment Where You Doubt You Can Fly, You Cease For Ever Being Able To Do It.”
-Peter Pan
?You have plenty of courage, I am sure,” answered Oz. “All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.?
?L. Frank Baum,?The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The things that make me different are the things that make me.?
– A.A. Milne
Those are just a few of a myriad of profound, coaching related quotes from children’s books. Winnie the Pooh is full of them. So much so that Benjamin Hoff wrote The Tao of Pooh? (a favorite book of mine) using ?Winnie The Pooh? to explain Taoism to Westerners.
Children often get these wonderful messages from the books they read (that is if reading is a priority in their young lives?). Unfortunately throughout life they also get many different messages that create negative underlying beliefs. They are told to become someone they are not and often do so in order to fit in. That is unfortunate. But that is where our role as a coach becomes important. We have a mission to remind our clients of those beautiful messages from their children’s stories and that they can live their most authentic, best life.
I would recommend to anyone who reads this, to Google quotes from their favorite children’s stories and listen to the messages they deliver. Read the Tao of Pooh? and see the simplicity and beauty of the wisdom of all of the characters in the book.