#018 - Alan Cahn: Life, Intentions, Coaching, and Relationships with A Man of Wisdom

In this episode of The Grow Give Expand Podcast I am joined by evolutionary accelerator and status quo disruptor, Alan Cahn.

Alan has over 35 years of experience in senior management positions in a global enterprise, being an executive coach, a trainer and a consultant. He has a demonstrated track record of success coaching leaders to realize breakthrough results, utilizing his unique talent for disruptive/context shifting interactions. Alan brings a commitment to optimizing leadership performance and realizing professional fulfillment to each of his coaching clients. He can be counted on to bring joy to the client and the coaching process!

Alan holds a Bachelor in Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Social Inquiry. He has post-graduate training and expertise in strategic design, business management and practical philosophy. He is also a trained individual and group counsilor. While Alan has deep expertise in business, he is also passionate about serving international non-profits. He gets great joy from helping them realize their missions and elevating the culture of the organization.

In our conversation, Alan shares his wisdom on a variety of subjects from living an intentional life, to how to be a great coach, to creating fulfilling relationships. Topics include:

- Who is Alan Cahn?

- Understanding intention: What is an intention? What is YOUR intention and why must you have one - Alan's preamble for creating your intention

- Awareness at every moment (are we fulfilling our desired intention, or some other intention, at any given time)

- What is default mode?

- The neuroscience behind how we end up establishing default modes

- "There's a party called life taking place here on Earth. What are you bringing to the party?" A great question for shifting perspective

- What the result has been in Alan's life of setting an intention

- How Alan measures his success in regard to living in alignment with his intention

- How to elegantly disrupt the patterns and identify blind spots (as a coach) in those you are coaching & the 3 things you need to have before coaching someone or offering feedback

- How to engage in a coaching relationship with others

- Questions for coaches to ask within the coach / student framework

- Quantifying your value as a coach or consultant: 3 ways to determine what to ask for in terms of compensation

- Alan's 6 keys to a fulfilling life

- Why quiet time to listen inwards is vital for personal & professional growth

- 10 day silent retreats, meditation, flotation tanks, and ayahuasca

- How at age 69 Alan stays curious about life and learning at an age when a lot of people start slowing down / winding back the gears

- Refiring vs. Retiring

- Are you a consumer or a creator?

- Relationships: defining what works personally based on the way we are designed / principals for being a good partner

- How to have a conversation with a partner about choosing to improve the quality of your relationship

- Developing depth in relationships in a world where people seem to always be looking for the next best thing

- Understanding the "seasons of life"

- How to position yourself when working with, or developing relationships with, high value / high performing individuals

- The Grow Give Expand Final 3

A truly wide-ranging episode packed with great insights from one of the wisest souls I have had the pleasure of getting to know.

Let's Grow, Give, and Expand, with this episode's guest: Alan Cahn

Connect with Alan:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-cahn-b6b04911