Tom Loarie: Co-Leader, SING, Career Group; Danville, California, USA

“Clara Chorley is energy, charm, and engagement all wrapped up in a delightful package. She speaks from the heart and delivers an important
message to her audience. A message about listening to and trusting our inner voice (our intuition) and how to put it to work building success. Clara
embodies her message and shares how it has shaped her life and her livelihood. And how it can shape ours as well. If your intuition is
whispering that you should learn more about Clara, listen to it. You won’t be sorry.”

Kerry Hargraves: former President, East Bay Women’s Network; Alameda, California, USA

“Clara’s impact on the room was astonishing. The material that she presented was innovative and empowering. Everyone walked away with a tangible next step and renewed inspiration and belief in themselves. Clara brought her high energy and the importance of what living with Purpose can do for breaking through the barriers in our lives.”

Carina Windsor: Experience Unlimited Career Group; Walnut Creek; California, USA

“Clara, thank you … your energy and enthusiasm was infectious. Our participants are still buzzing about the session and there have already been several instances where the techniques have been very helpful. We are committed to making the lessons learned an integral part of our individual and collective days ahead.”

Marco Rosa: Program Leader, Career Actions Ministry of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church; Mountain View, California, USA

“‘Eloquent’ describes the speaking skills of Clara Chorley. As a teacher of rhetoric for more than 40 years, (Clara’s ability is) balancing logical appeal with emotional appeal. This talent, when backed by personal credibility that few can match, enables Clara to make us laugh, cry and learn in the space of five minutes.”

Dr. Doric Little: Professor of Rhetoric; Honolulu, Hawaii,USA

“(Clara is) the most joyful person that I have run across in months, maybe even in years. I just know that this whisper that has been circulating through my brain is practically screaming at me. I want to find work I love to support myself for the rest of my life. Thank you, Clara, for a thought provoking presentation.”

S.Padan: Administrative Assistant; Walnut Creek, California, USA

“From the moment that you stepped onto the platform, the energy and excitement of your presence filled the room. Clara, your keynote presentation was outstanding.”

Darren Jacklin: Professional Speaker & Corporate Trainer; Vancouver, Canada

“Clara energized the group to actively participate in the discussion, and she created an open and encouraging environment where those gathered felt safe and comfortable sharing their goals, hopes and emotions. We highly recommend Clara Chorley to any group or organization searching for a dynamic person to engage its members.”

Diane M. Glas: President, IAAP; San Francisco, California, USA

“Clara Presented the 4 steps for our members and we were so happy to have her. Her enthusiasm and energy was contagious. All of our members were motivated and took value from the variety of ideas and tools she presented. Thank you, Clara for your expertise and kindness.”

Frank DeRaffele: SuccessLink Specialist, Women’s Initiative; Marin, California, USA

Peter McManus, Sales Director; salesforce.com, UK

“Clara is caring, direct and incredibly effective at getting you to dig deep to the core of the issues, so that you experience these monumental “aha” moments – which change your life forever.”

Irene Fehr, Senior Marketing Manager; San Francisco, California, USA

“Thanks to my work with Clara, I’m heading to Australia on a 6-month professional opportunity doing work I absolutely love! I have learned to make better, truer decisions; and let go of behaviors (like pleasing others!) that were getting in my way. I know ‘me’ much better now and have clarity about the steps to take. I am ready and excited!”

S. Scott, Organizational Development Project Manager; San Francisco, California, USA

“Clara Chorley’s gift is her ability to listen and hear on multiple levels, and then respond with strategic action. She is skilled at helping others sort through internal doubts or confusion. Her international professional and life experiences have given Clara the ability to hold calm during any storm. Clara is a healing, energizing light on this planet and time with her can absolutely transform your life.”

Dr. Brenda Wade: Psychologist, Television Host, Author, Seminar Leader, Keynote Speaker, and Producer, plus regular on Oprah, NBC and View on the Bay; Alameda, California, USA

“I gained the confidence to act on my intuition versus just think about it, created a clear career vision of what I wanted (versus what I should want), took on projects and challenges that I always felt I could do but was staying away from, and doubled my income. Thank you!”

Kim Castaneda: Executive Director; Martinez, California, USA

“I exceeded professional goals I hadn’t even set! Increased my income and learned powerful tools to move through obstacles and challenges so I could stay dynamic and growing. I also learned a framework for decision-making, which has helped me make decisions based on what’s for my highest good rather than founded in fear.”

S. Khalsa: San Francisco, California, USA

“Beyond specific steps, I gained a confidence around making small emotional changes that led to larger steps professionally. I have greater confidence in tuning out some of the noise and trusting my intuition more to align with the big picture of what I want in my life”

Jennifer Heyman: San Francisco, California, USA

“I haven’t felt this alve in 10 years.  I know I’m going to look back on this moment and see how the trajectory of my life changed by being involved with this course and committing to change.”

Katie Ledesma: Development Consultant; Walnut Creek, California, USA

“Clara quickly found simple truths hiding beneath the surface and helped me bring out issues that needed my attention. I am amazed at the simple, yet profound, insights she derived from the information I provided. Doing the exercises she recommended has had an amazing impact on my growth, and the proximity to my largest dreams and goals.”

Jesse Rosenblatt: Attorney; New York, New York, USA

“Clara Chorley has a gift of seeing right to souls, and even more of separating priorities from chaff. She was helpful in getting me to push through obstacles I had placed between me and my desires, and between me and other people. I’m forever grateful.”

Francine Brevetti: Ghostwriter, business writer and memoirist; San Francisco, California, USA

“Clara is blessed with a natural propensity for helping others connect to the perfection within them. Her power to help others comes from the fact that she did it for herself first, the most difficult work of all, the work of a true leader. I’ve observed Clara grow in consciousness for what is now a quarter of a century, demonstrated by her outstanding success with people and business across the world in very diverse cultures. When it comes to matters of personal and organizational growth, you should be very diligent as to in whom you trust to help light your way. I can only offer you my heartfelt assurances that Clara is an inspired choice.”

Christian Simpson: Thought Leader in Business Leadership, Personal Development and Professional Coaching; Barnt Green, England

“Clara is a wizard with taking feelings and desires for which I have little ability to even name, to unwrap them, unfold them, and lead me step by step from a surface of fears, doubts, and uncertainties, into a clear understanding of their source.”

Guy J; Geologist: Walnut Creek, California, USA

Mercedes Martin: Lead Development Consultant, Ernst and Young; San Francisco, California, USA

“Many consultants and advisors have great ideas but struggle to operationalize them in a practical setting. Clara’s approach is focused on understanding the strategic but focusing on the practical. Her excellent facilitation skills combined with a natural understanding of human interaction allow her to identify impactful and executable steps to enable a loose association of individuals to become a highly effective team.”

Nick Prior: Partner, Ernst & Young; San Francisco, California, USA

 “It’s not every day that a stunningly multi-talented manager walks through your office in Kigali, Rwanda. The ambitions of my project — a global program of poverty alleviation called the Millennium Villages Project — were not, at the time, matching up with the metrics and structure in place. Assuming that Clara would balk at the responsibilities offered, I gave her a fair and honest list of needs: from basic administrative policies to our first annual strategic plan to human resources management, liaising with clueless suits in New York and budgetary management. During her time with us, she managed to apply that acumen and successfully implement a raft of badly-needed upgrades to our systems.”

Josh Ruxin: Country Director, Millenium Village Project; Rwanda, Africa

“We are very happy! We have a flush of business blood flowing again, and just last week we had 4 new customers without any advertising or anything. Your team was the catalyst and diagnosticians that gave Ketron the prescription it needed to come back to life. Thanks!”

Keith Aguirre: Business Development Manager, Ketron Financial; Marin, California, USA.

“Last week was an amazing week for me.  I ended up using what I learned in your class with two people who came to me for coaching. Through the class I was able to clarify some thoughts in my head and find the tools to articulate my steps and process with others. Invaluable.”

Caroline T. Cory: HR Coordinator, California Pacific Medical Center-Research Institute; San Francisco, California, USA

“Clara’s thoughtful and engaging course was packed with life skills from beginning to end. Within just a few hours our class broke down barriers and walls, so that we could tap into our truth and intention.”

Marco Chavez: Administrative Supervisor, California Pacific Medical Center; San Francisco, California, USA

If you’re interested in hiring Clara for your next event, click here.

September 8th, 2011
California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Internal Corporate Training
How to Coach & Receive Feedback

September 10th, 2011
Young Women’s Social Entrepreneurs, San Francisco, CA
http://www.ywse.org/

October 12th, 2011
IAAP, Santa Clara, CA
http://www.iaap.org/
Communication Mastery: How to have more ease, skill & success with your communication

October 31st, 2011
Experience Unlimited, Marin, CA
http://www.euccc.org/oldwebsite/links.htm

November 30th, 2011
Women in Consulting, San Francisco, CA
http://www.womeninconsulting.com/

December 14th, 2011
eWomen Network, East Bay, CA
http://ewomen.org/

January, 2012
Experience Unlimited, San Francisco, California, USA
http://www.eucc.org/

January 18th, 2012
IAAP, Las Positas, CA
http://www.iaap.org/

April 10th, 2012
Women Council of Realtors, Las Positas, CA
http://www.wcr.org/

Money

Expansion

So, what now?

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘tis better to give than receive.  Deep down, we understand the spirit behind that sentiment, but the truth is we also need to Get.  It’s a chicken and egg dilemma.  Do we need to create more financial resources for ourselves in order to give freely or does giving freely create more financial resources?

So what does it mean to give? Well, giving can be monetary; for example, tithing is a brilliant concept, where you donate a portion of your regular earnings to a cause or organization.  It can be giving of your time, such as volunteer work at a homeless shelter, getting involved with a local school or in your community government.  It could simply be giving away some of the extra “stuff” you’ve accumulated (we all have things we don’t need that someone else would value) and donating it to a second-hand store or charity.

The theory is that giving creates abundance. Human behavior specialist, Dr. John Demartini, says that whenever you give something away, you leave space for something you desire to come in.  Lynne Twist, author of The Soul of Money states that it’s not about the amount you give, it’s the intention behind it, that $500 coming from the heart can have more impact than $50,000 given out of obligation.  And financial guru, Suze Orman, says that giving makes you feel powerful, partly because it means you are more fortunate than someone else and multiplies your sense of self-worth. Lastly, there’s the simple giving of who we are – a smile, look of approval, hug, word of appreciation or acknowledgment.

Giving Your Best Self

So how does Giving benefit your bottom line? When you feel good, you extend more verbal appreciation and empowering feedback to those you work and interact with. You radiate confidence and an air of leadership. You feel fulfilled and have more energy and spirit. You’re more approachable and thus, more likely to hear about potential crises before they happen, as well as new opportunities.  People want to work with you, they can feel that you care and are invested in their success.

Taking Responsibility

How about social responsibility? When your company gives to a cause or charity, it creates a loop of positive energy. You feel good about it, others feel good when they’re working with you and buying your products or services because that also makes them part of your giving efforts and they tell their friends who then also want to be involved with you and your company.

When you have a bigger cause than simply making money, the people who are working for you feel more purposeful and more invested in the mission of the company. Happy employees increases retention and loyalty, there is a sense of belonging to a team, which can lead to greater enthusiasm and effectiveness.

As a management consultant in Rwanda, I helped implement organizational strategy for a large project that had giving at the core of its mission. With increased appreciation, feedback mechanisms and clarity of vision, people stepped up in new ways, often exhibiting skills that we hadn’t previously seen. Those who weren’t supportive of this new commitment left, and were replaced by others who were excited, motivated and aligned. This impacted the bottom line on every level, increasing both human and financial profit.

Of course, opening up the channels of communication, getting everyone committed to a shared vision and setting up a contribution plan for your company takes financial investment – an initial Give. However, it’s a small expense compared to the short and long-term return on investment.  Making giving a fundamental part of your company’s mission will reap rewards beyond imagination; for you, your employees, your customers and all the people your giving will benefit. This is a new paradigm for business today; doing good and doing well at the same time.  It’s an absolute win/win strategy.

Let me know how you give – what is giving to you? How has it helped your business or life? and How could it help more?

Fast forward to the early 00′s and my annual trips home become richer every year. This year topped. Friendships that have ebbed and flowed over the years, while ultimately strengthening in commonality and closeness. Family ties that get harder and harder to fly away from, especially as time does insist on continuing to pass, and I now have a 5 year old niece as a fast growing reminder of my immortality.

Every year I get to see my own reflection in the people I love on the other side of the world, and every year I watch my heart and mind opening more and more; they reflect back to me who I’m becoming, and all that I escaped softens with each arriving Christmas.

I had a conversation with my father this year. We had a strained relationship for many years. The beginning was a perfect picture of a little girl and her father – fishing, rock climbing, putting up tents, searching rock pools for crabs – you name it, we explored it together. The middle was full of pain, rebellion and revenge for imperfections he and I never intended, and now the end. We’re coming full circle. As we sat in the coffee shop for 5 hours and talked openly about the past, we clarified moments and memories that had impacted us both. We sat with each other and honored our personal versions of each story. We talked about things that were, in short, really hard to talk about. This was not a conversation that fathers and daughters typically have; until, perhaps, the final hours. We had it with grace, love and respect.

Something deeply healed in those 5 hours. As we gradually moved from deep waters back to every-day chit-chat, there was somehow more meaning and more enjoyment in that simplicity – more reason to listen, more reason to care. It was no longer about the content and more about being with someone I love deeply.

My father and I have always had a very special bond, and life never felt quite right without him more fully in it. It’s amazing to me how hurt feelings colour truth, sap joy, and steal time. Time that could be full of connection, experiences and story-telling, or just sitting quietly together. I have, over the years, missed out on a great deal of time with my father. I was never willing to leave important conversations too late – until something happened to him or I. I always wanted him in my life while we were both able to enjoy each other. Please know that I have had plenty of times when I wanted to just walk away and not deal with what I felt I had no control over. Pain can be a uncanny motivator when it seems like all options have been exhausted. But sitting in that coffee shop and sharing with him some things I’d never understood, and asking for more contact with him between UK trips was authentic and this time it brought us closer.

When two people love each other, no matter how their lives are combined, the power in truth-telling – without expectation – is unfathomable. I’m grateful to the man who brought me into this world. Who gifted me with the spirit of adventure, who taught me how to be brave with my heart, who loved me in a way that taught me what love really is and that I should never, ever settle. He was my father for many years, and now he’s Dad again – and I feel, somehow, like a part of me is complete. The final piece of the jigsaw is back in the box.

England was rich this year, rich and close and yummy. For the first time in decades I could imagine myself spending much more time there. Wanting to meld my imperfect life with the imperfect lives of those I love.

The day after the snow storm arrived, I watched as my train was the last one to leave on time from Birmingham or leave at all; I watched as I wove through hundreds of people stuck outside Heathrow airport and found a side door that got me into the departures lounge; and I watched as my flight was one of very few that took off – a little late, but we took off. I watched as leaving England happened with such ease while literally thousands of others were stranded. My mother and brother were both doing snow dances and praying my plane would be cancelled until after Christmas Day – and inside me, so was I. The ease with which I left was intriguing to me.

I have a feeling that this chapter is just beginning and I shall continue to watch as the story unfolds – watching to see who calls, what places I choose to visit, who I meet, what opportunities present. All the unknown element in this ever unfolding play that is life. I’m thankful for the courage to allow the unfolding, I’m thankful for the deeply personal journey of self-awareness that west coast America has allowed me, and I’m thankful for a big does of British no-nonsense, down-to-earthness this December. Now, that’s balance!

Wishing you a year with all your jigsaw pieces back in the box!

Clara

Mid-flight and thinking of you

It’s 12:15pm and I’m somewhere over the Atlantic reminding myself that red eyes are no fun unless horizontal in business class. Not sure what I was thinking. We have 2 hours to go and this seemed like the ideal time to share a little of my own 2010 reflection.

There’s a story with a point in here!

2010 was interesting to say the least. February was when my body decided that running around and working 11hour days was not longer an option. I was deeply exhausted. Years of extensive travel and, even more relevant, taking giant steps (often perhaps without being fully ready for them) had brought me to where I was (happy, successful business owner) and taken a toll on my physical wellbeing. I’d pushed myself right into a broken immune system, off balance adrenals, and seemingly unending need for deep rest. It was like being tired to the bones, and it was a little frightening.

Canceling the ‘Next Big Step’

I’m constantly growing and that’s reflected in the work I do with my clients. I figure that as long as I’m growing, then so are they. Self-reflection and growth is like breathing to me; I’m constantly working on my inner and outer game and learning new tools. The last four months were spent doing some inner exploration at the next level. No pushing, no rushing, just simply allowing and… waiting. Waiting for the next steps to reveal from a space of intuitive knowing – rather than as a mental decision and a goal that I would then ‘go for’. I was completely okay with the truth to come any time it felt like it. What a journey! Straight into the unknown.

The power of everyone else’s priorities. Are you paying attention?

Just recently, my intuition, true to form, did deliver. It let me know the next steps. The truth arrived unexpectedly and wasn’t earth-shaking, and I found that deeply comforting. The information arrived as it always does (yes, always) when I trust and allow my body clock to tick at it’s own pace.

Finally, the unveiling…

Appreciation for you

Many heartfelt thanks, here’s to hearing your own inner drum beat and allowing your journey to unfold right in rhythm with it,

Clara

Whenever I’m in the middle of a particularly gruesome Thai massage stretch, the voice in my head enjoys narrating: “WHAT am I doing here??” “Are you sure this is good for you?” (talks to me as well as itself) “Ouch! I came here to RELAX!!” “OMGosh, what was THAT?” With the tiny masseuse’s feet around my ears, knees digging into every back muscle I have, and twists I haven’t even attempted in yoga, her 4’8″ frame seems like it must have been switched out for the 6’4″ security guard I saw trying to lure 4 young, suited, staggering men into the dodgy North Beach ‘entertainment’ club last Friday night. It hurts. “How can someone so small be soooo strong?” inquires the voice. Then, just when I think I can relax for a moment… “AHHHHHHH !” another tight muscle is discovered.

Of course, as is the case with most painful experiences, you feel fantastic afterward and then go back and do it all again. This certainly wasn’t my first Thai massage…

Pain. Why is it we’ll go headlong into some types and stay the heck away from others? Positive versus negative pain. Negative pain might be an abusive relationship, or stabbing oneself with a fork, or the result of jumping out of an airplane without a parachute and surviving… Positive pain might be a dental cavity being fixed, or a Thai massage, or the other side of a fear that didn’t come true. Imagine you’re having a dream, and in the dream you’re suddenly face-to-face with a growling, salivating 8ft grizzly bear on his hind legs, towering over your tiny green tent and freshly baked cookies. You could face the grizzly head on, and whip out your kayak oar to get him away. And maybe if you did that you might learn something (when you wake up) about your relationship with confrontation or bullying or authority. But why would you? Somewhere in the back of your mind you’re aware it’s a dream which means you have tons of other choices: you could run away, share the cookies, or turn the bear into a calico kitten. You have many options.

But the bear seems real, right? Even though you might be aware it’s a dream, it still seems real – and, based on that perception, some of you will attack head on, some will run, and some will magically change it into something else and just hope to not get eaten.

Sometimes we have to challenge ourselves to remember that we’re in a dream – we’re imagining the bear. Our greatest fears often appear the most ‘real’. And on the other side of those fears we realize that they’re not real – far from it. Pull in the resources – friends, family, workshops, books, coaches – get your cheering squad together and learn, learn, learn so that when that bear is rearing up in front of you, you’re might be something like this: “Hmmmm, looks like a bear, sounds like a bear, sure feels like I’m about to be eaten by a bear, but y’know… there’s something about this that tells me I’m going to be okay; so let’s go” And right then, claim your cookies, whip out your oar, and GROWL right back!! Then see what happens…

Disclaimer: please do not attempt with real bears