Blog Posts by Beate Chelette

By Beate Chelette

The recent Atlantic cover story on whether or not women can "have it all" has certainly hit a national nerve. The week after the article came out it had received more than 1.1 million online views. Women and men all around the country are registering their objection or approval of author, mother of two and former State Department official Anne-Marie Slaughter's premise that the 70s feminist mantra of "having it all" is, in reality, not so easy-and maybe not even possible unless women push for changes in society.

Women who juggle career and family know well how tough it can be, I certainly do. I nurtured a baby and a start-up alone, after my divorce, squeezing time to write my business plan in between my day-to-day duties as a single mom. I worked past midnight many nights and on weekends to get everything done-and it was exhausting.

As a long-time entrepreneur and professional career coach, I've trained and worked with hundreds of professional

Problems sometimes turn out to be unexpected gifts, so look for them.

By Beate Chelette

Can't all this move faster, I asked my herbalist the other day as I sat impatiently on the treatment table? I am smack in the middle of being rewired by nature and Steve is helping me through the symptoms of perimenopause, a biological stage that can't be avoided-or rushed-despite my insistence. With the utmost patience, Steve reminded me that my pace is probably exactly the pace it needs to be.

That got me thinking. Why are we rarely satisfied with the way things go? They are too slow, or too stressful. It's too much or not enough. Dissatisfaction thinking leaves us in a perpetual state of wanting something different, which can't be good for us. Nor does it allow for the unexpected gifts and experiences that show up instead.

What happened to me in Austin last week is a perfect example. I went to Wizard Academy to teach a two-day course on leadership, based on principles in The

Are You A Doer Or A Talker?

Four steps to help you get past the roadblocks in your life.


By Beate Chelette

A few weeks ago I got busted by one of my own coaching clients for being out of balance. I have a particular system that I use to help my clients create the life and business of their dreams. We pinpoint what they need in their personal lives and career and then we put these ideas into effect and little by little, they move forward. And all the while I emphasize how vital it is to maintain a healthy work-life balance because it can affect everything, our health, attitude, family, our social obligations and finances.

So there I was, doing all this for my clients, and a 13-day migraine hit me. One of my clients noticed and said, are you just telling me to find balance or are you actually doing it yourself? Because if you do, then why are you feeling this way? Wow, that was spot on. Direct and right on target!

In my typical w ay of focusing on the positive, ignoring the bad and pushing

You have great plans to take your business to the next level, but how do you implement them?

By Beate Chelette


Your plan is in place. You've clearly defined your goals and now it's time to go from here to there. How can you finally take action and implement your plans and goals? You have the best intentions and feel pumped about taking your business to the next level.

But here they come, one by one, the bumps in the road. Day-to-day situations begin to creep in. A key client leaves, you land a huge job that turns out to be a time-consuming nightmare, a key employee quits or makes unreasonable demands, you are not feeling great physically, and there is no time to work out or eat right. You're so busy managing what's in front of you and before you realize it, you don't even think about implementing your plans. Unless you do something differently, nothing will change.

Manage your everyday demands and not lose sight of the big picture with these take action strategies:

Step 1
Ensure that

The more specific your goals are, the better chance you have of achieving them.

By Beate Chelette

One of the best arguments I know for setting goals could be an ad for a Global Positioning System (or GPS). Unless you know where you want to go, you can't figure out a way to get there. It's true for all aspects of our lives, personal, family and career. Even so, just having goals without defining them, in very specific terms, is a useless exercise.

More or less we all want the same things. Health, a great relationship, intimacy, family, wealth and an exciting career. You may have a general idea of wanting to make more money, of getting a better job or being in a relationship, but you are lacking the clear detail. When you say a great relationship, what does that really look like? Who is she or he and what are the core values you want that relationship to have? What are your must-haves, your deal breakers and your negotiables? Maybe must-haves include communication, humor, intelligence and

And the top strategies to change that and get ahead.
[Part One]
By Beate Chelette
As a career coach and longtime entrepreneur I have been able to watch how men and women work and advance (or not) in their careers. Here are some of the top reasons why women don't get promoted at a higher rate and Part Two of this article offers strategies to change that:

Getting sidetracked
* Women are genetically wired to create community. Instead of being clear that in corporate settings and business overall it is about your ability to focus and produce numbers, women get sidetracked in wanting to build community. The work environment today is built on male dominated traits. You will be judged and promoted by your ability to support these established rules. Until this changes (and The Women's Code will do just that), if you want to advance you have to know when it's time to produce and when it's time to build your team.

The other woman-an enemy, not an ally
* Women still look at other women as