EITC - The Emotional Intelligence Training Company, Inc. » Travel

Emotional Intelligence and Scuba Diving: Self Motivation

David Cory — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:53:55 +0000

Jill and I were fortunate enough to spend a glorious week in Puerto Vallarta the week before Christmas. I think we’ve started a new Christmas tradition.;-) I had the opportunity to go scuba diving and really enjoyed it. I don’t know if you’ve ever been scuba diving, but it’s quite a unique experience to actually breath underwater – like a fish! Well, not actually like a fish, but you know what I mean. In the swimming pool I had no problem whatsoever, but when we got out in the ocean I began to feel quite anxious. It hit me as we were floating on the surface that we were actually going down 30 feet. Wow, 30 feet, I thought, that’s a long way down. What if something happens down there? I felt myself getting quite panicky and had to do some quick thinking – and self soothing.

I told myself that there are back-up regulators on each diver and our dive master is an experienced professional and knows exactly what he’s doing. I had to trust and it calmed me down. I tried to remember everything I had learned in the pool and tried to breath calmly and continue breathing and not to hold my breath. Finally, the anxiety turned to excitement as our dive master motioned for us to follow him down into another world. I succeeded in getting myself into the appropriate emotional state to complete the task and it was fantastic!

After our dive I watched the next group where there were two sisters, one who looked very nervous. I had to watch as she began shaking and crying and it looked like she was going to back out for sure while her sister seemed to remain calm while waiting at the surface. When it came time to follow the dive master, the shaking crying sister had managed to pull herself together and made the dive while the calm sister ended up backing out and not making the dive.

Back on the boat on the way back I had to ask the shaking, crying sister how she managed to make the dive after all when I was so sure she would back out. She told me that she told herself that she had a Bachelor’s degree in Voice and that she knew all about how to control breathing for singing and this was no different. She got a grip, breathed calmly and followed the group down and had a wonderful, enjoyable experience. Her sister, on the other hand, was not able to find a way to change her thinking about her situation which would change her feelings about the dive and they prohibited her from being successful and having a memorable, enjoyable experience.

Do you have a good story of changing your emotions by changing your thinking? Let me know about it.

Emotional Intelligence and Dentistry?

Kim Cairns, Senior EQ Coach — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 01:55:03 +0000

Knowing that Dave had been to Nigeria and the Middle East prompted me to write about my ‘dental tourism’ trip to Mexico. In late April, an opportunity came up to travel to Telchac Puerto on the Gulf of Mexico. Telchac is about 45 km north of Merida and friends had built a beach home there. They were considering renting it out occasionally and wanted to run a test visit with people they knew to help iron out potential rental glitches.

I had some significant dental problems resulting from two root canal procedures gone awry and a 25-year-old cap in need of replacement. My thoughts turned to a friend who had hip replacement surgery in India 4 years previously. He had been very pleased with the treatment he received and the results. I decided to do some research on the Internet.

The first dentist I emailed responded within 2 hours and after outlining the work I felt needed doing, I heard back from him quoting a price one-quarter the cost here in Victoria, BC, Canada. We agreed on an appointment for my first morning in Mexico.

Javier and his staff were warm, gracious and highly professional. Five appointments later, I had a brand new smile at one-sixth the cost back home. During the course of his initial examination of my mouth he had recommended another two caps, which modestly increased my cost, but also increased the price differential between Mexico and Canada. He did not request any payment until the completion of the work. What a concept! How civilized.

The most fascinating component of the whole experience has been the reaction of many intelligent and well-traveled friends and acquaintances. Weren’t you nervous? Was it clean? Were the facilities modern? What about all the drug violence in Mexico? Was he up to date with the latest techniques? It is easy to allay any concerns and I derive great pleasure in letting people know earlier in his career he was a trauma specialist in Houston and still uses a Houston lab for all caps and bridges. As to the violence question, it is limited to a couple of northern states and the Yucatan is and felt very safe.

Another very interesting aspect of the trip was watching kids getting out of school at noon (because of the heat) and strolling to the central plaza of every small town we visited to flip open their laptops and take advantage of the free WiFi to do their homework. Very progressive! I took advantage of the free WiFi to have a couple of coaching sessions with a longtime client. If you’re interested in international medical tourism opportunities, email me and I’ll forward a very good link.

Dubai

David Cory — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:29:57 +0000

For being such a hot place, Dubai’s pretty cool ;-) Everywhere you go the air conditioning is brutally cold and you have to go outside to warm up ;-) But seriously, what the United Arab Emirates has built out of a pile of sand is quite remarkable. I’ve heard the political system here called a “benevolent dictatorship” which is a fascinating thought. Being used to participatory democracies, I’m not sure I like the idea of a benevolent dictatorship. I would rather ‘participate.’ Not that I’m very involved in what the government of Canada does with the money it collects from its citizens, but I do like the idea that we have such great social programs and provide assistance for people who need it. I’m quite proud of that. I don’t think I’d like the idea of a few men (or as in some other countries with 1.3 billion people – a lot of men) deciding how the country is run and what is done with the money that the government has to spend. I realize that our political system is far from perfect, but I like the idea that I can vote for or against men or women who hold certain perspectives on the world and who will represent me in matters of government. Dubai is a nice place to visit and I hope to be back to teach another emotional intelligence course, but I wouldn’t want to live here – too cold ;-) Oh, Canada!

Summertime Blues

David Cory — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:07:37 +0000

I’m suffering from/enjoying the Summertime Blues. I’m not sure if I’m suffering or enjoying. I guess I just can’t seem to let go of some of the stuff I ‘ought’ to do so I can really enjoy the stuff I’m doing. I’ve built a deck and a fence and I’ve only casually glanced at email and thought about work this month. There’s a growing ‘to do’ list that I’m avoiding and I’m really just wanting to spend time with friends and family, play music, walk/run with my dog, and waste time in the summer sun. I’ve got one course this month and then head into a hectic, but exciting Fall of travel to Africa twice and the Middle East with a couple of exciting trips to Toronto and Ottawa as well ;-)

I hope you’re having a great summer. If not, what’s standing in your way?

Ah, Africa!

David Cory — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:21:11 +0000

I’ve heard it said that you cannot visit Africa and not be affected and I knew it was true on my first visit 2 years ago, but now coming back to Lagos, Nigeria, I know it once again. I’ve spent the week working with warm, wonderful, ‘passionate’ Nigerian leaders who have such a sincere desire for change that it inspires me. I get excited thinking about the changes they will make and honoured to be part of it. I sometimes have to pinch myself. I have the honour of spending the week with these incredibly bright, insightful, dedicated people living my passion for facilitating learning in an absolutely fascinating world of wonder – and I’m almost embarrassed to say I get paid for it ;-) It never ceases to amaze me how “Leading with Emotional Intelligence” resonates as the solution to organizational effectiveness in organizations everywhere in the world that I’ve been so far. Sometimes the discussions here in Nigeria get so fired up with passionate viewpoints flying around the room that I get a little worried. (Actually, I don’t really get that worried. I’m just prone to hyperbole – I exaggerate – a lot, practically all the time ;-) Suffice it to say I never see that kind of passion in the training room in North America – or anywhere else in the world for that matter. It’s very refreshing. Stay tuned for photos I plan to post on myEITC Facebook page – or maybe somewhere else. I haven’t really decided yet.

My hosts and partners at STI Consulting, Abiodun, Keji, Olabisi, N’kechi, and Nicholas were awesome hosts – I thank you for all your warm hospitality and royal treatment. I look forward to our next opportunity to work together and courses we will offer together in Toronto, Accra, Dubai, and Johannesburg.

Now back to ‘head office’ to get ready for the next course, the Toronto EQ-i Certification Course July 14-16, immediately followed by “The Advanced Leadership Development Course” – a high level 4 day leadership course for senior executives based on the concepts of emotional intelligence in Toronto July 19-22.

Ottawa EQ-i Certification Course, May 26-28, 2010

David Cory — Fri, 28 May 2010 22:05:28 +0000

We just wrapped the Ottawa EQ-i Certification Course and I’m sitting at the airport waiting to board my plane for the west. What wonderful people I have the privilege to work with! I continue to marvel at the talented, experienced, knowledgeable people who sign up for the EQ-i Certification Course. These participants are seasoned managers and leaders involved in leadership course design/delivery, program management, and leadership coaching all with the goal of assisting the most senior government employees in Canada to be better leaders. Most participants work for our very own Canada School of Public Service and, from what I can see, they do an incredible job of ensuring that our senior bureaucrats have the tools and resources available to be the best leaders they can be. They work with leaders all over Canada and the rest of the world in Canadian embassies and foreign offices and are equally comfortable training and coaching in either of our official languages. They work with all branches of the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and all government divisions and departments at many levels. In my mind they are quite amazing people and a pleasure to work with.

Despite the mind-boggling 34 degree heat (Wednesday – it cooled off slightly past two days), Ottawa was absolutely lovely – what a beautiful city! I look forward to my return.

EITC Update

David Cory — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:07:45 +0000

Wow, a lot has happened since my last blog post! New website, new year, new ideas, new projects, and a new life in Calgary, Alberta. Wait, what? Why would someone move from Vancouver to Calgary? It’s not that Calgary is not a great city. It is a great city in its own right, but compared to Vancouver? As it turned out, the reason for the move to Calgary is that there was a necessary medical service required by our son here in Calgary that is not available in Vancouver. We made the move in December of last year and our son is doing well. We kept our house in Vancouver and my wife has gone back and forth between the two cities this whole time. I’m pretty much based in Calgary, for the present, with our son and we’ll see how the future unfolds. That’s the personal update.

As for the professional update, we (Klaudia, Kim, Becky, Sherwin, Ben, and me) have lots of great plans. We continue to offer the EQ-i Certification Course in many great cities and the EQ-360 Certification Course via teleclass. We are offering EQ coaching through Klaudia and Kim to our wonderful course participants in various parts of the world. Becky and Sherwin continue to offer all manner of design, communications, web, and marketing support. I like to refer to what they do as “emotionally intelligent design.” (see their website www.pinksheepmedia.com) And now Ben, the youngest Cory, has joined the team as all around administrative support. I’m still trying to convince my wife, Jill, to join the team, but she stubbornly (or is it ‘wisely’) refuses to do so. ;-)

So far, 2010 is shaping up wonderfully well with many partnerships and great clients in many parts of the world. This year work will take me to Madrid, Seattle, San Francisco, Lagos, Ottawa, Calgary, Toronto, Ghana, Johannesburg, and hopefully back to Trinidad and Beijing. More people than ever are getting their certification to use the EQ-i in advance of the release of the EQi-2.0®, which is a very exciting new product from MHS. More on that as it becomes available.

I continue to wonder how I can better serve my clients. What types of products and services do my clients need? I’ve learned that they need products and services which can help them to make personal changes easier, better, faster, cheaper. I’ve learned that they are looking to understand the connection between EI/EQ and the bottom line better. And I’ve certainly learned that in a technical environment like the gas and oil industry in Calgary, that it’s harder to see the connection between EI/EQ and improved organizational performance – “it’s really just about the technology – isn’t it?”

I will continue to learn and I’ll continue to try to turn that learning around and pass it on to my clients. It is what gives me energy and it is my passion. Thanks for tuning in. This time, I’m going to do everything in my power to keep writing.

Cheers,

David

China, March 10, 2009

David Cory — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:38:53 +0000

I’m currently in Beijing, China working with “EI China” on some exciting marketing and business development events. I love working with the people here, the food is fantastic, I’m learning a bit of the language, and I’m having a pretty good time, but “home is where the heart is.” I really miss my family! :-( I guess you know either that you’ve been traveling too much or that, due to certain circumstances, you should be closer to home and now is one of those times. Probably the reason is that I’m away for 2 weeks – that’s a lot longer than my usual 3 day trips. I’m a great traveler and it’s one of the things I love about my work – that it takes me to fabulous places to work with amazing individuals and companies (the fact is that most companies that are interested in emotional intelligence are wonderful companies already ;-) Am I doing what I love? Absolutely. Am I loving my current schedule? Well, not exactly and it’s nothing to do with the country or the company I’m keeping, which is wonderful by the way ;-) It’s that I need to be with my family.

Where do you need to be? Right where you are or somewhere else?

Let me know. Write me at david@eitrainingcompany.com

Toronto August 2008

admin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:21:04 +0000

Wow, I had no idea how hard it is to keep a blog going! It’s like it just isn’t on my radar screen. And, I think, does anyone read this? Yes, in fact, I get comments from people all the time – “when are you going to write something?” “You haven’t written anything for awhile.” Who knew? I’ll keep trying to keep writing – how’s that?

Just returned from Toronto last night where I had a wonderful group of women (yes, many of my workshops are all women…mmmm?) We had a great time and I was also able to see friends and family and experience my first Passover Seder. I really enjoyed it. We don’t have enough rituals in life. What is the importance of rituals? I think they remind us of the importance of certain events, like how Passover reminds us to think about the experience of the Jews and their emancipation from Egypt. But it’s much more than that as well. It’s about family, friends, relationships, spending time together, eating together, and, at our end of the table – card tricks! ;-) I sat at the end of the table with the teenage boys of our good friends and, during the breaks in the Seder, we traded card tricks and had many laughs. We need more rituals! Or maybe we just need to make more of the ones we have?

Singapore June 2008

admin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:24:12 +0000

Just back from speaking at the Key Media HR Summit 2008 in Singapore. I was struck by the near universal move, in business!, toward embracing more of what makes us human. Speaker after speaker spoke about how the emotional impact of good leaders and equitable workplace practices results in increased organizational effectiveness for businesses and organizations all over the world. It seems we are evolving – even if it is painfully slow! And I was also encouraged by how many speakers used the term “emotional intelligence!” It is so great that it is becoming increasingly popular to talk about our capacity to use our own emotions and those of others for greater effectiveness in work and in life!

Here are some of the projects I’m currently involved in that I’m excited about:

Improving organizational effectiveness in two First Nations’ (Native or Aboriginal Canadian) organizations
Key Note speaker at the Northern Interior Health conference in Prince George – huge interest in healthcare – very encouraging! I may have mentioned the interest from Vancouver Island Health Authority and now Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (just certified two senior people responsible for leadership and organzational development – the rest of the team is being certified in August).
Just did two one day workshops at HealthCare Benefit Trust
More work with the federal government on their leadership program for senior leaders in Vancouver and I continue to have more people with the federal government attend the certification program from several different areas within government.
Work coming up this Summer: BC CGA Association, Comcast University in Phillidelphia, a leadership course in Dubai, another certification course in Nigeria
This Fall: Petroleum company in Calgary, more work with the City of Richmond, Okanagan College in Kelowna
Our Emotional Intelligence for Police Leadership course was a huge success! Participants have said that when we offer it again this Fall they have several colleagues who want to attend. I believe this to be the future of policing.
Jim Kirkpatrick and I will be offering our two day intensive course “Emotional Intelligence and the Levels of Evaluation” this Fall – dates to be announced. This will be a lot of fun!

This may seem like an extreme statement, but I take this increasing interest in emotional intelligence to be evidence that we are moving in a positive direction in our evolution as a species.

What do you think? Email me to david@eitrainingcompany.com