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From our Family to Yours!

This summer John and Lisa celebrated their 20^th Wedding Anniversary and had a huge family gathering of both families at their home. We enjoyed a memorable 2-week vacation in May with Lisa’s parents (Bob & Camille). We went to Orange Lake Country Club (Orlando, FL) & enjoyed a relaxing Eastern Caribbean Carnival Cruise.

• John is still working in Operations for Medical Device Startup’s and enjoys his work.
• Lisa is loving her Executive Coaching business. In July she released her coaching website: www.MedDevCoach.com. She offers a free monthly e-letter.
• John Robert is 5.5 yrs old. He is a great kid, very sweet and lovable. He is healthy and very active; he enjoys Hip Hop Dancing, Swimming, Drama, Italian Class & Kindergarten.

Major accomplishments this year: John Robert learned to ride a bike, swim without a life jacket and write his letters.

Well, that is our family in the nutshell. We hope that you and your family are healthy and enjoy a happy holiday season!

“True fulfillment occurs when you are personally and professionally satisfied.”

Best wishes for the New Year!

Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach

www.MedDevCoach.com

(781)-872-1045 office

A special Thanksgiving greeting.

This is a perfect time to express my sincere appreciation for your confidence, friendship and loyalty. I am both grateful and thankful to have you in my life.  I wish you and your family a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving – 2012

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?  What does Thanksgiving mean to you? 

There are some things that we could give thanks to every day, but do we? How many people honestly make the time to reflect and be thankful?  Thanksgiving is a day when people are both thankful and appreciative. 

Let’s do a fun exercise, please list what you are most thankful for in your life right now?  Your list can be short or long. It really doesn’t matter.  Take a moment to reflect on, why you chose the people, places, things or situations that you did.

I ran a similar exercise with my son’s Kindergarten class last week where kids told me one thing that they were thankful for.  Kids can be very intuitive and grounded.  They are always curious, bright and quite sensitive.  It is fascinating what you can learn from a child.  Kids can be teachers.  They teach by doing.

Many kids said they are thankful for their families and friends. God was also mentioned.  One child said their house (and in light of Hurricane Sandy this month- this kid got the message), another said money (that is the future Donald Trump of the class)!  Still others chose their pets, sharks, toys and clothes.  My son said his mommy.  I wanted him to think bigger, however, I really appreciate the love and the bond between my son and me.  It is always interesting hearing what kids say and understanding the why.

Is there anyone in your life that you would like to personally thank?  Is there someone that has made an impact on you, your family or your life this year?

Well, as the Nike slogan says, “Just do it!”  Don’t put off today what you may or may not be able to do tomorrow.  Remember to take action, seize the day and enjoy your Turkey.

If you asked me, what I am most thankful for this year?

I would have to say, my healthy family.  I feel like if you don’t have your health, what do you have?  Without a doubt, my boys are the loves of my life the little one, (that I birthed) and the big one (that I married).  However, on Nov 4^th 2010 my little guy had open heart surgery.  He was in the hospital for two weeks and we were grateful to be home in time for a quiet Thanksgiving.  I cannot begin to express how much the emails, cards and calls meant to us during this time.  We were blessed to have such great support from family, friends and neighbors.  I believe in the power of prayer and I know firsthand that it worked.  The Children’s Hospital Care Page messages that we sent/received daily made the long days and the stress of staying at the hospital both bearable and memorable.  I will always be thankful to those people as well as his nurses, doctors and surgeons at Children’s Hospital that took amazing care of him.

Thanks to all my business owners & consultants?

Who are you thankful and appreciative of?  I hope that you are saying, your clients! If you don’t have clients or customers then do you really have a business?

Don’t wait until the December to thank your customers.  Be top of mind to the people that you care most about.  Make sure that your customers and employees know how much they mean to you.  I have been sending customers thank you cards to clients for Thanksgiving for the last 15 years.  If it is sincere and personal, it will be appreciated and remembered.

Thank you to my clients! You rock

I would like to welcome 4 new clients that started coaching with me this month.   Let me also extend my congratulations to 3 of my existing clients – one that secured a new position at her current company and two that landed new jobs in November. Yes, I am celebrating you and am both thankful & grateful to work with all of you. Continued success as we meet new challenges together!

Fall is here!

The leaves on the trees are just starting to change and some leaves have already started to fall.  Soon, an array of leaves will make a multi-colored blanket on your lawn.  It is a great time of year in New England!  Many locals take the leaves for granted and don’t always appreciate the beauty of the season.  Please look out a window and get curious about the trees and how quickly they are transforming and changing.

Like leaves changing color, do you want or need change in your life?  Well, then what is stopping you?  Did you know the primary reason people come to coaching is to take positive action in their lives?   Some positive actions are:  new jobs, promotions, setting goals, accountability and balance name a few.  People, who want change in their lives, seek a coach’s assistance to helping them make it happen.  As the leaves change color, they get noticed.  Driving personal change is one sure way to help you stand out in today’s challenging world.

Besides the foliage, what does October mean to you?  To me it clearly means a chance to take risks and explore new opportunities.  At Halloween, both kids and adults alike create new identities.  For some, it is being what they are not and for others it may be fulfilling a secret passion, love or desire.

If you’re a gal, do you remember dressing up like a princess, bride, nurse or ballerina?  The guys may remember dressing up as a police officer, fireman, cowboy or an action figure. The point is that we all have secret passions and desires.  As a child, we had the ability to be whatever we wanted to be for just one night.  We had a free pass to use our imaginations without being judged.  Did your fantasy as a child become fulfilled as an adult?  If so, what did it take to do that?  As a coach, I help people to get in touch with their passions if they want to be successful.  Don’t be afraid to hang on to your Halloween fantasy and embrace chance.

Well like the old Army slogan, you can “be all that you can be” and there is a path to get there!  You just have to decide what it is and what you really want.  This is easier said than done.  But when you know what you want it is easy to be focused.  What are your requirements?  Don’t be afraid of trying something new.  Don’t worry about judgment or criticism.  Lose your inhibitions!  Go out on Halloween and be whatever you want to be.  Really get into the character.  Have fun and don’t be afraid to address your passion.

If you are looking to discover or engage your passion, I recommend that you work with a coach.  I would be delighted to work with you; but first, you need to take your mask off and roll up your sleeves!  I am sure that your true passion can be as bright and vibrant as the colorful fall leaves on the trees right now.

Remember every day is an opportunity to experience transformation once you figure out what you want to change or address in your life.  Happy Halloween!

If you like my latest blog, I would encourage you to sign-up for my free e-letter to get my monthly blasts.

The beautiful days of summer and the associated fun activities are now just a distant memory.

What does September mean to you? Think about it…

• A celebration of work – Labor Day
• A fresh start, a new beginning
• A new school year
• A new religious year – Rosh Hashanah 
• The end of the 3rd quarter for your business & planning a 4th qtr push?
• Or does it mean something completely different to you?

IF SO WHAT IS IT?

Let me take you back to when you were a small child, think back and remember the excitement around your first day of school? It was the time of year when you shopped for some new clothes, sported a new haircut and who could forget posed for all those photos that mom took. Most of our family’s photos seem to be taken in front of my neighbor’s house. (Granted their lawn always looked greener and nicer than ours.)

It really was an exciting time where you could start fresh in a new grade, with a new teacher and new classmates. Do you remember what you were passionate about when you went into Kindergarten? Well, at five, many of us were passionate about riding our two wheel bikes for the first time, having a play date with a friend and going to big boy/girl school and maybe even sleeping in a big boy/girl bed. It was a time of milestones and I just had the pleasure of re-living this last week with my son.

Well, what is wrong with bringing this approach and excitement back in your professional and personal life. In September, my Jewish friends and neighbors have always celebrated Rosh Hashanah, their New Years. Shana tova to all of you.

However, you don’t have to be Jewish to start a new this September? Why not start making decisions for the remaining months left in 2012? Plan to finish your year the way you want and to embrace change and newness in your life?

Do you remember when you first set off to college? Most of us also started this journey in September and once again we were creating a fresh start in a new place? We each celebrated new beginnings, adventures and memories. This was a special and unforgettable time of our lives. Do you remember what you were passionate about then? Most of us and our friends were passionate about the school that we were attending, the major that we selected, the sports teams that we supported, the friends we hung out with and of course who could forget our first real taste of freedom. Remember that… What a feeling!

Use the magical time of the fall to bring back your memories. Get in touch with your passion and determine what you really want to do and then get busy and pursue it. If you need a coach, a mentor or an accountability partner along the way then embrace someone that can help you get to where you want to be. If you need my assistance in this quest by all means reach out to me.

Regards,
Lisa Sasso
Executive Coach
www.MedDevCoach.com

P.S. September marks the start of the season for many groups and organizations. Why not find some groups that will continue to educate you and push both your knowledge and your networking to the next level? See links below to two noteworthy events that might be of interest to my Medical Device followers:

September 12, 2012 – North Shore Technology Council’s 10th Year Anniversary Celebration

September 19, 2012 – MDG’s September Forum Event at Lahey Clinic, “Clinical World is the Critical Partner for New Products and Technology”

I am pleased to announce that I am once again hosting the most well attended Networking Event that the Medical Development Group (MDG) has held in our history.

Each year this program is unique and exciting.  No two programs have ever been the same.  It is not only for the people that want to transition into the Medical Device Industry, but it also is a way for those industry veterans to share their knowledge and to think about what is next for them.

I have had the pleasure of organizing and hosting this event for the last six years.  It is a fun event, an opportunity for new folks to become familiar with MDG, and historically has had great attendance.

Highlights of the evening:

• Unstructured networking followed by structured networking exercises
• Light dinner buffet (sandwiches, cookies, chips and beverage)
• Veteran Medical Device Professionals and Medical Device Companies in attendance

However, the best 3 reasons to attend this meeting are:

• (1) The terrific panel of Medical Device Experts will share words of wisdom on how they transitioned into the Industry, lessons learned and biggest pieces of advice to others desiring entry.
• (2) This panel has well over 100 years of combined Medical Device Experience.
• (3) Excellent networking – this audience will be made up of both people wanting to get into the industry as well as experienced medical device veterans.

• Don’t sit there and wonder if you have the transferable skills to get into industry.
• Don’t wonder if you could learn the medical lingo and understand the verbiage.
• Don’t analyze yourself or the industry, come and get the facts.

• Come with an open mind.
• Bring some resumes and plenty of business cards.
• Prepare questions that you might want to ask any of the experts.

Transitioning into Medical Device Industry

• Date:  August 15, 2012
• Where: Rebecca’s Café, Auburndale, MA
• When:  5:30-8:30 pm

Also, feel free to contact me if you have knowledge that you would like to share during this program to make it stronger and even more impactful.  Please visit www.meddevgroup.org to register for the event.

I hope to see you on August 15th.

Click here to see the Event Flyer for more detail on the program and the bio’s of the evenings panelists.

Happy July 4th Everyone! Happy Birthday, USA (and also to our Aunt Debbie!)

Today is also the birth of my websites. I am thrilled to write my very first post today to announce the launch of my coaching websites: www.meddevpartners.com and www.lisasasso.com.

For me, the significance of Independence Day as well as the magnificent illumination of the fireworks this evening, has always symbolized Freedom, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Not only is July 4th a day for Americans to celebrate our freedom, it is also a special day to reflect upon the history of our nation and to honor the brave men and women who continue to protect our freedoms.

I am proud to say my website expresses my Freedom of Speech and Liberty to express my excitement! I am happy to share my profession and passion as an Executive Coach. I am eager to share what I was born to do in the world.

Believe it or not, we have just passed the half way point of the year.
Do you remember your personal and professional goals that you wanted to accomplish in 2012?

If you answered:

Yes, great! Keep up the good work.
No, you really need to write them down.

Simply writing out your goals will improve your chances (on average by 50%) to achieve some of them. That happens by simply listing your goals and personally keeping track of them. If you want to increase your success rate even more then you should consider having a partner that will hold you accountable. A coach often serves in that role. When you take advantage of the coaching relationship, it is possible to set and achieve 80-100% of your goals.

There are still 181 days until the end of 2012 and you can still make it happen! If you want to truly live the life you love, you owe it to yourself to be the best person that you can be.

Remember July 4th is the perfect time to jump-start the rest of your life. Did you celebrate today? Reflect on the day and remember what transpired. Did it involve family and friends? Was good food and beverage consumed? Was there fun and laughter in the air? Were new memories created? Did you enjoy the day? If not, why? Did you feel relaxed and balanced? If so, how do you keep that up every day? What did you learn from today? We should enjoy each and every day for we never know when it will be our last.

I am lighting a firecracker under you. It is up to you to take yourself, your needs and genuine happiness seriously. I want you to be your own beautiful light display that illuminates your sky. I want you to soar.

Contact me to learn more about how to achieve your dreams and goals.