Patrick Donohue
Patrick's Blogs
One Minute Coach: Saboteur - Pleaser
Do you find yourself saying YES to a whole bunch of stuff that you actually do not want to do? Is it really important to you that people like you? Can your day be ruined by a negative comment from someone, even a stranger? If you answered yes to any of these questions, your Pleaser saboteur is likely alive and well. Watch this video to learn how to recognize and overcome the destructive messages of the Pleaser.
Read More
One Minute Coach - Saboteur Avoider
Many of us avoid difficult people or unpleasant tasks. In the short time, this can provide relief and even feel like the right thing to do. In the long term, it leads to procrastination, frustration and heartache.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Saboteur - Stickler
Being a perfectionist is an unproductive, lonely and painful way to live. We can still "go for excellence" without getting trapped in the negative spiral of perfectionism. Learn how to know the difference between Excellence and Perfection in the video
Read More
One Minute Coach: Saboteur - Hyper Achiever
All of us can get in our own way of success or sabotage ourselves. The Hyper-Achiever is trying to continually prove him/herself to the external world. Failure can be devastating for the Hyper-Achiever. Learn how to keep striving for excellence and not have failure become so catastrophic.
Read More
One Minute Coach: One Thing
Do you have a large goal you want to accomplish? Start a business? Write a book? Get married? These large goals can feel overwhelming and out of reach. A great technique to use is to ask this question: What can I do today to move me closer to _______________ . Watch the video to learn more and be encouraged.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Procrastinate on Purpose
Procrastinating on purpose means we build enjoyable "time wasting" activities into our schedule as incentive to get others things done.
Read More
One Minute Coach: The Myth of a Normal Week
Are you looking for a week without interruptions, people visiting or unexpected events, then you can expect about 4 weeks a year. We need to be ready for at least 3 bumps every week. Watch this video to learn how to make the most of every week.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Avoiding 70 Foot Putts
In life, do not set up thinks that are unlikely to happen and then be disappointed that they do not happen. I call this trying to hit 70 foot putts. There is a better way.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Two thoughts on Procrastination
Two helpful thoughts on overcoming the persistent problem of procrastination
Read More
One Minute Coach: Growth vs Perfection
Successful people focus on growth while less successful people get fixated on perfection.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Opportunity in the Chaos
Even in the most challenging and chaotic times there are new opportunities being created for those who are paying attention.
Read More
One Minute Coach: The real meaning of "Always" and "Never"
The words always and never are not words to be taken literally. They reflect past pain and disappointment.
Read More
Launch Time: Be Happier in 90 seconds, for Real
How we answer the most basic question we get everyday, "How are you doing?" can say a lot about our mindset and happiness.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Two Phrases to cut your Stress in Half
The two phrases that I will share can lower your stress by 50%.
Read More
Launch Time: 4 Responses to Disappointment
There are 4 possible responses to disappointment and only one of them is healthy. What is your achilles heel?
Read More
One Minute Coach: 4 Success Questions
Do you want to evaluate the success of an interview, a tryout, a presentation, a game or just about anything? Answer Yes to these four questions and you have been successful.
Read More
One Minute Coach: How to Avoid always being Disappointed
When we have unspoken expectations, we are set up for disappointment. We need to convert expectations to requests and then requests can become agreements.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Playing Offense vs Playing Defense in Life
There are two ways you can approach life. You can play Offense or Defense. Most people play Defense, but the truly successful have learned to play Offense.
Read More
Launch Time: I Feel Trapped
Have you ever just shouted, "I feel trapped!!! There is no way out!" I bet most of us have uttered these words in moments of desperation. On one hand it feels good to vent, but reinforcing the stuckness is dangerous.
Read More
Launch Time: Your going to do this for the rest of your life?
A lot of the coaching I do comes down to people wanting to build positive habits or eliminate negative habits. Everyone understands that positive habits are great, but they also seem elusive. We get started and we are excited and then we blow it 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months into the process. Now that we have blown it, might as well just chuck the whole thing and have 3 pieces of chocolate cake? Am I wrong here?
Read More
Launch time: Taking Down the Judge
Each of us has a little voice in our head that talks to us all the time. Some people call this voice self talk, the Judge or the inner critic. Our Judge can be be strong but there are two ways to break the power of the Judge.
Read More
Launch Time: My 24 month journey as a runner
I have never thought of myself as a runner. An athlete yes, I played three sports in high school and played college baseball. A runner? No, running was the thing you did at the end of practice that you dreaded. In the last 24 months, I have developed the habit of running 100 miles a month.
Read More
Stop Playing Pinball: 3 Questions to Build Self Awareness and Live Proactively
Slowing down to ask 3 key questions will reduce our stress and increase our effectiveness in life.
Read More
The Big Adrenaline Drop: 3 Keys to being Smart after a Victory
When our adrenaline is running high, the key to staying successful is to have a good post-event routine.
Read More
Living in the Shadows: 3 Keys to Forming Your Own Identity when you have an Ultra Successful Parent
The children of highly successful parents can easily be labelled as disappointments or underachievers. As highly successful parents, we need to ask the right questions and create an environment for success for our kids.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Motivation (extended version)
Motivation has 3 parts: Choice, Mastery and Meaning. Whether you are trying to motivate yourself or your team, it is key to understand these 3 elements.
Read More
Launch Time: When You Hit a Bump Part III: Avoid
Avoidance is a short-term fix that causes long-term damage. When we face the thing we are avoiding, we will create positive energy and most likely get a ton of things done.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Habit #3 Arrange Your World for Success
When we make the things we want to do slightly easier and the things we want to avoid slightly harder, we arrange our world for success and give ourselves a good chance to develop positive habits.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Habit #4 Recruit Your Support Team
None of us are lone wolves. We need support, encouragement and accountability from others in order to change habits.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Habit #5 Treat Yourself
When we accomplish our habit, it is critical to reward ourselves. The reward serves as a reinforcement to keep going.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Habit #2 Monitor Your Progress
Once we set a goal it is critical that we have ways to keep us accountable. We can monitor our progress through apps, spreadsheets, check-in and a variety of other methods.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Habit #1 - Set a Goal
Setting a Goal is step #1 to developing SMART Habits. Goals must be easily measurable and observable. In other words, there should be no question whether you did them or not.
Read More
One Minute Coach: 5 Steps to New Habits
Coach Pat talks give an overview of the 5 things it takes to produce a habit. The 5 steps are based on the research from the book Living SMART.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Failing vs Being a Failure
When we fail at something, it is an event. Being a failure is an identity, they are not even close to the same thing.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Habits
Everyone wants to develop positive habits and eliminate negative habits. One simply key is to make positive habits slightly easier and negative habits slightly harder to do.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Next Step
We often procrastinate because we are not sure of the "next action".
Read More
One Minute Coach: 90 vs 100
For perfectionists, the key question to ask, "Is this a 90% thing or 100% thing?"
Read More
One Minute Coach: Opportunity
Opportunity is all around us and it takes courage to embrace it.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Circumstances vs Identity
When we are in a tough situation, we can choose to respond from the difficult circumstances or from our deeper identity.
Read More
Launch Time: When You Hit a Bump Part II: Anger
Anger can provide short term gains, but it is a poor long-term counselor.
Read More
Launch Time: When You Hit a Bump Part I: Denial
The path to success is rarely a rocket ship straight up. It normally involves ups and downs along the way. The ups and downs are what we call bumps. How we consistently respond to bumps will determine our long-term success.
Read More
Launch Time: Blasting Past Limiting Beliefs
Limiting beliefs act as a "low bridge" for our lives and cut us off from opportunities even before we have had a chance to explore them.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Have a Plan Stan!
Successful people start each day with a plan and then execute on it.
Read More
Launch Time: One Step Forward
Taking one small step forward can help us get unstuck and fully launch.
Read More
6 Sentences Fathers Need to Say to their children
6 key sentences let our children know that we love them, will be there for them and believe in them.
Read More
AlignMENt - Teachable Moments from Richard Sherman
Watching the end of the Seahawks-49ers game yesterday was thrilling and instructive for fathers.
Read More
AlignMENt: Helping someone who is depressed
Listening, listening and more listening is the key to helping people with depression.
Read More
Put Away Mr. Fix-it
If I could give men just one piece of advice it would be this: advise less, listen more.
Read More
Creating Gritty Kids
We are want our children to be able to persevere and persist towards larger goals. In the research by Angela Duckworth this is known as "grit". Read this interesting article to learn how to develop grit in your children.
Read More
Alignment: Pay me now or pay me later...
Schools have opened all across the country and whether you have a preschooler or a high schooler, Dads play an important role in their children’s academic success.. So, here is my question, “School is open, so what?” The “so what” will determine whether your children benefit from you or are hindered by you academically.
Read More
AlignMENt: 10 Key Body Language Indicators
You have read the studies like I have about the importance of nonverbal communication. Most researchers estimate anywhere from 85-92% of communication happens nonverbally.
Read More
AlignMENt: 3 Key Success Questions
When we fail or make a mistake asking three key questions can make all the difference.
Read More
AlignMENt: Flipping the Father Day's Script
Father's Day should be a springboard to more growth and impact in the following year
Read More
AlignMENt: Are you raising gritty kids?
Grit is the single best predictor of a person's future success.
Read More
AlignMENt: Do you know how to burp your kids?
Great fathers know that "burping" their children as they get older is critical to help them through the gas bubble of life.
Read More
AlignMENt: What are you paying attention to?
The best thing you can give your children is not money, gifts, advice or even time. Those are all great, but the best thing you can give your children is your full presence.
Read More
AlignMENt: What are you talking about?
Everyday we talk to our kids about big things and small things, important things and silly things. Have you ever taken a step back as a parent and really analyzed what you talk about with your kids?
Read More
AlignMENt: Elephants & Mindsets
Our mindset truly does control what we believe we can and cannot do.
Read More
AlignMENt: Most people are not bad, they are afraid
Most people are not bad, they are just afraid.
Read More
AlignMENt: Family Game Night for the Year 2013
The Family Game night has a new form. It is called Sporcle.
Read More
AlignMENt: Feedback from our Kids
Feedback and feedforward from our children can move deepen the bonds of our relationships.
Read More
AlignMENt: The Myth of Control
Do you like to control everything? If yes, the Myth of Control might be wreaking havoc in your life.
Read More
One Minute Coach Episode #14: Conflict Energy
Conflict energy is catabolic energy that can produce results, but can also be quite destructive.
Read More
One Minute Coach: Avoiding Victim Energy
Victim energy is the lowest form of energy and can be confronted to increase a person's energy to conflict energy.
Read More
AlignMENt: Are we there yet?
The Nike Fuel Band teaches us a great lesson about the motivation of mastery.
Read More
AlignMENt: Jack Harbaugh: Inspiring Dad
A lesson on priorities from Super Bow dad Jack Harbaugh.
Read More
One MInute Coach Episode #12: Playing Big vs Playing Small
In life, our job is to play big not play play small.
Read More
AlignMENt: Is Your Life about Big Rocks?
We feel aligned and fulfilled when we choose the "Big Rocks" over the "Little Rocks" in our lives.
Read More
AlignMENt: Most People are not Bad, they are just Afraid
Most people are not bad people, they are just afraid. This simple understanding makes all the difference in the world when we relate to people, especially our children.
Read More
AlignMENt: What Successful Dads tell their kids
What if the message you communicated to your children was simply, "You cannot Fail. You can only Learn and Grow."
Read More
One MInute Coach: Episode #11 Catastrophizing
How to avoid having small irritations or problems ruin your day.
Read More
AlignMENt: Time to Sloooooow Down
Slow down during the holiday season and appreciate who with are with rather than what we are doing.
Read More
Executive Edge #2: What trait is most important to being a great manager?
The best managers according to Google Oxygen's study are great coaches.
Read More
AlignMENt: What the @#$*#%! are you thinking? Part II
Our self-talk whether positive or negative has dramatic effects on our outlook and ultimately our actions.
Read More
AlignMENt: What the @#$*#%! are you thinking? Part I
What we think is actually more important than how we act, because our thinking will long-term shape our actions.
Read More
One MInute Coach Episode #10: Dealing with Disappointment
Successful people have mastered the art of dealing with disappointment. Less successful people get stuck in cycles of resentment, victimhood and despair.
Read More
AlignMENt: Do You Make your Kids Feel Important?
When great fathers interact with their kids, their kids feel more important.
Read More
Executive Edge Episode #1: The 94% Rule
94% of all conversations begin and end with the same energy. This is critical to know when we have to have fierce conversations.
Read More
AlignMENt: Charles Tillman & the Power of Focus
What we focus on will grow.
Read More
AlignMENt: Are You a Dream Releaser or Dream Killer?
Great Fathers are dream releasers not dream killers for their kids.
Read More
One Minute Coach Episode #9: Knowing When to Quit
Knowing when and how to quit things is key to success
Read More
AlignMENt: Are You a Control Freak?
Are you a Dad who is a control freak? Men who try to control everything usually have unresolved grief. The key to growth is to process through the grief and let it go.
Read More
AlignMENt: Football vs Movie
Watching my favorite football team or watching a movie? Read about the surprising choice I made and why.
Read More
One MInute Coach Episode #8: Twin Evils of "Should" & "But"
When we use the words "should and "but" they are negative judgment words that need to be eliminated. Watch the video and find out how.
Read More
AlignMENt: Are you Growing or Dying?
What are you getting better at these days? Taking our own development seriously is serious business.
Read More
One MInute Coach Episode #7: Going for It!!!
Life is about going for it, even when we do not know the outcome.
Read More
AlignMENt: Are you raising Fearful or Fearless kids?
Allowing our kids to make mistakes will change them from fearful to fearless.
Read More
One Minute Coach Episode #6: Eat That Frog!!
Do the most difficult task in your day first and you will be glad you did the rest of the day. Avoid procrastination and Eat the Frog!!!
Read More
AlignMENt: Freedom to Change
Fathers need to let their children grow and change in order for them to prosper.
Read More
AlignMENt: Horsemen #1 Criticism
Criticizing our children has a dramatically negative effect on our children. Be calm and preserve the relationship.
Read More
AlignMENt: Horsemen #2 Contempt
Contempt is a powerfully negative thing to use as a father. Our children are sensitive to negative body language and verbal cues from us.
Read More
AlignMENt: Horsemen #3 Defensiveness
The victimized father makes excuses and becomes defensiveness in order to cover up insecurities.
Read More
AlignMENt: Horsemen #4 Stonewalling
Athletes, Hollywood celebrities and politicians have mastered the art of stonewalling. As a father this strategy leads to mistrust and broken relationships.
Read More
One Minute Coach Episode #5: How do you Re-energize?
In this episode, we examine the value of re-energizing activities.
Read More
One Minute Coach Episode #4: Cutting the Fat
In this episode, we look at what things/activities are not really productive and therefore could be cut out of lives.
Read More
One Minute Coach Episode #3: Grab that band!
In this episode of the One Minute Coach, we discuss the power of making small changes that are repeated on a daily basis.
Read More
One Minute Coach Episode #2: The Value of Car Talk
This episode of One Minute Coach discusses the value of car talk, and how to use time traveling as an opportunity to connect.
Read More
One Minute Coach Episode #1: Is Your Vision Clear?
In this episode of the One Minute Coach, we discuss the importance of living a life based on clarity and vision.
Read More
AlignMENt: The Circle of Influence
With a new school year starting, things can get kinda hectic. Is it just me or is there tons of extra night meetings in August and September?
Read More
Follow on:
Contact Coach Pat
Please provide the following information and Coach Pat will reach out to you shortly.