4 Messages to End and Begin by Dave LaRue

4 Messages to End and Begin:
1. My Post-2020 Thoughts
2. My Wish for a New Year
3. Our 2021 Comma Club Theme
4. The Special January Moment


1. My Post-2020 Thoughts

Looking back on 2020 and as I ponder my future now, there are many variables I have no control over—other people, other opinions and values, changes in the political sphere, the global arena, and the effects of new technologies. I may not have control over these things, but I do have control over myself. I can choose to adapt to what is merely strange and not actually threatening. I can learn more about changes and open my mind to new perspectives. I can engage in causes important to me that influence in some way the decisions that are important to me. I would be lying to you if I told you I don’t get caught up in the stories on the news and that I’m not concerned some days about the direction we seem to be heading in one aspect or another of the world. But I really believe that we are capable of—and in the process of developing and making real—amazing things in policy, science, business, technology, peace, helping others and just having fun meaningful lives. It’s important to me that we can all have different values and beliefs and still respect, love, and be inspired by each other.


2. My wish for 2021

I want to share our New Year’s wish to you and all our Comma Clubbers:

Comma Clubbers,

As we say goodbye to 2020 I’m thinking about what my personal theme and our coaching theme will be for 2021... one that works both personally and professionally!
We have decided to set our theme based on one of my core beliefs and highest values, quite simply said it is “playing in your genius“

One of our favorite sayings is; “I love what I’m doing and I’m doing what I love.”

Cheers to a new year full of playing in your genius and surrounding yourself with those who are playing in theirs!

Dave & Michelle


3. Our CC2021 Theme: Playing in Your Genius

As I look back and think about my feelings now, perhaps the most meaningful and magnificent discovery I have made for myself has been learning what my Genius is!

Here’s how I articulate my Genius or innate ability:
My Genius is naturally creating genuine relationships and playfully finding and building excitement about their life’s journey, inspiring them to have the courage to believe in themselves so they continue to create and build meaningful and joyous lives. Helping others to discover their Genius, their highest values, and uncover their limiting beliefs (NLS) gives me joy and meaning.

The most impact I have personally and professionally is when I’m playing in my Genius. What is truly amazing is playing/working with others who are also playing in their Genius. Sometimes they don’t even know they’re doing it; they take it for granted because it is so natural for them. In fact, more often than not, they have no clue. What gives them the most joy, smiles—and sometimes more earnings—is just part of the scenery and not a big deal for them. But making your Genius your primary mode of operation is one of the greatest enablers to success you can find!

Before they discover their Genius, my clients typically will spend 80–90% of their time doing stuff in other modes and only 10–20% playing in their Genius. Usually, their Genius time is not designed or planned for. What I love doing is helping them figure out how to flip that proportion so they’re able to spend 80–90% of their time playing in their genius and 10-20% doing stuff in less satisfying modes. Their productivity, earnings, meaning, joy, happiness expands exponentially as their Genius-time percentage goes up.

This works the same for companies and organizations. What is your team, organization, or company’s Genius? Sometimes this is about looking at the whole org or company and positioning it differently, refocusing on core competencies, or similar shifts of perspective starting from your Genius and working backward. Sometimes it’s about mindfully reassessing functions and responsibilities to help you to put people with the right Genius in the right roles and positions. Sometimes it’s about giving more people a chance to play in their genius and to contribute and collaborate more. The positive energy this creates is amazing. Teams will love it and clients will, too!

You may be thinking, “This sounds good, but where do I start?” I’ve written about this in past articles so I’ll cut to the chase! What do you believe? What actions/thoughts/beliefs do you value the most? What do you do that makes you smile? What makes others tell you you’re amazing? When I’m coaching in a workshop these are some of the questions we ask. A couple of hours invested thinking, writing, talking, and planning and you’ll be amazed by what you can discover about yourself and playing in your Genius, and how possible it is to make it a priority.

I want to share a short story about my relationships with my Daughter Michelle and my Son Rob. Michelle and I work together and are partners in Comma Club. Rob and I work together and are partners in Baldwin Supply and related businesses. After we got clear on our respective roles, determined by our respective Genius, a rule we practice and remember is that when they’re in their Genius, I watch in amazement and the results speak for themselves; when I’m in mine, the same is true! This allows us to sustain the mutual respect and appreciation for each otherand our respective Genius, and we strive to give each other more opportunities to work and play in our Genius. It’s a big part of our magic formula.

So as we plan, set goals, create new year’s resolutions I’m encouraging you to go the cause (core) of what brings you joy and the most energy, your Genius! Don’t get stuck spending your time on the symptoms! Instead, let’s discover your innate ability and let’s get busy creating more opportunities to play in your Genius and less time working in other modes.

4. The Special January Moment

January is the one time of year that many people set some new goals, choose to end old habits and set new ones or perform some kind of reset. Even though my experience as a coach (and coachee!) has shown me that once a year isn’t enough, I think it’s a wonderful annual ritual, and the power of sharing in this widespread sprit of recommitment, new beginnings, and new possibilities makes it something special. Goals and working on yourself are so often a solitary thing. It’s great to have a short interval of the year when we’re able to discuss these topics with others.

Exercise 1
So at this special time of the year when self-work is in the air, what’s your magic formula for creating a life that brings you peace, harmony, success, happiness, self-worth, meaning, and purpose? It’s not a rhetorical question. Write something down. I understand we have to go really deep with this line of thinking: digging into all or some of our personal philosophy, psychology, faith, and religion, our core beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world. We have to go deep, but it’s worth it.

1. What is your magic formula for creating a life that brings you peace, harmony, success, happiness, self-worth, meaning, and purpose this year?

Exercise 2
And as we apply our formulas, we often hit roadblocks. This is the nature of the activity. If making a great life was an automatic process, everyone would do it. The roadblocks are to be expected, admitted, and worked through. In Comma Club we call these roadblocks a Next Level Stopper or NLS. We can get stuck sometimes for a variety of reasons, usually tied to our beliefs: I’m not like that, it’s not God’s plan, I don’t deserve it, it’s not in my upbringing, family, or education… the list goes on.

Have you looked at the beliefs involved in staying where you are rather than moving to a new place or new perspective? Think about the reasons you give when you explain your roadblocks to yourself and others. Write them down. Now look at these reasons and get down to the deepest causes. They will all be about fundamental beliefs you have about yourself, other people, and the world. Changing these beliefs is how you work through an NLS.

2a. What are the reasons you give for why you can’t move forward, move ahead, or change something you wish would change?

2b. What are the beliefs that contribute to the reasons you listed?

2c. What would you have to believe for these reasons to be different or go away?


Let’s make a difference every day this year. Happy New Year and warmest wishes for 2021!


Dave