Coach Shoko

Directions Website

Coach Shoko ๐ŸŒ Leadership Coach for humble ambitious women ๐ŸŒŸ Let's turn your dreams into wins! ๐ŸŽฏ

Kลetsu-ji (ๅ…‰ๆ‚ฆๅฏบ), Kyoto, in November. The maples were at their reddest.Rain on the maple outside my window. A drop at the...
10/16/2026

Kลetsu-ji (ๅ…‰ๆ‚ฆๅฏบ), Kyoto, in November. The maples were at their reddest.
Rain on the maple outside my window. A drop at the tip of every leaf.
ๅ†ฌใกใ‹ใ—ๆ™‚้›จใฎ้›ฒใ‚‚ใ“ใ“ใ‚ˆใ‚Šใž
Fuyu chikashi / shigure no kumo mo / koko yori zo
Winter draws nearโ€”
even the clouds of passing showers
begin right here.
โ€” Yosa Buson ไธŽ่ฌ่•ชๆ‘
Most of us notice winter when it arrives. Buson noticed where it begins. He wrote this at Konpuku-ji in Kyoto, at a hut named for Bashล, the poet he revered most.
This weekend, look at the sky a little longer than you need to.
The full Haiku Pause is on my Substack. Link in the first comment.

#ไธŽ่ฌ่•ชๆ‘ #ไฟณๅฅ #ๅ†ฌ่ฟ‘ใ— #ๆ™‚้›จ #็ด…่‘‰ #ๅ…‰ๆ‚ฆๅฏบ

The moon and the sun,and the world we live in,all are round.My heart, too,shall learn to be like them. - Masuda Donno (a...
10/09/2026

The moon and the sun,
and the world we live in,
all are round.
My heart, too,
shall learn to be like them.
- Masuda Donno (at age 83)

ๆœˆใ‚‚ๆ—ฅใ‚‚
ใŠใฎใŒใ™ใ‚€ใ‚ˆใ‚‚
ใพใ‚ใ‘ใ‚Œใฐ
ๆˆ‘ๅฟƒใพใŸ
ใ“ใ‚Œใซใชใ‚‰ใ‚ใ‚€
- ็›Š็”ฐ้ˆ็ฟ๏ผˆ83ๆ‰๏ผ‰

Masuda Donnล wrote this at 83. He had built Mitsui and spent a lifetime in demanding rooms. Still, he did not write that his heart had become round. He wrote that it would learn.

This weekend, find one round thing โ€” the moon, a tea bowl, a stone smoothed by water โ€” and let it teach you for a moment.

This week's Haiku Pause is a waka. Link in the first comment.

#็›Š็”ฐ้ˆ็ฟ #่Œถ้“ #ๅ’ŒๆญŒ

Being unprepared and having something left to learn are not the same thing.Kenkล noticed this almost 700 years ago: the ...
10/07/2026

Being unprepared and having something left to learn are not the same thing.
Kenkล noticed this almost 700 years ago: the people who become skilled join the skilled while they are still beginners.
New essay, link in bio and in the first comment๐Ÿ‘‡

I don't think I've ever once decided to sit and do nothing. It seems to tafniWke a dead phone.A few years ago, waiting f...
09/11/2026

I don't think I've ever once decided to sit and do nothing. It seems to tafniWke a dead phone.
A few years ago, waiting for an opera at Lincoln Center โ€” no book, no battery โ€” I finally had nothing to do but look. Two dragonflies were circling the pond in front of the Henry Moore sculpture, slow and unhurried. Any other evening, I'd have missed them completely.
Nakamura Teijo (ไธญๆ‘ๆฑ€ๅฅณ) wrote this nearly a century ago:
ใจใฉใพใ‚Œใฐใ‚ใŸใ‚Šใซใตใ‚†ใ‚‹่œป่›‰ใ‹ใช
When I stop, more and more appear around me โ€” dragonflies.
We treat stillness as the reward we get after the work. It's really where the seeing starts.

A scroll. Two lines of brushwork. No explanation.้’ๅฑฑๅ…ƒไธๅ‹•ใ€€็™ฝ้›ฒ่‡ชๅŽปๆฅThe mountain does not move. White clouds come and go, of the...
05/31/2026

A scroll. Two lines of brushwork. No explanation.
้’ๅฑฑๅ…ƒไธๅ‹•ใ€€็™ฝ้›ฒ่‡ชๅŽปๆฅ
The mountain does not move. White clouds come and go, of themselves.
I've sat with this phrase for years. What stops me every time isn't the clouds โ€” it's the mountain. Not as a symbol of strength or resilience. As a question: what in you stays completely still while everything around you moves?
Most leadership advice trains you to manage the clouds โ€” the disruptions, the pressure, the noise. This ancient Zen phrase points somewhere else entirely.

My husband wades into cold water at our local beach every May, before the season opens. No reason. Just the pleasure of ...
05/29/2026

My husband wades into cold water at our local beach every May, before the season opens. No reason. Just the pleasure of it. This week's haiku is about exactly that feeling.
ๅคๆฒณใ‚’่ถŠใ™ใ†ใ‚Œใ—ใ•ใ‚ˆๆ‰‹ใซ่‰ๅฑฅ (่•ชๆ‘๏ผ‰
Crossing the summer riverโ€” / what joy! / sandals in hand.
Full post in BIo: "Ancient Wisdom for Modern Leadership" on Substack








#

When I ask people what gets in the way, they almost always name the symptom, not the cause."The week just takes over." "...
05/22/2026

When I ask people what gets in the way, they almost always name the symptom, not the cause.
"The week just takes over." "I lose momentum after the first two weeks." "I get pulled into too many things."
What's underneath all of these: no pre-built response for when things go sideways. So every disruption becomes a decision made under pressure, at the worst possible moment.
One participant described what changes when that structure exists:
"It gave me the opportunity to not just think about my goals, but to break them down into concrete actions โ€” and strategies for how to deal with setbacks along the way."
That's what we build in The Still Point next week โ€” before you need it.
๐Ÿ“… Wednesday, May 27 ยท 7:00 PM EST ๐Ÿ“… Thursday, May 28 ยท 12:00 PM EST
[REGISTRATION LINK in my Bio]

What attunement actually looks like."Japan's problem is too much harmony."A friend said this to me. He wasn't wrong โ€” bu...
05/21/2026

What attunement actually looks like.
"Japan's problem is too much harmony."
A friend said this to me. He wasn't wrong โ€” but he was describing something else entirely.
False harmony: everyone agreeing, no friction, ideas softened until they've lost what made them worth having.
็œŸใฎๅ’Œ โ€” real Wa: people moving together because of their differences. Not despite them.
New article on what this distinction means for your next team conversation. Subscribe "Ancient Wisdom for Modern Leadership" for the full article in Substack.
#ๅ’Œ

If you've ever ended a quarter thinking "I know what mattered โ€” I just never quite got to it," I built this session for ...
05/19/2026

If you've ever ended a quarter thinking "I know what mattered โ€” I just never quite got to it," I built this session for that feeling.
The Still Point is a live 90-minute Zoom workshop where you build your 90-day priority system โ€” not a framework to apply later, but a working document you complete in the room.
Two sessions to choose from: ๐Ÿ“… Wednesday, May 27 ยท 7:00 PM EST ๐Ÿ“… Thursday, May 28 ยท 12:00 PM EST
You'll walk away with three concrete milestones, a habit system designed around your real week, a pre-written obstacle response, and your Anchor Practice โ€” the one non-negotiable that keeps the whole thing running.
Someone who attended an earlier session said it best:
"It instills confidence and optimism that โ€” however big your goal โ€” you are already building a solid launch pad."
$97 ยท Practice Guide included ยท Small group only
[REGISTRATION LINK in my Bio]

Your first quarterly plan is an intelligent guess.Not a failure. A hypothesis.The leaders who build real momentum aren't...
05/19/2026

Your first quarterly plan is an intelligent guess.
Not a failure. A hypothesis.
The leaders who build real momentum aren't the ones who get it right in January.
They're the ones who treat January as the first data point โ€” and use what they learn.
What did last quarter actually teach you about how you work?
(These fiddleheads from my neighborhood walk. Still coiled. Already growing.)

Address

Norwalk, CT

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Coach Shoko posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category