Self Improvement Blog | Cindy Loughran, Author for the Self Improvement Blog

Always the go to person for support and advice, Cindy Loughran turned her natural talents and passion for helping others thrive into a career as a professional coach. For over 20 years, Cindy has used her ability to ask insightful questions and inspire action to support hundreds of individuals as they navigate the journey to greater success and personal satisfaction.. Recognized in 2007 as one of Boston’s Top Ten Coaches by the Women’s Business Boston, Cindy has been a contributor to national trade and business journals and anthologies, and has been a guest on numerous business talk radio shows sharing her knowledge and experience on such topics as Emotional Intelligence, Work/Life Balance, Personal Empowerment, Leadership and Change. Always leading from the heart, Cindy’s focus as a coach is to help people act on their intentions and make change stick so that they can enjoy happier, healthier and more satisfying lives.

Cindy holds a degree in Communication Studies from the University of Vermont. She is a Certified Professional Coach, Certified Group Coach , Principal of CBL Associates and Founder and President of New Leaf Touchstone, a personal development business she created that employs at-risk adolescent girls in the creation of bracelets and touchstones designed to help people create new, positive habits and turn over a new leaf in all aspects of their lives.

Cindy is truly a Change Champion. Through her group and individual coaching programs and support products, she puts the power to change into your hands!

Cindy lives in Needham, MA with her life long teachers: her husband Tom, her children, Curtis and Brian and her faithful canine companion, Otis.

All of Cindy’s coaching clients have one thing in common: they are all learning and adopting new, more effective skills, habits and responses that enable them to be more effective in the many facets of their lives. They, as we all are, are creatures of habit, behaving in ways that are familiar and comfortable, despite their dissatisfaction with the results. Once they decide what new behavior or way of being they want to adopt, Cindy frequently recommends that they create visual cues to remind them to act on their intentions to use new skills and embrace their new ways of being. She suggests post-it notes, screen savers, symbols, anything that works. These cues work well, until the client takes the ’show on the road’ and isn’t in the same room as his/her reminders.

So, Cindy got an idea. Her husband sometimes wears a ratty old rubber band around his wrist. When he is in a challenging situation and he notices his emotions beginning to take over, he gently snaps the band and remembers to ‘keep his cool’.

She thought that with a little modification, this would be a great tool for her clients. A portable reminder of what they want to do or how they want to be in their quest to be their best selves in a variety of situations. Something they’d have with them wherever they went.

The first products she designed were New Leaf Touchstone bracelets. Used as reminder tools, they connect the user with herself and her intended way of being, leading to greater effectiveness and increased confidence. They help her turn over a new leaf. Men and other non-bracelet wearers wanted a similar tool for themselves. So, she introduced the pocket stone.

Clients reported success using the products in a variety of circumstances.

“I use mine when I’m about to lose my cool with my kids!”
“I use one when I’m sitting in meetings for committees I volunteer on.”
“My bracelet helps me refrain from having that piece of chocolate I always regret having eaten.”

At work, some successes include:

“I use my bracelet to keep me from interrupting others at meetings;”
“I use mine to remind myself to take deep breaths when I am feeling stressed;”
“I say ‘um and ya know’ a lot and I use my touchstone to remind myself to slow down and think before I speak. I’ve cut my ‘ums and ya knows’ out almost entirely.”

More Support

While we know that for some, just having the tactile reminder is enough to help them be successful making the changes they want to make, others want more support. So New Leaf Touchstone offers a handful of services that put the power of change into your hands and support you to successfully reach your goals.

At-Risk Adolescence Girls hand-make the products with care

After making all of the bracelets and touchstones herself for a while, it occurred to Cindy that an entirely different population could benefit from them. So, consistent with New Leaf Touchstone’s mission, she hired a group of at-risk adolescent girls who are students at the Germaine Lawrence School, a therapeutic residential school for adolescent girls in Arlington, MA. The students are working to overcome a variety of psychological, behavioral and emotional issues. Working for New Leaf Touchstone, they earn money, and learn social and business skills. The knowledge that they are making a contribution to others and creating a beautiful product helps them build their self esteem. This work in conjunction with their program, gives them the opportunity to turn over a new leaf, too.

New Leaf Touchstone Circle of Success

And so, New Leaf Touchstone has become a circle of success: A community of very different people connected by these products.

We hope that you will find New Leaf Touchstone products helpful to you as you strive to become your best self. Cindy and the young women who make them are very proud to be able to contribute to your success and are grateful for the opportunity.

New Leaf Touchstone is delighted to put the power to change into your hands!