I came across a local news blog post about Michelle Obama's vegetable garden at the White House, and then I followed up with a little more reading at the New York Times. It is exciting to think about how this seemingly small effort has the potential to influence so many important issues in the U.S. and the entire world – healthy eating, sustainability and other environmental, social and health concerns.

Here are some coaching article ideas that sprouted for me as I considered this topic:

• Parenting/Family coaches: 10 must-have's to start your own family garden
• Food/Cooking coaches: 10 vegetable side dishes from your organic garden
• Life coaches: 10 reasons that gardening is good for your soul
• Money coaches: 10 ways that healthier eating can save you money

Writing prompt: Did these topics spark any ideas for your newsletter or blog? What's the connection between your specialty area and the Obama garden?

I just heard a promotion that tonight on CityTV's 6:00 o'clock news they are only telling good news. I definitely plan to tune in and I'm looking forward to the positive spin.

[Update: 6:04 p.m. – It turns out that the good news stories will be interspersed with the "regular" news of the day.]

On the radio, I've been enjoying a new feature on 680 News, which now has regular good news reports on the air. They also collect good news stories on their website. [Update December 22, 2012 – No longer available.]

In the coaching world we talk a lot about positive affirmations, the Law of Attraction and the power to choose where we will focus our thoughts. But in the "real world" it's sometimes difficult to shield ourselves from the darker events going on in our communities and in the world.

Most of the time it feels like the media is the enemy of positive thinking, and our first defense against "doom and gloom" thinking is usually to turn OFF the news.

That's why it's so exciting to see these media outlets turning that around – even for just a few minutes a day or for one special broadcast.

Here are the coaching article topics I thought of in relation to this story:

• Executive coaches: 10 positive employee attributes you may be forgetting to praise

• Marketing coaches: 10 good news stories about your business that you could pitch to the media 

• Life coaches: 10 ways to put a positive spin on bad news

• Dating coaches: 10 positive topics to talk about on a first date

• Business coaches: 10 ways to use your influence to do some good

Writing prompt: Did these article topics spark any ideas for your own newsletter or blog? Are there any good news stories you could be sharing with your readers?

This is not a brand new story. It was actually Wednesday, March 18th that Michel "Giant" Andrew completed a 300-km, five-walk solitary walk through the wilderness to raise awareness of the high rate of diabetes in his Innu community.

I saw this story last weekend on CBC National. You can read more about Michel here.

I was fascinated to learn about Michel; not just his journey, but the bigger story this news report told of what's happening in his community (particularly their decision to ban alcohol in February 2008), and it led me to these possible coaching topics for your articles:

• Career coaches: How to turn around your past and create a new future
• Life coaches: How to keep going when the odds are stacked against you
• Parenting coaches: 10 signs your child may be involved with drugs or alcohol
• Business coaches: How to sell an unpopular idea
• Marketing coaches: How to sell people on what they need, when it's not what they want
• Spiritual coaches: How to express your inner spirit as a way of healing your outer world
• Non-profit sector coaches: How to rally a community into action

Writing prompt: Can you expand any of these titles into an article for your target market? Please comment below – I would love to hear what you do with it!

It may seem in poor taste to choose such a tragic situation, but I believe that if our hearts are in the right place, this can be a big help to folks, too. When we're confronted with tragic headlines, fear and hopelessness are common reactions.

If you can take a tragic headline, and bring some sensitivity and some inspiration to it, your articles can bring healing to people, and can also attract attention because they are linked to such a visible event.

It was amazing to hear about the 98-year-old woman who survived 30 hours in the rubble, and another woman, 20 years old, who was rescued more than 42 hours after the L'Aquila earthquake (see photos and stories here).

I thought about the victims, the survivors, the heroic rescuers, and the coaching messages that might be hidden in these stories. Here is what I came up with:

• Spiritual coaches: 10 ways to cultivate faith when all seems lost
• Family coaches: 10 tools for dealing with grief and loss

Writing prompt: Do these topics resonate with you or your audience? Can you think of any others? Please comment below and share your own topic ideas!

My parents got me into reading The Wellness Letter years ago, long before I became the Self-Care Coach.

From Wellness Letter online: "Rather than simply reporting quick health stories of the day, the WELLNESS LETTER puts the news in perspective and evaluates it. It constantly reviews the latest research to give you the edge in your quest to live the best life you can. In particular, it clarifies the often conflicting and superficial health information presented by the popular media."

In his editorial in the current issue, Dr. John Swartzberg referred to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, exploring "The Checklist Effect" (the same study was covered in Time Magazine back in January). He described how surgical teams manage their complex tasks by using a detailed, written "to do" list.  And those lists are improving patient care and savings lives.

Checklists and systems are certainly not new to coaches. We may not be saving lives, but we are certainly improving them! Which checklists would your clients find helpful?

• Life coaches: 10 steps to a more balanced life, every day
• Money coaches: 10-point checklist for your month-end money matters
• Writing coaches: 5-point readability checklist
• Parenting/family coaches: 5 things to check before your family leaves the house every morning
• Career coaches: 10 things that must appear in a winning resume
• Marketing coaches: 10 weekly marketing actions

Writing prompt: Use these suggestions to design your own checklist for your target market. Make sure to separate each point into its own item on your list. Ask yourself, could someone say "Yes, I did this!" next to every line?