It’s almost here!

Yep! My brand, spanking-new, interview series STARTS November 8, 2006.

BUT, I think the name of the series SUCKS!

So, I’m running a little contest.

The series will feature in-depth interviews with creative, eclectic, &/or multitalented, independent professionals who are "Slightly Famous" — to borrow the title of Steven Van Yoder’s wonderful book Get Slightly Famous

Currently the title of the series is "The Slightly Famous Touring Road Show".

But, I think it could be better!

Here’s the prize: I’m cleaning out my library. So, here’s what I’m going to do.

1st Place - 5 of my used-to-be favourite books  (all in excellent condition), e.g. "The 30th Edition of What Color Is Your Parachute".

2nd Place - 3 of my used-to-be favourite books, e.g. Radical Joy by Todd Allen Pressman.

3rd Place - 1 of my used-to-be favourite books — e.g. Working With Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman.

Prizes will be awarded based on quantity and quality.

Send your suggestions here or simply comment on this post.

If you are a Genre Busterâ„¢ you’ll likely wind up working for yourself.

You’ll be a (pick one) Solopreneur, Independent Professional, Small
Business Owner, Entrepreneur, or Freelancer.

And, you’ll need to learn how to market. Seth
Godin has some critical wisdom on the marketing process

My favourite piece of advice is:

4.
Irrational, strongly held beliefs of close advisors should be ignored. It
doesn’t matter if they don’t like your logo.

I agree with Seth that it’s about process.

Find a process.

Use the process.

Tweak the process.

But, by god, don’t just "fly by the seat of your pants!"

You’ll wind up without any!!!

I think it was way, way back in graduate school that someone first suggested I read Kaleel Jamisno’s little masterpiece, "The Nibble Theory and The Kernel of Power".

The book’s subtitle is, "A book about Leadership, Self-empowerment, and Personal Growth".

Working through the exercises in the book helped me understand the Core Belief that has sustained me through many difficult times. That belief: "There IS an answer. If I can just find it!"

What about you?

What’s your Kernel of Power? What keeps you going?

Since the book is no longer in print I’m going to share a few questions to help get you started.

Here’s her process:

1. List your strengths. Remember: those are things you are born with, not things you’ve learned.
2. Now look at your list. Take out any skills that may have got in there. Take out qualifiers.
3. Look at your list of strengths. Ask yourself:
   1. Why is that important to me?
   2. What’s underneath that reason?
   3. Ask yourself: What makes me want to do that?
   4. How are your strengths tied to each other?
   5. What is at your center?
   6. What do you have that you take with you everywhere?
   7. Think of the things you do in life that are important to you and make you feel a sense of joy. Now, take those things, and ask the questions you’ve just asked again:
      1. Why is this important to you?
      2. How is it tied to your strength?
      3. What is your Kernel?

Work the questions. Sit with them. Revist them. Answer them. Over and over.

Give it time.

And, you will find your Kernel of Power.

You’re fed up with your current MacJob! Who can blame you?

So you quit but have no new job lined up.

Since you:

• aren’t living at home,
• your parents have no plans of providing free accomodations or supporting you financially,
• therefore, need a new job.

What do you do for work?

Let’s assume you have half-a-clue about what you want to be when you grow up. Then my first piece of advice is start looking for entry level jobs in the career field that most appeals to you. For example, if you want to be a writer look for jobs with magazines, publishers, and so on.

In any case, DO write down SOME criteria for your ‘in-between’ job. What mininum income will you need? What won’t you do? What hours would you pefer to work (number per week and time of day)?

Make a list of the skills you have that you’d a) like to use and b) can use. Look first for those jobs that tap into the like to use category of skills.

Create a list of Top Three kinds of jobs you’d really like to get. Then network with relatives and friends and colleagues and share that list with them. It’s easier for people to help you if they have specifics. So, just telling people you’re looking for work is next to useless.

Promptly send Thank You notes to people who respond with referrals.

Make a job search plan. It doesn’t have to be fancy. BUT, do have a plan…

And, act on it!

Get your butt out of bed! Get on the phone. Write e-mails. DO something. Action leads to answers.

Warning: At first you may be excited about leaving. But, that excitement can turn into depression, especially as Winter nears. Get moving before the blue meanies take resisdence.

Hell! Take a job. Any, job. You quit once. If it really sucks, you can quit again. Experiment. Try.

Oh, and get, find, or create a support group. Navigating the job search desert is easier with companions.

Last post
I promised I talk more about Macro Niches… and I will.

But, I wanted to share an exciting discovery.

One of my favourite author’s on Careers is Barbara Sher. She’s just released a new book:

It’s a very special book if you are a multi-talented professional. Here’s an excerpt from the chapter titled, "Are you a Scanner?"

"’I know I should focus on one thing, but which one?’ ‘I won’t choose a career path because it might be the wrong one…’

If you’ve ever said these things to yourself, chances are good that you’re a Scanner, a very special kind of thinker… Because your behaviour is unfamiliar — even unsettling — to the people around you, you’ve been taught taht you’re doing something wrong and must try to change. But, what you’ve been told is a mistake — you have been misdiagnosed. You’re a different creature altogether."

Sound familiar?

It sure grabbed my attention!!

I have so long felt that traditional methods of Career Coaching don’t work for me — and for my clients!

So, I’ve developed different techniques to help them sort out what — and how many things — they want to focus on.

I encourage you to read Sher’s book.

Learn what kind of Scanner you are. 

By the way, Sher says that true to the nature of Scanners you probably aren’t one kind.

I know I’m for sure mostly  the kind of Cyclical Scanner Sher calls "The Plate Spinner" — many projects on the go. This description also fits what Kathy Kolbe calls the "Quick Start".

A Cyclical Scanner is the type of Scanner that keeps coming back, circling back, to the same interests. Contrast this with the Sequential Scanner who masters a skill and then MOVES on.

I’m looking forward to trying Sher’s techniques with my multitalented clients.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’ve been self-employed for almost 22 years.

And, for 22 years I’ve read everything I could about marketing and promotion.

And, every time I turn around some self-proclaimed expert tells me, "Thou shalt find thy niche and exploit it!"

Yeah, riiggght!

Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt. Got the coffee mug. And, especially got the scratches … to prove it don’t work.

Here’s the problem.

Maybe it’s yours.

Say it together: "I don’t have just ONE niche!"

I’m a multi-talented, multi-interested kind of guy.

I don’t do just one thing.

I do several things… and pretty damn well if I do say so myself.

So, what’s my niche?

Well, one thing I tried was to, kind of, create, what might be called a "Macro Niche".

Years ago I realized that the things I loved to do — coaching, writing, training, speaking — had a common theme: words or communication for a specific purpose.

Swell, so ‘communication’ is my macro niche.

What do I do with that lovely piece of information?

Tune in to the next post.

Tags: Creative Professionals, Niche, Niche Marketing

Many of the creative professionals I’ve worked
with have trouble at first articulating their Dream. I hear comments like these:
“Well, I think it might be Z.” Or, “Maybe it’s X. . . but gee that’s sounds
awfully flakey.” Or, “Well, years ago I thought it was Y but.” 

Let’s face it. Creative people aren’t the norm. YES,
everyone IS and can be CREATIVE!

But, I’m talking about those of us who are
born with the drive to CREATE, to INNOVATE, to take IDEAS, mix them with PEOPLE
or THINGS and produce something NEW or to ADAPT, TWEAK, IMPROVE, and TINKER
with systems, processes, procedures, and just about everything and everyone
that comes our way.
 

We’re the people who first fit
the Artistic category on the Holland Code map of occupations and who likely have a second highest interest that is either Investigative
or Social.

Look at the Holland map. Look carefully.

Note that if your top Career interest is Artistic you are the total opposite of Conventional. What’s that mean, really?

This: what you dream of doing, what you aspire to, what you desire is not what conventional types wants. It’s UNconventional.

That means conventional careers don’t fit. It also means conventional career planning and search methods probably don’t fit either.

When you try to take step-wise, by-the-numbers, thou-shalt-do-this career books and advice and apply them to creative/artistic — and Investigative and Social careers — your career dream will turn into a nightmare!

Steps don’t work.

Start thinking in phases and bigger chunks.

Look for Artistic ways to dream and plan your career.

If you’re having trouble with picturing your Dream, try one or more of these tactics:

- Write down all the words and phrases that DO come to mind when you try to picture your career. Even if they seem weird — especially if they  seem weird.

- Draw, paint, sketch, doodle. Anything that gets the stuff out of your head.

- Sing. Compose.

- Write a poem. Hell, write several.

- Talk about your dreams. You might be surprized to hear what you say.

- Dream. And, then record your dreams.

I read a lot of newsletters and articles on careers. In fact, I subscribe to one career ezine that shows up in my inbox every day.

It has some great advice. Provocative questions. And, keeps trying to sell me some products for "planning my life" … and career!

And, I keep resisting.

Today, I finally realized why I resist.

It’s because fundamentally these folks want me to "plan" my life down to every teeny tiny step. And, I KNOW life ain’t like that!!

I’ve learned from experience that many of the most rewarding learnings and progress steps in my life have been unplanned. They just seem to happen serendipitously.

That’s why I advocate what one of my OD professors called "loose-tight" plans. That is, plans with just enough structure to guide you, but enough freedom to jump on sudden opportunities.

So, I’m sorry folks… I’m NOT going to create a detailed, numbered, exactling plan for each of my life goals. My life just doesn’t work that way.

Instead, what I have is:

1. A Life Goal for each of the Action Areas in my Life (9 of them by the way),
2. A reasonably exact Annual Objective for each Action Area,
3. An even more precise list of Objectives for the next 6 months for the Top 3 Action Areas, and
4. A few of the first steps jotted down.

That’s all I want and need.

Then I can get moving and see what shows up!

Thanks to fellow Infoguru James Huggins  I’ve been introduced the concept of "conation".

Conation is defined as "the area of one’s active mentality that has to do with desire, volition, and striving." It is the third piece of the mental processing puzzle, completing the other two: cognition (thinking) and feeling.

Conation is about what you will do — and what you won’t. And, about your natural style or instintive way of performing.

Conation came to the forefront with the work of Kathy Kolbe who, working with her husband and others, has developed an assessment instrument and trainings to help you do better by doing what you do naturally.

When I read her ground breaking book The Connative Connection I finally felt vindicated. I’ve often received negative feedback for the way I work: in fits and starts, driven by inspiration. Kathy’s book helped me understand that those characteristics were the hallmark of one of her 4 Conative Styles. I’m a Quick Start with a back-up Implementor style.

Called the Pioneer by Kolbe because this style: explores new territory,

Okay, you’ve figured out those magic four letters. What now?

Well, if you are IN a ‘real’ job and contemplating the solopreneur life (aka entrepreneur, solo professional, independent professional, freelancer, contractor, et al) consider these steps:

1. If you have access to a corporate career advisor, grab ‘em!
2. If not, grab your library card and get thee to the library,
3. Go to the business/career section and take out all the books on Type and Career,
4. I recommend:
   1. "Do What You Are" — Paul D. Tieger & Barbara Barron-Tieger
   2. "What’s Your Type of Career?" — Donna Dunning
   3. "Follow Your True Colors to the Work You Love" — Carolyn Kalil
5. FInd your type (ENFP, INTJ, ESTJ) and read through the lists of occupations that are most often chosen by  your Type,
6. Jot down the ones that catch your interest,
7. When you have a ‘complete’ list, winnow it down to the Top Ten Most Interesting
8. Dig out any Dictionary of Occupations (or whatever name its called in your country),
9. Review the expectations and rewards of your chosen 10 careers, and
10. Winnow the list down to the Top Three.

Now, you have 3 possible careers that suit your Type, in which you have a high interest, and that have expectations and rewards that meet your needs and wants.

What now?

Aaargh!  More research. Networking. Information Interviews.

All the elements of good, solid career research!

Stay tuned for advice on how to do all that.