I’ll be featuring the Usual Suspects: writers, artists, authors, photographers, and other Eclectic professionals.
My first guest will be the very lovely Shannon Cherry of Be Heard Solutions. Shannon is a PR Guru, Mompreneur, Blogger, and the mother to a set of loverly twins! She will be sharing her wisdom on the following topics:
Why Solopreneurs need to master the ‘black art’ of PR,
The inside secrets to becoming a successful PR consultant (if anyone is crazy enuf to pursue PR work as a career), and
How she manages a very busy PR business and still finds lots of time to enjoy and parent her precocious 2-year olds!
DATE: Wednesday, January 22nd
To obtain call-in details and register for this informative and fun program, send a blank email to gb-interest@aweber.com
Paul Edwards, the Peace Lovin’ Cowboy, is a transplanted Aussie now living in San Diego. And, only an Aussie would go snow boarding in his G-String. Take a look! (Rated PG-13
Nestled between the pizza flyer and a catalogue was a letter from my good friend Lockwood.
I thought, “Oh great. Lock has sent his Christmas missive early.”
I eagerly ripped open the envelope and took out the paper — and then stopped smiling. The first words I read were, “It is with sadness that we mark the passing of Lockwood Lyon.”
I froze in place. Gob smacked!
Read some more.
And then the sadness, grief hit. And, for the next 15 minutes I sobbed uncontrollably. My cat was upset by my crying. I had to boot her into the basement so I could read a bit, cry a lot, read a bit, and cry some more.
FUCK!
I last spoke with Lock last Christmas. It was my ritual to call him near year end to check in and see how he was doing. Last time I called he was doing well. Though in a wheelchair he was full of energy and ideas. He was delighted that he had shed 100 pounds and was feeling great.
Shortly after talking with him I received a Christmas card from him that was so neat I kept it on top of my monitor. Then a few weeks ago I took it down. Hmm! I can’t remember when exactly. But, it was, I believe, shortly after his death October 5th.
I miss him so, so much.
His obituary describes him as a contrarian. I prefer eclectic: He loved clowns and clowning. He enjoyed magic and taught his 4 sons card tricks. He read widely — histories, philosophy, and the classics. In his later years he took up rug braiding and developed a new method of monitoring caloric intake — and lost 100 lbs.
I met Lock when I was, like him, a student in the MSOD program at Pepperdine. He was 63! I 39! I loved him like a father. I think in me he saw another son… maybe. In our Memory Book he wrote this, “Lyle, thank you for your kindness and special friendship. This has been a great experience. Let’s agree to keep in close touch.”
In the end we spoke once a year. But, after the first5 years or so years went by without conversation or sporadic letters.
I am so glad I made the effort I did to keep in touch.
LOCK, I miss your jokes, your shy smile, your great big heart, and your warmth.
Creative professionals of all kinds, from architects to writers, don’t do JOBS.
Well, not if they’re smart.
Creatives aren’t cut out to work for companies. As a client said today, and I loosely quote, "companies suck the life out of you!"
Companies are about rules, policies, procedures, mass production. Very few corporations with the notable exception of Google, Apple, and others provide the RIGHT ENVIRONMENT for creatives.
Artistic types, need to be able to, in fact MUST express their creative urges, in and through their work. For creatives their is no boundary between them and work.
They ARE their work.
And, they need environments that NURTURE, GUIDE, that expression NOT stifle it.
So, if you are a creative professional, don’t language it as a "Job Search". It’s NOT!
It’s a search for a way, a place, where you can DO YOUR WORK.
The other day, I was
listening to a ‘self help’ program on the radio as I was driving. Jack
Canfield, co-author of the “Chicken Soup’ books, was being interviewed. And, once
again I heard that word that I word
used to describe the books. The word: Inspirational.
I get irritated when
people market their books and programs using the word Inspirational. Why? Maybe
it’s me but the feeling I get when I hear these advertisements is that being Inspiring
is enough.
It’s not! Quite simply,
in 30 plus years of working with people, I’ve found that most people are unable
to translate Inspiration into ACTION.
At the very least, what people/you need in addition to Inspiration is:
Strategies/Plans – You may need a path, a set of steps, sometimes a detailed recipe
that will show you the way to get from where you are to where you want to be.
Education/Advice – You may need to acquire new skills in order to navigate your chosen
path.
Support
– You may need someone to ‘hold your hand’, kick you in the butt, or to help
you get you unstuck.
I’ve noticed that a lot
of Motivational Speakers and Authors just do that: speak and write. They don’t help
you make practical plans. They don’t give you the training you need. And, they
don’t provide the support you need.
That’s why you need to
hire a coach.
As a coach I’ve been
told by many that I’m very Inspiring
and I’m delighted to do what I can to help Inspire my clients and motivate them.
But, I’m more interested in helping my clients with practical strategies, providing
proven advice drawn from 37 years of business and life experience, and giving
the on demand support my clients need.
Which do you think will
get you where you want to be? Inspiration? Or, Coaching?
You know the feeling.
You start working on one project only to find yourself thinking about another –
or about half a dozen other things.
How can you get
focused? Here are a few ideas.
Breath
Ideas exist in our
heads and minds. That’s why they can spin and zip around so easily causing us
to feel in a whirl. Close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. Breathing
puts us in touch with the realities of our bodies. It calms the mind and brain.
And, it helps us refocus on what we’re doing.
Do it
Often the distracting
thought is about small things we need to remember to do. Sometimes the best
thing to do to get rid of a distracting thought is to simply do it. My rule is that doing it must take less
than 3 minutes. Focusing on the distraction for longer than that can really
destroy our focus on what we were doing. So, if it’s going to take you away
longer just make a note of what you have to do.
Write
When my head’s all in a
whirl and my thoughts are spinning around and clanging like marbles in a
blender, I grab my keyboard and just write. Write till all the ‘stuff’ is out
of me head. Then I can look at what’s on paper and decide what important and
what’s not.
What’s helped you get
focused? Please add your comments at my blog.
You know you’re not
happy with your job and life. Yet, whenever you try to get in touch with what
you really, really want, you draw a blank.
The answer lies in
moving into your Creative Expression.
One very useful
exercise is Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages. Simply sit your bum in a chair and
write. Now, Julia insists that you hand write 3 pages. But, my hand writing is
just plain awful, so I type my Morning Pages. And, instead of going for 3 pages
I write what I can in 30 minutes. The rules of Morning Pages are simple. Write.
Write whatever comes into your head. Whine. Snivel. Rant. Whatever, just write.
The act of writing primes your Creative Self.
Today I want to share a few thoughts about ‘escaping’ or at least moving away from this place of craziness.
What can you do when you’re in The Batty Zone.
Get Help
When I was doing the research for my Masters degree, I had my first experience of the power of Self Help groups. For more than a year, I participated in weekly support groups for divorcing parents who wanted to do all they could to ensure joint custody and shared parental care for their children.
I had long believed that ‘a problem shared is a problem reduced. And, these groups really helped me see that their is power in having support from a caring group.
So, one of the first things I did when I was feeling "Batty" was to call up my e-buddy Barry Morris. Barry and I support each other. I know I can call Barry almost any time and he will ‘talk me down from the ledge". And, I do the same for him.
Dave Schoof, writing in his Disquiet Blog, recommended that we have a handful of close pals, supporters that we can call anytime, in any emergency. Barry is one of those people for me and I know I am for him. This self-created, Self Help group, can help us escape The Batty Zone.
My brain is in hibernation mode today. So, I will post more ideas later.
I was chatting with my e-buddy, mentor, and copy writing muse Barry Morris yesterday. I had asked for his help in sorting out this messy, emotional muddle my brain was in.
One of the issues we were discussing was the transition of my website to Wordpress
I made a suggestion about next steps and Barry’s response was, "NO. That’ll just drive you further into The Batty Zone!"
That expression grabbed me as the perfect phrase to describe how I felt.
