One forum mate remarked “Also, I don’t know what a ‘creative career’ is, but I have this idea that a ‘career’ is something you have as an employee, so that’s not me.”

Thanks for asking.

When you do something for a living it’s easy to get caught up in your own language. Heck! I KNOW what a career is. In fact I sometimes tell people that one of my services is Career Coaching.

But, do INDEPENDENT creative professionals have careers?

You betcha. The problem is that our careers don’t look like those careers … you know like the one I had when I was an employee (ugh! Very scary word

First let’s haul out my handy dandy Canadian Oxford Dictionary. Here are the two most relevant definitions:

1. One’s advancement through life, esp. in a profession,

2. a profession or occupation, esp. as offering advancement

Essentially a career is simply what you DO for a living. But, herein lies the dilemma for those who are creative cats.

When my dad was in the work force most people had ONE career, one occupation. My dad was a miner when I was born but shortly thereafter trained as a carpenter and that’s what he did for the rest of his life. (Scary)

When I started in the professional workforce that one-occupation-for-a-lifetime model was still the case. Nonetheless, I was never happy to just 1 thing. So, during the 15 years I had a real job I was a laboratory technologist, programmer, programmer analyst, project manager, computer technology training coordinator,  and end user support coordinator.

Things began to shift in the late 70’s. People, many of them like me, didn’t want to do 1 thing for all their lives. Fast forward to now. Now the model is that a person can do and be many things through out the course of their life.

Now look at the fact that over the last 2 decades more and more people have chosen to be their own boss: small business owner, entrepreneur, freelancer, solo professional, or independent professional. Now let’s complicate it even more by noting that many of us creative types need to do our things ALL at the same time.

Yes, we are ECLECTIC.

We are not just square pegs in round holes … we are star shaped pegs in round holes. Where each point on the star is a talent we want to express in and to the world.

So, YES creative types DO have careers … they’re just different (better than those in corporations.

The Genre Busters Podcast!

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

I took a 20-second look and KNEW my client was in deep doo doo if he were to follow this advice.

According to Clarence Thomson, Enneagram Coach, most Time Managment books are written by Enneagram 3s — often compulsive acheivers

And, what works for 3s doesn’t work for other types — e.g. my client who is a 5 and very eclectic.

Those of us who aren’t 3s can’t keep up.

We don’t need to achieve more — harder or faster!

We need to work WITH our own style.

So, next time one of those Time Management Gurus comes your way — run like hell!

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.

Rest in Peace my dear one!

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.

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?

Please add your comments at my blog.

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.  

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.

What do you do when you Feel lost?

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.