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I LOVE that the challenge I assigned Client B paid off in spades! It led to a huge breakthrough for her. OK, I probably shouldn’t say breakthrough, as there hasn’t been action taken yet. It’s clarity. A big fat amount of clarity. But now comes the hard part: What to do next? How can I have her change her perspective without saying “How can you change your perspective?” At least, though, because she can see that her current choices do not serve her anymore, she will choose to make some new ones. I’m hoping that this week’s challenge opens that up for her.
I don’t think I wrote after my last session – I’m so fired.
This session was great because Holly & I brainstormed as to all the ways I can freely/cheaply market myself. I really thought that I had all of my bases covered, but I discovered so many more ways to get When I Grow Up out there into the creative world! Now I need to find the time to do it……
Elevator speech, elevator speech, elevator speech!
I think I might eat, sleep, and dream about elevator speeches this week. I was so excited last week after I spoke to Holly that I wrote mine on the spot:
“My name is Michelle Solomon, and I’m a career and life coach for young professionals with a creative streak. Some are sick of pounding the pavement, and are now looking for direction in uncovering a new, stable career that they can be enthusiastic about. Others have left those artistic pursuits behind for a stable day job, and want to incorporate their talents back into their lives on their own terms. Either way, they’re discovering who they want to be when they grow up – & I get to go along for the ride!“
I really like the way it reads, and I thought I liked how it sounded, but when I read it to Holly it felt so non-conversational and……fake. So let’s see how that would sound if someone says to me “So, what have you been up to?”
“I’m studying to be a life coach and am in the process of launching my practice.”
“Cool. What do you do as a life coach? I’ve heard of that before but I’m not sure what they do.”
“Well, life coaches help clients define their goals as well as giving them a new perspective on how to get there. So I do that specifically with creative types – either people that are sick of pounding the pavement and want to find a stable job that they can be excited about, or people that have been in a day job for years and want to bring their artistic talents back into their lives. Basically, I’m helping people figure out who they want to be when they grow up!”
Ah. Much better. And I have 10 seconds to spare, since an elevator speech should be around 30 seconds. I still feel like there might be something missing, in terms of what I bring to the table, or the specific way that I coach, but in all fairness, I’m not sure how I do that yet! So my elevator speech will be a variable thing that is always growing and changing.
Tomorrow I’m going to a fundraiser for a theater company that I work with, and figure it’s the perfect opportunity to try out my elevator speech (actors LOVE to ask other actors, “So, what are you up to?” It’s polite & competitive at the same time). Bring on the creative types!
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Today I’m thankful for air conditioning. Air conditioning, I love you.
I love having a set time each week to discuss my business building! Without my scheduled sessions, I think that this would have gotten pushed back to being a 2009 goal, especially with all of my other (big, fat, huge, major) commitments. Instead, in 4 short weeks, I have:
* the start of an elevator speech (to be completed by Friday)
* a website that is up & running (but not launched yet – it’s not ready! But it will be soon and you will hear it here first!)
* a targeted niche (that can come with targeted marketing)
* a great understanding of who I want to help and why I started coaching in the first place!
I know that by the time I stop being coached by Holly, I’ll be a full-fledged business with all the necessities: a name, a website, a logo, a welcome packet, a services breakdown, business cards, and a marketing plan. Imagine that.
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I’m grateful for my business coach Holly who keeps me on the right track and helps me clarify my goals!
It was nice to focus on business building with Holly today. I hate to admit it, but it’s so much better than the Business Building classes at ICA! Probably because I get to focus on ME for 45 min/wk instead of on whatever the teacher (or the class) decides to talk about. I’m such a selfish bastard.
I get so animated when I talk about making When I Grow Up my career, that it helps squelch negative answers to questions such as:
“What are you getting yourself into?”
“Are you crazy?”
“Is this really – FINALLY! – the one that’s going to stick?”
The answer is yes. Yes, OK! YES! And YES it’s scary, and YES it’s a bit crazy, but YES it will be worth it, because it’s what I love and enjoy.
I’ve been kicking things into high gear with When I Grow Up. I started a blog yesterday (see link on the blogroll) and might actually have a website up by the end of the week! I’ll make sure to keep you all posted.
Next up: elevator speech. Can I really only limit myself to talk for only 30 seconds?
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Today I’m grateful for Bryant Park and my lunch break. Mostly, sitting in Bryant Park during my lunch break, with a slight breeze on a warm day with no humidity. Spring in NY is unfrackingbelievable.
I’m really proud of myself because I spent the first part of my session acknowledging my good work! I spoke to Joanne, my 1st Peer Coach, yesterday and realized I’m being too hard on myself. So one of the things I’m working on is cutting myself some slack! I really feel like I made a big leap in de-stressing myself and not letting my mind (and my To Do list) control my mood and actions.
So today I focused on business building! I’m really getting the itch to get things up and running, especially since my job satisfaction has gone downhill lately. I want to get my website up, a business plan on paper, a logo for my company, and some business cards. That should take……about a week, right? WRONG!
I think my first step is to buy the book that Holly recommended, as well as talk to Luke about building a site. He builds great ones, but I don’t want to have to rely on him to get into it, update it, tweak it, etc. But I should use him to help me (it’s not like I keep him around for his good looks and personality or anything)!
It’s really odd, working with more than 1 coach. I like it in order to see different coaching styles and approaches (and Holly definitely has similar personality traits to me), but it’s tough not to compare side by side. I feel like working with Holly will be as beneficial as working with Joanne, but I’m going to come to my realizations in a different way. With Joanne, things would often smack me in the face (for lack of a better way to say that). With Holly, I feel like things will come out in a more roundabout way – but I can distinguish in my blabbering what she’s asking me and how I need to change my thinking.
It was nice to talk and clear my head about all of my To Dos that are making me bonkers, and actually giving voice to my wants. I definitely saw a new perspective in giving wedding To Dos to my pre-husband (maybe he’s asking for things to do because he wants to be involved!), as well as breaking things down and asking myself what has to be done this week. If it doesn’t have to be done, then I’m not gonna do it! Is something on my To Do list for that day and only that day? No? Then close the To Do list and come back tomorrow!
The blinders are going on as of……….now.
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I’m grateful today for the way that spring in NY feels.
The noise in my head is getting out of control. The Usual Suspects are all coming around – time management, having to be productive every moment of every day, having my To Do list stressing me out, feeling like I have no time to myself, bouncing from one task to the other without getting anything done – and they won’t just let me be.
I did such great work with Joanne and I’m pissed that it’s slipping away. But, to my credit, I realized all this stuff is making me nutso / stressed / crazy and I reached out for a new Peer Coach. I just finished my first session with Holly, and although we’re both Chatty Cathys I think it will be a good fit. We start “for real” next week, and I’m looking forward to see what she’ll bring to the table.
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Today I’m grateful for wanting to change and having the self-respect – and cajones – to do so.
If you can’t tell by the title, Session 12 is the last coaching session I have with Joanne. I can’t believe how far I’ve come in just three months! I found Joanne when I asked for help with balancing my classes, my new job, my theatrical life (particularly writing and performing a one-woman show), and my social life (not isolating myself from my boyfriend/family/friends). Even though I was the one putting so many things on my plate, I was also the one making myself stressed and miserable, putting a ton of pressure on myself to be all things to all people. With Joanne’s help, I was able to change my perspective and realize that I’m the one who controls both my time and my attitude (imagine that!). She helped me brainstorm ways to say “no”, how to not let my To Do List run my life, and how not to feel so tired and dragged down all the time. Two weeks in to a work/rehearsal/sleep schedule (those are the only 3 things I do now) 15 hours a day/4 days a week, I’m neither stressed nor miserable nor sick nor bitchy – and that’s a huge jump for me. Instead, I realize that I agreed to this schedule because it would allow me to incorporate what I love to do with what I have to do for a living, and I figured out in advance the challenges that came along with that and met them head-on. I’m also allowing myself to step back and take breaks – vegging out in front of the TV for an hour, taking a full hour away from the office for lunch – without making myself feel guilty for doing so. It’s literally a whole new world for me.
But I’m not sad this journey is coming to an end, because I know that in Joanne I found a coach, a colleague, a mentor, and a friend. I look forward to swapping challenges and accomplishments while building our businesses, and maybe one day we’ll appear on Oprah together!
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Today I’m grateful for my one day off, and not stressing on how I’m going to fill in!
I knew that these last 2 sessions were going to focus on how NOT to revert to the old me – the stressful, overwhelmed me who feels like there isn’t enough time in a day (or a week or a month) to get EVERYTHING done that I’ve committed myself to. And since my life will consist of 15-hour days, with a one hour break, 5 days a week – starting tomorrow – AND I have to move on top of it AND go to weddings and spend time with family and sacrifice my coaching time…….there’s no time to breathe. I don’t want to lose sleep, and get sick, and become a hermit and not see my friends. I want the show that I’m doing to be amazing because, if it’s terrible and I put so much of myself in it, I’ll be nothing but bitter and crazed and bitchy for no good reason at all.
So I’m going to stop and breathe. And make sleep my priority. And make sure that I learn how to say NO to myself (and I thought it was tough telling other people!). I need to take care of myself and put everything that I’ve worked so hard on with Joanne to the test. This IS my test! My ultimate test to how I put myself first, and say no, and prioritize my life and fill my time like it’s my own. Because it is my own. And I chose these choices. And I’ll choose how my time is balanced and my life is lived. And I’ll do it without the stress (OK, maybe some stress) or the bitching (OK, maybe a little bitching) because, I mean, I booked a show and that makes me happy. And who else can say that they have a great job, and they’re doing exactly what they want to do with their own time. I can.
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Can’t you tell what I’m gracious for now? If not, read the last line above.
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