I'm grateful for my coaches.
That's right. Those fabulous folk who spot what you're doing wrong. And what you're doing right. Who teach you new skills. Who encourage you. Who tell you the truth. Who watch you and listen to you, and see what you need to do to improve. And tell you how to get better at it. And hold you accountable.
If there is something you want to achieve, some place you're stuck and want to move off of, something you have no idea how to do but want to: FIND A COACH.
Here are some terrific ones.
1. Eric Maisel
(Photo courtesy of Eric's website.) Eric Maisel is a creativity coach extraordinaire. After hearing him interviewed on KQED and loving what he said to creative folk calling in with their questions, I bought and devoured one of his many (and I mean, many) books on creativity . . . and it had his e-mail address! And he wrote back! So I gave myself a Christmas present of working with Eric individually in phone sessions for several months. BOOM!!! That man will whip your a&# into shape. Eric knows his stuff inside and out, and knows all your stuff, too. And will call you on it. And will inspire you to become a real, functioning, selling creative.
(photo courtesy of Anna's website.)
Along with coaching, teaching coaching, teaching all sorts of writing and other skills, he writes prodigiously himself . . . and still manages to remember who YOU are, amidst all of his other clients and contacts and business of life. And he finds inclusive, exciting ways of inviting you to play in the creative community he's built, and continues building. THANK YOU, ERIC!
This is the man who taught me to do pull-ups. That should be enough right there to get you to click on over to his contact link and call him up to teach you whatever you want to learn in.
Michael is an extraordinary athlete, a hilarious guy, and the most gifted person I've ever seen at being able to spot EXACTLY where your body is stuck/resisting in the moves its trying to make -- and then devising drills to get that part of you going. It is truly stunning. Here's how it goes: Michael watches you trying to do something you can't quite do. Then he says, "Here -- do this." And you do the drill he gives you. Then, you do the next drill he gives you. Repeat. And then one day, BOOM!!! You are doing what you couldn't do before.
Sure, it takes hard work and commitment on your part. There is no magic pill, silver bullet, whatever, to make what is "hard" turn in an instant to "easy." But Michael will break down what you thought was impossible into smaller, eventually-doable parts . . . and voila! Someday you will be surprised to find yourself doing "the impossible." THANK YOU, MICHAEL!!!
3. Anna Scott
(photo courtesy of Anna's website.)It is difficult for me to explain the work Anna does with clients. That's because I am in the midst of having my brain's hard-drive completely rewired in this process. Sound scary? You bet.
Last spring, I kept having the same odd (and dissatisfying) sales experience with shopkeeper after shopkeeper. What is my remedy when you don't know what to do? FIND A COACH. So, after hearing about Anna's sales work from a friend, I signed on.
Oh my gosh. HARDEST. WORK. EVER. Way so much harder than pull-ups.
Because it's not really "about sales." Nope. It's about how we relate to each other. How we send out signals, energies, vibes pretty much like dogs that we read off of each other. That I have had absolutely no clue about in my entire life. It's like finding out that something else has been running you forever.
And finding out something else has been, too.
Here's the deal: despite the gusto, passion, color, and enthusiasm that pours out in my art work . . . . it turns out, I am not so great with people. Who knew?!?!? As much as I love the idea of people, the deep, dark truth when it comes to dealing with them individually is that really, I AM TERRIFIED OF YOU!!!
As you can imagine, this is not a very effective vibe with which to operate in the world of actual people.
Because here's how it goes in my energy: I'm-going-to-be-open-even-though-I-am-scared-sh*&less-and-then-I-know-you-are-going-to-fail-to-meet-the-challenge-and-be-brave-and-kind-back-and-so-I-am-not-even-really-going-to-give-you-a-sincere-chance.
Peremptory rejection. That's me. And for that, I totally apologize.
Not good for sales. Not good for people. Really not good for love.
I've got a long way to go. But if I could learn to do pull-ups, I've got to believe there is hope for me here, too.
THANK YOU, ANNA.
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