February 28th
This is the first coaching session I’ve been able to write about in somewhat close to real-time, so I’m counting on being able to write more fluidly about the experience. I’m very excited about that, because in trying to get those other ~18 posts written up to 2 months after the events I gave myself a lot of stress and anxiety. It’s funny how I can make myself sick driving myself against my procrastinating nature in an endeavor I wanted, but more than anything wanted to be already complete.
The recent post about my career idea brainstorm received a very encouraging email from my coach, more than happy to cheer me on in these little discoveries. It’s very possible that in that very email lies the core seed of what I’ll end up doing in the future. Still, a lot of research is ahead, but I’m going ahead and putting this idea on my career mindmap ASAP.
Her very uplifting reaction email to my career idea also included a recommendation to check into Marie Forleo and her helpful videos and training called B-school. I finally got a chance yesterday to watch the specific video Stacy suggested on marketing, and it really helped me to be less resistant to see marketing myself differently. And Stacy was right, I like Marie’s sassy style. Go check it out!
During this coaching session we talked about how I should go about narrowing down on different career ideas and beginning the process of researching each one to get more specific.
The idea crystalized for me during this talk that I want to make individual career research pages here on my WordPress.com blog for each potential career I/we come up with, in order to force me to start researching them already document my very mature and systematic process of investigating each.
One idea Stacy had was for me to design some sort of app used to help people in one of my areas of interest. I think this is a great idea, since I’m always coming up with wacky ideas for websites. The obstacle for me (in this and in other areas, like inventions I’ve come up with) is that I don’t really know how to physically create the things I think of. Add to this the fact that I really want to create some of these things myself, which slows things down.
I want to learn or understand how to make an app, or physically create an invention. I like the process of learning like that, even if I don’t always want to continue on with the skill later. It reminds me of an article I read once with a fashion designer who said the designer should be capable of making everything in their line themselves. He had not-so-nice things to say about designers who can’t.
I’m not that rigid, but I would have trouble respecting someone who didn’t care to have a working knowledge of the skills of their field. I have to accept its not always feasible for me to break out glue and scissors and escape the world this way, but I do seek a happy middle ground in there somewhere.
Homework:
Stacy had the brilliant idea, in response to my guilt about not completing homework, that she increase the creative aspects of the homework suggestions to give me a greater outlet.
One suggestions is a visual collage of my criteria, things that are important and motivating for me, my visions for the future. This is something I’m totally up for. Another is to check out wordle.net and start creating a word cloud of keywords and ideas, to better help me process them. Fun!
Stacy asked, who/what do I see as my future audience or clients? My answer is younger people, 40s and under, likely no younger than 12. Or at the very least people who want new info and are receptive to what I offer. As Stacy put it, people who “opt in.” She’s exactly right. I don’t want to deal with people or groups who are obligated to hear me (can you say “mandated sexual harassment training?”) but rather people who want the information. To be more specific about my psychology; I’m equipped and willing to deal with the curious, not the combative.
We discussed briefly how I want to be the person who presents ideas and direction without always being the person who will physically perform the tasks. It’s hard to explain, especially since I’m always interested and willing to leap in and start accomplishing new ideas, but I don’t always have the skills or interest to do so. The best and most relevant (to me) way I can explain this is in regard to customer service. I know good customer service, I know how to describe it and lead others towards it, evaluate it and outline it. I am not, however, equipped to provide it myself long term or in all situations. There’s a little bit of shame I feel in saying this, since “do as I say not as I do” and hypocrisy are big pet peeves for me. But the reality is that some people, for example, are equipped with patience or math skills, but no common sense or critical thinking. They cannot be faulted for their weaknesses any more than they should be prevented from using their strengths. I have to accept and embrace what I am and am not good at, instead of feeling ashamed of what I’m not. And frankly my people skills customer service skills deteriorate rapidly in the face of even mildly irrational humans customers.
My most important learning point this visit was not to be worried about narrowing down so far in my goal sheet that I miss something, because in narrowing down what is most important to me I will be clarifying who I am and applying that to each position, rather than potentially choosing a position (or allowing a career to choose me) without being sure that my very specific personal criteria are satisfied.
