June 30, 2010Success Story in Progress#4: when the Paved Road crumbles, other interesting road appear
When the Paved Road crumbles, other interesting roads appear.
Barbara led me to Mark who led me to Nettie who led me to Hampton who led me to Marti who led me to David who led me to his Pub board who is sending me an offer this afternoon. I got off the phone wondering, could it really be this easy? I have reason to believe that it really might be.
When I started writing my When the Paved Road Crumbles song, I had faith that I would find new opportunities that would make my recent set-back one of the best things that happened in my career. Now I write from faith reinforced by experience. I find new opportunities daily. The Paved Road has its advantages, but so do the creatively alchemical ones. I’m enjoying the view.
A lot of us are going through major changes. I share my journey in part for those who haven’t seen the glimmer of the new path yet. It’s there. You might need to travel a number of roads before you find the one that fits. That’s where faith, creativity and persistence come in.
June 22, 2010Success Story in Progress#3: You get to decide what success is
It’s been 12 years since my husband left a stressful high-powered hospital administrator position for a job in holistic health with a 70% pay cut. We agree it was a successful move (which has led to much greater opportunities.)
You get to decide what success is for you. We all do. That awareness can set you free.
How do you define success? I find that because the world is so willing to define success for us, it makes sense to start with how you don’t define success.
I do not equate success with perfection, completion or dominance. And I don’t measure it in mega-dollars. Those measures are too static for me.
I see success as dynamic. It evolves. We’re all success stories in progress. Too often we don’t see it because we see success as a static arrival.
I see success as living according to what motivates me. I am motivated by my love of growth of consciousness, clarity and grace. When an idea doesn’t inspire me, I don’t choose that path. Even if it gets me results, it’s a compromise.
I’m still deciding what to aim for with my sudden windfall of resources and the new opportunities they provide. I’m still deciding what a successful outcome will be.
But I already know how I will get there. I will succeed in every step I take – by my own definition.
I get to decide what success is for me. Anything less is a failure of my imagination.
And the same is true for you.
June 15, 2010Success story in progress: #2. Who defines the terms of your narrative?
One of the most challenging aspects of Speaking Strong is the art of staying silent until it’s time to speak. This is especially true for those of us who used to stay silent too long and now enjoy having a voice where we once didn’t.
There are many valid reasons to stay silent. A few are: waiting to move from reaction to response, needing to gather information first, laying a foundation for communicating so people understand, speaking to stakeholders first, and adding interest by letting things unfold in sequence. Another is to protect your vision from those who might shoot it down before it’s strong enough to stand on its own legs.
As I get my bearings from my corporate tsunami and figure out how to alchemize my situation, I’ve been speaking to a number of professionals to help me determine my next step. Some light up with possibly. Others don’t.
One publicist introduced me to her colleague as a woman in a dire situation. I corrected her to note that I’m a woman with a challenge that contains tremendous opportunity.
A couple of marketers referred to getting rid of excess inventory. I’m not trying to get rid of anything. I’m planning to leverage my inventory in a dynamic and outrageously productive way.
The people who belong on my team don’t just understand my reframing, but they take it to even higher and more expansive levels than I can consider on my own. It’s magic when I find them. Not surprisingly, the most visionary people I’ve discovered are my newsletter subscribers.
If you are a marketer, social media expert or publicist, or you know one who belongs on my team, will you let me know? I could use help from songwriters and lyricists too. See what I mean about a creative opportunity?
And if you’re going through a transformation that is sensitive to buzz-kill, remember, it’s your life and you get to define the terms of the narrative about it. I’d love to hear how you do that.
I the spirit of using words that shape the future we want, I’ve invented new words for the new communication dynamics. You can find them here.
June 10, 2010Success story in progress: responding to corporate ignominy
Speaker Mike Scott notes that the difference between a reaction and a response is… (drum roll please) about three seconds.
I love this. I also say the difference is the degree of conscious choice in our actions. The measure of our communication maturity is how long it takes to go from feeling threatened or victimized to consciously exploring the opportunity in the offense, mistake or problem, and move forward.
But that doesn’t mean we act immediately. We study what cards we have in our hand so we can play them carefully and in sequence.
I am a success story in progress. A senselessly heartless corporate action (or non-action) changed the landscape of my life almost overnight. Yes, I did lose a little sleep over it. I also saw an opportunity in it immediately. I’m still reviewing the cards in my deck, lining up my ducks, and choosing my responses.
I invite you to be a part of my success story as it unfolds. Please stay tuned, as SpeakStrong explores empowered responses to corporate ignominy. The story will unfold in subsequent weeks. I will want, need and welcome your help and support.
