DoWhat!?

Mary Oliver's Wisdom for Your Journey

The Journey

by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.

It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your  own,
that kept company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do --
determined to save
the only life that you could save.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Laura loves this poem that evokes the experience of going against the grain by following your own voice.  A literary and spiritual critique of this poem can be found in Roger Housden's Ten Poems to Change Your Life.

10 Poems

What My Anger Says About Me

Re-reading my previous post about my daughter's drawing, I am struck by my consistent use of the word, "drawing" instead of more conventional wording of "coloring inside/outside the lines."  It points to a strong personal value I hold around creativity, especially personal expression and creation.  For me, drawing is a metaphor for that expression.  You lay the line in a drawing.  You choose where and how it goes, and what it says. 

Coloring -- in the sense in which I use it, as in a child's coloring book -- is about filling in someone else's creation.  It is rote and bounded and limited in self-expression. 

I realize that this issue with my daughter's teachers angers me precisely because it steps on one of my most important life values.   My strong reaction is an indicator that I'm fighting for something I hold dear - in this case, double whammy:  my value and my daughter.  Can you see how this small issue can become so potent?

Challenge:  Examine the issues -- big or small -- that really piss you off.  What does that passion tell you about yourself?  Does it point to any strong life values that are getting stepped on?

PS:  if you, too, are inclined to be outside the lines, you may enjoy a newsletter by that name that is filled with fascinating creativity and wisdom.  I always look forward to reading it!  Find Outside the Lines on coach Michael Bungay Stanier's website: www.BoxOfCrayons.com

Drawing OUTSIDE the Lines

Last week my 4  year old came home from pre-school with the news that she gets in trouble with her teacher if she doesn't color inside the lines!  I’ve been chewing on this for 7 days, trying to rationalize why this isn't a big deal – probably a motor skill milestone the teachers are trying to hit or some such – but it really pisses me off!  The thing that burns me the most is that my daughter is now much more concerned about staying in the lines than enjoying the sensation of drawing, or the thrill of color, or just being a scribbling kid.  Sometimes she declines to draw, saying she's not good at it because she doesn't stay in the lines.  She's FOUR for goodness sake!

We're done a disservice when taught early in life that we “can't draw.”  Totally bogus!  It's our creative birthright to express ourselves graphically – whether in letters or art – and children should be allowed to find their own expression.  It's part of human communication.  A famous architect (Le Corbusier? Mies van der Rohe?  If you know, please tell me!) once warned students to “beware the beautiful drawing”  meaning that communicating ideas through the sketch was more valuable than the beauty of the drawing.  I wholeheartedly agree and wish society supported graphical literacy – NOT beauty, necessarily, but comfort, confidence and fluidity-- in expression through drawing.

WHO SAYS WE NEED TO DRAW INSIDE THE LINES?

Postcards from the Road Less Traveled Update

Fabulous news!  Miriam Feder, a truly inspiring, creative and infectious person, has agreed to be interviewed by me -- in January -- for the Postcards from the Road Less Traveled audio series. (Click here to listen to a past Postcards excerpt.)

Miriam Feder is a writer, performer and passionate storyteller who weaves, "...words and emotions into pieces that help us remember who we are and where we come from."    AND she is well versed in taking the road less traveled!  Listen to Miriam's audio-story-vignettes to hear how this "recovering lawyer" has examined her life, tried tons of different things and bucked convention in her search for self.  Just like so many of us.  I see myself in her stories.  Do you? 

I CAN NOT WAIT to bring Miriam to you!  But I know you will probably want to check her out right now:  www.MiriamFeder.com

HEADS UP!  Get Your Invitation to the Teleconference with Miriam

In the next couple weeks, I'll send personal invitations for my teleconference with Miriam Feder.  Sign up for my newsletter to be sure to get the all the details.: http://www.thriveagainstthegrain.com/THRIVE_Newsletter.html   

DO NOT MISS MIRIAM!  She's funny.  She's observant.  She cut's right to the heart of the matter.  She's going to give us tips for living it up on the road less traveled!

Books Referenced in Radical Career Change Article

Thanks to Daniela I've learned that the resource links are not working in my recently posted article, 10 Strategies for Radical Career Change.  So here they are!  If you are looking for some mind-changing perspectives and practices be sure to check these out:

Loving What Is: Four Questions that Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie & Stephen Mitchell

Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 7 Powerful Tools for Life and Work by Marilee Adams

Is Your Genius at Work?: 4 Key Questions to Ask Before Your Next Career Move by Dick Richards

Executive Think Time: Thinking that Gets Results by Ellen Fredericks and Val Williams

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz

Vital Friends: The People You Can't Afford to Live Without by Tom Rath

10 Strategies for Radical Career Change

No doubt, snarky co-workers and micro-managing bosses can make life on the job miserable but your mindset has the biggest impact on your experience at work. 

Changing your mind will change your career.

I've been speaking and writing on this topic a lot recently, so I've decided to capture my thinking in a special report to guide you through your own "radical career change."  It includes TEN fundamental strategies to become more self-aware and more powerful in your job, along with exercises, and links to related resources from self-help experts such as Byron Katie and Marilee Adams.

Are you ready to own that your job satisfaction is within your control?  Courage is required.  So is creativity and a willingness to look hard at how you operate and the views you hold.  Shifting your experience requires changing your mindset, connecting with yourself and others in positive ways and showing up as the powerful human being that you are.

Here are ten ways to make a radical career change – right now – without leaving your desk!

Download special_report_10_strategies_for_radical_career_change.pdf

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or feedback on the report.  I'd love to hear which of these strategies work best for you! 

Enjoy!

Scorched Oatmeal Life Lesson

Sometimes life brings us mundane experiences that profoundly shift the way we think about things.  Today I burned the oatmeal...

But let me step back: my family will tell you that I am pretty obsessed with my email.  I get a lot and I send a lot.  It's my primary means of connection with many personal and business associates.  It gets the better of me.  I get restless if I have not "worked on" email and I often spend time on it to the detriment of other things.

I know this email habit is the equivalent of busy work.  It's important to stay in touch, yes, but I could be a lot more effective with it.  I say "effective" instead of "efficient" because I've been listening to Tim Ferriss' book, The Four Hour Work Week on CD this week.   He has many interesting perspectives but one that really hit home for me is the distinction between being "effective" -- that is doing the important stuff that really makes an impact -- versus being "efficient" which is doing things well/quickly.  The catch is: doing unimportant things efficiently doesn't make them important.

So here I am obsessed with a lot of unimportant email work, but feeling...needed? ...busy? ...like I'm working???

The other morning while making pancakes for my daughter I kept running back to my computer (while the suckers were on the griddle) and managed to burn 2 of 3 batches.  On the 4th batch, my daughter spied me back at the computer and said, Mommy you are NOT supposed to be here. The pancakes will burn!  It takes a 3 year old to tell me that!

I did it again this morning.  Typing away I smell the sour smell of burning oatmeal. Uhhgg!  As I rushed across the room to the pan, I remember what Ferriss says about Effectiveness.  Am I doing the things that matter?  As I read messages and peruse email newsletters, am I letting the important tasks (in life and business) burn away unattended?

I think maybe I am. 

Now programed on my computer is reminder that will pop up several times a day. A gentle reminder to check in with what is most important to do right now, it says:  IS THE OATMEAL BURNING?

Question:  Is YOUR oatmeal burning?

Laura Speaking on Making a Radical Career Change

Whether entrepreneur or part of an organization, everyone gets so fed up sometimes they are ready to walk out! Is it time to find another job? Maybe not! You can make a radical career change -- right here and now – without even leaving your desk!

Coach Laura Koehne will guide you through some simple ideas that will make an immediate and radical change in your job satisfaction. Come prepared to:

Interact
Do written exercises
Develop plan of action

JOIN US AT THE EVENT!

eWomen Network in
October 17, 2007
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM EST
River Creek Club, Leesburg, Virginia

Click here to find out more & register to attend.

Radical Change Strategy: Stir Things Up with a Project

Following on a brief article in my recent newsletter, here is another strategy to help you to make a radical career change -- without leaving your desk! 

Take on a project!

Who doesn't need a fresh challenge now and then!  When you feel stagnant in your career, think about how what you want to learn overlaps with what your organization needs.  Is there a project you can propose that will give you the learning you need?

Taking on a project can set you up for growth in unforeseen ways.  In my 20’s I was bored with my marketing coordinator’s job.  I tried to sell my company on the idea of creating a new higher level marketing position but times were lean.  Looking to learn more about international marketing, I proposed going to France to set up marketing resources for the European offices.  My bosses agreed but asked that I find and train my own replacement before I left on the one month assignment.  There was no guarantee that I would have a position when I returned to the US. 

What an adventure I had!  The project went well and I returned energized and feeling powerful with my new skills.  Within a few weeks of my return I landed a job with another company based on this experience.  Better yet, my old firm started wooing me to return almost immediately.  Which I eventually did: as Director of Marketing at double my salary.

What do you want to learn?  I say, GO FOR IT!

Questions to consider:  If you could do anything in your career what would you do?  What is most compelling about this?  What gaps in your organization need filling?  Which gaps offer you a chance to learn and move closer to your aspiration?   Now, design a project that fills the gap!

Pardon the Dust

Hello! 

You know those signs that a store will post while they renovate?   Actually I need a sign that says "Pardon the LACK of Dust."   I'm undergoing my own, virtual, form of renovation and I'm now in the final stages of moving over content and integrating my blog into my web domain. 

So, please pardon my lack of dust these past few weeks.  I'll be back with a new and improved web/blog presence soon and can't wait to invite you to the open house!

Laura