After a full day of assisting a coach training program I hopped the subway to my hotel, made a quick wardrobe change and took another subway to NYU where I was hosting a table for Women In Communications (WICI) at their Night of the Coaches. This was a brilliantly conceived event where coaches were showcased to members and guests of WICI.
The format was roundtable discussions (10 altogether) facilitated by coaches on subjects ranging from Crafting a Rock Star Pitch for Cover Letter and Interviews, to Negotiating in a Tough Economy and Building Your Freelance Career (my table). There were 10 women at each table, plus the coach and about 45 minutes to tackle the subject. I shared several tools and strategies for building a freelance business and opened the discussion to those in attendance.
“Show, don’t tell” has become a favorite phrase for me. I can talk till I’m blue in the face about the value of coaching and get continuous blank stares. But, last night, when I paused the group as one participant lit about about copy editing, they all witnessed what happens when you are truly in your passion. This woman had asked about getting started doing freelance writing work. When I asked a question about what she liked about writing, she said, “I love helping my friends write essays for applications and making sure they’re letter-perfect [I'm paraphrasing.].” I suggested that she trust that pleasure and hang out her shingle, for now, in that capacity. “Trust that doing that will lead you to your next opportunity.”
At my very first craft show, exhibiting my decorated eggs, a woman from Bloomingdale’s approached me–because I was there–and invited me to conduct a demonstration and workshop at the store. When you show up with your passion and make yourself available to opportunity, it comes knocking. Your job is to take action.
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July 2, 2009 at 3:55 am
Sharon Wilson
Thanks for your post! Passion is a strong feeling of intense desire and attraction to something. In business, one can excel in the line of business to where he/she has great passion into. We succeed if we love what we do.
July 8, 2009 at 8:03 am
kelley connors
Thanks for this reminder and great blog post. I found it helpful, especially since the beginning of this turbulent economic year, to focus on small steps even without a vision for where you want to go. Once you get going, you can start to fill in the vision. It’s like walking on a bridge as you build it…or making the plane as you fly it. Not easy but if you have a passion for those small steps (for me, starting an on-line radio show), then you will have the courage to do it. I believe that if I don’t have courage to do what I love, then I get discouraged….doing what you love keeps energy high and options open!
December 21, 2009 at 4:35 pm
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