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At last night’s mastermind group, during the first round of sharing successes, photographer Katie Settel took her turn with pride and delight. Her goal had been to photograph Beyonce’s new baby. We all supported the dream she had laid out in session 1 (this was our 5th) and have witnessed her transformation as Katie developed her marketing materials in that pursuit.
At our third session, Katie arrived with an elegantly designed package of her photographs, which demonstrate her talent, plus her freshly written cover letter…and a huge smile. She had put together an exquisite pitch package which she sent to Beyonce’s agent in NYC. Even getting that far was a win. Katie also designed the concept of a photo shoot with purpose (i.e. not winning a million dollar contract from People, say) which she proposed as a differentiator from all the other photographers in pursuit of that opportunity.
The baby has been born. I haven’t found any photos on the internet yet (correct me if I’m wrong), but as Katie put it last night when giving her report, “I didn’t get the shot, but I gave it a shot.”
While not everyone would claim not getting the sought after opportunity as a success, I surely do. How many people scheme and dream and don’t even take the first step in the direction of their own success? Katie moved several paces in that direction by not only following through on her own vision, but also by ratcheting up her skills, materials and courage level by giving it a go.
Success is the journey toward a worthy goal, so chalk up miles of advancement for Katie’s career.
Like this:
It’s not easy to claim a life as a painter, especially after 34 years of being the person behind the scenes. But that’s exactly what my good friend and client Mary Quinlan has done. She spent her entire career encouraging young people to express themselves artistically as Art Department Chair (and one-time Teacher of the Year) at Norwalk High School. Upon retirement Mary dove into her own art business, a fearless move, joining one of my Mastermind Groups and making a commitment to not only painting regularly, but also creating an artist’s statement, designing a business card and identifying herself as a painter. No small feat. As a result, Mary has been exhibiting her work in group shows annually, winning coveted places in juried shows, earning cash awards, and most important–(drum roll, please) SELLING! her work. Mary is now stepping out for her first solo show opening this week. She is being featured at Barbel, Inc. — a fine jewelry store located at 143 Elm Street, New Canaan, CT. Here’s the image that has gone out to viewers of the Art Guide. What fearless act will you take today to bring you closer to YOUR dream?
Two-hundred and fifty women received a postcard mailing from me last week announcing my upcoming summer Remarkable Women’s Network events. It had the image you see here on the face of it taken at my March 15 event held at Boardroom in Stamford, CT. Only women who have attended one of my events received a card. Everyone else will get email blasts starting next week.
Colleague and friend Karen Hodges, who received over-sized postcard, emailed me saying, “You just AMAZE me in how you have your marketing machine so oiled, even using ‘old school’ marketing to catch people’s attention during summer vacation time of year when the focus might be off networking and business building.”
Now, I will take credit for using the ‘old school’ marketing and for catching people when they’re not expecting it, but the well-oiled marketing machine made me laugh. My process looks more like one of those old Rube Goldberg contraptions:
This was reinforced for me at a Mastermind Group session I led on Wednesday night. One member, a professional organizer, embarrassedly admitted that her desk was a disaster area. She said she’d be horrified if her clients could see. Another organizer chimed in, ashamedly, “You should see my files! A total wreck!”
Of course, I brought up the shoemaker, but everyone was laughing too hard to hear me. I say “here’s to keeping up the illusion” and don’t beat yourself up if it’s messy getting it out there, as long as you do get it out there.
I receive a number of offers weekly from people who want to speak at my networking events, give their advice to my mastermind groups or co-lead programs with me. The suggestions are worded something like, “If you ever need a speaker” or “I have great expertise in _____, and would be happy to share it with your group” or “If you’d like me to offer ____ during one of your sessions…” I delete them pretty quickly.
Following up would involve me thinking of who might need their particular expertise, shape a session around that or extend a program to suit their needs. The work is all on my shoulders, and I’m pretty busy.
What stood out for me last week was an offer I couldn’t refuse. A woman who attended one of my Create Your Own Future programs several years ago is proposing to serve as my West Coast ambassador. She wrote me a detailed email outlining what she could foresee contributing, the steps she would take and the possible outcomes. It was irresistible. We’ll have a conversation about this on Friday afternoon.
It reminded me of a deal I made with a local shop in my area that was one of my best sales ever. I proposed that we use the store’s beautiful, private upstairs dining area as a space for one of my mastermind groups. I would provide the leadership and a seat at the table for this proprietor. She would contribute the room as well as market it to her client base. We would split the proceeds 60% (my take), 40% (her share). She signed on instantly.
See the difference? The what’s-in-it-for-her was clear as a bell. Plus, the only work involved on her part was recruiting women to participate, which in her particular shop was easy as pie.
If you see a match for your services/products and a potential buyer, do the homework. Figure out exactly what your contribution would be and how it would benefit the prospect. The best part of creating this kind of an offer is that once you take the time and energy to make it so tempting, you will be well on your way to enthusiastically marketing it on a broader basis.
I don’t come across someone fearless every week, so these Fearless Friday posts are special. When Sandy Weiner (seated, right) called me excitedly to tell me her news, I remembered back to our past Mastermind Sessions and her putting out this ‘reach’ goal. But I’ll let her tell the story…
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In the fall of 2008, I joined Jane Pollak’s Mastermind Group to help my Life Coaching business grow. As a solo-preneur, I wanted the support of a “board of directors”, a place to come every two weeks and celebrate triumphs, brainstorm ways to overcome obstacles, and dream bigger than I might if I were on my own.
With Jane’s support, I created a vision that included presenting my Process Painting workshops to six spas in locations all
over the world. It felt scary to utter those words out loud, but at the same time, I knew that this wasn’t a pipe dream. This was a realistic
vision.
I proceeded to contact a few local spas, but no one seemed to be hiring. In June of 2009, my mother treated me to a two day visit at the New Age Health Spa in Neversink, NY. I pitched my workshops to
the director and she was very interested. But she did not hire me. I followed up a few times by email and phone and eventually stopped hearing from her.
Imagine my surprise when I received an email from the director last week, with a list of dates to sign up for in 2010! I immediately chose dates in late May and October, and finally, after a year and a half, I have not one but two spa dates.
When you keep your vision alive, your dreams can become reality. It may take longer than you thought, but dreams do come true.
Believing is the key!
Thank you, Jane, for believing in me, sometimes even more than I believed in myself. You have encouraged the fruition of my big dream.
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I’m grateful to Sandy for keeping me posted on her results. She did all the footwork, and succeeded beyond her dreams. Congratulations, Sandy!
I could be wrong, but my hunch is that most people who are reading my blog are not in mourning for Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett. I am truly sorry for their untimely passing and respect their hard-earned celebrity stature. There are many places where this topic will have wide readership and opportunity for discussion. That said, I’ll move on.
I got a new action partner last week as the result of my visit to Provincetown. My good friend Doreen and I participated in a Mastermind Session during my short visit. In her share, Doreen mentioned wanting more accountability. Since she’s one of my favorite people on the planet and someone whose opinion I regard highly and seek out regularly, it made sense to ask, “Want to be my goal buddy?”
I asked without being attached to the outcome. I knew that it would be delightful to be in touch with Doreen frequently and share our visions and action steps. But I also knew that it would be equally okay if she said no. I’m already in a local monthly Mastermind Group, in addition to another that meets weekly. Both record goals. I enjoy being challenged and held accountable whenever I see an opportunity that feels like the bar is being raised.
In accepting my offer, Doreen said, “My feet are already hot.”
I do have a reputation for holding my clients’ feet to the fire. That’s why most sign on and also why many don’t. I like it that way.
That title’s a little misleading. I actually learned a lesson last week and had it reinforced by hearing a story about Lauren Bacall this week.
I was invited to be included as part of a new web presence, which shall remain nameless, if I acted quickly and got in on a pre-launch opportunity. The publicist for the project asked if I would provide content in exchange for crossing links, having banners and buttons that connected our sites. It was going to be the next big thing.
I’m making it seem less inviting than it originally sounded to me. I was immediately gung-ho, but had a lot of questions. I wasn’t clear on exactly who these people were and what it would look like to join forces. The publicist for the organization was my contact person. She made it all seem most important and urgent. I had big questions marks swirling between me and the opportunity.
I called in help. Two of my most net savvy colleagues were willing to spend time with me investigating and tracking this organization on the Web. I also called my daughter Lindsey for whom I have the utmost respect. She gave me great advice:
“Mom, if you don’t really understand it and aren’t really excited to link up with them, don’t do it.”
Oh. I had thought if someone pursued you and made it sound really, really exciting, you should jump in. But it didn’t feel right, and Lindsey nailed it. I passed on the offer.
Then on Monday night at our mastermind group meeting, Mary Ellroy shared a Harvard Business School case study she remembered from the late 70′s. They reported that Ford Motors had hired Lauren Bacall to enhance the image of one of their models, the Ford Fairlane. It did raise the public’s image of the car, but had the opposite effect on Bacall’s reputation which was diminished by the association.
I’ll wait for google or amazon to make me an offer…
I’ve worked with Arlyn over the course of a few different Mastermind Groups and have seen an evolution and unfolding of her imagination and skills that reinforces why I do this work. I’m not sure if everyone has the 20-20 vision to see the artist inside the corporate headhunter, but I am blessed with that talent.
Fortunately, Arlyn gave me the opportunity to challenge her creativity. I’ll never forget her surprised, awed and excited reaction to an early homework assignment: Come to our next session with 100 swatches of knitting patterns you’ve created. It unleashed her inner artist, took away any judgment about her work since volume was the desired outcome, and put her into action mode, something she’d been resisting. You know, that analysis paralysis thing.
Arlyn was wearing this same cool knitted scarf as seen above and in the video (click on her name to see Arlyn live) when I remember her telling me she was having growing pains in her business. She wondered when they would end. “When you stop growing,” I reassured her.
Oftentimes, my favorite client stories are about converts.
Such is the case with Sue O’Halloran who attended one of my Mastermind Group series last spring. Sue has a huge vision for helping women toward preventive health care. This undertaking involves an enormous demographic, could potentially serve women around the world and will involve partnering with hospitals, corporations and possibly governments. Big thinkers like Sue don’t always savor the mundane elements of these big equations.
But I knew in my heart that in order for Sue to begin selling this concept to hospitals and corporations she’d need to demo a pilot program and watch sample audiences try out her materials. At my party in January she referred to the friendly battle of resistance (hers) and persistence (mine) we went through before she committed to do the workshop. Click here to view Sue’s willingness to take this step in the process.
I can’t tell you how tickled I was to receive Sue’s beautiful invitation this week to attend her first public “Here’s to Life” Workshop being offered at Noelle: Spa for Beauty and Wellness (my favorite!)–a perfect partner for this program. Check it out and sign up. (Scroll down for Sue’s event.)
One of the most dramatic professional changes I’ve been privileged to witness since I began coaching in 2002 is Jessica Bram’s transformation from public relations practitioner to full-time writer.
Jessica and I have worked together in just about every capacity I offer–one-on-one coaching, Mastermind Groups and my Create Your Own Future retreat. In that time she has created a vision for herself, done the work of transformation (no wands involved here!), grown and changed into the writer she’d always dreamed of becoming.
For years I heard Jessica say, “I want to write.” Now she says, “I’m a writer.” If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video clip is worth millions. Click on this link to hear about this in Jessica’s own words.
To learn more about Jessica’s book, her writing workshops, her commentaries and her blog click on each highlighted link.
