Deep Thoughts About Meaningful Work

Here at the home of the ‘Money and Meaning Movie’ I like to think you and I think a little harder about what it means to create a great life.

You wouldn’t have loved the movie so much if you didn’t think deeper thoughts than most somedays, right?

Which is why I think you’ll like a quote I’d love to share with you today about work, just before diving into two cool offerings in today’s news. The quote is from a book I’m enjoying at the moment called ‘My Job, My Self: Work and the Creation of the Modern Individual.’
Had you ever thought that the work you do is making you who you are? Actually changing your identity? Shaping and molding you. Interesting, isn’t it?

Here’s the quote, from Chapter 5: Lack of Vision on page 59. Intriguing stuff.

“If work shapes and defines people, then forms of work are needed that will help rather than impede self-realization:

jobs that offer meaning as well as money;

jobs that impart dignity to the product and the person;

jobs that connect workers and their lives;

jobs wherein “the doing is as important as what gets done, the making as valuable as the made.”

Jobs that meet worker’s three kinds of needs: body, mind and spirit.

But jobs such as these are hard to find. [...] too many of us cry out, “our jobs are too small!… our work is not revelatory.”

My dear business owner, isn’t it true that as we create our own work, we have the opportunity to create revelatory, big work that grows us? Work that serves and earns money, yes, but that also lovingly shapes us into the greatest version of ourselves possible?

I like to think this is the singular responsibility and opportunity of the modern business owner. And I’m so glad I get to share thoughts like this with you.

If this idea rings with you, or if it feels like a struggle to ‘get’ or if you think it’s ‘bollocks!’ I’d love to hear. Post below.

Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing Out of Sync?

The audio recording of this great ‘thinking’ call on the topic of ‘New Marketing’ is just in.
Click here to download.
It was a pleasure to spend this hour with NY Times best-selling author Seth Godin, along with fellow interviewers Mitch Meyerson and Keith Ferrazzi.

My favorite part of the Meatball Sundae call? This idea that all of us are in the ‘Tribe Management Business’ or deciding to get into that business.

And…the very interesting more personal comments about succeeding in New Marketing. How people who succeed ‘aren’t trying very hard.’ Have you noticed that? Listen for the ease (or not!) you hear in the voice tone of the folks on the call. See what you think.

Does it lessen your anxiety to hear encouragement to ‘find an elegant way’ to ‘do’ new marketing, one that suits your strengths?

I say it on the call but I’ll excerpt it here – it can be easy to confuse newness with ‘hard’ness. New Marketing may feel difficult or hard at first simply because it’s new. But I think you’ll agree with the gentlemen on the call – there is an opportunity to discover an easy path through ‘new marketing territory.’ Seth gives a great example of the alternative ‘old marketing’ way of life which makes the distinction clearer.

So post questions to continue the discussion. Reading the book first will make for good context for the audio, but you can listen without having read it and it will make sense.

On that note, I’ve found multiple copy purchases best at 800-CEOREAD. And single copy purchases from Amazon or your local bookstore. Enjoy!

Multiple Streams Laser Corner | Celebrating Challenge Winners

Coach Tom Volkar: January Implementation King

Two new Pink Spoons, lots of list-building, strong affiliate marketing, a new group coaching offering, and a new web presence. All in one month. 

That deserves a little recognition don’t you think? Check out Coach Tom Volka’s work at both www.CoreU.com and www.DelightfulWork.com.

Congratulations Tom, you have every reason to feel like a proud papa! By the way, I asked Andrea for her thoughts and she said what’s particularly worth noting is Tom’s speed of execution – he focused on completion, not perfection, sometimes an insurmountable challenge coaches. Bravo!

On the refinement side of things, Andrea suggests you make your Pink Spoons MUCH more prominent in all the spots they’re showcased. After all your work, you don’t want people to miss it right? Be bold with it. Consider that the 9 o’clock ‘slot’ on the web page is the hottest for eyeballs because we’ve all been trained by Google to ‘look there first.’ Add graphics.

Also, Andrea hopes you’ll pay close thorough attention to ‘niche’ and ‘keyword’ based traffic generation techniques. The target market stuff is foundational and if you don’t see the results you want, that’s where she’d have you look first. In fact you could look there now and be proactive. 

So how can you, like Tom, learn from the laser gems Andrea’s offering in this Coach’s Corner? And take a page from Tom’s book and move quickly, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee? 

Click here to post more feedback for Tom, or step up to the plate with your project. Maybe you’ll get picked to be featured in Coach’s Corner next time. In the meantime, keep up the great work, Mr. Volkar!

Cool Coaching Tool of the Month:

Mind Mapping for the Budget Conscious

Do you mind map? For the uninitiated, a mind map is a visual representation of an idea and all of its components.

Many of us do mind maps on flip charts or paper. Andrea uses them frequently for her projects and books. Look, I found a fancy mind map of one of Andrea’s most popular presentations called ‘The Coaching Electric.” (Just click the image below to enlarge.)

While there some really good mind map software programs out there, many are somewhat costly. If you want to give it a whirl on the cheap, try http://www.bubbl.us/.

This web-based software lets you develop mind maps, save them as images, print or email them, and embed them in your blog or website. Used right, it’s a definite productivity tool that allows to get out of the ‘I’m stuck’ mode of product creation very quickly.

This web-based software lets you develop mind maps, save them as images, print or email them, and embed them in your blog or website. Used right, it’s a definite productivity tool that allows to get out of the ‘I’m stuck’ mode of product creation very quickly. 

Faster, less painful, inexpensive births! 

The site is basic and no frills, but easy to use. Try it and let us know what you think!

*New* Open House TeleSeminar sponsored by ‘Creating What Matters’

What Do Their Voices Really Reveal about the U.S. Presidential Candidates?

Is it my imagination or is the world taking an even bigger interest in the U.S. Presidential Election this year? 

The sights and sounds of candidates and journalists are everywhere to be found. In a very timely new Open House call, Andrea will join Voice Coach Nicki McClusky to hear her fascinating insights into what the U.S. presidential candidates reveal about themselves through their voices. 

As a coach, don’t you rely a lot on what coaching clients reveal in their voices? What do you think a professional voice coach listens for that you might be missing? Won’t it be interesting to gain insight into the Presidential Candidates almost as if they were coaching clients?

Nicki will also discuss 4 essential secretes every coach must know to be an authentic and compelling speaker, whether on a stage with 500 people in the audience, or on the phone in a favorite 1-on-1 session. Plus, Andrea will share her experience of voice-coaching first hand – can you hardly wait to hear if she sounds any different??

Title: What Do Their Voices Really Reveal about the U.S. Presidential Candidates

From Thursday, Feb. 28th, 2008

Use the player below to listen or download the audio from this call:

Announcing…The Coaching Commons

A project of The Harnisch Family Foundation (501c3) is now open in Beta!

It’s been awhile since I’ve dreamt as big as I have lately. Not because I’m not a dreamer, but because, well, time and money resources can tend to keep a person in ‘what’s realistic’ mode. Can you relate maybe?

But now a switch has been flipped, I’m working with a new team of people, and I’m relishing (reveling!) in some really radical possibilities.

For example, what would you think of:

• a Virtual Museum of Coaching…

(finally a place where we can tell the story of the emergence of coaching and its roots, preserve artefacts, etc.)

• a ‘Wikipedia’ for coaching…

(the sheer comprehensiveness boggles the mind, doesn’t it?)

• a big ‘billions served’ sign signaling billions of people who’ve received the gift of coaching…

(yes, like the McDonald’s signs around the world, only instead of cheeseburgers, our sign would indicate billions of coaching sessions having been donated)

Pretty cool, right?

But more, there’s even more dreaming, like what about:

• - the first Nobel Prize winner from the coaching sphere…
• - the first endowed coaching Chair at a post-secondary institution
• - $100,000 or more in yearly grants towards coaching research projects*…
  (*okay I cheated, the last one is real, via The Foundation of Coaching, not just a possibility to explore!)

So. My dear Coach, as you consider these BIG thoughts, can you start to understand why I’ve been as preoccupied as I’ve been lately?

Because with the beta launch of the new website this week, the conversation to explore the above has officially begun. To be specific they’ve begun at The Coaching commons website, which it’s my privilege to invite you to visit today:

http://www.CoachingCommons.org

The Coaching Commons – where radical ideas are explored and pursued – is a new coaching think-tank funded by The Harnisch Family Foundation.

But it’s more than a think-tank. It’s a think-tank with follow-through capabilities. Project management capacity.

Unlike so many other websites, this is a place where good ideas don’t stay ideas; they become real, deliverable projects that are already proving we can continue to make real change in and through the coaching world.

Did you have any idea all this money, energy and heart was **already being invested* in you? In us? In the greater good of coaching? Doesn’t it feel GREAT to discover it is?

I mean, I’m not normally a rooftop dancer, but this is unprecedented. [I had no idea either until I stepped into the non-profit realm that The Harnisch Family Foundation lives in, last October. So don't feel bad. ]

There is no profit motive at The Coaching Commons either. It’s non-profit. It’s not affiliated with a coach training company. It was born, and lives outside of ‘coaching politics’ and thus is for everyone who relates part of their work or identity with coaching, period. Veterans and newer coaches alike.

In other words, a true non-partisan ‘big tent’ and gathering place.

So what do you think? I’d really love to know.

Do check it out, won’t you? Because if the prospect of millions of dollars being invested in OUR future doesn’t get you to sit up – even on a weekend – I don’t know what will. Hmm….

A couple key questions for you as you get ready to dive in:

Since The Harnisch Family Foundation is a non-profit – a philanthropic organization – the money it invests is public record. I’ve learned that in a very real sense, the money is in fact ‘public money’ – at least from the perspective that we get to care, influence, and vote on, as it were, how it’s all spent.

• Is the Coaching Commons a place you think Harnisch Family ‘earmarked for coaching’ funds should be spent? What about the various projects outlined at the site?
• What (else/more) would you like to see invested in? Think of yourself here, sure, but try to think bigger, dream bigger, think of more than yourself. I know that won’t be hard.
• And finally, where will you find some energy, time, or even resources (vision, leadership and heart) to add to the mix? It’ll be miles and miles better if you’ll join us, that I know for sure as well.

Let me put it another way if you don’t mind, then I’ll leave you to go explore. What’s your response to this question:

“Here’s a pot of gold, how would you like it spent?”

Or…

“Here’s a budget with which you’re now empowered to change the world. Where would you like to start?”

[Now you start to really understand what my days are like...;-)]

Click the link below to leave your answers anywhere on The Commons you like. Just find a spot where it says ‘Comments’ or ‘Post your response’.

In my role behind the scenes, I’ll be here watching and noticing, replying and think-tanking along with you – I can’t wait.

http://www.coachingcommons.org/featured/what-is-the-coaching-commons/

Just one last thing.

I promised Ruth Ann Harnisch I’d spread the word about The Commons by sending this special announcement to you. You’re among the very first to learn of the Beta Launch in fact, simply because it’s a project I’m affiliated with. Won’t you send a message of validation, a thunderclap to celebrate her leadership in coaching-based philanthropy?

Do this by getting active about telling your network about The Coaching Commons. Post edgy comments at the site. Register for the Global Virtual Dialog happening next week. Raise your hand with ideas to contribute to the project.

As you do so, feel free – be bold! in your requests of us. I mean this last part the most I think.

Questions? As always, I’m here. Post a comment below or better yet…post at one of the links above.

Does your content actually DESERVE To Be #1

We can never underestimate the power behind the desire to gain momentum in our businesses. However, when it comes to marketing and specifically the front page or first link of a Google search, how far are we willing to go? Coach Soni Pitts recently submitted a rant to CoachTalk-L on this very thing, which I found quite invigorating. Here’s the full article:

— begin Soni’s rant —

Here’s my question:

There are all kinds of tricks, tips and tools for getting your website, your ebook, your telecourse or your blog into the top spot at Google. And some of them even work, no question about it.

But (and that rustling sound you hear is me dusting off and donning my coaching hat), let’s reframe this issue for just a second and ask:

Does your content actually DESERVE to be #1?

Is it, really, the most relevant information on the topic a person could find if they went searching for those keywords and phrases? Is your product, site or blog really what they’re hoping to find?

Read more