then you’ll get a lot more done Be more inclined to take the reins Than turn away and run it’s very rare it seems to get a lifetime guarantee, So I suppose self satisfaction be the key
SO true. Those of you who feel stuck know just HOW MUCH energy you can squander just thinking about things, HOW MUCH it occupies your mind and detracts from being able to take the reins and get on and LIVE.
*Lyrics from the poetic and passionate and brilliant, brilliant, brilliant (did I say brilliant ?) Paolo Nutini. I’m off on hols so instead of a post today a song…xx
So, in Sainsburys last week, shopping for cake ingredients. And amongst the muscovado sugar and baking soda, on the shelf with the readymade cakes was a SIMON’S CAT cake.
Remember Simon’s cat, the GENIUS animation that was a You tube sensation back in 2008? Almost all of you will but for those that don’t – it went viral to the tune of millions and charmed the hearts of cat ‘owners’ all over the planet. Even me, devoted and faithful dog lover till the end, strayed over to the dark side and lapped it up. ( The dog doesn’t know).
Then I forgot all about it… till the cake last week. So I came home and googled what had been happening for it’s creator – Simon Tofield – in the last 4 years
Here’s what that one video led to: Comedy Awards; 18 more videos; A BBC2 slot; a cartoon strip in the Daily Mirror; 4 books in 25 countries and the ultimate made-it symbol , the GIFT SHOP including Tshirt
And of course the cake.
Wow.
Simon (and his cats) would never in their wildest feline dreams have thought that that one little video could lead to that.
Case in point AGAIN that from little acorns/ actions/ kittens ….
Here’s Cat Man Do – the 1st video that put him on the map as the highest rated animation on You Tube EVER.
At the career change workshop I ran this weekend with a great group of bright interesting people – one of the things that was a bit of recurring themes was this:
People landed up in places they did not really want to be because they used what they COULD do , rather than what they WANTED to do. So the quirky young woman who really wanted to bake amazing cakes, administered education programmes instead. The construction manager spent his days on a building site instead of running extreme adventure trips in the jungle. The biz analyst whiz, working with numbers instead of people.
It’s natural and common to keep reselling ourselves, packaging up the same old skills in the same old way to the same organisations we don’t really want to be in because it can feel like a big and often impossible leap to springboard out of our own box.
Trouble is if you do that you land up from frying pan to… frying pan. And eventually a very unhappy egg.
The think is, that that trajectory starts to change when you take control. When you stare the God of Security in the eye and aren’t the first to blink. When you see a gap in the market and pitch to it. When you decide to LEARN new stuff instead of just recycling the old. When you experiment. When you spend time with the people and places you want to be. When you follow your heart. When you sell the stuff you make, not your soul.
Every month I hear from someone whose been on my workshop who has done those things and whose lives have changed or started to. Its extraordinary what happens when you decide to make it happen.
p.s the workshop waitlist for any unhappy eggs who want to love what they do is here. Date to be announced soon!
(illustration from guy kettelhacks blog – http://guykettelhack.blogspot.co.uk)
I’m loving Big Cartel. They provide clothing designers, bands, jewellery makers, artists and crafters with a quick, commercial and hassle free way to sell their work. It’s really easy to start selling a product and get your own customizable store to sell your stuff on line. And it looks brilliant.
Check out these stories of people who use them (no play button so click on the picture) . Will inspire you. And you don’t need to give up your day job to begin. Love it.
Someone I know, an escaped lawyer who is now doing an MBA said to me the other day that when she looked around her on the course she realized this – that though she was enjoying the intellectual challenge, what frustrates her about her MBA colleagues was that they were not her tribe.
Then she looked at the people she surrounds herself by. She realized her friends were all actors, musicians, writers.
Now lets look at her. She’s flamboyant, generous, creative, with a fabulous business brain.
Trouble is she was using that business brain in un-flamboyant, un-generous, uncreative places surrounded by un-flamboyant; uncreative people. They were not her tribe
It made the penny drop for her. She’s worked out what she wants to do – she’s going to use her commercial savvy working in the arts. And the natural fit for that? An agent or a producer.
It fits. I can see it. It’s easy to see it. It’s her. It’s where she belongs.
It’s a powerful thing this tribe thing. There’s been loads of writing about it and marketers especially love it for obvious reasons.
The Wikipedia definition is this: A tribe is viewed, historically or developmentally, as a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states. Many anthropologists used the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis ofkinship
Kinship. That’s what it is. To be around people that are like you. Where you CONNECT. Where you BUY IN. Where you FIT. Where you EXPRESSyour full self. Where you GROW. Where you’re AT HOME. It’s not geographical. It’s a kinship of spirit, of being, of expression, of the things you care about, of who you are. Nor is it an ‘us and them’, or a superior or inferior thing. It’s just a natural gravitation towards people like you.
So, out of curiosity I had a look at my good friends. And a little chill ran down my spine. NONE of them (myself included) had a PROPER JOB (i.e paid a wage by an employer in an office). We all do different things: vintage fashion retailer; street artist; travel writer; interior designer; ceramist, voice-over pro. On the surface it may not look like it hangs together. But here’s the thread – we are all WITHOUT EXCEPTIONself employed, quirky, creative, passionate, energetic, free agents, not interested in rules or routine and love being different.They’re my tribe. It was extraordinary to see it in that way, so CLEARLY.
What’s yours…?
Clue: Whichever way you come at it, whether it’s the environments you’re attracted to, the things you’re interested in and care about, the lifestyle you want, the talents you’d love to express – they’re all leading you, drawing you, gravitationally, magnetically towards your tribe…
So, you’re at the party. Bubbles. Sparkles. Tinkly conversation. You’re having a witty repartee with another witty reparteer. You laugh. They laugh. You feel interesting, entertaining, funny. There’s a momentary lull in the conversation… and then it comes…inevitably…
“So, what do you do?”
Instant de-fizz. The bubbles in your glass go flat. The sparkle in your eyes dull. You shift about on your feet and then mumble and mutter something.
“Pardon?” says witty reparteer who naturally owns their own amazing business/or is a film maker/or a journalist/or a horse trainer/ or a spy (not a very good one admittedly)
Oh to be able to pass the test! To not have to say you do something that is the antithesis of who you are! That shrinks your heart just to say it!
So…. what would you want to be? To say you are? To say you do?
Career coach and Happy-Mondayer, Sonia Lakshman is a crusader for working happy. She believes we were all made for doing something that make us want to jump out of bed in the morning (maybe helped by a strong espresso!). She helps people figure out what really makes them come alive and to create work and a lifestyle that they’re really excited about.
