Inspiration

I love inspirational thinking - when I get that "Ah ha!" moment about something, or a special insight into a situation. I also love to be around inspirational people. I attend a class regularly that focuses on myth, religion, nature, science, art...very inspirational. I also have recently learned to meditate and find that my thinking is clearer as a result.

This is from Wikipedia:

Inspiration in artistic composition refers to an irrational and unconscious burst of creativity. Literally, the word means "breathed upon," and it has its origins in both Hellenism and Hebraism in the west. In the earliest discussions of inspiration (in the works of Homer and Hesiod), the ritualistic and divine origins of the breath of a god are important. The oracle of Delphi, for example, as with other sibyls, received divine steam and fumes from a cave sacred to Apollo before she would prophecy. In Odyssey, 22. 347-8, a poet says that his songs were placed within his heart by the gods.

What inspires you? Who inspires you? Identifying and acknowledging those people. events, works of art, books, movies, teachers, friends, stories that have inspired you is time well spent.

And if you're "stuck" write out the word INSPIRATION in big letters and put it on your desk or mirror. Think about it. Identify it in your life. It's so important to be and feel inspired. It's rare and is truly a gift.

Finally - how do you inspire others? Because inspiration is so special, you'll want to consciously think about how you may pass the gift of inspiration on to others.

Professional Transitoning

The transitions I've been focused on lately from the perspective of both Dynamic Transitioning and Blackbelt Coaching have to do with professional life.

Folks are transitioning within a company from one discipline to another (moving from tech support to sales; or into management and/or senior management); or transitioning into a new career all together.

One client who has recently used Blackbelt Coaching to beat the "boss from hell" told me yesterday that - lo and behold - she's reaching out to him in a friendly, more helpful way. It actually caught him off guard.

Good. It SHOULD catch him off guard. He is not out from under her wrath yet...it's too soon. But, it may turn out that she becomes his professional mentor.

My client was shocked! What? Why would she do that? She hated me just a few weeks before - I couldn't do anything right!

When you combat a boss from hell with skill and show that you know the rules of the game, you gain respect. It's like in sports - you thorw the ball to other good players because you know that they'll make the most of the play.

The same is true in business. People want to work with people who can "make the most of the play". In fact, my client may end up with one fo the best Mentors he's ever had. I told him to be ready for that. However, I'll work with him to insure that the Mentorship is on HIS terms and not hers.

Blackbelt Coaching Comments

Thanks for all the terrific response to the Blackbelt Coaching email newsletter I put out last week. If you want to get on that mailing list, send me your email to beverlymacy@gmail.com.

Many of you are asking about how to get started in the Blackbelt Coaching process. The first step is that you email me and describe 1) your current situation; and 2) what you think Blackbelt Coaching should accomplish for your situation.

I'll then schedule a personalized 1/2 hour phone session with you to determine if I can help you.

I'm working with a new client now who emailed me that she was put on "corrective action" at her job. She is a mid-level manager and is really nervous, no, scared is the right word, about losing her job. She said she hoped that Blackbelt Coaching would help her keep the job.

So far, I've helped her to move from the "They're firing me today, for sure" feeling, to "I'm ok right now" feeling. We still have a long way to go. This professional is very good at what she does, but made some nearly fatal moves recently. She blurred the boundaries between work and free time and is paying a BIG price for it. She got burned by someone she thought was a "friend". That "friend" is now her boss and is riding her like you wouldn't believe.

I could have told her that. The workplace is NOT a social network. You want social, get a mySpace page. You want a career, be focused and stay on point. Does that surprise you? It surprised this person. She thought I was going to help her with interpersonal skills. Not a chance. There's nothing those skills can fix at this point. You want friends, or you want to save your job - your choice.

Blackbelt Coaching faces reality. I won't give you fantasy - that's not going to help you save your job or get ahead. I give you actionalable direction and it works. If this person can continue to follow my direction she'll not only save her job, she'll get promoted.

eMail me now with your situation. Let's take you to the next level.

Sabbatical

I am delighted to welcome a friend and colleague to the Dynamic Transitioning blog.

Bruce Shutan is a marvelous writer and he has graciously allowed me to link to an article he did for Quill Online on a sabbatical he took last year. The inner journey he shares as he transitions out of his marriage should be familiar to Dynamic Transitioners. Enjoy!

Sabbatical a good way to recharge batteries

By Bruce Shutan

In the spring of 2005, I found myself holed up in a guesthouse apartment deep in the Hollywood Hills, contemplating what to do next after all my dreams for happiness came crashing down.

Although my new digs were a writer’s paradise with an ocean view in one of L.A.’s most exclusive areas, it felt as if I was living in exile. And unless I made a concerted effort to break from my routine, standing still would cause irreparable harm to me both personally and professionally. We’ve all felt burned out at one time or another. It’s an inescapable fact of life, even for those who cherish their work or personal life, and there’s really no shame in feeling this way. The trick is doing something about it.

A sabbatical may be the perfect remedy, but it’s a luxury few of us can afford. Only superstars have a snowball’s chance in hell of landing a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, though there are several other opportunities that are well within the reach of most mere mortals and routinely advertised in the back pages of Quill.

Few media outlets have the resources to allow their scribes a substantive leave of absence to enrich their career, recharge batteries or do both. Time is money, and if an editor or writer is off the clock but still on the payroll, it could appear to be a real problem at a time of thinning profit margins across the industry and a culture incapable of shaking its puritanical work ethic.

We’re pummeled into feeling guilty for taking vacations or not working overtime. But this sort of thinking is incredibly destructive to morale, as well as an individual’s spirit and ability to make a substantial contribution to society over the long haul.

There’s no denying that journalism can be as tethered to the bottom line as any type of business. Allowing newspaper, magazine or broadcast staffers to take a sabbatical may appear contrary to the goal of making money. What’s needed, however, is a rethinking of this arrangement as a prudent investment in human capital for those who’ve earned the right within their organizations to take time off.

For freelance writers like myself, the only thing standing in our way of bolting for the door is a steady workflow from appreciative clients or an inability to work far enough in advance to plan for a sabbatical. I was fortunate enough to take off the entire month of November 2005 in the busiest (and most lucrative) year of my life thanks to careful planning that began roughly six months before my targeted travel.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word sabbatical as “a break or change from a normal routine (as of employment).” It may involve intensive study of an individual’s chosen field, which in the case of a journalist would more than likely result in a published or aired account of those experiences. But it also could involve a complete escape from work.

My decision to go on sabbatical was borne of personal trauma, namely the end of my marriage.

ather than plummet into prolonged depression and wall myself off from the world during our separation, I picked myself off the ground and vowed to enjoy life again. The strategy included a carefully choreographed dance with numerous old friends and relatives who I hadn’t seen in ages. After being inundated with offers to visit people within my inner circle of emotional support on the East Coast, I gradually decided to take up folks on their kind offers.

What was initially envisioned as a one- or two-week vacation turned into a monthlong sabbatical when I hit critical mass with so many dear souls from my immediate and distant past. The trip began in Raleigh, N.C., on Nov. 1 and ended in Boston on Nov. 30. I worked the equivalent of just one day spread across the month answering e-mail or putting out professional fires from the road. The lion’s share of time was spent reconnecting with dozens of supportive friends and family members who helped me regain my footing during a difficult time. I also read and meditated whenever possible, and used the time for both personal and spiritual growth.

I’m now more energized at work and play than ever before. The time off reminded me of the incredible resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity, as well as the importance of pushing ourselves to always do better. It’s in this vein that I’ve approached every assignment with a greater determination to please editors, improve my storytelling and some day soon write that Great American Novel. I certainly have more than enough material.

Our time in this world is short, and you never know when a bend in the road may take you somewhere less traveled.

Not taking this sabbatical would have been a luxury I simply could not afford.

Bruce Shutan is an L.A.-based freelance writer who has been covering the American workplace for 21 of his 23 years in journalism. He can be reached at

bshutan@sbcglobal.net.