That is a little bit confronting for me to put down in writing, and to share. Actually as a mentor and participant of the incredible Thought Leader's Business School, I am required to do this anyway, but I have been conveniently not telling anyone outside of this community...until now.
The book is going to be something along the lines of 'How to give up your day job/business, slowly if you have to'.
As one of my mentors said, it could be a different slant on the Four Hour Work Week. Personally, I am not interested in creating an online marketing company that sells widgets or ‘muses’, but I do want people to realise they can work 50 to 200 days a year, doing what they love, and earning some great money doing so. The challenge is, unlike the book, we see this as a longer term journey, and so in order to alleviate any stress as a result of just resigning from your job (and losing the income) I am showing the reader a smarter and slower (if necessary) way to transition. I do have some great case studies to share, and welcome more!
A couple of years ago, Geoff and I planned to travel to Spain with the kids, and live there for around a year. Before that, living in Wanaka was in our sights. We went around telling anyone and everyone, and of course, now that we haven't actually done it, I cringe a bit about how confident I was that it was actually going to happen.
But, there is definitely power in public declaration.
Marriage vows are our prime example of this, and some people renew their vows, such is the value for them.
Last weekend, I facilitated my first weekend workshop for people who were committed to being more commercially successful as an expert, but who weren't yet ready for the thought leader journey. One of my key concerns was how to fit in all the content, in just two days.
I originally planned to facilitate the 'hot seat' process with only three of the six participants.
The hot seat is where, as a group, we support the participant in the hot seat in getting clear on their offering, their market, how much they are charging, and how much they want to be earning within three months. They then declare it in a little ritual in front of the group. It became clear very quickly that everyone wanted a turn in the hot seat, so the content was quickly revised, so that everyone could be accommodated.
The absolute power of this public declaration astounded me. It was a very moving process, and each participant identified it as undeniably the best part of the workshop.
Peter Cook, in his extraordinary book, The New Rules of Management explains his accountability model, which moves from private through to public accountability. If we don't keep our promises to ourselves, we are disappointed. However, if we don't keep our promises to our communities, then we can feel ashamed. Yes, it is a hot topic right now, thanks to the revolutionary Brene Brown, but it is also very powerful. I am not talking about putting yourself into some kind of emotional state (and really, I would say I feel more embarrassed about the Spain no-show rather than shamed!), but why not use it positively? Peter wrote a blog around his commitment to obtaining Black Belt (in thought leadership) within the year. He actually managed it in 125 days.
One of the participants in the workshop, Karen Oates, has since sent out her 'coming out' email, where she is publicly declaring herself as a coach and practitioner. You can see it here. Funnily enough, Karen says that it was actually the declaration to herself that was the most powerful distinction.
What would you like to declare either to yourself, or to your community?
Go on, take a risk and write it down, or share it.
And feel free to bail me up in a year's time if you haven't seen my book!
By the way... next workshop dates are 17th and 18th May, and 28th and 29th June, click here for more details.
