“Vision is not enough; it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs.” Vaclav Havel
Blog
AM I Crazy?
by Now What?® Coaching Founder, Laura Berman Fortgang
You think you’re nuts because you are considering leaving your job or making a big change. Your friends say you’re 
crazy because you are walking away from a sure thing. Your spouse is not talking to you because you are threatening the status quo and you’re now convinced that even the neighbors think you’re a little off. Everyone knows you’ve lost it.
Isn’t that GREAT?!
Someone whose mind has gone to the fringes has a tentative grasp on ‘reality’. When it comes to today’s employment prospects, that’s exactly where you want to be! Why on earth would you want to buy in to the ‘reality’ of how terrible things are? Doing so means staying still and going stale at a time when you have to be more creative than ever to solve the problems you face. Does that mean jumping off a cliff because you have no concept that reality can crush you when you land? No. But it does mean moving out of the paralysis of fear or the comfort created out of the illusion of safety.
If you’re crazy, you don’t see the limits that everyone else sees. If you’re crazy, you live by your own rules and see the world a bit differently than everyone else. Harmless crazy* people can also be quite joyful and powerful, unstoppable in their worldview and intrinsically unique. Free of convention, you are able to write your own ticket.
Isn’t that GREAT?!
When clients tell me they think they’re nuts or that everyone is telling them they are, I get confirmation that they are on the right track. Whatever it is they are thinking of doing or have hinted at with others, when met with “you’re crazy”, has now confirmed the die has been cast. We are in essence, daring to go where most won’t or even where we doubted we could. That’s scary. Not crazy.
A new Now What?® client declared that their work experience probably only qualified them to work in retail at a barely-better-than-minimum wage rate. However, she could see using her eye for fashion, décor and design in a much bigger way. She had a few ideas as to where to do that as well.
“Am I nuts?”, she asked.
“Yes”, I said. “If you believe the limits of your resume. No, if you believe in yourself.”
That’s the key. You can’t stop at what conventional wisdom dictates. You stop (and maybe only to rethink) when you can’t find an open door. However, in my experience, once someone let’s the ‘crazy’ truth out and starts taking action towards it, opportunities do arise. There is tremendous power in saying YES to yourself and NO to the limits everyone else interprets to be REALITY.
There is a way around what most people call reality. Clearly, you are not going to become a veterinarian when the closest you’ve come to an animal is the zoo or run a corporation without experience, but when you put an obstacle of ‘reality’ in front of you and leave it untested, you are not getting the full picture.
The rule is that if you have so many steps ahead of the goal that you want to give up, you MUST find ways to shorten the distance.
There may be retraining ahead. There may be education and experience but there is also a starting point. Somewhere you can step into the game, gain momentum and start scoring points towards your ultimate goal.
For example, someone recently told me they would not pursue something that they loved because there was seven years of schooling and no guarantee of a job at the end. Within mere weeks of networking, taking a few risks and volunteering to help out, his worldview shifted from “it’s impossible” to “ let me piece together my own training and learn as I go”. It remains to be seen if he can walk away from his job, but when you start saying “NO” to the status quo and “YES” to yourself, accelerated results often happen.
Are you crazy to attempt it? Absolutely!
Isn’t that GREAT?!
* It is not my intent to diminish or disrespect those suffering from mental illness
Today’s Quote: Take New Action
“Remember, a real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.” Anthony Robbins
Take Courage!
by Ginny Kravitz, Deputy Editor
Fear is a Given
“It’s not my first rodeo,” remarked Jeanie, a client who is preparing to move cross country and pursue a new career path. 
She is familiar with the voices of fear from the peanut gallery. Some are from friends who ask, “Are you sure about this?” while other doubtful refrains originate in her own mind. Fortunately, Jeanie has made big moves before and is prepared for this stage of second-guessing her decision. She knows how to keep the fears in perspective by talking back to them: I know this is right for me.
Notably, “Be not afraid,” is a command that appears throughout the Bible many times. The implication is that we have the power to choose even though it doesn’t feel that way when in the grip of fear. I once heard it suggested that a better interpretation is: Do not remain afraid. Now that seems more doable. Since fear is a given in life, it’s vital to remember that courage is a decision, sometimes a stubborn assertion, and always an act of will.
As with so many other uncomfortable emotions, rather than expecting to eradicate fear before proceeding, we only need to know how to diffuse it. There is a coaching aphorism: Fear may be in the car, but it doesn’t have to be driving.
full article here…
Today’s Quote: Joy of Achievement
“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
GRATITUDE For A Crappy Boss
by Now What?® Coaching Founder, Laura Berman Fortgang
Hours of complaining and reliving the drama. Days spent brooding and plotting how to get what you need. Sleep wasted by
workplace despair. The plight of a crappy boss can be overwhelming and destructive but truly, it can become a good thing if held up to the light in just the right way. It could ultimately become something you’re grateful for.
Help up to the light, this cruel villain is a Teacher. They are teaching you about yourself, your adaptability, and how well you can communicate. Unfortunately, they are also showing you a piece of yourself you don’t like.
As frustrating as it is and as much as we’d hate to admit it, what we don’t like in our boss, is often what we don’t like in ourselves. We may not be as mean or as clueless or as selfish or as boorish as the object of our disdain, but we may very likely carry some of those recessive traits and revile them in ourselves.
Finding acceptance for these traits in ourselves and calming our disdain, will go a long way to easing the stress about the boss. It will also teach you self-compassion.
Looked at differently yet again, the nasty boss is also a Skill Builder. Your life made difficult by a person in authority can be a miserable maze of daily obstacles and headaches. Yet, they are forcing you to build some skills that can be invaluable as you progress through your life.
For example, a boss who does not give you much direction and then holds you accountable for information you never received can be frustrating and crazy making. They are also forcing you to trust your intuition more, become better at communicating to understand the parameters of what you’ve been assigned and they force you to boost your knowledge and self-reliance to get the job done. It can all still lead to less than harmonious results, but you’re growing. Growth is often painful, and yet, not necessarily a bad thing.
That rotten-scoundrel superior can also be a Destiny Herder. The obstacle of an impossible boss is often the roadblock that turns us toward another direction. It can be the definitive sign we needed to go elsewhere so we can work freely or be doing more of what we truly want to be doing.
The antagonist in the story of your job could be what moves the conflict forward for you (the hero/heroine) until you see your way through the dark forest into the light of your ‘hero’s journey.’ You may decide to be a more gracious leader or foster your management style differently thanks to your experience in this ‘story’. You may realize you are meant to be the boss, in a different unit, in a different discipline or something else that puts you closer to a better fitting ‘destiny’.
Along similar lines, the crappy boss is also an Igniter of Dreams. How many people can you think of that have used a bad boss as the flint on a matchbook cover to spark the flame of their dreams? Plenty, I’m sure.
Courage, determination, focus and clarity often result from hitting the brick wall called ‘bad boss’. For example, a recent Now What?® client, saw one of their low-key hobbies become a potential source of salary-compatible income because of a difficult superior. Her dreams changed from finding a new job to supporting herself with something she had dismissed as ‘dabbling’ that really had potential to be lucrative. She always dreamed of a flexible lifestyle with more time for other interests.
So give thanks, this holiday season. Even for the people who irritate the heck out of you. They serve a purpose. Find out what that is and be grateful they brought that purpose to light for your growth.