Discovering what you wanna be when you grow up is a process. There are skills to identify, values to name, responsibilities to consider, questions to ask & get answered, truths to uncover, false beliefs to conquer, and tons of self-reflection to, um, reflect on. It’s no quick fix, which is why I encourage all of my career change clients to work with me for 12 sessions, or 3-4 months of coaching. For some reason, that’s the magic number for most of my clients to not only come to the conclusion of what they want their grown-up career to look like, but to have an action plan in order to make it happen.

Something happens, though, around the halfway point, where my clients develop what I like to lovingly call “The Itch”. They’ve spent almost 2 months figuring out what the pieces of their puzzle consist of, & they’re ready to see The Big Picture. The Dream Career. The Answer. The Key. The pressure is on. The stakes are heightened. They want to know, and they want to know now.

It’s about that time in the process that I annoyingly & purposely ask them to “live in the questions.” But what does that mean? How can you let yourself do that? And why haven’t I been punched in the face yet? Well, “living in the questions” is another way for me to say: Read the rest of this entry »

My next project, The Declaration of You (How to Find It, Own It & Shout It From the Rooftops), is open for info!

OK, I know that’s vague, but really, I can’t tell ya much more than that. What I can tell ya is that this is an awesometastic coolaboration (yes, a “coolaboration”) with my newest favorite friend, Jess Swift, and we’ve been working our buttock’s off for the past few months to put together a lil’ somethin’ somethin’ for our kindred spirits (creative thinkers, artistically inclined, won’t rest until you’re living a life you love, willing to live in the questions, ready to take the “shoulds” from your life & kick them to the curb, the unconventional, the inspirational, the passion-filled) to discover what it means to be truly, fully, honestly you. Read the rest of this entry »

One Step by Art = Happy.

I feel it. It’s here. I can’t let it linger any longer, or turn my back, or sing “la-la-la” while I stick my fingers in my ears.

It’s a point. It’s turning. It’s a turning point, and I can’t pirouette in reverse. Nor do I want to. I keep moving forward, taking steps, making them baby so I move slow and steady and sure and smiling.

It’s not just me. It’s you, too. You know what I’m talking about. And if you don’t, at least not immediately, then close your eyes. Take a breath. Listen. Read the rest of this entry »

#286 by Things We Forget

“I don’t have all the supplies I need.”

“I need the graphic designer to get back to me.”

“These descriptions have to be rewritten first.” Read the rest of this entry »

I just had to share with you the awesomeness I’ve been feeling lately, along with what I discovered when I focused on untying the perpetual knots in my stomach. (Guys, I’m gonna hafta share the reigns of my business so I can keep my focus to coaching! That’s some scariness for me!)

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Sensational Spring: Comment before noon Eastern today to get entered into the Laura George giveaway!

Delicious Discount: Get a $25 discount for any $250 purchase from  Tara Sroka until Aug 31st.
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Before we go any further, I know you’re dying to find out the answer to yesterday’s cliff-hanger question: What body part is this?

As it turns out, it’s Marvelous Mama Unbelievable Underwear from ASSETS, so everyone was right – it’s a pregnant belly! Am I an idiot that, on first glance, I thought it was padding to give yourself a big ole butt? Tara, Megan & I were hysterical, and I was thisclose to asking the ASSETS woman in the booth about it until I realized what it was called. Regardless, it’s totally funny. That butt is huge.

So, day two! I skipped breakfast that day as well as the keynote because a lady needs her beauty sleep (especially ’cause I was out the door on Day One earlier than my usual wake-up time & I had a bachelorette party to attend the night of Day Two), and went right to the first Break-out Session I thought would be best for me (there are 7 offered simulataneously and none are repeated, so the pressure’s on!): Networking With a Purpose Via Social Media. Because of the Session Fiasco of 2010 that occurred the day before, I didn’t have high hopes – and wow was I proven wrong! The panel was made up of Laurie, Ana, Carmen & Heather & they rocked it so hard that I took 5 pages of notes (comparitevly, I only had 3 for the whole day on Day One!). If you click here you’ll get the transcript of the whole session so I won’t regurgitate it for you, but I had to say my big a-ha! moment that came out of this was the gem, “Recruiters need applicants as much as applicants need recruiters.” This was a lesson I learned as an actor – that the casting director is desperate for you to be the right person when you walk into the room! I didn’t think of this being directly applied to career changes but, well, duh! What a fantabulous perspective.

After lunch, which I spent on-site gabbing with Nicole Indelicato, a to-be life coach studying with Martha Beck & working on her branding designs with Jess Swift! Obviously she’s a smartie pants, so we ended up not only spending the entire lunch being anti-social together (wait, can you be anti-social with someone else?), but went to the rest of the afternoon seminars together, too. Read the rest of this entry »

Ok guys, it’s totally time for my BlogHer post! And I know why I’ve been puttin’ it off/avoidin’ it since it ended, um, 11 days ago (oy!) – it’s a beast! So much to share, make fun of, & give props to.

I’m gonna start at the very beginning, which Julie Andrews tell me is a very good place to start. Early Friday morning I had a 10a appointment to be interviewed in the PepsiCo booth as part of their Women: The 5G Network series. I wasn’t sure how they got my info or what they were gonna ask me, but that didn’t stop me from saying, “Duh!” So, right after the Newbie Breakfast (which I only caught the tail-end of, because I went to the non-newbie breakfast without realizing it because, um, I was a newbie. But thanks to Anna and Lori for saving me a seat anyways!) I tried to counteract my extremely poor sense of direction & find my way to the Expo Hall that the PepsiCo booth was in. When I finally found it (after, um, 25 minutes – and it was 10 feet from where I was for breakfast!), I was shocked to find not just a stage, not just lighting equipment, not just two cameras, not just a “set”, not just a super sweet Access Hollywood-like interviewer, but a make-up person, too! I mean, for serious, people. I loved the heck out of this, and here’s the finished product to prove it!:

So fun, right? My headband had a cute feather on it that was actually on the side of my head facing away from the camera, but you live and learn, right?

I can go on and on about Day 1, but Tara did a great job of describing my sentiments exactly in her recap called, approporiately, blogher10 – it was, um, weird. Here are the highlights in picture form:

Top left: Me with the actual Jimmy Dean Sun guy from the actual Jimmy Dean Sun commercials. He asked me my name and I said “Michelle.” I asked him his and he said “The sun”. Ah, to be an actor again. Top right: Me and Mrs. Potato Head (credit Tara). This is when it struck me as odd that this constitutes going to work. Bottom left: One of the three Marmadukes from the movie. To take pictures with. What?! Bottom right: The funnest part of my day! We skipped out on the Lean Cuisine lunch or whatever they were serving at BlogHer and I went to Johnny Utah’s with (from l-r) Tara, Megan, Rebecca (who tweeted this about me: “Musical theatre kid turned career coach. Great vintage style. Carrie Bradshaw’s smarter little sister.” She’s so my new bestie) & Ashley. Read the rest of this entry »

Listen by Jess Swift, who is totally the birthday girl today. HAPPY HAPPY JESS! I’m so thankful for you.

Are these tough (questions) getting harder or is it just me? Well, I blame all the Vampire talk that happened last week along with the comments on what it takes for you to trust yourself, because it got me thinking:

How do you know when its your true voice talking or if it’s just those pesky Vampires?

Oh! And for anyone that’s new around these parts, when I talk about your Vampire I’m talking about that voice that’s in your head that sucks the good stuff right out of ya. It usually tells you that your dumb / lazy / unspecial / unimportant and you’ll never amount to anything. So not cool. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m thrilled to be the very first interview on the very new blog, Manusmade! Tania is the woman behind the blog / community (and soon to be business!) and I’ve had the pleasure of working with her for the past 6 weeks. She’s the inspirer of the Tough (Question) Tuesday post that asked, “What will you get out of your head and into your hands, literally?”, and she’s doing just that on Manusmade! Hop on over to find out my answer to that very question, as well what inspired me to be inspiring, what I learned from musical theater, my favorite thing about being an entrepreneur, and how I helped her go from zero to launched! Yay, Tania!

Sun Will Come Out folded card by Everything Little Miss

This post was supposed to be about BlogHer. I promised. And I’m sorry if you were looking forward to it. I scheduled it into my calendar today, but (a) ran out of time and (b) couldn’t wrap my head around it. Right now, I should be making dinner. But I couldn’t bring myself to BlogHer or dinner without sitting down and getting this out here, in the open, to you, to me.

Long story short? I surrender. I put up my hands. I give up the cape. I wave the white flag. (Insert all other similar analogies here)

As it turns out, I’m not Superwoman, and it has to be OK right now. I have clients to coach and Spring to co-host and an e-course to launch (in October, we think! stay tuned!) and I. Just. Can’t. Do. Everything. Read the rest of this entry »