Supercoach - Michael Neill [61]
“As an artist, I could get my art in front of more people—perhaps offering to loan or even giving paintings to hospitals and corporations where people could really benefit from the inspiration and beauty.
“I could offer classes in art appreciation, maybe even in conjunction with the local museum or library. Not only would people benefit by being able to see more of the subtle nuances that make great art great, those who did buy my art would get even more value from owning it. Also, people who buy art as an investment would be able to become more discerning and make better choices about what they bought (and didn’t buy) in the future.”
Employee or Creator?
“Life begets life; energy begets energy. It is by
spending oneself that one becomes rich.”
— attributed to Sarah Bernhardt
Charlie was a professional actress, beautiful and skilled. When she came to me, she had a number of credits in film and television but had yet to make the leap into large-budget movies or regular series work.
In our very first session together, she launched into a diatribe about her agent, her manager, the director of a theater show she had been in, and a producer who was interested in her either professionally or romantically, or both.
Despite wanting to impress her with what a good listener I was, I interrupted after 15 minutes or so with a question: “Where do you think your next job is going to come from?”
This set off another monologue about the problems with being female and over 25 years old in Hollywood, so I tried a different tack: “Where do you think your next great performance is going to come from?”
She finally stopped talking long enough to take some time to think.
“It’s going to come from inside me,” she said.
“Exactly,” I replied. “When you spend all your time and energy trying to get someone to give you an opportunity, you’re thinking like an employee. But when you shift your focus to what you can create and what differences you can make in people’s lives, you’re thinking like a creator. And ironically, the more time you spend thinking like a creator, the more opportunities you’ll find knocking at your door.”
To make the point more clearly, consider two handymen working on your house. The first does a good professional job, shows up on time, and charges what he said he would. Because he thinks like an employee, when the job is done, he makes a point of letting you know he’s available for any future work and then goes home and waits for the phone to ring with the next job. If he’s really hungry for work, he may even give you a coupon for a 10 percent discount on the next job.
The second handyman does things differently. He also does a good professional job, shows up on time, and charges what he said he would. But because he thinks like a creator, he’s been looking around your house and learning about you. He’s noticed that you really love your kids, but that there’s not a space in the house you can call your own to relax and unwind in. When the job is done, he comes up to you with a proposal to redo your yard into a combination Zen garden and topiary, filled with animal-shaped shrubbery to delight your children and private spaces ideal for quiet contemplation and relaxation.
“It will cost some money,” he tells you, “but if you decide that you’d like it, I’d love to create it for you.”
When he goes home, he’s not waiting for the phone to ring. He’s dreaming up other things he can do with his skills to create more joy and ease in people’s lives. Although he’s too creatively fulfilled to ever be “hungry” for work, when he wants to make some extra money, he creates specific targeted proposals (like the Zen garden/topiary) and sends them out into the world like invitations. And while not everyone comes to