When you lose heart

August 15, 2012 by 2 Comments

There’s a lot you want to do.

It’s important to you, or you wouldn’t be doing it.

In fact, you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t believe you had something worth sharing with the world, even if you aren’t 100% clear on all the details yet.

My experience of being a creative, an entrepreneur, and a sensitive soul is a bit like navigating through a misty swamp. There are days and times when I catch clear glimpses of exactly where I want to go, and other days when I’m deep in the swirling fog and I can’t see my way through it.

Sometimes, I flounder on those days and lose my way.

Other times, I soldier on anyway.

Either way, it’s not easy.

If you’ve lost heart, try one of these:

  • Reach out to people who remember who you are, even when you can’t. A good chat with a mentor or best friend is a soothing balm at times like these.
  • Remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place. There IS a reason — a core message, idea, or purpose you care deeply about.
  • Find it within yourself to do your best, even when your best on that particular day is just showing up.
  • Do something different — get a new perspective, expose yourself to new ideas, or watch or read something inspiring.
  • Remind yourself that what you’re doing takes courage, it’s normal to falter now and again, and carry on doing the work anyway, trusting that you’ll get to the other side one way or the other.

Once you’ve made it through the morass to the other side, see if there’s something you can set up to help remind yourself quickly and easily about why you do what you do. A beloved client and I were just talking about Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” talk and devised a way for her to post her why, how, and what in front of her as she does her work. She’s going to post it on a bulletin board to help remind herself of what she’s about.

Tell me what you think

What do you do to get back on track if you lose heart? Share your thoughts.

Warmly,

Jenna

 

Coming Attractions

~> August 30th. Register by August 30 for the next 4-week session of my “Just Do The Writing” Accountability Circle (starts September 3rd). For serious writers and for writers who want to get serious about their writing. http://JustDoTheWriting.com

~> September 6th. Last day to register for the next Life Purpose Breakthrough Group happening on October 4th. These groups always sell out (only 3 spots remaining) so if you want to discover your life purpose through the remarkably accurate tool of hand analysis, sign up here now: http://LifePurposeBreakthrough.com

 

What I'm Up To

~> Ongoing. Working on my script, Progeny, with screenwriter Chris Soth after finishing the ProSeries.*

~> September 18 to 22nd. Heading to Hollywood for a ScreenwritingU* event to meet with producers and agents then staying on for the InkTip Pitch Summit.

~> Sacred writing time. Early mornings and Fridays.

~> Reading: Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince. Watching Weeds and Newsroom.

 

* Affiliate link



Filed Under: Creative Blocks, Creativity, Productivity Tagged With: , , , ,

Sensitivity 3.0

August 10, 2011 by 9 Comments

I’ve worked with highly sensitive souls since I started my coaching practice in 2002. As I evolve, and as we evolve as a tribe of sensitive people, I see more for us than I was able to see before.

I began with one model — let’s call it Sensitivity 2.0 — and now my approach has evolved to a new one — let’s call it Sensitivity 3.0.

Sensitivity 2.0

In the Sensitivity 2.0 model, my focus was on helping sensitives move from a place of struggling with being highly sensitive to thriving with it, essentially learning how to “deal” with being highly sensitive in a not-so-sensitive world.

This has been tremendously important work, in my humble opinion, because I’ve seen so many people move from being frustrated, embarrassed, and deeply unhappy with themselves to feeling uplifted and inspired by their own abilities and their own innate gifts.

My mission statement throughout that time was to “help people find a deep sense of inner rightness so that everything else would just drop away, and they would feel inspired to step forward and shine.”

In the end, much of my deepest work was and will continue to be about that deep sense of inner rightness.

And there’s more…

Sensitivity 3.0

In the new Sensitivity 3.0 model, I want to help you step your dreams up into the next level of their expression.

It’s time to say, “Okay, so we’re sensitive, now that we know how to manage that, what’s next?”

My new mission is to help you “upgrade” from the Sensitivity 2.0 model to Sensitivity 3.0, where not only are you thriving as a sensitive person, you are also getting your deep work into the world.

I want you to bring that powerful, deep art, message or movement you have out and share it with your audience, no matter what pain, ecstasy, doubt, joy, terror, or delicious dilemma you experience in the process.

The world’s deepest hunger is waiting to be fed by your deep gladness, to paraphrase theologian Frederick Buechner.

And I want to help you get there.

Your Turn

I’d love to hear from you about this subject:

  • How have you evolved with your sensitivity?
  • What’s next for you?
  • Where do you see us going as a “tribe”?

Jenna

 

Coming Attractions

~> August. Doing Creative Destiny Assessments with visionary creatives ready to claim their creative destiny. Interested? Email me here to request a session.

~> September 6th. Beta-testing my new writer’s accountability system with a select group. Want to participate? Email me here to request the details.

~> September 29th. My next Life Purpose Breakthrough ‘Big Vision’ Group. Details. Only 4 spots available.

 


~> Alternate MONDAYS. Right Brain Business Planning with my buddy Kris Carey.

~> FRIDAYS. Sacred writing days. The Do Not Disturb sign is up.

~> Vacationing with my family in August (at least part of it!).

 

 

Filed Under: Sensitivity, Vision Tagged With: , , , , , ,

A Rich Conversation About Communicating Your Deep Transformative Work With Powerful Language

February 25, 2011 by 1 Comment

If you missed my powerful call with Isabel Parlett today called, “How to Say What You Do, and Why It’s Key to Doing Your Calling,” you can still listen to the recording (see below).

I’ve already been hearing great feedback from some of my star clients who were on the call. If you missed it, you can download the recording using this link or you can listen online here:

[display_podcast]


Isabel and I had a wonderful, rich conversation and she did some terrific laser coaching with several people on the call to help them refine their “elevator speeches” to have more soul.

You know about elevator speeches, right?

Those are those prepared phrases we’re supposed to have ready to say when someone asks, “So, what do you do?”

Isabel is a master at helping you bring your true spirit and depth to what you say you do, so YOU feel good about sharing it when people ask.

Today we talked about some of the hard questions about making a great elevator speech (or as Isabel also likes to call it, your “verbal introduction,” like:

  • How find words that don’t feel stilted or sound like what everybody else is saying.
  • Whether or not to modify your elevator speech depending on who you’re speaking with.
  • How to make your words sound more conversational and less rehearsed.
  • How to speak to who your audience is and what they want AND infuse your words with your deeper true spirit.
  • And much more — we had a great time sharing about our time working together and the value I’ve received from it.

Isabel mentions a few resources on the call, including:

1. Her free video series available through Tuesday, which goes in a bit more depth with some of the information I shared on the call. You can access the free videos here.

2. Her brand-new home study program, “How to Say What You Do When What You Do Is Deep, Powerful & Hard to Describe.” She is offering some great bonuses and incentives (including $100 off the retail price) for anyone who picks up the program by the end of the day Tuesday (she’s extended the deadline mentioned on the call by one day.) Learn more here.

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: , , ,

How to Say What You Do, and Why It’s Key to Doing Your Calling

February 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A Conversation with Jenna Avery and Isabel Parlett

Without the right words, it’s hard to make “the big thing you’re here to do” come to life. It’s hard to hold on to your own focus and clarity, and it’s even harder to communicate what you’re doing in a way that lets other people in on the fun.

I first worked with Isabel in 2004, when I found myself struggling to describe my own deep, powerful, and hard-to-describe work. Isabel’s help was instrumental in helping me get my coaching business “on the map.” Since then, I continue to consult with Isabel when it comes to matters of communication as my work continues to evolve.

Isabel has a gift for showing business owners, especially those whose work is intangible, transformative, or unusual, how to find clear, simple, soulful language to clarify their core message, communicate their value, and create an elevator speech their audience will actually understand.

I want to invite you to join me for an interactive conversation with Isabel and I on Friday, February 25th at 11:30 Pacific (12:30 Mtn, 1:30 Central, 2:30 Eastern), where we’ll explore:

In this interactive conversation, Isabel and I will explore:

  • The power of words to make the thing you do come to life
  • The key to having more fun and finding better words
  • How you know if you’ve found the right message
Isabel is one of my all-time favorite and best coaches and mentors — I’m thrilled to have the chance to share her with you.

Register here

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: , , , ,