I’m taking an online class that “meets” once a week, and I just have to share.
What is it? Goal Reaching, and it’s taught by Romney Nesbitt, our resident creativity coach, cheerleader, and all around fantastic teacher.
I first met Romney when she was hanging with the Foxy Hens (Peggy Fielding and Jackie King) and soon realized she was also the woman filling a pulpit in the small town where I live–and a very popular preacher! Since that time, she’s published a great book–”Secrets from a Creativity Coach”.
We’re halfway through the class, and I’ve received more than my money’s worth. So what have I learned?
1- To be able to focus my goals by putting them in one sentence, then post them everywhere I go so I can’t forget.
2- The wonders of a vision board. I’m cutting out pictures and using other thing that represent my goals, in order to keep them in front of me all the time. (It’s so easy to get stuck in everyday minutia and forget about where I’m truly going. This keeps that from happening.)
3- We’re defined by the stories we tell ourselves, which is echoed back to us from others. Here’s a couple of quotes from Romney that spoke to me–
It’s your job to say who you are and what you do. You are the only one who can instill confidence in you and your abilities.
Every conversation, every article you read, every class you take, every workshop, every act of kindness, every impression counts. You simply don’t know who you might meet at the grocery story, bank or nail salon. Have a business card handy. You might meet someone who can advance your career OR you could be in a position to help someone else.
4. The 10,000 hour rule by Malcolm Gladwell. This is great, and honestly had me jumping for joy! It explained so much and gave me a needed kick in the Watusi! Basically, it says that it takes 10,000 hours to be really good at anything–and talent doesn’t really matter. (Thank goodness!)
Her words:
Gladwell said talent may have something to do with success but it’s not the key part of success.
Success, Gladwell said comes from what he calls “the 10,000-Hour Rule. Studies suggest that the key to success in any field has nothing to do with talent. It’s simply practice, 10,000 hours of it — 20 hours a week for 10 years.”
Then she gave specific examples of real people who prove this out.
Like the Beatles. Yes! The Beatles!!! They didn’t just spring to life on the Ed Sullivan Show singing, I Want to Hold Your Hand that day in the early ’60’s. They had a gig in Germany where they played eight hours a day for several months, racking up their 10,000 hours and then some.
We’re halfway through class, and I can’t wait to get to learn the rest of the secrets Romney has to share.
Her book, SECRETS FROM A CREATIVITY COACH, is available from Amazon. And believe me, you don’t have to be a writer to enjoy it.
