Tuesday, September 04, 2007
What I Learned From Jodi Picoult
When figuring out what your next career move is, it's often helpful to figure out what you really want. This simple step can save you time, energy and lots of money. And finding a role model for success is also helpful.
Sometimes it's a great way to figure out what you really don't want.
There was a point last year when I was the original "frustrated writer." I had self-published four books and was marketing them through on line sources. My marketing efforts were very erratic and the books weren't selling much.
I always tell my coaching clients to find someone who has already done what you intend to do and learn as much as possible from them. So I decided to take my own advice.
One of my classmates in high school was Jodi Picoult, the bestselling author ( www.JodiPicoult.com ). Though we weren't close I remembered her as affable and approachable (not to mention frighteningly intelligent). And I grew up next door to her cousins.
So I visited her website, sent an email asking for a consultation and hoped for the best (including the wish she remembered me in a graduating class of over 500.)
The next day Jodi returned my email saying of course she remembered me and would be happy to speak with me. Shortly after I called the phone number she provided and had the opportunity to speak directly with her.
I'll say up front - for all those who have suspicions about "celebrities" and their behavior, Jodi Picoult was warm, kind and genuinely interested in what I had to say. She seems the role model for accepting fame with grace and poise.
I explained my desire to reach a larger audience with my writing. I wasn't looking for a blueprint or an instruction manual to the New York Times Bestseller list. We're two different people writing in different genres with much different skill levels. More than anything else I wanted to know what she had done to attain the level of success she had.
Jodi took me down the road she traveled. Without getting into private details I was astounded at her devotion. She had fully commited her resources to a career in which a very small percentage of people achieve the pinnacle of success. Not only the writing itself, but the promotion, the networking, the marketing...the learning all the different skills necessary to make it in a brutally competitive business.
I was astounded. Immediately I knew I had no interest in traveling the road she had taken. Too much time and effort for not nearly enough of a chance of success. Plus the actual "stuff" she had to do just didn't appeal to me.
And that knowledge immediately helped me clarify what I really wanted. I wanted to be a person of influence. I wanted to be a coach, a teacher, a trainer, a mentor. I wanted to be someone who reached others in a variety of ways, including the written word.
And I knew all the ways that could happen for me, and involved methods much more in my comfort zone. Could I have taken the road Jodi had? Sure. Was it worth it to me to take it? No, not for the outcome I desired and the likelihood of achieving it.
Take a look at your own dreams. Lose the window dressing of the methods. How do you want to feel? What do you want your life to look like in a year, or two, or five?
What are some of the ways this could happen? Who are your role models and mentors?
Don't be afraid to look around. Ask the tough questions of yourself and others. I did, and through the blessing of a wonderful author and her journey - clarified my own vision for success.
Sometimes it's a great way to figure out what you really don't want.
There was a point last year when I was the original "frustrated writer." I had self-published four books and was marketing them through on line sources. My marketing efforts were very erratic and the books weren't selling much.
I always tell my coaching clients to find someone who has already done what you intend to do and learn as much as possible from them. So I decided to take my own advice.
One of my classmates in high school was Jodi Picoult, the bestselling author ( www.JodiPicoult.com ). Though we weren't close I remembered her as affable and approachable (not to mention frighteningly intelligent). And I grew up next door to her cousins.
So I visited her website, sent an email asking for a consultation and hoped for the best (including the wish she remembered me in a graduating class of over 500.)
The next day Jodi returned my email saying of course she remembered me and would be happy to speak with me. Shortly after I called the phone number she provided and had the opportunity to speak directly with her.
I'll say up front - for all those who have suspicions about "celebrities" and their behavior, Jodi Picoult was warm, kind and genuinely interested in what I had to say. She seems the role model for accepting fame with grace and poise.
I explained my desire to reach a larger audience with my writing. I wasn't looking for a blueprint or an instruction manual to the New York Times Bestseller list. We're two different people writing in different genres with much different skill levels. More than anything else I wanted to know what she had done to attain the level of success she had.
Jodi took me down the road she traveled. Without getting into private details I was astounded at her devotion. She had fully commited her resources to a career in which a very small percentage of people achieve the pinnacle of success. Not only the writing itself, but the promotion, the networking, the marketing...the learning all the different skills necessary to make it in a brutally competitive business.
I was astounded. Immediately I knew I had no interest in traveling the road she had taken. Too much time and effort for not nearly enough of a chance of success. Plus the actual "stuff" she had to do just didn't appeal to me.
And that knowledge immediately helped me clarify what I really wanted. I wanted to be a person of influence. I wanted to be a coach, a teacher, a trainer, a mentor. I wanted to be someone who reached others in a variety of ways, including the written word.
And I knew all the ways that could happen for me, and involved methods much more in my comfort zone. Could I have taken the road Jodi had? Sure. Was it worth it to me to take it? No, not for the outcome I desired and the likelihood of achieving it.
Take a look at your own dreams. Lose the window dressing of the methods. How do you want to feel? What do you want your life to look like in a year, or two, or five?
What are some of the ways this could happen? Who are your role models and mentors?
Don't be afraid to look around. Ask the tough questions of yourself and others. I did, and through the blessing of a wonderful author and her journey - clarified my own vision for success.
# posted by Larry Hochman : 7:22 PM
