The definition of a Swan Song is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song in the moment just before death, having been silent (or alternatively, not so musical) during most of their lifetime.
This metaphor came to me as I was thinking about how I was going to write my last entry for this blog and wanting to link it to an older movie I recently watched called Brain’s Song. Brian’s Song is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week (remake of the TV movie filmed in 2001) that recounts the details of the life of Brian Piccolo a football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro, told through his friendship with Chicago Bears running back teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers, who helps him through the difficult struggle.
Despite his early death, Brian Piccolo’s legacy sings on. I looked up his legacy in Wikipedia and was in awe of how his mark in history is still impactful decades after his death. Courage awards, cancer funds and stadiums are being named after him to honor those after him who embrace his spirit for life.
Make our mark
We never how much time we’ll have on Earth to make our mark, so all we can do is appreciate the time we have and make the most of it. One comment that struck me about Brian from the movie is that when he found out he had cancer it didn’t cause him to change how he was living because he already was living life to the fullest. Right away I thought of that quote that goes something like it’s not about how much life you live it’s about how much you live during your life.
Really living life
Are you really living life; a life filled with your greatest desires and God’s greatest desires of your life? We will all at some point during our lives have an opportunity to have a Swan Song; the beautiful legacy that we will share with the world that honors our life. Unfortunately some of us will, what another famous quote says, will go to our graves with the music still inside of us.
Bring harmony to your soul
As you’ve noticed, I haven’t written anything on here for months. I was taking a sabbatical to work on a book. It’s a book that I hope someday will be part of my Swan Song. During this time away I’ve realized that my spirit is singing a different tune for my work, a new melody for me to follow.
As I retire from this blog, I would just like to thank Cater McNamara for this wonderful opportunity to be part of this blog and for Linda Ferguson, my co-partner who has been the “glue” for it all. I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read my thoughts over the years and I hope that at least one thing I’ve written will bring harmony to your soul!
As your inspired life mentor, Janae Bower is passionate about helping YOU live a more balanced, purposeful and inspired life! Her writings, speaking and coaching are the spark of inspiration you need to energize you on your journey of personal transformation.
You feel a disconnection between what you do for a career and your calling, your life purpose.
If these describe you, you are not alone. From 20-somethings to Baby-boomers, more people are waking up from their slumber and searching for a life worth living.
This isn’t a recent phenomenon by any means. I recently ran across this wonderful poem from Hafiz, a 14th century Sufi mystic, called The Great Work
Love is the great work
Though every heart is first an Apprentice that slaves beneath the city of Light.
This wondrous trade, this magnificent throne your soul is destined for-
You should not have to think much about it,
Is it not clear an apprentice needs a teacher who himself
Has charmed the universe to reveal its wonders inside his cup.
Happiness is the great work
Though every heart must first become a student to one who really knows about Love.
(in “The Gift”, pg 74)
Life Purpose is More than Your Job
Have you spent hours reading books and attending seminars on ways your work can fulfill your life purpose?
I’ll save you a lot of money and time right now…. Your life purpose is a WHOLE lot bigger than your job or career.
Pay attention here because this is important:
The secret isn’t to find your life purpose- it’s about living your life WITH purpose.
Your life purpose isn’t hidden somewhere beneath the covers of your bed, or in your clothes, your resume or diploma.
3 Essential Questions for Living WITH Purpose
Your life unfolds WITH purpose- if you are living intentionally.
If you are open to the nudges of your soul calling you to be awake, you live with purpose every day.
You live purposefully with every act, thought, and decision large and small, by dedicating your life to loving service.
If you want to know what your life purpose is just ask these three questions:
How can I be more Loving today?
How I can offer Joy today?
How can I serve others today?
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As an Author and Coach, Linda J. Ferguson, Ph.D. shares her life purpose by reminding people to walk the path of Love not fear.
www.lindajferguson.com – Sign-Up for valuable tools to live and work from the heart – Transformational Empowerment TM
Life keeps throwing us curve balls. Project Complications. Family Illness. Traffic Jams. Scheduling Conflicts.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed and stressed.
As you run from one commitment to another, trying not to let things fall through the cracks, worry and doubts creep in. The monkey mind chatter screams loudly in your head.
‘Will I be able to cover my credit card bill this month?’
‘What if our proposal isn’t accepted?’
‘What if I don’t get enough clients this week?’
‘How can I work with this guy, he’s such a jerk?’
Anxiety becomes the driver of your life. You let fear run the show.
If this describes your life and you don’t like the show……Change the channel.
Dial into another station.
In our hectic week we rarely take time to pause, breathe deeply, reflect on the bigger picture for our life.
My main message in the radio shows I’ve done this year is to wake up, pay attention to the thoughts and choices you make. Live Intentionally and Authentically.
Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand
You get the opportunity every day to choose other station, another way to live your life.
If you are looking for more balance, serenity, hope, and strength, then change the channel.
Get the support you need.
I’d like to invite you to join my course- Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand. You’ll get reminders, tips, and tools to use throughout your week to help you stay balanced, grounded, and energized.
While this phrase may be well know, living authentically- knowing and connecting your Inner and Outer Self- seems less common. I’ve had two job coaching clients in the last week talk about their struggle with their company norm to “Fake it ‘Til you Make It”. We talked through ways to stay connected to their strengths so they didn’t feel so disconnected from who they really were. Of course what they were saying was that they wanted their Inner Self and Outer Self to be in alignment.
Your Outer Self vs. Outer Self
Your Outer Self- your hair, clothes, car, house, toys – is only one dimension of who you are. It isn’t the entire package. Your Outer Self represents the personas or masks you display.
Your Inner Self contains your values, beliefs, personality. Many people feel they have to stuff down or hold back those aspects for fear of offending someone at work. Yet it takes a tremendous amount of energy wearing the mask each day to work.
Knowing Your Inner Self
You know your true nature during great trials or spiritual tests. When your back is against the wall your true nature comes forward. When you have to make the tough decisions your soul speaks. In these times you make the self-defining choices: courage vs. fear, personal convictions vs. compliance, persistence vs. giving up, admitting a mistake vs. covering it up.
Integrity, courage, and persistence are all traits we aspire to have. The question is whether those traits get expressed or lie dormant, waiting for another time.
As we end summer, move past the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and into another cycle of the sun, the Fall Equinox, it’s a good time to look beneath the surface. It’s worth slowing down, reflecting on how your Inner Self is (or is not) being demonstrated by your Outer Self.
I like the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur as it requires a reckoning with your soul, your deeper self, your Higher Self. Once a year, at least, you have the reminder to take stock of your life and change directions if you don’t like the path you are taking.
May your Inner Self and Outer Self extend as one consistent flow. One that’s strongly connected to a spiritual Center that provides guidance, comfort and wisdom as you meet the trials and challenges of your life.
Share in the comment section below what helps you bring your whole self, your authentic self, to work.
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Linda J. Ferguson, Ph.D. guides people through their stress and challenges to live more joyfully and spiritually grounded.
Sign-up to receive Linda’s FREE series on Transformational Empowerment, a framework for making positive changes in your life. Enter your name in the right hand side bar – www.lindajferguson.com
People who do voiceovers–hereafter known as VO–come from a variety of places, wherever good voices are found. Think about how many products you use everyday that has a voice attached to it, for example, a customer service automated voice on the telephone, the voice on your Global Positioning System (GPS), and all the other obvious devices like television and radio commercials, video games, etc. Who does the cartoon voices? Some are famous, but many aren’t. Audio books are big now.
So the market is exploding with voiceover wannabees. Not really a problem, except with that explosion come some “entrepreneurs” who while they themselves may be good at the craft have figured out how to sell what they know. Since it is an art to be sure, and being “cast” in a voice role is like being cast in any kind of acting role–not at all guaranteed. When radio first came to everyone’s home, then television, there were schools everywhere to teach you to be a glamorous announcer and train you for your all-important radiotelephone third-class license, which made it “official” and you could be on the air. But first there had to be a job, then an audition… It didn’t happen as easily as people thought. Without the benefit of today’s technology, many of the radio/tv announcing schools closed down. By the way, the “third ‘phone” is no longer required to be on the air.
When I came back from the Marines and assorted acting jobs in California, I was determined to have a sensible job like something in radio or television. I sent out resumes and a demo tape a friend helped me make at the base radio station. Through a local station that had no openings I learned about a small radio station outside of town that was the perfect place for a college student to work. I had flexible hours because the other part-time DJ and commercial announcer was a student from another college, which meant we had different test days and schedules. This was my training ground to apply my acting and mixing skills to create a commercial until I got the result I wanted (or the client wanted). No pressure though. I even found over time that I could do a commercial off air, while I played music on-air and not miss the end of the song. Later, I would work at different stations, including one where I was the news director and another where I had a talk show–all very different forms of “narrating” or communicating, depending on your context. I had time, facility and guidance to start. I even found time for some theatre.
That’s my friend and colleague, Joy Blatherwick and me, of course, in PLAY ON! Photo by Dave Gold.
So that’s my story. Everyone has a “how they got there.” How they learned to mouth the words correctly, find the rhythm, read phrases instead of words, emphasize this or that, add variety and color to your voice, sell the product, and I might say act the script given to you. Some of that I knew already. I was taking acting classes, but even then, voiceover acting is a different medium and there are things to unlearn as well as learn.
Many coaches are accused of wanting money up front. That’s plain wrong for any coach. I don’t even pay my personal trainer (when I had one) until after the workout.As a speech coach, I would wait until my clients announced we were a good fit and were ready to draw up some kind of contract. They might ask what I usually charge and I would tell them; naturally some asked before we started, but I assured each client, no money would exchange hands unless we both thought my services would be helpful. Sometimes it took a few weekly meetings. Chemistry.
Coaches aren’t there at the beginning like radio/tv schools of the past; however, I suppose there are some broadcasting schools still around; there has to be. I know Defense Information School still trains radio and tv on-air people for the Department of Defense and “DeeJays” pop up all over the place. Not all of them stay DJs. Not all of them want to be. Not all of them want to move around station to station to get a raise until they make major market, but it is good experience. If you’re into acting, all the better; however, you may find you have to overcome “mic fright” like I did. Ever wonder what the mirror in the control room is for. It’s not because DJs are “so vain.” It’s so the DJ feels he’s really talking to someone. It’s an eerie feeling at first. It was fun, but as many who start in radio, some for love of music and some for other reasons, we take different roads.
My road was military and government, and then corporate speech coaching and training. I still get the occasional question or job offer–usually from overseas, but I came to a point where family was more important than moving around. I still love the art of speaking, of acting, of writing and so I do it when I can. I’m previewing (not reviewing) a musical tomorrow. Smart of the director to ask for that while there is time to make changes, but if she’s that savvy she’ll probably won’t have to.
Voiceover actors or artists as some prefer (and some are on those sound boards) must have the voice and someone said to them, you should be doing this. If someone said it to you, and you aren’t doing community theatre or practicing a lot of commercial scripts, you should be. Find out if you can quickly analyze copy, memorize it and act entire phrases, create characters and sell the products. And, make it bigger than life!
Other actors will be willing to listen offer advice, even direct you or tell you where to go for help in developing your vocal artistry. Actors even take lessons from acting or on-camera coaches to sharpen those particular acting skills. You may even find you like stage acting; however, if voiceover work is still your passion, I would bet there are actors there, some who have worked in L.A., N.Y., or Chicago, and done the commercials and voice-overs who may be willing to coach you personally. This is all for free–except for the professional lessons the others take as well. Of course, that’s up to you.
A voice-over coach who coaches beginners on equipment will be a great help.
I found a casting director in my area that charged newcomers to the area a $100 session to sit down and she would give you an assessment of where you were in the market. Every market is different. She told me the types of characters she would recommend for me, agents to whom I should send headshots and resumes, a photographer for headshots, and a production studio to make my demo. Don’t worry no kick-back. Each session is tailored to the individual. I was told to use her name when contacting the agents and I had two immediate offers.
The hard part is either buying studio time with producer on a regular basis to make it worth your while or building the mostly soundproof, recording system somewhere in your house or garage. For that you will need a professional.
At this point, a voice-over coach who coaches beginners on equipment will be a great help. There are some who sell or recommend equipment themselves; the equipment is probably what you need. What you really need is how to use the equipment to make the best sound and market it. That’s what the voice-over artist coaches know best. Find a reputable one and a good fit as discussed above and check references. No guarantees.
I am willing to listen to you read and give you feedback for free as I noticed others were in these comments. I’m on the East Coast now (Philadelphia area), but I am a Southern California guy. Good luck.
For the voiceover folks who became offended. I recognize experience as a great factor and I don’t think any of my voiceover work would have happened without my experience in radio and television. I have over 40 years professional stage and commercial voiceover and on-camera acting experience. I have an interdisciplinary dual Master’s degree in Performance Criticism (English, Speech and Theatre) and am a working theatre critic.
Bottom line here. Coaches are not for novices. They are for someone who has pretty much to offer no matter the field. When I was a professional speaker, it was a common practice to have a coach watch your delivery and evaluate your work. Smart people do it no matter how good they are. One slip can bring that reputation down.
What does this have to do with business coaches? Absolutely everything. Don’t try to bullshit your way into the boardroom; you’ll just embarrass yourself. If you are in a position of giving advice to a contact, make sure it is good advice. Don’t shove coaching down his or her throat if it’s training they need or a consultant, or a motivator to raise morale. You’ll raise points and gain credibility by doing the right thing. It’s a code all coaches should follow. Give potential students the advice they need before giving them a class that should be down the road.
Is it the same for finding the right business coach as it is for any other kind of coach? Only if you want one that will work.
I just came from the world of a voice over (VO) coaching professional group on LinkedIn. The social network for professionals seem to give me a lot of ideas. I happened to look into one of my groups: Voiceover Coaching Professionals. As a former actor and voiceover artist, I am familiar with media; however, not ever having used a VO coach, I am a little befuddled as to their real purpose. I suppose it is to supplement income, while they profess to be quite successful; or, they are quite successful and they want to be more successful and richer, too.
At any rate, they may be like the writers who edit books to pay the bills or actors who wait on tables until their next job. Or, they are the lucky ones, doing what they love, and in their spare time teaching how they do it to novices–a noble undertaking. I’m sure everyone likes the last, but while I covered almost everyone some variations remain. However, I do suggest that no one get uppity when someone asks the question: “what makes you the one I should use as my coach?”
To clarify: a VO artist does voiceovers for commercials, PSAs, automated services, training films, e-learning and other online training products as well as ebooks. I won’t quote any of the comments. Allie (not her real name) asked the question, since she was new to the business, how to find the right VO coach for her. I should mention that Allie is one of us, a trainer, who I will presume to be a communicator already. She felt she needed her VO coach to be dependable; he didn’t have to be on her schedule everyday, but because she worked, appointments were important to keep. She wanted to know what she shouldexpect from such a coach.
Doesn’t her scenario work for any client? Are her expectations reasonable? There are some differences with business coaches or consultants granted.
Most of what you will be reading here are my responses to the VO coaches who to responded to a newby who wanted to be a VO artist. She had the “voice for VO and nothing else,” she said. (I would never buy that and neither should she, but that’s for later.)
I didn’t copy the coaches’ responses, just mine. I’ll try to give you the jist of their comments, but they may be obvious to you and you will be able to make connections. The early comments were several coaches jumping in offering their programs, through Skype, without mentioning cost, of course. So I asked:
“I’m just curious,” I said. “Having gotten into the business without a coach: where did you all come from? What is your background? Education? Training? Acting experience outside of voiceovers?”
I thought it was an innocent question. Instead I received a rant on how qualified this man was in something else, but had experience in VO.
What? You can’t ask for qualifications? Even actors’ coaches know training alone is not going to get you the customers you need to survive. Your bonafides have to include professional roles, especially on Broadway–especially if you are located on the East Coast.
Bonafides of some sort give people a place to start. Why does that strike a nerve here? When it does, that is cause to rethink this particular coach. A professional knows that qualifications can be simply a client list at least (or if it has to confidential, say so), years of experience, or tons of the right credentials. Push back is a con artist ploy.
I studied with an acting pro in LA in the beginning, but I knew the basics.
My general suspicion lies with a guy I met whose only claim to fame as a professional speaker was that he was the TV weatherman. He made his living “teaching Public Speaking 101” to the general public. I could only shake my head when I saw a video of his where he was telling the group to relax and he takes up what I point out to my students as “the fig leaf pose,” a nice relaxed pose with your hands crossed over your groin, the mark of an amateur.
I suspect though push back in the VO area is because it involves voice talent, and not necessarily if you went to college at all or what you majored in if you did. Acting training outside of voice overs was probably the spark to unnerve them. These VO coaches should learn how to handle…
…the competition. The actors who do voiceovers and do not use voiceover coaches. They have agents who send them to auditions or directly to clients. Most are hired by the client and go to a studio. I know several who have a small studio at home and do both stage acting, commercial on-camera and voice over work, including audio books. I’ve had client’s themselves call me back for work, and I would then call my agent so we got the numbers right.
I studied with an acting pro in LA in the beginning, but I knew the basics. Every actor needs to stay sharp so actors see “coaches” along the way if they do this for a living. I’ve written several articles on education, training vs experience. I do voiceovers among other kinds of acting, and I do teach. My pro career in acting was full early on and sporadic later on with family, and I liked my day job. Retired from government, I pursued a position related to both acting/speaking and my day job: coaching corporate executives in speech. I made my living. A couple years I was unemployed from my day job and I made more in acting. Scared me. Now I do other things.
Still, it is a matter of experience and references in many cases. That’s all I was asking these coaches. I have coached stage acting, voiceover acting (not the technical side), commercial acting, and speech. That does not make me better or worse as a VO coach; however, because of my diverse background I can offer options, something beyond what they initially ask for. I am qualified to send them off in another direction.
People seldom ask for money-back in a service-oriented position–especially one that depends on your talent to succeed as well.
Asking for some kind of qualification to hire anyone is not irrelevant–be it education, training or experience: they are all valid. So is asking for references.
Here’s the bottom line, find out how much risk the coach is willing to take. Don’t abuse the risk he or she is willing to take to get the job. If it feels like a fit and he or she seems consistently right in the course of action, then draw up the contract and welcome him or her aboard. In a talent-oriented business, acting or voice overs, it’s about trust. If you and your coach work well, and you are doing your best, there will be no question of value for the money. If you want to set yourself a time-limit for success, that’s your business, and it’s also how you define success. Is it all you thought it would be? Constantly marketing and sending demos–exciting or a pain. But if it’s truly your path, go for it!
Always remember there are always other ways to get the same information. To keep your body fit, there’s Wii Fitness, Jane Fonda videos, the local gym or a personal trainer–each in its own way helps to do the job, but with varying costs and various amounts of commitment by you.
As with a VO or a Personal Trainer or Business Coach, a lot may be at stake here. Venture off the internet and find other ways that what you want can be done. In business, a trainer may be what you really need, or a consultant in the short term to get you on track, or a motivational specialist. People will tell you what you want to hear. There are some of us who have nothing to gain, who you can ask for feedback anytime.
Be sure to read Part II. Happy training.
This commentary is my opinion alone and The Free Management Library is not in anyway responsible for its content. I have written several articles of a similar nature. I tend to look at training, the workforce, business management, leadership and communication from a slightly different perspective than you might expect. I published an e-book called The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development in which I explain my reasons for looking at training and development in a different way. I look at it from the outside looking in, from the worker side, from the management side, from the trainer’s, and sometimes from the psychological side. I encourage you to talk about what you think about certain aspects of training on this website as long as you keep it generic. We’ll link to your site, and I hope you will comment here.
Please take a peek at my blog site, Shaw’s Reality, and you’ll find out more. By the way, I have an e-novel, Harry’s Reality, published by Amazon. It’s a scary look at what the future could be like if we stopped talking to one another and let the devices take over.
In my first book, Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service, I provide a framework to share your gifts in loving service. When you align your gifts, passion, and purpose, the glory and radiance of who you are shines through.
Here’s a wonderful video of a young man who did just that. Michael had the hutzpah to ask Billy Joel if he could accompany Billy Joel on stage. Michael just blossomed. He played the piano with such grace, composure, and style it blew everyone away, including Billy Joel.
So what are you waiting for – what gifts do you have to share with the world?
You don’t have to be a virtuoso to share your gifts. You simply need to have the courage to show up as the authentic you.
You never know when you take the chance, step past your comfort zone, or simply dare to shine, the impact you will make. You demonstrate new ways of showing up.
And when you align your gifts with your passion and larger purpose, your greatness radiates.
Linda J. Ferguson, Ph.D. shares her gifts of job coaching to help her clients experience the magnificence of their life. If you want extra guidance, encouragement and support to share your gifts at work, in your community, and in the world, work with Linda as your job coach. Simply email Linda to schedule a free coaching session to get started – ljfergusonphd@gmail.com
You may have heard the expression, ‘Energy flows where Attention Goes’. I’ve used this principle many times to be mindful of where I’m feeding my attention and energy.
Lately I’ve been paying attention to and receiving wonderful energy from grateful clients.
Sharing Gratitude
This week I received two lovely emails from clients who told me how much they benefited from my coaching, books and seminars. Wow, that really fills my heart.
When was the last time you heard from a client who appreciated what you offered?
Have you managed your relationships with them enough to get that feedback?
Gratitude is the gift that just keeps on giving. Reach out to a customer to let them know how much you appreciate doing business with them.
What gestures of kindness are you sharing with those you appreciate?
Take time this week to support someone, touch them deeply, or offer your gifts in a special way.
The Circle of Gratitude
When was the last time you reached out to say thanks to a co-worker for what they do to support you? Let them know how they’ve helped you, even if in a small way.
You’ll give a tremendous gift to that person by letting them know that what they do matters. As you reach out to them, you’ll be reminded of the gift they have given you. Let that gift fill your heart with warmth, love and kindness.
And so the circle of giving and receiving expands. We all want to make a difference in someone’s life and feel that what we do matters.
Reach out and touch someone today. Make this world a better place by sharing the gift of gratitude.
Bright Blessings for a joyous week.
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Linda J. Ferguson is an author, seminar leader, and job coach. She integrates principles of Appreciative Inquiry, Emotional Intelligence, and practical spirituality to help her clients experience greater joy, purpose and clarity.
Schedule a Free Consultation to find out how you can shift your work or life a notch or two closer to Awesome! Contact Linda – ljfergusonphd@gmail.com
I wanted to get your attention with that metaphor: a vampire sucking blood for speakers, presenters and trainers sucking the energy out their audience or trainees and using it by transforming that “blood” energy into life giving nervous energy.
University speech students always want to take on the audience that’s already on their side when they should know it’s the audience that’s against them that will make them stronger.
If you’ve never heard of it before… When giving a speech you want the audience that is against you, (1) so you have someone to oppose you, and (2) to suck the opposition’s energy out.
It’s true. Any stressful situation that doesn’t leave you sitting in a pool of…sweat in the corner will make you rise to the occasion. Seasoned speakers know this.
Actors on stage know this. Stage fright, notwithstanding, they crave a full house. For them, this is not less is more. Why do you think actors are always peeking out from the curtain? They want, they need the energy. For they are vampires in need of blood energy, but not so gory. And, they aren’t particular; they’ll take anyone who’ll listen. For actors though, it’s a one-sided argument in their favor. It’s the fear of the many versus the lessor fear of a few. The reward is the heightened with more people watching. There is more stress.
It’s a matter of energy.
Now, I don’t know the physics of it; maybe the energy factor is just a myth or something I made up, but it seems to work. Let’s say the audience is in favor of whatever it is you are selling. “Now, wait,” they say, “that was too easy.” And, then they begin to question every word you say. These were the people on your side, remember.
Those against are going to wait to hear what you have to say until you prove them wrong, which is what you plan to do. They are already second guessing you, but then they did that a long time ago. Now, the situation’s new. You’re a new face. Maybe you have new ideas. They’re beginning to listen. Who knows? You’re a little nervous. Use that nervous energy as you’ve been taught to make yourself stronger.
Felt something a little different was in order for those who still do face-to-face training. Happy Training
I love the work of Matthew Fox, the expelled Catholic priest. In his book, The Reinvention of Work, Fox suggests the metaphor for work as a “Sacred Sacrament”.
He defines sacrament as “a holy revelation of the hidden mysteries of the Divine – mysteries so sacred they require metaphor and symbol if we are to talk about them.”
How you describe your work can motivate and engage you or disempower and drain you. Images, descriptions, and symbols carry messages that have a subtle but significant impact on your motivation and work culture.
Creating New Work Metaphors
Many people still think of work as ‘punching the clock’ or ‘working for the man’. What images come to mind for your work? Do you think of it as a garden, a jazz band, a giant machine, a gerbil wheel…..
Here is a short excerpt from chapter 5 ‘Creating New Metaphors’ from my book, Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service. It provides ideas for re-imagining how you work.
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“Fox suggests work can be seen as a sacrament and that we can move between different sacraments. For instance, leadership can be seen as an ordination. We confer upon leaders certain powers and privileges, but with that comes responsibility for taking care of the group and bringing the group to a higher level of existence. Likewise, teamwork can be seen as a marriage. Each member comes with her own individuality and offers it to the team. Yet as with a marriage, the team will take on a life of its own that needs to be nurtured and maintained. Fox writes, “Sacramental work serves the cause of the Great Work of the universe, a work of interdependence and compassion.”
One activity for beginning to see your work differently through metaphor is to envision an activity that you enjoy doing. It may be a hobby or interest that you pursue, (e.g., hiking, weaving, quilting, cooking, rock climbing, dancing, scuba diving etc.) What you want to do is to create a spiritual metaphor for your work that reflects your work in a creative, passionate, meaningful way.
How can your work or activities be viewed in ways that are uplifting and life-renewing?
What other images do you have that are inspiring and energy-sustaining?
Use these images to help structure your work or symbolize your work environment.”
If you are looking for new ways to motivation, inspire or engage your employees, find images, symbols or words that spark their creativity, passion, and larger purpose. Ask them for images or metaphors for their team that help them focus on the best of who they are together.
What you focus on matters.
Choose those images that remind you of the gifts you bring and the positive impact you have on others.
May your work serve a higher purpose and renew your spirit.
If you are feeling stuck in a rut, unmotivated, bored or overwhelmed with your work, consider job coaching with Linda. She’ll inspire, encourage, and support you to shift how you work. If you want to change jobs, Linda can focus and sustain your energy to find or create new work that better suits your interests and skills. Schedule a free consult to see how you benefit from job coaching with Linda- ljfergusonphd@gmail.com
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The definition of a Swan Song is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song in the moment just before death, having been silent (or alternatively, not so musical) during most of their lifetime.
