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Do It Yourself
by Sharon Good
There are times in our careers,
whether in the arts or otherwise, when we feel frustrated with the
opportunities that are coming our way. We feel disempowered waiting for
someone to come make us an offer that will get us out of our rut and
thrust us, perhaps into the "big time" or just into something more
fulfilling and more lucrative.
As creative people, validation is important to us. We want our work to
be noticed and recognized. When someone hires us, commissions or buys
our work, or chooses to publish us, we feel we've gotten the stamp of
approval from "them." And certainly, for most of us, our creativity is,
at least in part, about connecting with others, not just creating in a
vacuum.
But there comes a time when we have to have the courage to step out and
make our own opportunities, rather than mournfully waiting to be
discovered. We have to take the risk of making ourselves visible --
perhaps suffering criticism, but hopefully, getting noticed by the
powers that be. I've done this myself a couple of times with positive
results -- the first during my acting career.
The apartment complex I live in, which is a few blocks from the
Broadway theatre district, is a community of performing artists. Back
in the 1980s, a group of us, tired of waiting to be recognized, banded
together and produced, directed and acted in a series of showcases that
gave us the opportunity to demonstrate our talents, both as
entertainment for our community and so that talent agents could come
see us perform. I can't say that my acting career took off as a result,
but some good opportunities did come out of it.
An unexpected benefit was that the skills I learned as a producer
served me well when, a few years later, I became a book publisher. And
those efforts *did* land me a publishing contract with a larger
publishing house. By publishing myself, I put my book in places where
people in the trade would see it, and one up-and-coming publisher liked
it and made me an offer.
And I'm in a lot of good company. Many well-known writers started out
as self-publishers, including:
* Ken Blanchard -- "The One-Minute Manager"
* James Redfield -- "The Celestine Prophecy"
* Richard Nelson Bolles -- "What Color Is Your Parachute?" which was
first published at a local copy shop in 1970, commercially published in
1972, and was on the "New York Times" best-seller list for 288 weeks
* Molly Katzen -- "The Moosewood Cookbook"
* Tom Peters -- "In Search of Excellence"
* Irma Rombauer -- "The Joy of Cooking"
Not to mention Virginia Woolf (who published her own and others' books
through her Hogarth Press), Beatrix Potter ("Peter Rabbit") and
Margaret Mitchell ("Gone With the Wind")!
Many successful film directors, writers and actors started their
careers, or made a name for themselves, by creating their own projects.
* Matt Damon and Ben Affleck catapulted their budding acting careers to
stardom when they wrote and co-starred in the popular film, "Good Will
Hunting"
* John Waters, whose "Hairspray" was a successful film and is currently
a hit Broadway show, began by writing, directing and producing "Pink
Flamingos"
* Steven Soderbergh, who wrote, directed and edited "Sex, Lies and
Videotape," went on to direct "Traffic," "Erin Brockovich," and
"Ocean's 11," among others
* Writer/director Robert Rodriguez went from "El Mariachi" to the
popular "Spy Kids" series
Successful actors often form their own production companies as a route
to gaining access to projects that really excite them. These include
such notables as Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Robert Redford and
Susan Sarandon.
Some of our best-known teacher/speaker/writers also took their careers
in their own hands:
* Visionary Marianne Williamson began her career by doing lectures on
"A Course in Miracles" in her living room. She went on to write several
successful books, and was honored when Nelson Mandela chose her words
for his inaugural speech.
* Wayne Dyer, today a best-selling author and speaker, didn't do so
well at first. He bought copies of his failing book, "Your Erroneous
Zones," from his publisher, packed them in the trunk of his car, and
traveled the country doing talk radio shows and selling books. The rest
is history!
Current technology has enabled many people to produce their own music
or spoken CDs and podcasts. With the Internet, you can create your own
marketing outlet and sell your products online.
* A talented young singer named Shawn Pander produced his own CDs and
sells them from his website (www.shawnpander.com). Shawn got great
exposure when he was featured on the "Dr. Phil" show.
On the business side, one of the best ways to advance your career is to
initiate new projects or introduce new ideas, rather than just waiting
to be told what needs to be done. Look at a problem or need your
company or department has. See how you can address that problem or
need, and write a proposal that you can present to your supervisor. And
if you see an opportunity for a unique product or service, you could
even start your own business!
So, don't hang around waiting to be discovered. If you're an artist,
find a small gallery, library, or coffee house that would love to dress
up its premises by showing some original art, and create a showcase for
your work. Raise some money and produce your own CD or publish your
book. Band together with your friends. Pool your resources to create
opportunities for your work to be seen, as I did with my neighbors a
couple of decades ago.
By taking ownership of your work and getting it out there, you can
create visibility and momentum that could take a lot longer to achieve
if you waited for someone else to give you the opportunity. And who's
going to get behind your work more enthusiastically than you? Go for it!
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(c) 2006 Sharon Good. All rights in all media reserved.
For reprint rights, contact sharon@goodlifecoaching.com
Sharon Good is a Life/Career/Creativity Coach, Workshop Leader and
Author. Her books include "Managing With A Heart: 222 Ways To Make Your
Employees Feel Appreciated," "The Tortoise Workbook: Strategies for
Getting Ahead at Your Own Pace," and "Self-Publishing Basics."
Sharon is available for one-on-one coaching for:
* whole life balance using the Whole Life model
* successful career and life transitions with the Life Purpose
Process©
* support in achieving your goals and dreams
* guidance in writing or publishing your book
* developing your creativity
* enhancing and integrating spirituality in your daily life
For a **FREE INTRODUCTORY COACHING SESSION**, contact Sharon at
212-564-2073 or sharon@goodlifecoaching.com.
For further information, see her website at
http://www.goodlifecoaching.com
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