HARD THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS THE RIGHT THINGS
In my work, now, I coach mid-career creatives who have more ideas want to create the right environment to bring them to life. In my work, then, as an artist and curator, I saw some really good examples of people who figured this out.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mike Mignola a few times. I have a polaroid somewhere of me pretending to eat his head with a fork. He is, as the Irish say, good craic. Mike is also the creator of Hellboy, a comic-book character, which won him a bunch of awards in the 90s, 00s, and spawned a series of live action and animated movies.
I’ve seen Mike give a few lectures, and in one he said “I don’t like drawing feet.” Someone in the audience interrupted because, wait a minute, you can draw creatures and places and whole worlds that don’t exist, obviously you can draw feet.
Mike stopped the lecture to go back over his slides. Sure enough, in every image, he found a way to either simplify, “suggest,” or create a composition that completely cut out any need to draw feet.
For the non-drawers, this is kind of wild. It’s something every figurative artist works to get good at, in part because feet and hands are well-understood to be hard to get right. Go with a visual artist to a museum with paintings of people, they’ll be looking with awe at how each work handled hands and feet.
And, to be fair, Mike CAN draw feet, but if you look up his work you’ll see how he built an empire and mostly avoided it.
What seems to come easy to Mike is pretty much everything else. He can compose an image, a page of panels, a story, and a whole world of completely made-up stuff.
What Mike did was lean into what he enjoyed doing, and leaned off of what he didn’t even though that thing is the thing most artists focus on.
His biggest advantage was to be the best at the unique mix of things he’s good at and loved doing.
YOU DON'T DRAW DEMONS AT WORK
Let’s assume that you don’t see ancient Celtic demons come to life when you close your eyes, nor do you make a living drawing them. What you do have in common here is a unique set of strengths that might be getting ignored because it’s not one of the checkboxes for success in your work or home environment.
Another quick example, I met with someone who leads a creative team and has a boss. When we spoke, they told me the boss is “all business,” and they’ve had to do triage with team members. The team members just needed guidance, and by doing that she helped the team feel better, be more focused, and produce better work. Her way of mentoring wasn’t praised, but it actually fulfilled the metrics of success.
Now she’s trying to create an environment where this is the norm, which looks a lot like moving teams, or jobs, or companies.
What she is doing, and what Mike has done, takes guts. There are or were probably real live people telling them that what they’re spending their energy on is a waste of time. There’s real pressure in work and life to just get the thing done, just move forward, HOWEVER, if you do that without taking the time to consider the whole of the outcome then you’ll finish the thing and be miserable anyway.
HOW TO DO IT YOUR WAY
One way to begin is to shift your environment. I’ve worked with people who did this by hunting and landing a leadership role, changing companies, or starting their own thing.
And the way we ALWAYS start is by asking: how will your desired outcome be different because it’s you?
One of my clients was on the verge of launching their own agency. We talked strategy, messaging, all the usual stuff. They had a solid plan and financial outlook. This is deeply oversimplified, but they were trying to figure out the best way to do it: on their own or with a managing partner.
Both outcomes looked the same on paper by the numbers, until we asked how it would be different because it was them.
This client has a rich social life and years of experience organizing community events, for work and play. They knew exactly how to bring people together and make them feel like they belonged. And when they imagined building a company, this was part of it. They wanted this way of being to be a part of the brand DNA for whatever they did next.
Up until now, those skills didn’t “count” because they weren’t something on their LinkedIn.
And now they saw it as a way to stand out in a crowded field and bring something truly bespoke to their clients.
We repositioned the decision process around around what they were already great at, and the decision got easier. And they chose a launch path that gave them the most say in how to lead their teams.
And, yes, it went well. In their words it was a “wildly successful launch.
KIT-BASH your life
Kit-bashing is a concept that began in the 1960s with model railroad collectors. They’d buy different complete sets, mix up all the pieces, and build a new and unmapped set of tracks. The results were unique and amazing.
The metaphor is pretty strong here for mid-lifers wanting to build a next chapter that feels more meaningful to them. You’ve got decades of experience, in a few different things (sets), and you now have enough parts to mix and match in a way that really feeds your soul (and bank account).
Yes, sure, take what works from other people. And also take what’s unique about your path including the hobbies and skills and even people that don’t “count.”
Combine them into something that actually fits you.
Tell me...
I love conversations about ideas.
What are three skills you have that some people think “don’t matter” in your career?
Leave a comment below.
to walk through a looking glass,
you need a looking glass
To see things differently, to step outside yourself, you need others.
Creativity and transformation are always best when done collaboratively. That’s because you can’t always see the water you’re swimming in. A mirror in the form of a coach can show you the things you can’t see.
The best collaboration is one that both celebrates and challenges you.
Example! I met someone who produced one of my daughter’s favorite TV shows. They’re also mid-life and hired a coach to figure out if they should keep going solo or do something else. After 6 months of good coaching, and challenging them to expand their ideas of what they wanted to do, they determined that their current path WAS the one they truly wanted. Change doesn’t always mean making changes on the outside. This change was internal, a mindset shift.
People think hiring a coach is like taking on another job. It’s more like clearing out the corners so you have MORE space and time.
HOW TO START
Every client is different because every creative path is different. But there is a process that has worked for the people who work with me.
But here’s what happens:
- We take an honest look at where you are, where you want to be, what you can do.
- We find the blind spot.
- We build your unique strategy, just like my clients above.
- We stay consistent and make it real.
And every successful creative shift starts with the same, simple, 15 minute call.
BOOK YOUR FREE 15 minute FIT CALL NOW
The best time to start was ten years ago. The second best time is now.