We all need a supportive ear from time to time, someone to chew the fat with - either informally with a friend, or more formally with a mentor or a coach. “It’s good to talk”, as Bob Hoskins once said a long, long time ago on a TV ad. And it might just provide a timely reminder of your passions, your strengths and your skills.
by PANEL WRITER Marcus Grodentz
I recently had an amazing conversation.
I do a lot of public speaking often to Women’s Institute groups. They like to hear about my experiences as a journalist and the events I have been involved in during my career in public relations.
After my talk I socialise over a cup of tea and a biscuit.
After one such talk a lady in her 70’s was chatting to me and said “ So you now work as a life coach. I don’t understand what that is. Can you explain?
“No”, I replied. “ Not really. I have to show you. Will you let me do a quick coaching session with you?”
She agreed – which was great.
But where do you start when you only have ten minutes with a person you have never met before and with whom you have had no time to develop any rapport?
So I just dove straight in.
“What are you passionate about?” I asked her.
“Oh”, she replied. “ That’s easy. My painting, I love painting.”
So I asked her about her painting. And she told me she just did it for family and friends and never sold anything.
I asked her why not.
She replied “ Oh, I’m nowhere near good enough. Who would pay for my work?”
I mentioned to her that many cafes and coffee shops around the country had small works of art by local painters for sale.
“Yes ,” she said. “ I have often seen them. My work is better than many I have seen.”
So I asked her again what was stopping her from selling her work.
She told me that she didn’t ‘paint properly.’
I asked her what she meant.
“Well, I paint animals and I do it from photographs that people give me. That’s not proper painting.”
I replied: “ But it’s your way of painting. It’s your style. Did anyone tell LS Lowrry that he wasn’t painting properly because of the way he depicted people?”
Her response was great. She stared off into the far distance and a smile came over her face.
“Oh,” she said. Then she said “Oh,” again.
Then she looked at me. “ You have certainly given me a lot to think about she said.”
I replied:” We did that in just ten minutes. Imagine what we could do in two hours.”
It’s never too late to rediscover your self-belief.
It’s never too late to be even more passionate about what you are passionate about.
If you would like a free in-depth coaching session with me contact me and let’s discover your hidden passion.
Marcus Grodentz is former head of communications for Gloucester City Council and now runs Novus Life Coaching
image via Municipal Archives of Trondheim
