That means that I may not always be as fuzzy and warm and welcoming as some people are.  And it also means that I know what I’m talking about, I have a bazillion resources I can offer to you – and I will always, always, always meet you where you are, with total, unconditional support.

I will stand with you, beside you, shoulder to shoulder.  As long as you keep trying to move forwards – whether you think you’re succeeding or not – there is nothing you can do or say that will make me stop supporting you.

And at the same time, I’ll call you on your shit every time, whether you like it or not.  Because that’s what I’m here for – that’s what supporting you 100% means to me.

I know what it’s like to be terrified of what you’re taking on.  I know what it’s like to wonder if you’re absolutely nuts for even trying.  And I know what it’s like to think about going back to working for someone else – working for “the man” – and to feel as if you’d rather go bankrupt first.

You don’t have to go bankrupt, but you do have to get honest and clear with yourself, with who you are, with the essence of why you do what you do.

Because for someone like you – you can’t play a game with your work.  You can’t put up a slick sales page that bears little resemblance to who you are.  You can’t live with the disconnect, and neither can your customers.  They’ll smell it a mile away, and they won’t buy from you or hire you.

I’m an intuitive, and I’m a writer.  I live and breathe words and the profoundly subtle ways that words affect how someone responds to a message.  My clients are consistently awed by how quickly I can capture, in a brief phrase, key concepts about their work that they’ve struggled for months or years to express.

I can and will help you see into the heart of your fears, the beliefs that hold you back.  I can and will help you find the language you’ve struggled to find to talk about what you do – what you really do – the “deep gladness that you offer the world’s need.”  I can and will help you access the knowingness that’s available to you, the power of what’s calling you.  And I can and will help you take that message into the world, no matter how much of an introvert you may feel you are.

I’m an intellectual.  That means I’m smart and knowledgeable.  I’ve learned a lot about marketing and copywriting and networking and what it means to be in business.  Before running my own business, I was a software engineer, a systems development consultant, and a knowledge management executive.  I understand process and systems and I have a wide, wide network of resources that I tap to help my clients.

I’m a geek.  That means I’m a collector of all kinds of knowledge and trivia – and people.  If I don’t have a resource on hand, I know someone who does, or where you can find it.  I’ve got a tremendous mental warehouse of detail that I employ on your behalf.

I’m spiritual.  That means I honour a wider perspective, a bigger context.  I’m not afraid of the unknown, and I don’t have to know what’s going to happen.  I don’t have all the answers, and I’m sure that answers are available when you and I open to possibility with curiosity and a willingness to be surprised.  I know that you’re always and already whole, and I’ll meet you where you are – wherever that may be in any moment of our work together.

I’m intuitive.  That means that from any moment to the next, I don’t necessarily know what I’m going to say or suggest.  I trust my intuition, and I’ll ask you to trust it also – or at least to play along with me, even if something sounds wacky.  I know it’s possible to tune into what’s calling you, what’s deeply true for you, and to operate from that place even when you don’t know what the hell is going on.

I care.  My work with clients regularly brings me to tears of gladness, awe, and humility.  I stand in amazement of who we all are and what we can accomplish when we open to our wholeness and the tremendous power of our spirits and our vulnerability.

I want to help you succeed.  It’s as simple – and profound – as that.

It’s all for a good cause.  Because in case you missed it (though I’ve been talking about it on Twitter and in my newsletter), I’m teaching a class on networking. 

I’ve been reading the very honest things that my class participants have been writing in answer my questions about their feelings about networking.  “Dread” appears rather prominently, along with “awkward” and the practical aspect of “creating business opportunities.”  

And writing the class handout.  As anyone who’s taken a class with me, or seen my work in any form, knows, I tend to be extremely thorough and generous in my presentations and handouts.  So the workbook for this class is totally overkill ridiculously helpful.

What you should understand is that if you’d told me a year or two ago that I’d be sitting here preparing to teach a class on networking – well.  It is to laugh hysterically. 

Because I was profoundly networking-phobic.

Four years ago, driving home in tears from a networking event that I hadn’t been able to find, much less attend, I swore I’d never go to another event ever again. 

Returning home crushed into insignificance from events where I hadn’t even been able to say my name before someone steamrolled over me with who they were and what they did, I shoved handfuls of business cards into the recycling bin – and swore I’d never go to another event ever again. 

Sending follow-up emails that got no response … I swore I’d never go to another event ever again.

Fast forward to last night. 

At a monthly event I seldom attend (twice in the last year), I ran into four or five people I know.  Had some great conversations with new connections, some of whom were very interested in my work.  Was able to introduce people who needed to know each other.  Picked mercilessly on a friend (he deserves it, trust me) that I made through networking, and almost never see except at networking events.

Had fun!  What a concept, hey?  Fun at a networking event?

(And oh, yeah, the food was fabulous.  Oink.  And the panel of speakers was intelligent, interesting, and informative, and I was able to use what I learned in a conversation with a client this afternoon.)

What made the difference?

I stopped trying to follow other people’s rules.

I stopped trying to be someone I’m not.

I showed up willing to be surprised, accepting that I had no idea what would happen or where it would lead.

I accepted and acknowledged my discomfort – not to say fear – about networking, and allowed myself to be curious about what “doing things differently” might look like.

So when I say that my networking class isn’t like anything you’ve ever experienced, I’m not kidding. 

I’m not here to teach you more rules.  I’ll give you LOTS of tips and ideas about things that work for me, sure. 

The important stuff you’ll learn is that it’s okay to hate networking – and you can succeed at it and have fun anyway.  (There are plenty of days when I still loathe the idea of leaving the house!) 

You’ll learn questions you can ask yourself that will reframe and shift how you feel – that will give you space for all the fear, resistance, frustration, whatever you feel, and will open the way for curiosity, “what if,” and a sense of playfulness.

Come join us.  It’s going to be fun, and you’ll learn stuff that will make networking a whole new experience for you.  Guaranteed.

Because no one should hate networking the way I used to!

It seems that the whole idea of corporate politics has become more taboo than sex.  

This isn’t just my imagination. 

I was scheduled to teach a version of that really cool workshop for the local chapter of the Society for Technical Communication.  And then I got a cancellation email from the delightful Anita Boyd, their VP of Professional Development.  She wrote, “Fewer people have forwarded the announcement to their co-workers because of the subject matter.  Apparently the words ‘workplace politics’ are very powerful and suspicious, especially given the climate.”

Just like sex*, people love talking about corporate politics at parties and gossiping about it in quiet corners.  But actually getting help with it?  No way.  Even though you know you want help, you know you’ve got things to learn, and you suspect you might be able to feel a lot less shy and less inhibited, there’s this huge taboo about it all.

*(When Anita gave me permission to quote her, she didn’t know I was going to talk about sex!)

So it looks as if the elephant is going to have to climb back into the supply closet, instead of being allowed to dance on the conference-room table.

Which is okay, actually.  I love working with my clients on those corporate-politics issues, and of course I’ll keep doing so.  And there’s a lot of other work we do together that’s as much fun and even more rewarding – for them and for me as well.

But before I start talking about all of that, I’d like to know – what’s taboo in your workplace?  Whether you’re deep in the clutches challenges and rewards of a corporate career, or you’re enjoying the madness excitement of being self-employed, you’re bound to be dealing with interpersonal politics in some way.  Is it something you find easy to talk about and to question, or is it a taboo subject?  And if it’s taboo, why?

Of course, I knew almost no-one was going to read my first newsletter, whereas I’ve been talking about the blog long enough that there are all sorts of people (or so my fevered imagination is telling me) just waiting to hear that I’ve written a post.

So, it’s not perfect.  There are a couple of technical glitches that still need fixing.  I have no idea what I can possibly say in this first post that will make anyone want to read more.  And Super Bowl Sunday has got to be one of the three worst days to launch anything.  (Christmas and New Year’s being the other two.)

Nonetheless, here it is, and I’m EXCITED.  And I hope that despite – or perhaps because of – its imperfections, you’ll feel like hanging out here. 

I want this to be a place to have conversations.

You see, I enjoy writing my newsletter a lot.  And I love the comments and questions I get from my readers.  But those conversations feel limited to me.  As much as I enjoy one-on-one discussion, I think there’s also a lot to be said for getting more people involved. 

So that’s what I want to have here:  a place where we can all get involved and have real conversations about things that matter to us. 

I’ll be showing up regularly, and I’ll write about all sorts of topics. 

Careers, of course, and what it really takes to be successful in your career (which may not be what you expect).  Whether you’re self-employed or you go to work for someone else, what does it mean to really engage with your career, with your life?  My opinion is, it takes breaking a lot of rules – throwing the rule book out the window, in fact.  And we’ll definitely be talking about that!

I’m a lover of random trivia, so you’ll undoubtedly be surprised, and maybe occasionally bored or even annoyed, by some of what I write.  You’ll also have a chance, I hope, to learn things that are fun as well as practical and useful.  And – okay, I won’t create a list of all the possible topics; instead, let’s just explore them as they arise.

I want to learn from you, too, so I hope you’ll participate, both by leaving comments and by asking questions.  Ask your questions in your comments on the blog, or email them to me.  I’ll answer any question asked in comments, and I’ll blog about the interesting questions that you email me.

So that’s it.  First blog post done.  Welcome to the party!