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Issue 6.9.C                                                                                                                                                              September 20, 2017

What's in this issue?


Hello Kathy, 

I know! This is a third letter from me this month.  You are beginning to wonder if I am going to be filling up your inbox like this all the time now.  No.  It's not my purpose to inundate you with non-sensical letters that serve to distract you from your important stuff.  But ...these letters have to do with that 'stuff'.

This is part 3 of 3 letters that I have sent.  If you haven't seen the others, I encourage you to search back through your last couple of weeks and look them over.  They begin to tell a story that has transformed my life this year- and is part of the transformation that GHC is offering this fall.  Read on! 


Jeff Goins, in his most recent book called Real Artists Don't Starve, talks about how starving artists wait to be noticed.  Thriving Artists cultivate PATRONS.   "Before you reach an audience of many, you must first reach an audience of one."  That ONE is dynamic when partnered with your competency in your craft and your willingness to learn. 

Often we think of the purpose of a patron is the money they might give to help an artist get started. But this goes way beyond the financial support.

All creative workers (and you probably are one even if you haven't identified you work as 'art') need:

  • influencers that will vouch for the artist to an audience who doesn’t know them yet.
  • advocates who see the artist’s potential, believe in their work and give them a chance.
  • The right person/or people to connect the artist to the right people.

We need a patron to not only help us decide what good art is, but also help us succeed. Goins. CLICK TO TWEET

I knew immediately as I read Jeff’s description that Jenn Wenzke was my influencer/ advocate/ chance giver/ connector.

She believed in me, challenged me, and supported me.  She was a cheerleader, an encourager, exhorting me on more than one occasion to quit making excuses and step up to the mic.  She asked me questions others might be afraid to ask and listened deeply as I searched inward for my answers.  She wasn’t afraid to tell me when she thought I was off track.  Jenn was my coach to the core.

She helped me decide what ‘good art’ in my work looked like and then championed me in the doing of it.

Jenn was my patron!

Her first question to me was Do you know your value? (If you want to be refreshed on the story, click here.)  

When my answers resembled jibberish, she simply replied,  "When you are done making excuses, you can get down to your business."  (View Blog Part 3: More of the Story )

Yep! That was the bottom line!  I was making excuses about why I wasn't being successful or seeing the kind of difference I wanted to see. 

Then June 7, 2017 my friend and mentor, Jenn Wenzke, died after battling the terrible ALS disease that threatened her body the entire time I knew her.

LESSONS FROM MY COACH

Our last conversation was at her home several weeks before her death.  She was so fragile, but still had much to say.   We spoke of  her health, her family, and of course the So Now Network..  She knew the legacy of that group was in good hands and felt confident it would continue strong. Her one big regret was that her SO NOW COACHING practice would not.

I asked her how I could help.  She said, “You need to be coaching leaders. “  I don’t know why I hadn’t specifically identified that before, but it suddenly seemed exactly right.

We continued talking for a while, this time about my business and thoughts I had for my future.  I spoke of wanting to bring other women in leadership to speak to the women in the GHC community.

Before I got the words out of my mouth, she was  shaking her  head—actually her whole little body in her great big chair.

“NO!” She insisted.  “Your voice. Your message. NOW!”

My breath caught .

I knew this was not just any moment.  This was THE moment.  The moment that summed up all Jenn had been speaking into me since the first Tuesday SO NOW meeting when we met two and a half years earlier.

Be YOU! Do what you do best! Do it Now!CLICK TO TWEET

Her role as my patron changed. She boldly launched me out to BE ME in the world!

It is time…

To know my value!

To own my voice!

To embrace my story and the message in it!

To get up on my platforms of influence (all different kinds of stages)!

To make my difference!

NOW!

But this is not just a message for me. 

This is for all of us who want our lives to count.  

  • We want to create 'good art', but we aren't sure what 'good art' looks like in our life? business? or craft?
  • We want to make a difference, but we struggle to intentionally identify the ways we can influence our world?
  • We want to matter, but we measure ourselves against what others do to matter- and we can't do that! 

You are right!  Because our 'good art', and influence, and ways that we matter in this world are unique to us!  

What happens if we don't take time to reflect and engage with our own version of 'good art'?  Nothing? Yeah, maybe all that happens is we miss out on what was planted in us to do. We know lot's of people who are lost in the mundane and trapped in a meaningless existence. It happens.  I've felt it myself. That's part of it.

But consider this.  God gave you your design, your strengths and abilities not just for you.  He built us for relationship and for community. He made some of us to be patrons.  

If you aren't being who God made you to be- then someone else is missing out on the ways God wanted you to champion them. They never hear the messages your story taught you that might inspire, challenge, support, pr encourage them. Have you considered that person?

Be YOU! Be In-spired! Make Your Dif'rence NOW! CLICK TO TWEET

It is not an easy journey to BE YOU!  It does not happen all at once.  But it can happen.  It takes paying attention to who you are and what you were made to do.

I want to be like Jenn- not be Jenn, but like her.  I want to be an authentic patron of women who grows a movement that empowers women to be their authentic selves and champions others to do the same.

This is a lasting legacy that I want to be part of in every way possible.  This inspired our next ONLINE GROUP opportunity beginning September 25th called

BE INSPIRED: Make Your Authentic Difference
using Your Voice, Your Message, Your Influence NOW!  
Check it out below. 

Who is your patron?   Who champions you, believes in you, connects you?  It may not be one person, but a variety of people in your life.  Identify them. Embrace what they offer.  Express gratitude for what they have done.  

Who are you a patron to?  Who knows you believe in them?  Who feels your support?  Who cherishes your influence?  Often we can do for one what we can't do for many.  Who is your one?

Jenn's life has ended, but her legacy in my life- and I hope, through her story and her words, now lives on in yours! 

Let's join the movement of INSPIRING people to make their authentic difference! 

Use Your voice! Your message!  Your influence!  NOW!

Kathy

 


 

Here at GHC this fall, in memory of Jenn, we are going to be talking more about You and  IT: Your Authentic Difference.

INTRODUCING GHC's first ONLINE GROUP 

Are you a leader?  Do you champion someone in your world?  Are you making the difference you want to be making? 

BE INSPIRED Group will be Monday nights at 8:00pm (Eastern)
starts Monday, September 25th. 

You get

  • weekly thought provoking video from Kathy
  • one hour video call “Let’s Talk About it” Monday's at 8pm (Eastern)
  • membership in the Be Inspired Facebook Community with other leaders and champions.

Each portion of this group is designed to be a... 

  • safe space to look honestly and deeply into who we are
  • place to build relationships, ask questions, be encouraged by others
  • inspiring dialogue about how and where to use our voice and what message we give.
  • opportunity to create a plan or framework for the difference you were made to make
  • accountability for the action steps you create

You just need the internet and a webcam or smart phone.  Instructions will be sent on how to get started.

Registration is open now, but space is very limited. We want to be sure we can invest in Your Authentic Difference and help you find your voice, your message, your difference. 

Register here!

Cost is less than $50 per session. That's $397 for all 8 sessions which is a significant investment in you. I realize we struggle to spend that much on ourselves.  Sometimes it is because we have so many other things vying for our resources.  Are they the things that deserve our resources?

Often we struggle with spending money on ourselves because we don't 'value' ourselves enough to invest in us. 

I believe in you! I want to inspire you to see your value, rise above the excuses, and own your voice, message and influence. 

 Want to know more?  Click here! 

 


ACTION STEPS:

  • Ponder the Patrons in your life.  
    • Identify them
    • Embrace their influence in your life
    • Thank them.
  • Sign up today for the BE INSPIRED online group to help you confidently take your best next step forward- big or small.

Your Voice!

Your Message!

Make Your Difference Now!

Kathy

 P.S.Know someone needs to know about this. Forward the email or send them to http://greenhopecoaching.com  

 

Contact Kathy Burrus
kathy@greenhopecoaching.com

419-306-8311

Green Hope Coaching with Kathy Burrus

Kathy Burrus
Green Hope Coaching with Kathy Burrus