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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781504360166 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Balboa Press |
| Publication date: | 07/11/2016 |
| Pages: | 160 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.44(d) |
Read an Excerpt
Idea Poetry
To Guide Your Passionate Pursuits
By Marie Kordus
Balboa Press
Copyright © 2016 Marie KordusAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5043-6015-9
CHAPTER 1
How Idea Poetry Came into Existence
I was a fine arts major in college with a secondary interest in philosophy. However, like most people my life after college took several twists and turns. I eventually found myself in the broadcast industry. I started as a media salesperson, and then I had an extensive period as a sales manager. During this time, I was able to integrate my interest in art and philosophy within my day-to-day work by creating Idea Poetry. Selling radio and television time is highly competitive, and in order to keep my sales team motivated, I would create one piece per year. I always tried to reflect the essence of the current time, however they are timeless and meaningful for anyone at any time.
Some of the designs were created in the early 1980s and are still relevant today, and they will continue to be in the years to come. It was a way for me to record my life experiences in a unique way and share them. I started producing them as one-sided cards, and I sent them as Christmas gifts. They were hardly holiday messages, however family, friends, and colleagues looked forward to them. They told me they framed them as wall art or desktop prints to look at during times of personal struggle. That encouraged me and gave me the confidence to do more, and knowing it was anticipated, I wanted to make certain the messages were universal and resonated with people everywhere, not just those who knew me. Over the years, I have been told they never cease to provide that lift, that inner boost; they keep on giving.
As a broadcast sales manager, I also developed a class for new salespeople entering the industry. The content was specifically on new business development, the heart of every sales organization. As the class evolved, I found it was very natural for me to integrate my Idea Poetry into the curriculum as gifts at the end of class, or as visuals to emphasize specific steps in my process for new business development. This added another dimension to my sales class by providing tangible, motivational tools people could take with them.
I began looking differently at these simple words and images, and I developed several visual programs using different Idea Poetry designs. I had all designs made into animated e-cards to add choices for their use. As examples, New Team Member Welcome uses seven pieces of idea poetry for managers or team leaders to use as new people join their team. On a personal note, a five-piece program offers inspiration to Lift Someone's Spirit. Both programs are portrayed later in the book, as are all Idea Poetry. You will have the opportunity to explore possibilities and combinations that work for you.
CHAPTER 2Seven Steps to Pursue Your Passions, Plus One
1. Passion
The adventure is our passion.
Passion is interest plus a burning desire.
Discover your passion by noticing those moments of flow, absorption, when the time just passes as you are involved in work that is uniquely yours.
This is the foundation of the process, and it begins personally with me, with you.
Go there.
2. Action
Action cures fear, and there is always fear when starting a new venture.
Nothing happens, until something moves and I take that first action step.
Set a goal, make a commitment of the will, and begin to move toward the goal.
If I do nothing, nothing happens.
Begin by taking action.
3. Believe
If I believe I can do something, I can do it. I will do it.
Believe in what you are doing, what you are committed to; believe it from your heart.
Lead with your heart, and your head and hands will follow.
Little steps come together to make the whole.
I believe in you.
4. Focus
I get what I focus on.
Nothing can take the place of a concentrated effort on a single endeavor. Prioritize time every day or every week, whatever your schedule allows for, to work on your pursuit; let nothing interfere with that time.
You get what you focus on.
What will you get?
5. Simplify
Starting a new project always seems overwhelming.
Break it down into manageable steps, chunks, so it doesn't seem so daunting.
Write them down.
Check the list.
I pick up where I left off from the day before.
It's old school.
It works.
6. Persist
Some people say attitude is everything; I say attitude is almost everything. Persistence, sticking with it consistently, is everything.
Obstacles will show up, life events, negative comments from others. My own mind creating problems, doubt, and worry.
It will happen to you too.
Stay the course; you will succeed beyond expectations.
7. Reflect
Reflection during the process and upon completion of a pursuit is essential for improvement and a positive experience.
I debrief on my own or with someone else.
What worked?
What didn't work?
What could have been done better?
Continual reflection produces the best possible result and inspiration to move forward.
+1. Go For It
After doing the above seven steps, surely I have had success, so it's time to begin again.
A new passionate pursuit, or improve and enhance what was just completed.
It's never over!
Good luck.
CHAPTER 3How You Can Use the Steps
You're probably saying, "I know all this stuff," and the truth is you probably do. They are tools, and any one of them can stand alone to help you on your path. Together they are a powerful guide. When practiced in sequential order, they can work for you and keep you on track in your pursuits.
How can you use them? Surround yourself in them; use them as fuel, an inner boost when you need it. Words and images are influential, and just a look or a quick read can provide the inspiration you need to keep motivated after a setback, a discouraging comment, or self-doubt that creeps in during any passionate pursuit. I have a room, my working space, with Idea Poetry that is poster size, and my refrigerator and file cabinets have Idea Poetry magnets displayed. In my wallet I carry cards, business card size, that serve as consistent, gentle reminders to help keep me on track. I never want to find myself saying, "Now what?"
We've all been there. We read an inspirational quote, go to a motivational seminar, or listen to an inspiring podcast, and become pumped up and ready to go. The next morning we say, "Now what?" Why? Our daily lives get in the way, and we fall into our regular routine. What was the reason for going to the seminar or listening to the podcast? It was to break out of the routine and pursue our passions. Doubt starts to creep in. We start thinking, "Who am I to think I can do something extraordinary? What I'm doing right now is safe and easy; things are good, so why should I try something new?" The bigger question is, What if you don't do it? You may be headed for a life of stagnation, complacency, being stuck in the same place, doing the same thing you already know you can do. Having doubts is normal, but once you
• have the burning desire and the interest, your passion;
• begin to take action by setting a goal and engaging your willpower and determination;
• believe in yourself and that you can do it;
• focus by setting aside time to work on your passionate pursuit;
• simplify your steps to get there by putting together a list, breaking the project down into manageable steps;
• persist by allowing nothing to get in the way of the time you set aside to do the work and pressing forward through setbacks; and
• reflect on the process and product of your work,
you will see accomplishment, and you will experience learning and growth. It may be the end result won't be exactly as you visualized it when you started, but by taking action on your passion and going through the step-by-step process, something will happen. You will have a different mindset, will have more confidence, and you will be encouraged by your ability to take action. This success will push you forward to try again, to
• go for it, a new venture, a new journey.
It will also be saved in your memory bank, a deposit in your emotional piggy bank as something for you to draw upon when obstacles come up. When I say obstacles, I mean challenges in the form of life events: an unexpected illness, a car accident, or an act of nature. It could be people questioning you on your pursuit, or doubt creeping in with your own mind, making things seems bigger than what they actually are. It happens to me, and I have options; I look around at my Idea Poetry, and I have my emotional savings piggy bank, my fuel, to make a withdrawal from to build me up when I need it.
CHAPTER 4Bringing the Steps to Life
To further bring these steps to life, let me tell you a story about a plan I made for one day in my life. I worked at Power 106 Radio in Los Angeles as a salesperson when it was a new radio station in the mid to late 1980s. The station switched format from easy listening music to a rap and hip hop station. Today, everybody knows what rap and hip hop music is and it's accepted. Back then, it was a new genre of music, and no other stations were playing it. Advertisers considered it to be the "gang banger station," meaning only gang members were listening, and they didn't see it as a viable option for advertising most products and services.
So here I was in Los Angeles, having moved from Milwaukee, selling a new radio station and being paid on 100 percent commission. I certainly wanted to be successful. I knew there was an audience listening beyond the perception of "just gang members." I even did research and found there were only sixty thousand gang members in the entire city. There were over one million listeners to the station, so there had to be more than just gang members listening! My challenge, my obstacle, was to convince advertisers of the value of the station and its listeners.
The audience was mostly young, male African Americans and Latinos. I was passionate about my work and wanted to be successful, and I wasn't going to let perceptions of others hold me back. I knew the strongest geographic area of the station's signal was in the inner city.
I took action by putting together a plan to make sales calls for one day in an urban area of the city on used car dealerships. There were ten to fifteen, and I could park my car and walk while making my sales calls.
I believed this was a good approach. Young, multicultural males lived in the area, and used cars were the perfect product for the station environment.
By focusing on one type of customer, I could use the same basic sales approach for each sales call.
I made a simple list and came up with twelve dealerships. I got the names of the general managers and owners, and I set out for the day.
Knocking on doors and making cold calls is hard work. Person after person turned me away; all were male business owners, either African American or Hispanic. I persisted, believing my plan was solid, and even if I heard no right now, I believed it didn't necessarily mean no forever. Maybe I would get a call two days later by leaving my business card. I kept at it. The end of the day was nearing, and I wouldn't say I had a lot of success. There was one more dealership on my list. I walked in, and something was different. I heard the radio station that I was selling blasting in the outdoor showroom. I looked around and saw shiny, used Mercedes Benzes, BMWs, Cadillacs, and various other car models. I decided to change my approach. I met with the owner and asked him why he was playing this music, because it wasn't typical for a car dealer showroom.
"The customers like it," he said. At that moment, he made the sale for me. He had no experience with radio advertising. We talked and started out with a small weekend campaign. It worked, and he quickly advertised at thirty thousand dollars per month for the next two years.
Reflecting on the process, was I lucky? I certainly was passionate about the work. I took action by putting together a plan and researching a geographic area and a product category that was a strategically good fit for the radio station. I believed enough to dedicate an entire day to my plan. I had my focus working for me by letting nothing get in the way of my day of sales calls, even though I knew it was going to be a tough day. I simplified the process by making a list and knowing exactly who I wanted to meet, and I persisted through the day even though nothing encouraging happened with the first eleven calls. I prepared myself for a successful day using my process, my step-by-step guide.
Upon reflection, I could see this was a good approach, and the success of making a sale gave me the energy to go for it, to begin again with other categories of business. Keep in mind, most of the Idea Poetry was not created at the time of this passionate pursuit. Many were created after as an expression of the current time. They're a reflection on my journeys, successes, and setbacks that have led me to realize my process.
As another example, I consistently watched the long-running reality television show, American Idol. Year after year I was inspired by the performances as well as the stories of the contestants.
As the field was narrowed to the top ten competitors more details of their journeys were highlighted. Most of the young people prepared for years before auditioning. Videos of them as kids standing in front of mirrors singing into hairbrushes for microphones were charming and humorous. Their stories were amazing portrayals of passion, burning desires to win the coveted prize, not only to fulfill their dreams of becoming singers, but to honor family and mentors who helped them on their passionate pursuit.
By the series finale I felt like I knew the finalists personally. I remember feeling their passion and watching as they took action by walking into the room for their first audition. Each person believing they had the talent and confidence to be the next American idol. I saw the focus they embodied to work and perform a new song week after week for the judges and viewers. As new challenges were given to the contestants they simplified the development of the next piece, letting go of the outcome of the previous week, and concentrating on the upcoming performance. The persistence through the process was amazing. They talked of exhaustion and sometimes conflict in direction they were given by the judges and mentors versus their own beliefs on the best approach to showcase their talent. Through it all they stuck with it, persisting. Each week the contestants were given feedback to reflect on to enhance their next performance. Every show they go for it, giving it all for the big prize, the realization of their dream.
My step by step process was used unconsciously! The final result was contestants transformed into performers. Imagine what you can accomplish by being aware of these steps to take to fulfill your worthy, passionate pursuits.
CHAPTER 5What Passions?
When we talk about passions, pursuits, and dreams, what are they? Your passion is very personal. It doesn't have to be something that changes the world. It should enhance your world, and that single element will serve to enrich the lives of others. You will become an inspiration to others by pursuing your dream. You will be a happier, more confident person knowing you are doing something with purpose.
What can your passion be? Honestly, it can be anything from starting a business to growing an existing business, to finding or maintaining a meaningful relationship. It can be teaching others about your passion or adopting a child and giving him a chance at a life he wouldn't have had if it weren't for you. What matters is that you have the passion to pursue it. This is about a process to set you up for success. All of us are in pursuit of something at all times. When we get it, it leads to something else. The joy, the happiness, is always in the pursuit.
The process presented in this writing works for short-term and long-term goals and pursuits. It works equally in your professional life and your personal life. You will find that these steps will become automatic; you don't have to carry around a checklist. With greater awareness, higher consciousness, and repetition, the magic and the success will appear.
As an example of how this can work in your personal life, I will tell you that whatever my work has been, it has always been my passion to the extent of obsession, even workaholism. I came to a realization at one point that something was missing, and something had to change. I wanted deeper, richer relationships in my life. Making that statement alone made it a passion, something I wanted to pursue.
It came to life by me taking action and setting a goal to make more time for my personal life, even if it was only on weekends to start. I believed the benefits of this action would make me a happier person, and my professional life would improve with time away from my work.
I put my focus on things of interest to me that involved interacting with other people. Beyond work, I always had a high activity level, however those were solo pursuits, running, working out on an elliptical, and more. By simplifying, I made a list and came up with things like writing, cooking, playing the piano, golf, and tennis. I researched options for all of these things. For a workaholic, this took persistence. Looking for ways to push myself out of my comfort zone and step out to learn new activities and meet new people as an adult was challenging.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Idea Poetry by Marie Kordus. Copyright © 2016 Marie Kordus. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Preface, ix,Acknowledgements, xi,
Introduction, xiii,
How Idea Poetry Came into Existence, 1,
Seven Steps to Pursue Your Passions, Plus One, 3,
How You Can Use the Steps, 23,
Bringing the Steps to Life, 25,
What Passions?, 29,
How Do You Know What Your Passion Is?, 33,
My Challenges, 37,
Letting Go of Fear and Ego, 39,
The Rewards, 41,
Synchronicity: Paying Attention to the Signs, 43,
Where Does the Inspiration Come From?, 45,
Let's Try the Process with an Exercise, 47,
Bonus Tips, 57,
All Idea Poetry Designs, 59,
My Hope for You, 141,
About the Author, 145,