Take A Bow – Your Turn In The Spotlight.

30 Aug Take A Bow – Your Turn In The Spotlight.

 

Take a bow - your turn in the spotlight.

In my dim and distant past, there was a saying:

"Those that can, do.  And those that can't, teach."

Those that could, in my little corner of the world, often did.

Extraordinarily well.

 

Fame and fortune.

I'm happy for them.

And since I couldn't and, more specifically didn't, work at it enough, I slid into the teaching side of golf.

Looking back though, my talent lay elsewhere and not always as a golf coach.

I believe my talent lay and still does lie in the skill of spotting talented exceptions.

The purple cow.  The maverick.  The free spirit.

Moving from the world of teaching golf to the commercial side, that talent helped me spot the next rising 'star' of my chosen industry.

And  relationships that were formed in the early years continued during the heady days of their success.

I was a salesman that didn't sell, yet still outsold the competition.

I somehow contrived to then find myself in the world of estate agency.

 

Not for me, though, the main stage.

Those that can, do.

There was little attraction in 'what' they did.  Much more so in how they did it.

And a huge helping of attraction in why they did, what they did.

An interested observer is how I would describe myself.  Helping homeowners choose the best estate agency.

Four years dedicated to understanding that, for any agency,  competence was not always a given and that there was a more reliable indicator.

That of character.

 

"In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities:  Integrity, Intelligence and Energy.

And if you don't have the first, the other two will kill you." - Warren Buffett

 

Writing about character & competence for the benefit of homeowners led me down an altogether different path.

 

My world collided with many, many different points of view.

Some easily discarded.  Some that flattered to deceive.  Others that shone like a beacon.

But just as I was able to spot the 'talent' early on in my career, these five exceptional talents somehow wandered into view.

Not for me to nurture their talent, but this time, for them to nurture mine.

 

"The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are."  -  C.S. Lewis

 

Seth Godin needs no introduction.

Bernadette Jiwa is to be found in 'Oz' and has made an enormous impact on my understanding of the written word.

Nicolas Cole will be unfamiliar to many, but his stance on the value of creating a personal brand has been truly inspirational.

Jay Acunzo may not be familiar yet, but pay attention.  He knows that best practice is only 'table stakes' in the game.

Ryan Fletcher.  An acquired taste for some, but one of the most inspiring of human beings that it has been my pleasure to come across.

Between them they have shaped my view of the world.

From the primordial soup of ill-thought ideas, half-truths & dead-on-arrival strategies of estate agency, each in their turn inspire me to something else.

A love of writing and story.

That, I desire to share with you, dear reader.

When I glance around, I am overwhelmed by the world of writers.

 

I have so much to learn and not enough time.  Damn it.

I know what makes 'good writing'.

It moves me. It makes me feel something.

As a great story does with most of us.

And yet, we live now in a hyper-curated world where 'content' is simply downloaded at will.

You're an estate agent?

Go to the many free content creation websites. Enter a few details and hey presto.  All the content you can handle about estate agency, delivered daily to your inbox.

Allowing you to bask in the glory of having something to say about your chosen profession.

Except those are not your words.  Not your thoughts.  Not your beliefs.

Words, thoughts & beliefs by which people will judge you.

If you have something to say, say it.

You do have something to say, don't you?

Don't you?

Well, now it's time to take centre stage.  In the full glare of the spotlight.

 

With the courage to be imperfect.

Every 'great' talent has been there.  Done that.

It's where we all start.

With anything worth doing, we make mistakes, figure it out and try again.

But realise this.

The 'stage' isn't that big.

Your audience is small.

The local community that looks to you for advice and help when they come to sell their home.

When you're not trying to hide away the real version of yourself, people will be surprisingly accepting.

Of someone who is different.

Instead of time on social media, chasing 'likes' and 'friends', write something.

Something that puts you firmly in the spotlight.

I am still encouraged by a comment I read a while ago.

"The difference between a mediocre writer and a successful one is rarely their skill with words. It's almost always about the quality of their ideas."

When I first started 'teaching instead of doing', I had a lot to learn.

That's still the case.

But here's the kicker.

I'm at the stage of my writing journey where I might be exactly what you need right now.

 

This is all I do.  I binge on reading and writing.

I have ideas coming out of every cell in my body.

It's a steep learning curve, but I'm loving it.

And if this writing thing might be for you, I'm here to help.

Check out the website www.andsothestorybegan.co.uk

There's a contact form that provides a heap of additional information once you press send.

The thing about writing is that it's not going away.

It's been around, evolved into many different guises.

As George Orwell so succinctly puts it in his book, Nineteen Eighty Four:

"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them" -George Orwell"

It's evident in the 'shiny object syndrome' where guru's do your thinking for you.

It's time to write.  Or exit stage left.

Thanks for reading.  Its very much appreciated.  And if you have any comments, I'd love to hear from you.

www.andsothestorybegan.co.uk

chris@andsothestorybegan.co.uk

Chris.