New here? Welcome. My About page has the fuller story of me and WeStart Together, testimony and all. This is the shorter, weekly version: honest notes from the unfinished.
I am standing at a Top Golf bay with a few former coworkers, and one of them just said, “I've decided to retire early.” I laughed and told my friend that's a great goal, and I meant it. Then the other one talked about wrapping up an amazing career by getting specific about the kind of work, and the kind of people, he wants to work with for whatever comes next. I am not ready to retire, but I am very interested in reimagining the next chapter in my career, and I'm ready to get more intentional about my time. Honestly, it excites me.
Where am I?
I have a genuinely cool network. People from past jobs still reach out, still text, still DM me out of nowhere, and it delights me every time. I love hearing where they landed on the proverbial jungle gym of a career, and as I move forward, I need to treat my time like I do my family's financial budget. I need to decide where I spend my time, otherwise at the end of the month, I'll have no idea where the time went.
WeStart is no longer just a wild hair, even if it started as one. My family believes in me no matter what idea I dream up, and I am grateful beyond words for that. However, paid contracts have been the real proof I needed to keep going and stay focused. Somewhere along the way, I learned that if you cannot give a service away for free, you cannot expect to get paid for it later. People keep reaching out and engaging me with their ideas and upcoming transitions, and that is a good sign. Now that westarttogether.com is polished enough, my near-term focus has shifted. It's time to network, done on purpose.
What do I bring?
Years ago, in the discovery phase of a big strategic initiative, I sat in a room with smart, experienced people in San Francisco and learned from a designer the difference between “yes, and...” people and “no, but...” people. The rule for brainstorming was simple: build on top of what the other person just said. “Yes, and,” not “no, but.” I watched it work in real time, and I have delighted in that approach ever since.
I am not naturally an out of the box thinker. I did not raise my hand much in school, because I did not want to be the only one with a “dumb” idea. Some gracious people tell me I'm a good brainstormer, and maybe I've gotten better. What I know for certain is that I light up around Visionaries, the people who can see a destination clearly enough that I can build the plan and lead a team to get there. Even better is when there is a solid core group of contributors to clarify and refine the path along the way, so it becomes a shared vision that people want to bring to fruition together. As I get more confident and expand the audience of WeStart, I am noticing how much more I crave time with the “yes, and...” people in my life.
How do I move forward?
I already have a handful of “yes, and...” people I meet with regularly, and I treasure their thoughts, their suggestions, and yes, even their pushback. Cheerleaders are wonderful, and I need mine. As September ramps up, I am specifically looking for the people who will build on top of the framework I have already poured myself into with WeStart.
If you are sitting in your own version of this scenario, here is what I would suggest. Take a look at your circle and notice who does what, and reflect on whether it's set up to support where you're headed next.
A question for you
When you think about the idea you cannot shake, who in your life is a “yes, and...” person for it, and have you told them lately how much that means to you?
Come sit with me in the space between. Loose Ends lands every Wednesday. Real talk from the unfinished, one honest moment at a time.
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