Who holds the big picture for you and reflects it back?

One of our greatest needs as business artists is for our best self to be seen and for a vision of that best self’s quest to be held and mirrored back to us.

Earlier this week, a beloved client and Tracking Wonder enthusiast sent me a note that linked to this blog post by the ever-spot-on Seth Godin. Her note said, “I read this and thought of you because this is so YOU!” (See if you see yourself or someone you know in it):

The copy editor will fix a misstated fact, spot a typo and get your prose clean.

The line editor will rearrange a paragraph and help you organize a thought more clearly.

And the editor who is your partner will tell you that the chapters are in the wrong order, that you must delete a third of what you wrote, or perhaps consider writing for TV instead. This kind of editor is the one who will tell you your time is better spent doing something else entirely.

It’s easier (but not easy) to find a good copy editor than it is to find someone generous and brave enough to help you figure out your strategy, whether you’re working on a book, a career or the structure of your next project.

The copy editor can tell you that you mangled a few facts early in your presentation. The line editor will help you untangle a complicated story near the middle. And your strategic editor will help you see that a one-on-one meeting would have been better than a presentation in the first place.

Sure, fix my typos, thanks a lot, but what’s truly precious is someone able to fix your plan.

Worth noting that most critics and journalists are comfortable being metaphorical copy editors, but it’s rare you find someone who speaks up with sensible thoughts about your strategy.

Treasure the folks willing and able to develop a point of view about the big picture.

My client gave me a gift in mirroring back to me what she sees in me.

It is rare to find “someone generous and brave enough to help you figure out your strategy, whether you’re working on a book, a career or the structure of your next project.” I’ve searched for them. My wife is one.

It’s also this very quality that I look for when I bring on-board a potential Premium Consultant at Tracking Wonder. Heidi, Tanya, and Cathy are big-picture strategists in their own right. They each have their distinct ways not only of listening deeply but also of holding that vision for you and of assuring that you are on a viable course. They consider your unique yearnings, your future horizon, your circumstances, as well as your potential skills, talents, and strengths.

They are those rare people who give you that gift.

They each have a few private mentoring spots open in our foundational Your Potential Difference learning expedition. This expedition pack includes so far extraordinary creatives, business artists, consultants, designers, business owners, lawyers, teachers, and others who are ready to live the quest both in integrity with their best self and in alignment with a pack of intelligent, heart-full peers.

Questions to consider:

• Who holds the big picture of your best self for you this year?
• What would it feel like to have someone you trust do that – especially if you are someone who tends to hold the big picture for others?
• What would it be worth to you to have someone on your side who’s adept, skilled, bright, and compassionate to co-create a customized map for you so you can advance that book, build your business, expand your presence, clear your mind and focus your hands on what matters most?

It’s not nearly as hard to reach out for help as it is to continue plodding through life trying to figure out things and steer your quest on your own. Maybe it’s time to let the DIY stage pass before your time to create what matters does.

Today is the last day to get on-board either Your Potential Difference or Your ArtMark.

Live the quest,

Jeffrey