CREATIVE SUCCESS NEWSLETTER, NUMBER 24 - June 15, 2002

CREATIVE SUCCESS NEWSLETTER
Gail McMeekin, LICSW
Career/Creativity Coach and Author
Mailto:gail@creativesuccess.com
http://www.CreativeSuccess.com
NUMBER 24-June 15, 2002

The Positive Choices Series: I IS FOR INVENTING

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SPECIAL OFFER FOR JULY AND AUGUST

Gearing up for a job/career change? Keep meaning to update or rewrite
your resume but somehow it never gets done? Feeling stuck about whether
or not to do a functional or a chronological resume? For a limited time
only this summer, I will provide resume coaching to you with the
following components:

1) One 20 minute telephone discussion together to clearly define your
career goals and target markets.

2) A complete resume review by me to develop a job objective, a new
format, fill in the missing components, and highlight your
accomplishments and skills.

3) You will receive a list of steps to complete to transform your resume
from vague and mediocre to outstanding.

Cost $250.00 plus your phone charges for the 20 minute call. Services
can be billed to a credit card.

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SCHEDULE CHANGE
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Due to our usual jam up at the beginning and the end of each month, we
will now be issuing this CREATIVE SUCCESS newsletter on the 15th of the
month. This seems like a very Positive Choice for my VA Liz and I, as it
will help us to achieve our personal goals of balance and ease. We will
also NOT be issuing a newsletter this August to celebrate the arrival of
Liz's first child and to give her some space to embrace her new and
exciting role as a mother.

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POSITIVE CHOICES STEP TWELVE: I IS FOR INVENTING
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Ah, my favorite time of year has arrived. I no longer have to wear
thermal underwear to bed or dress up like an Eskimo to walk through the
New England cold and dampness. Summer always gives me this wonderful
sense of freedom. I feel like an emancipated stallion who can now run
wild without bridle or saddle and explore new terrain. So it is very
fitting that our Positive Choices lesson for this month is on Invention.
Freedom fuels possibilities, creativity, and innovations. Summer is the
perfect time for straying from your normal routines and inventing new
ones.

When was the last time you had FUN (a foreign concept in this 24/7
world)? What would be playful and relaxing for you to invite into your
life this summer? Recreation is really re-creation-where you sample
another part of yourself and tap into another creative wellspring. In
order to play and live a balanced life, you must put the "shoulds"
aside. We all know the list of "shoulds" are endless. You could market
an idea or a business non-stop and never sleep and still not have
covered all the leads you could think of. But then you miss your life.
You must wisely choose those things you will and will NOT tackle. Summer
is a time to peel off the layers of clothing and limiting beliefs,
including the straightjacket of over-responsibility that too many of us
are locked into, with the zipper stuck.

Put the letter J for Jolly and Joyful into your Palm Pilot or your
planning book and note how often you choose work or drudgery over the
feelings of J. How can you combine the two? What new projects can you
invent for the summer that are fun and productive? What new folks can
you rendez-vous with to jumpstart your creative zest? Schedule a meeting
on a boat or a café on a cliff with a view or a playground with kids and
see what happens. How can you bring the "outside" into your work and
your pleasure? If like the stallion, you could run wild and free, where
would you go-sit under a cool tree and relax or go flirt with some other
horses? Remember you are the inventor of your own life story. Change the
format and the context and see what evolves.

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CHALLENGE
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1) What did you adore doing as a child in the summer? If you'd still
enjoy that, schedule a time to do it again.

2) What routines bore you? How can you leverage the freedoms of summer
to invent a new pattern for 21 days?

3) What would be the best summer adventure you can think of? Is it
social or solitary? Take the time to make it happen?

4) Seek out other folks who also want to play this summer and make
plans.

5) If you are feeling uninspired by your life or your work, what
potential experiences fascinate you and beckon you to indulge?
Experimentation is the key to invention, so take a risk and see what you
can learn.

6) Enjoy yourself.

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GAIL'S UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AND MEDIA APPEARANCES
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August 1, 2002
The Power of Positive Choices workshop at 7 PM
Boston Learning Society, Needham, MA
CALL 781-453-9800 to register

Check out American Way, Woman's Day, Redbook, and Shape magazines this
summer for articles on Positive Choices.

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NEW AND RECOMMENDED
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One clear advantage of technology is that you can access the teachings
of so many great folks via telephone or the Internet. Here are two great
offerings this month.

12 Secrets woman Barbara Sher is teaching teleclasses called HOW TO
FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU REALLY WANT on Sunday June 23 from 4-5:30 PM EST and
Thursday June 27 from 8:30-10 PM EST. Contact
teleclass@shersuccessteams.com to register and for additional info.

Fellow author, Suzanne Falter-Barns, who wrote How Much Joy Can You
Stand has created a Facilitators E-Course which licenses you to use her
material for workshops including tips on marketing and organization. The
next session begins on June 21 and includes a $100.00 off deal as well
as two other free teleclasses on How To Publish a Self-Help Book Without
a PhD. For info, go to:
http://www.howmuchjoy.com/facilitators_ecourse.htm

In the book department, 12 Secrets woman Lynne Wayman, a premiere
networker, has a new book out with her sister, Anne Baber, titled Make
Your Contacts Count (AMACON, 2002). This is currently in bookstores and
on Amazon. Their website is http://www.Contactscount.com. I have used
Lynne's books and tapes with my clients for years.

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12 SECRETS GROUPS
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Boston: New groups forming with Gail McMeekin in the fall. Watch for
news about the groups in this newsletter.

IF YOU ARE RUNNING A 12 SECRETS GROUP OR A POSITIVE CHOICES GROUP, LET
US KNOW!

MAY YOU HAVE A SUMMER FILLED WITH CREATIVITY AND LOTS OF NEW POSITIVE
CHOICES!

Creatively yours, Gail McMeekin