Blog | The Natural Professional

The Dichotomy

Community — part I

Life offers countless opportunities to expand into wholeness.

This fascinating cyclical journey from wondrous childhood to painful lessons in adulthood to wondrous awareness (hopefully a while before the end)—such a mysterious and perhaps perilous path.

Most of us can point to one, two or a few situations in our childhood that have provided the fodder for years of personal growth; learning how to accept, forgive and heal. Layer upon nuanced layer.

Hopefully we’ve been lucky enough to surround ourselves with a wonderful community of friends and family who accept us throughout our rocky path—what a gift! Community truly provides the wind beneath our wings.

For this I am immensely grateful for a community of people who have seen my potential and have interacted with me based on who they know me to be.

Community part II

This adult life of mine has been Full o’ Opportunities for acceptance, forgiveness and healing. The loudest demons have been faced and befriended, which has brought me to being…

Ready to Fulfill my Destiny (Drums! Gongs! Fireworks!)

Which of course is all about the Natural Professional.
Which of course brings me to yet another demon.
Which is identified as the self-exiled from community loner.

After some 30 years of feeling like a loner—queue The Changed-Schools-Mid-Year-in-4th-Grade Situation that triggered this arrested development (really, the things that can rock a kid’s world!)—I find myself wanting—desiring, knowing-it’s-part-of-my-calling—to cultivate a community of awesome, mutually-supportive natural professional peoples (aka you).

But then there’s my arrested-loner-self standing there on an empty dance floor looking around kinda dumbly wondering, “Where is everyone?”

Rather amusing, really. Until I see her confused, wanna-be-tough face and my heart swells in compassion for her.

Because she doesn’t really want to be slogging away all by herself, interacting with a few people here, a few people there. She wants to be part of something. Something big.

She believes herself to be all alone when in reality, her searching eyes don’t pierce the veil of darkness just beyond the spotlight which would reveal so so many fabulous peoples…

Which is a Good Thing ‘cuz I’m ready to Boogie and Get Groovy with y’alls!!

You may be wondering why I shared my little loner girl with you? A couple of reasons:

to celebrate and acknowledge the fact that she’s about ready to join the ranks of personas that represent healed wounds, and
because honestly, the aspect of cultivating community feels a bit awkward to me even though I know it’s precisely a role I want to play.

Which leads me to something I realized recently, something big. Paradigm-shifting big:
Teamwork.
Novel idea, eh?

My job in the community is to hold the space for those of us dedicated to navigating the world differently.

Other people get to fulfill roles in building, creating and cultivating the community.

In other words, I’m ready for this to get bigger than me.
Booya!

The Convergence

One month ago. Sensing that it was time to get bigger. Running into a friend on the street during Saturday morning Farmers Market. Hearing how she was interested in expanding her offerings. Hearing her desire to collaborate with others. Sensing my Inner CEO get all excited while advising me to play it cool while running wild with the possibility. Asking her to meet for coffee to share my vision and hear more about what she wanted to do. Going out on a limb. Getting a loan to hire her for a trial three-month period. One month in, knowing with certainty that this decision was a Game Changer of Epic Proportions.

Kathy Frey is lending her beautiful brain, expertise, creativity, experience, support, and good humor for marketing and strategy support. What a joy!

An established and successful artist, she has learned how to dip into her left and right brains as needed for whatever she’s doing. She’s easy to work with, has mucho integrity and is kind when sharing constructive feedback. Truly a dream addition to my efforts.

To go from solo-flyer to Team has provided an awesome reassurance and strengthening of foundation. I feel more able to throw my arms open wide to the world while at the same time rooting down deep to bring forth more of what I have to share.

There are so many layers to community. The micro-variety at home or in our business. The local-community that steps in to fill gaps as needed. The global-level that we are all a part of whether we see our impact or not.

Then there are the communities we choose to be a part of. Like the greater community of people dedicated to heart-based living. This is the pond I want to swim in. The spring I want to quench my thirst in. I trust ’tis yours as well.

Look out world. We are on a Mission to change the way people navigate their life and business. And we Know the world wants this. Is crying for it. Is fed up with the unsustainable M.O. that’s gotten us into the mess we’re in. We know because there are already so many efforts, projects, and people talking about it.

Alone I can offer a few workshops.
Together (all of us!) we can change the world.

Email has become a Thorn in Our Side. It’s big. It’s ugly. It’s a Beast.

It not what we think.

Here’s what we believe about our email problem:

too many emails
not enough time
can’t get caught up
always responding to other people’s priorities

Those aren’t problems, they are symptoms.

The real problem with email is that it’s become a beast that you think you can control. You can’t. Experiencing this gap leads to frustration, feelings of overwhelm and even feelings of inadequacy.

THIS is the problem because these feelings erode your confidence.

You are CEO of your work sphere which means you make a lot of decisions all day long. When you take hits to your confidence in one area, for example email, your effectiveness in managing the rest of your sphere also suffers.

Are any of these underlying de-motivators sabotaging you?

FOMO (fear of missing out). Obsessively checking for news, alerts and info that’s going on in your sphere driven by the feeling that you’re going to miss being in the loop.

Procrastination. Avoiding a project you don’t love, making a difficult decision, or not being clear on what the next step is.

Info Addict. Pathologically seeking more and new information.

Escapist. Confused about your priorities, i.e. have so many “important” things that nothing is important (thus email becomes an escape mechanism.)

Self-importance. Feeling self-important when you’re constantly checking email and taking pride in responding ultra-quickly.

Decision-phobia. Avoid making decisions except when your feet are held to the fire.

Blame displacement. Using the excuse of other people’s priorities (showing up in your inbox) as the reason you aren’t doing your important work.

Or spending too little time in your inbox because of:

Rebellion. Avoiding staying up on inbox because you just don’t want to deal with it and no one’s going to make you.

Pain-avoidance. It’s so big, anything you do barely makes a dent, and it always leaves you feeling crappy.

The remedy.

Disorganization provides ample opportunity (welcome or not) to learn about yourself. And the cool thing is that it also gives you opportunity for empowerment!

Two steps for getting liberated from the beastly beast:

Acknowledge your underlying de-motivators
This is the beginning. If any of those jumped out as bug-a-boos for you, take a moment to acknowledge it. By seeing it now, you’ll more easily catch yourself in the act. Self-awareness provides the chance to change.
Support yourself with structure
How you manage your work, i.e. your systems and habits provide you with a blueprint to rely on when de-motivators threaten to harass you.

As CEO of your work, your job is to stay aware of your priorities, manage work accordingly and glean relevance from incoming info. Your tools and systems should support you in these intentions.

Email is a part of your biz life.

Spending time and energy to process your email is a cost of doing business.

Besides unsubscribing from lists that are no longer relevant to you, you can only do so much to control the amount of email that comes your way.

Therefore, a shift of mindset is in order! Transform the email pain problem into a “how I manage my work” structural issue—because this is something you can change.

You can learn a system. You can learn skills. You can pick up tools that support you. These are actionable intentions.

The best part is that they chase away the negativity brought on by the beast and restores your can-do attitude.

One of the places to learn a wholistic email system that restores your role of CEO is right here at Natural Professional HQ with the Annihilate Email Agony Course.

Learn how to manage your email and organize the chaos like nobody’s business.

Our next course offering is an in-person class in Nevada City at Sierra Commons. Click here to be alerted of online offerings.

email peace

Is email driving you nuts?

If you relate to these email experiences…

You’re sacrificing fun time or staying up late trying to stay afloat in email.

The sheer # count of emails in your Inbox make your heart skip a beat (or three).

You catch yourself wading through emails looking for important info as if digging for needles in a haystack.

then sign up for Annihilate Email Agony, a single-session course to attune your system, strategy and mindset to EASE.

Benefits:

Spend minimal time in your Inbox while knowing that nothing’s slipping through the cracks.
Know where to go to find the info you need when you need it.
Stop being demoralized by your Inbox.
Be free of email-induced guilt in your fun time.
Activate your Jedi Warrior mind skills to change the game.

“My daily life has much more room for fun, since you helped me simplify so many areas of my life. You have a gift for personalizing the process and making it happen so swiftly. It’s empowering!”
– Hilary Anderson

“Shawn knows how to get you organized.”
– James T. McConnaughay

Chief Easifier Shawn has been working with clients since 2006 to set up systems that transform the chaos of disorganization into empowerment.

The Natural Professional is teaming up with Sierra Commons, the uber-awesome business ignitor, to bring you this class.

When: Sept 12th, 6pm-8pm PT (one Thursday)

Location: Sierra Commons in Nevada City

Sign up for the course at Eventbrite.
Super affordable. Only $29.

“You are an excellent presenter: warm, articulate, calming, and interactive with the audience.”
– Vanessa Smith

“Shawn was clear and graceful–striking a good balance between “teaching” and supporting each of us. The group was interactive, thoughtful, and fun. All in all–a success!”
– P.M.

This class is about systems for your long haul enjoyment. It’s not a list of tips; it’s a wholistic system. If you are also needing an emergency remedy to get your inbox number under control, check out Email Triage.

Friends don’t let friends flounder in their inbox. Sign up with a buddy and you’ll have an insta-partner for support and accountability who will share your newfound ability to speak the language of email agony annihilation.

$29 to secure your spot now.

Tower o-Emails You know how it feels So Good to put your foot down on something that’s been giving you grief? When you finally say, “NO MORE!” and walk away with your head held high?

It’s tough. It’s scary. It’s worth it to not get into those situations just so you don’t have to make that kind of confrontation. But… sometimes you have to.

If you’re sitting there thinking, I don’t have anything in my life right now that I need to take a stand on, then let me ask you one question? How’s your email inbox looking?

Sure it’s “just email”, but if your relationship with your inbox is bringing you down in any way, then ask yourself if you’re ready to take it on…

Think about it: taking a stand on something small like your email inbox is less risky and less scary than taking a stand on something Big like telling someone that you don’t appreciate how they’ve been treating you, or that you are raising your rates for the first time in four years, or that you aren’t satisfied with the quality of work you’ve been receiving from a colleague.

And… taking a stand in an easy situation makes it easier in other, higher-stakes situations. You get a little confidence boost. You have a little proof that “I can do it.” You walk a little taller which makes everything easier.

How to change your relationship with email

Getting your inbox back to a neutral position in your workflow takes a two-pronged approach:

Wrangling your inbox from skyscraper high numbers back down to earth.
Learning how to keep it down within reach in the first place.

Charlie Gilkey of Productive Flourishing is a tactical guy. He has both broad biz strategy and practical solutions for those sticky areas haunting people in biz.

He created a little course to pull you back from the ledge of insane amounts of email.

It’s for people whose inbox contains a gnarled jumble of: important stuff, spam, messages long past relevant, work requests, promotions, newsletter, emails from your favorite nephew, and anything else under the sun.

Email triage is for emergency situations when you need a method to grab hold of your email box before it gets any worse.

The course is in a handout + audio format. I like the audio format because he walks you through what you need to do, step by step. So while the actual run time of the audio is 19 minutes, it could take you half an hour or 2 hours to actually go through it. (You’ll want to listen on a device that’s easy to start and stop the mp3.)

Digging yourself out from under the massive heap in an afternoon?
Cutting your email inbox count from 970 to 170?
For $10?
A no-brainer.

Get it here.

NOTE: It’s not a system for ongoing email management. That’s what my Annihilate Email Agony course is for: strategy and mind tools so that you don’t need the Email Triage again.

Remember: We are tribe of awesome people, making the world a better place. Your #1 job is to be You. The stress of email distracts from your awesomeness. Take a stand. Say: “No More!”

: : : : : : : : : :

Image credit: Shawn

I’ve just spent three days in the glass studio with my Beau who’s working on an art piece for Burningman.

It’s such a pleasure to experience a master at work—whatever the art. They make it look so easy and graceful–a reflection of upteen hours of practice and an enviable command of their mental terrain. A Jedi Knight of sorts.

In the midst of assisting his work, I got to do a little blowing as well (see them in the photo?) I wanted to make a tiny bowl with the intention of putting it on an altar. Yay for the organic aesthetic!

I’m still beginner enough that Beau talks me through the timing; and timing is critical in glass-blowing.

Too long in the furnace and the glass is a molten blob that’s almost impossible for the novice (i.e. me) to work with.

Not enough time in the furnace and you can’t blow or shape the glass to move it along its progress toward your desired shape.

This art of timing is all about being aware of the sweet spot–something my Beau in his Jedi glass blowing mastery has developed a second sense for. As a novice, I feel as if I’m trying to find the mythical land of El Dorado blind-folded.

Watching the beauty that my Beau creates in this sweet spot got me thinking about the art of living in the place I’ve been calling Home.

Just like for glass blowing, it takes practice to stay in your sweet spot through everything you experience though out the day, not to mention remembering to come back when you’ve wandered deep in to busy-ness mode.

And since the most effective practice for learning a new skill is in small bits on a regular basis (like 15 minutes a day) rather than big bits on an infrequent basis (like once a week for two hours) I thought t’would behoove to share an easy practice.

Naturally, I’m assuming you want to be in that deliciously wonderful space more, and agree that it’s a powerful and gracious place to live your life from!

Just for fun, let’s call this part of the officially sanctioned training program for Sweet Spot Living, part of the “better living through awareness“ campaign. (For the record, I just made all that up.)

Ready? Ok!

Get in a comfy position.

Take three deep breaths to settle in, giving your mind permission to passively observe your senses.

Then, with your attention lightly resting on your forehead, take a deep, relaxing inhale and then a full, releasing exhale.

Move your attention to your jaw for another deep, nourishing inhale followed by a full, releasing exhale.

Another breath cycle to your shoulders.

Another breath cycle to your spine.

Another breath cycle to your stomach.

Then invite a sweet, calm, luscious feeling to spread throughout your body. If you have difficulty feeling this lusciousness on the spot, recall a time or experience when you’ve felt it in the past.

Indulge for at least three full breath cycles.

Mmmm. Tastiness.

Something this short and easy could be an easy addition to your afternoon, on a daily basis, eh?

Remembering to return

Supporting my quest to remember this sweet spot is why I’m creating the altar–it’s a visual reminder to come back Home, to my sweet spot.

If you don’t think an altar is for you, I found this description recently that pointed out that an altar isn’t necessarily connected to any particular religious or spiritual belief system:

an altar is like a physical prayer; a reminder to return to a sense of sacredness that is the native home of your soul.

What else can you do besides set up an altar and do that simple breathing exercise to support returning to your sweet space? Here are three ideas:

You can do a grounding and gratitude ritual during your daily quiet time.
You can ask for privacy and indulge in a delicious bath with essential oils.
You can light candles and incense and ask for guidance from your guides and angels back to your sweet home space.

I’ll bet you’ve already got some practices or rituals that lead you back home. Have you been doing them lately?

If not, will you commit to doing one this week? How about next week?

And if you have been practicing regularly, will you commit to catching one situation today that threatens to pull you away? Call it out and watch it lose its potency. (Jedi Master mind training)

These are fun-practices intended to further develop awareness of your sweet home space. Push the pause button on your life. Delve into your yumminess. Let your inner senses nourish and delight you. Your job here is to enjoy mightily. Now that’s my kind of work!

Our community, our future

By Shawn Tuttle on September 20, 2013

The Dichotomy Community — part I Life offers countless opportunities to expand into wholeness. This fascinating cyclical journey from wondrous childhood to painful lessons in adulthood to wondrous awareness (hopefully a while before the end)—such a mysterious and perhaps perilous path. Most of us can point to one, two or a few situations in our […]

Are any of these underlying de-motivators screwing you up?

By Shawn Tuttle on September 10, 2013

Email has become a Thorn in Our Side. It’s big. It’s ugly. It’s a Beast. It not what we think. Here’s what we believe about our email problem: too many emails not enough time can’t get caught up always responding to other people’s priorities Those aren’t problems, they are symptoms. The real problem with email […]

The Not-to-miss Annihilate Email Agony Course

By Shawn Tuttle on September 5, 2013

Is email driving you nuts? If you relate to these email experiences… You’re sacrificing fun time or staying up late trying to stay afloat in email. The sheer # count of emails in your Inbox make your heart skip a beat (or three). You catch yourself wading through emails looking for important info as if digging […]

Email Triage: An Emergency Remedy

By Shawn Tuttle on August 29, 2013

You know how it feels So Good to put your foot down on something that’s been giving you grief? When you finally say, “NO MORE!” and walk away with your head held high? It’s tough. It’s scary. It’s worth it to not get into those situations just so you don’t have to make that kind […]

Getting all Jedi in the Art of the Sweet Spot

By Shawn Tuttle on August 14, 2013

I’ve just spent three days in the glass studio with my Beau who’s working on an art piece for Burningman. It’s such a pleasure to experience a master at work—whatever the art. They make it look so easy and graceful–a reflection of upteen hours of practice and an enviable command of their mental terrain. A […]

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