The Natural Professional

The question has arisen about the difference between Project Simplify and the Natural Professional. Good question. It’s been begging clarity in my mind as well.

While people going through the NP program will learn methodologies that are applicable to their entire life, this blog can show those same tools being applied to the adventure of developing the NP program and handbook themselves.

Regular simplifying posts will still be over at ProjectSimplify.com — here at the NP site, I’ll show them in practice.

Hmm, start with posting the table of contents of the handbook, so that I can refer to it as we go. I’ll go post that now.

OK. It’s up now! Here ’tis: the Natural Professional Handbook table of contents.

Section I – Reclaim Your Life

Chapter 1: Commiting to yourself
When you’ve finally had enough craziness in your life, it’s time to put your foot down and create your Simplicity Statement.

Chapter 2: Clear the crap
The stuff cluttering your life doesn’t disappear with a wave of the wand. Here’s where you get methodical about reclaiming your life.

Chapter 3: Guard your flame
Keeping it clean, keeping it clear. Once you start discovering more space in your life, it’s too easy to fill it up with something else. Resist! Give your dreams room to prosper!

Section II Align Your Habits with Success

Chapter 4: Fortify your infrastructure
There just never seems to be enough time in the day to do it all! Put your maintenance on auto-pilot and free up your time, your space, and your mind.

Chapter 5: Manifest with ease
Working doesn’t have to be stressful. You have the resources and ability to keep your workflow moving gracefully.

Chapter 6: Tune in to your natural rhythms
Everything starts getting easier when you strengthen your connection with your internal guidance. Right timing becomes natural when living in your home base.

Section III — Bathe in Bliss

Chapter 7: Amp up your appreciation
The world opens up in majestic beauty as you transform your response patterns.

Chapter 8: Accepting what is
Create a new measurement of success that acknowledges where you’ve been, how you got there, and where you are going. Honor the roles that other people play.
(2/10/2010) Bring in a refined version of Clearing the Crap/Guarding Your Flame – being aware of where you are so that peas do not become molehills, let alone mountains–keeping it clean and pure.

Chapter 9: Celebrating being
The work has been done. Bathe in the joy of arrival!

Section IV — Pulling it all together
Chapter 10: Completing your masterpiece
Next steps
Resources

Lance (my co-editor of the Project Simplify newsletter) and I butt heads this week over newsletter editorial policy. He sent over a section for the Lifestyles of the Natural and Professional part of the newsletter and I nixed it.

He said it was perfectly fine and that he had fulfilled his responsibility. For all practical purposes, he had. Reserving my right as the ultimate veto power and check signer, I held my ground.

The reason I gave had to do with languaging. But it was more than that. It was long, it had a feel of the confusing “Who’s on First” skit by Abbott and Costello. My instinct when I opened up that draft newsletter and read that section was, “Is this how I want Project Simplify to be represented?” and the answer was a resounding “No”.

Ignoring the details of this scenario, I turn to a deep, old pattern poking it’s ugly head out of the skeleton closet–an issue I’ve been faced with all my life, and that resulted in my having a chronic, aching pain in my throat for a couple of years in my early 20s.

I’m talking about hearing my intuition but not understanding it well enough to articulate it, especially in an argument, and then disregarding it.

In an article in Nov. 2009 (Returning to Home Base) I wrote about having a feeling that I needed more space in a romantic relationship. Not only did I have a feeling, the phrase, “I want my own room” kept popping up in my head. Not understanding the need logically and not being able to articulate it for my boyfriend who was taking it personally, I didn’t take action.

Today things are different. I’m fine with standing up to nix that section of the newsletter. I’ve learned my lesson: intuition is incredibly important and not to be disregarded just because I don’t have the words to explain it. In fact, reconnecting with it is a huge part of what allows that Natural Professional to kick-ass in the world and live sustainably.

What I’m mulling over here is the communication aspect, or lack thereof. As a leader, I can say “this direction” or “this way” but without articulate explanation, I can’t hand it off for others to take ownership of. If the sands are constantly shifting due to “a feeling”, or it’s this way “just because” then I’m not giving solid ground for someone to walk beside me.

If I want to work with others, then I must be able to translate the feeling for the purposes of mutual understanding, editorial policy, branding, etc. purposes.

So how does this story wrap up? I get to go figure out what that feeling is trying to tell me.

P.S. I do want to add that I’m really happy with how Lance and I left it. While there is disagreement (our conversation definitely got heated at times), we didn’t take it personally. It’s a situation to be resolved but it isn’t holding up the gameplan.

P.P.S. for the ultra curious, here’s the ousted, published on Lance’s personal blog: Outtake from the Simplifier.

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From Wikipedia: Dakota, a Grey Wolf – Public Domain, by Retron
Originally uploaded by Thomas Roche

Any ideas on little illustrations of NP stick people? We’ve got:
1. spearing the briefcase
2. zen-ing at the campfire with the second brains
3. lasso’ing the monolithic cell phone
4. capturing a flock of wild cell phones with a net…

What else??

This article was originally published in Project Simplify’s newsletter, The Simplifier #4.7.

—

You’ve Got to Clear Your Throat if You Want to Sing Your Song

by Shawn Tuttle

"Why don’t you believe you’re ready? Don’t you hear all the great things coming out of your mouth?!"

This was the question I wanted to ask my good friend Leila. “It makes no sense!” I thought. But I get ahead of myself.

Leila has healing, compassionate work to share with the world. For people who have complicated relationships with their bodies, her work is a blessing that can change lives. Through yoga, breath work, essences, and a number of other modalities, she helps people feel comfortable with themselves.

Her successful experience as a yoga teacher makes workshops that combine yoga with other methods the obvious next step. Talking with Leila earlier this month, however, revealed she was at a standstill. She was not manifesting her beautiful ideas. Her mind had done a great job of convincing her that, for one reason or another, she wasn’t ready.

Listening to her concerns and mental roadblocks was like playing back the tapes of my own experience as I struggled with my first workshop offerings years ago:

"I don’t want to commit. What if it’s the wrong thing?"

"I’ll do it after I get more credentials and training."

"I want to put the program together first."

"There are so many things to include, I don’t know how to incorporate them all into the program yet."

"I haven’t decided which demographic to work with; there are so many."

Everybody has these thoughts; some of them have merit, some are just excuses. But whatever they are, if we don’t wrangle them down, they will tie us up in knots.

By putting off our aspirations for another year, our gifts stay securely and safely tucked away. No risk required. Whether writing an article, starting a blog, submitting a painting to a contest, joining a choir, or offering a workshop like Leila, putting ourselves out there can make us feel as if our very soul is on the line. Why expose our hearts to the unforgiving glare of critics and strangers?

Sure it’s uncomfortable. But how else do you get the opportunity to grow in such an enormously satisfying way? How else can you genuinely fulfill your desire to sing your song? Unless you trust that you and only you are the one to do this very thing, and you bring it to life, the world will never get to hear your exquisite song.

(more…)

The question has arisen about the difference between Project Simplify and the Natural Professional. Good question. It’s been begging clarity in my mind as well. While people going through the NP program will learn methodologies that are applicable to their entire life, this blog can show those same tools being applied to the adventure of […]

The NP Handbook Table of Contents (working draft)

Lance (my co-editor of the Project Simplify newsletter) and I butt heads this week over newsletter editorial policy. He sent over a section for the Lifestyles of the Natural and Professional part of the newsletter and I nixed it. He said it was perfectly fine and that he had fulfilled his responsibility. For all practical […]

Any ideas on little illustrations of NP stick people? We’ve got: 1. spearing the briefcase 2. zen-ing at the campfire with the second brains 3. lasso’ing the monolithic cell phone 4. capturing a flock of wild cell phones with a net… What else??

This article was originally published in Project Simplify’s newsletter, The Simplifier #4.7. — You’ve Got to Clear Your Throat if You Want to Sing Your Song by Shawn Tuttle "Why don’t you believe you’re ready? Don’t you hear all the great things coming out of your mouth?!" This was the question I wanted to ask […]