Hey, Synchronicity, it's nice to watch you in action.
After my last post, a friend shared this with me:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsey_scale
Turns out the world DOES exist in shades of grey, even where sexual orientation is concerned. Groovy.
Last night I taught my first class. A friend of mine who also teaches confessed to me that she barely sleeps the night before new classes, because she's so nervous. I'd been really chill about the whole thing, but I figured the nerves would make themselves known as the time grew closer. Yesterday morning I woke up at 6:30am when Mike got up, and the first thing I thought was, "Wow, I slept like a baby. I think I forgot that today was the day for my first class. Now that I've remembered I bet I'm going to lay here awake for the next two hours! Crap!!" And then I promptly fell back to sleep. And the nerves never showed up.
Teaching out of my home probably helped, since it's a comfortable place for me. Teaching friends and people I already know pretty well probably helped, although I did feel some pressure to make it worth their while. I'd done a ton of research and really felt like I knew what I wanted to present, and that I knew what I was talking about.. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the cooking portion, but even that part went smoothly. The whole class went great, I think everyone had a good time, and most importantly I think everyone learned something new.
It felt good. Really good. I'm moving quickly towards what I'm meant to do, and it's amazing. I'm still not 100% sure what "it" is, but I'm not too stressed out about that. I've got some ideas, and I'm heading in a direction, so I'm pretty sure I'll figure it out.
We had a staff meeting at WR this morning. I always go to them, even though I'm the only bartender who ever shows up. But this time I had plans with a friend and felt like I really didn't need to be at another meeting where we talked about numbers and stats for 20 minutes. Then yesterday the CEO of WR came up to me, asked me a few questions, and then asked if I had any interest in pursuing other work within the company. I told him I definitely was, but before we could get into much detail we were interrupted. I'd previously expressed concern to him about the growth and changes the company is making and exactly how we're going about it all, afraid that we might be set up to lose our authenticity and all the loyalty we've garnered.At the time, and again yesterday, Bill was really candid with me about where the company is going, what I can expect, and where his dedication lies. But a few of us taproom staff were having a really heated and not very positive discussion yesterday about the things that are happening and how we envision the future.
So Bill tells me that he has someone coming in for the staff meeting, and I wonder if maybe I should show up after all, but I really don't want to break my date with my friend. Within an hour after speaking with Bill, my friend texts me and asks if we can reschedule our date... Obviously I went to the staff meeting this morning.
And I'm so glad I did. I got to see the new marketing campaign that's being put together - and it rocks. It's edgy, it's funny, it's authentic, and it's focused on not just the brand, but the people who make it what it is. Cool. Very cool. And then Bob Wilkie did a presentation. He's a corporate leadership and team coach, and he talked about a lot of things that I whole-heartedly believe in: being a part of a team, your attitude, loyalty, love, dedication, desire..... It was reassuring to know that Bill is actually willing to put money and time behind the things he's saying, regarding keeping the team together and motivated, and trying to build something really amazing. I've never been part of a company that has hired a coach to keep everyone on track. Bob Wilkie is going to be coming in on a regular basis to teach and work with us.
I think it's amazing for two reasons: One, I believe in what he's doing, and I think it can be great for WR if we get everyone thinking the same way. Two, what Bob's doing is very much along the lines of what I believe I want to do, and so this will give me an opportunity to study first hand what a professional coach does!!! How freaking cool is that?! It's free business advice for me!!
So overall, everything's coming up roses, and I'm pretty sure that this is exactly where I need to be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsey_scale
Turns out the world DOES exist in shades of grey, even where sexual orientation is concerned. Groovy.
Last night I taught my first class. A friend of mine who also teaches confessed to me that she barely sleeps the night before new classes, because she's so nervous. I'd been really chill about the whole thing, but I figured the nerves would make themselves known as the time grew closer. Yesterday morning I woke up at 6:30am when Mike got up, and the first thing I thought was, "Wow, I slept like a baby. I think I forgot that today was the day for my first class. Now that I've remembered I bet I'm going to lay here awake for the next two hours! Crap!!" And then I promptly fell back to sleep. And the nerves never showed up.
Teaching out of my home probably helped, since it's a comfortable place for me. Teaching friends and people I already know pretty well probably helped, although I did feel some pressure to make it worth their while. I'd done a ton of research and really felt like I knew what I wanted to present, and that I knew what I was talking about.. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the cooking portion, but even that part went smoothly. The whole class went great, I think everyone had a good time, and most importantly I think everyone learned something new.
It felt good. Really good. I'm moving quickly towards what I'm meant to do, and it's amazing. I'm still not 100% sure what "it" is, but I'm not too stressed out about that. I've got some ideas, and I'm heading in a direction, so I'm pretty sure I'll figure it out.
We had a staff meeting at WR this morning. I always go to them, even though I'm the only bartender who ever shows up. But this time I had plans with a friend and felt like I really didn't need to be at another meeting where we talked about numbers and stats for 20 minutes. Then yesterday the CEO of WR came up to me, asked me a few questions, and then asked if I had any interest in pursuing other work within the company. I told him I definitely was, but before we could get into much detail we were interrupted. I'd previously expressed concern to him about the growth and changes the company is making and exactly how we're going about it all, afraid that we might be set up to lose our authenticity and all the loyalty we've garnered.At the time, and again yesterday, Bill was really candid with me about where the company is going, what I can expect, and where his dedication lies. But a few of us taproom staff were having a really heated and not very positive discussion yesterday about the things that are happening and how we envision the future.
So Bill tells me that he has someone coming in for the staff meeting, and I wonder if maybe I should show up after all, but I really don't want to break my date with my friend. Within an hour after speaking with Bill, my friend texts me and asks if we can reschedule our date... Obviously I went to the staff meeting this morning.
And I'm so glad I did. I got to see the new marketing campaign that's being put together - and it rocks. It's edgy, it's funny, it's authentic, and it's focused on not just the brand, but the people who make it what it is. Cool. Very cool. And then Bob Wilkie did a presentation. He's a corporate leadership and team coach, and he talked about a lot of things that I whole-heartedly believe in: being a part of a team, your attitude, loyalty, love, dedication, desire..... It was reassuring to know that Bill is actually willing to put money and time behind the things he's saying, regarding keeping the team together and motivated, and trying to build something really amazing. I've never been part of a company that has hired a coach to keep everyone on track. Bob Wilkie is going to be coming in on a regular basis to teach and work with us.
I think it's amazing for two reasons: One, I believe in what he's doing, and I think it can be great for WR if we get everyone thinking the same way. Two, what Bob's doing is very much along the lines of what I believe I want to do, and so this will give me an opportunity to study first hand what a professional coach does!!! How freaking cool is that?! It's free business advice for me!!
So overall, everything's coming up roses, and I'm pretty sure that this is exactly where I need to be.