What do a labor arbitrator, a radio personality, a teacher, an epidemiologist, a registered nurse, an education specialist, a bat expert, a physiology professor, and a defense lawyer for the Dept of Justice all have in common?
This past week, I found out. And, in the process, realized that much of that which unites us as human beings has little to do with our professions, and much to do with what we long to do after-hours.
Creating art in any form requires showing up regularly at the dance floor, the easel, the musical instrument, the page. If we wait until inspiration strikes or an enlightening visit from our Muse, we’ll never finish our creative work.
Sometimes, we need friends and coaches to make sure that this happens.
Enter Alexa Mergen.
(photo by Kat, daily schedule by Alexa Mergen)
To help me reach my physical exercise or artistic goals, I’ve usually needed the structure of a class, a hired trainer, or the accountability of a friend. What happens when you need a coach to help you complete a written piece for publication? Enter Alexa Mergen, creative coach, who is helping one of my friends finish her novel.
May 10-17 is in-house bootcamp where this gentle-but-tough coach will help keep her client focused on her goals via inspiration and colorful crayons to remind her of her commitment to write. As Nathalie Goldberg writes in "Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within" (a great creative tool for all writers, for sure, and one that I use in my own writing classes), “show up at the page.” Sometimes, we need friends and coaches to make sure that this happens.
Are there any of you out there who have benefited from a coach of any sort? I'd love to hear your stories.
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