Finding Inspiration from Others
Be You And Be Fearless
Last week, I was thinking about a quote from an article I wrote that said, "On that rare occasion, I will meet someone who touches my soul and truly moves me, with what he/she is committed to in his/herlife and work!" and thought about one of my first friends, whom I met when I moved to LA over ten years ago.
I was young and thought Hollywood was my oyster. I was hanging out in the entertainment "scene" and invited to a lot of hot mansion parties in Bel Air and the Hollywood Hills. I remember one producer's partylike it was yesterday - that is where I would become forever friends with Meehna Goldsmith.
Meehna was (still is) this cute, spunky, hilarious, strawberry blonde. She shared with me that she was a screenwriter, had just sold a screenplay and was signed with the William Morris Agency.This was way before I became a certified life coach, but I remember hearing the passion and excitement in her voice. I also remember thinking that this girl would be the next Nancy Meyers
Now, we all know that as life happens, our dreams, goals and commitments sometimes change, shift or take a different shape. Sometimes, our hearts yearn for more stability, responsibility, deeper meaning,different interests and growth. The real question is, "How do we take our passions, talents and creativity and make them work so that we continue to be inspired and follow our dreams?"
Whenever this conversation comes up, I share Meehna's story because it continues to inspire me. Meehna, the successful screenwriter, discovered her passion for watches. She took her hobby and createda way to become one of the top female watch bloggers and earn the position of Editor-in-Chief of Longitude. Here's how Christie's watch matchmaker, Meehna Goldsmith, inspired me by following her dreams!
Forever friendships are binding and powerful, so when Meehna swapped coasts with me, after 10 years, we made Sprint very happy. During one of our intense two hour phone chats, I got down-and-dirtywith her about her career and all the choices and changes she made throughout the years. When I asked her how she would explain her profession, she giggled and replied, "Which one? I've given it ago in a lot of areas. I gave my guts to every endeavor, until I ended up in one I love, as a watch journalist and now blogger for Longitude. Truth is, I didn't know I was going to be a watch bloggerlet alone how I would do it!"
As I listened, I thought about two very important key points to acknowledge here.
The first is that she ended up in a career that she loves. How many of us sleepwalk through life, spending 40 hours aweek in jobs that suck the life out of our souls? How many of us dread waking up each morning and facing what the day ahead at work holds? Life is too short to be unhappy! We need to find the courageto take risks, chances and make changes!
The second is that she did not know what she would be doing or how she would do it, but she took the risks and challenges in life to create something that wouldmove her soul and creative juices. I often quote the saying, "God laughs when we are making plans," because we truly cannot know how our future dreams and plans will turn out.
We soon got into a conversation about following your dreams, which is a topic I am known to speak and coach about. Meehna shared that her dream was to make it to graduate film school and work in Hollywood.She got into USC film school in the graduate screenwriting program. "I had some success, including selling a movie and scoring an agent at William Morris, but the grind eventually wore me down.Too much of the business was a crapshoot, relying on luck, timing and having an Uncle Fred in the business. Dreams change. Next!"
I admire how self-aware Meehna was in this situation. I coach a lot of young actresses who become emotionally devastated when they cannot control their careers. I totally get it and have been thereand done that. Again, I want to dissect some important components Meehna shared - luck and timing!
Readers, I am a firm believer in the saying, "Preparation plus opportunity equals success," and we should do one thing every day to further our careers and bring our dreams to fruition, but therecomes a point when we want to "let go". Sometimes "letting go" and releasing control redirects us to the path we are meant to follow.
The word passion is one of my favorites in the English language! Without passion, our souls slowly die! I was curious to know when Meehna discovered her passion for watches.
She answered:
"For a while, I edited an online magazine that eventually went bust and then was swimming around for something else to do. My specialty became teaching middle school and I loved it. It was also duringthis time I decided I wanted to get a really nice watch; maybe it represented stability for me or to have something classy to show at parent/teacher night or simply needing to keep track of time, whileteaching. Now, this attraction to watches and clocks, too, didn't come out of nowhere. I can't explain why - I've always had this attraction to them. The moving gears and swinging balance wheel just stolemy heart. And I was in love with my parents' antique grandfather clock. The ticks and chimes were lovely background music to my childhood."
So, like me, you are probably wondering how we can turn our passion into a paying job or career?
My friend shared:
"In typical Meehna fashion, I began researching watches, hanging out on watch forumsand blogs to learn everything I could. At the beginning, a lot of it was over my head, but I hung in there. Hungry for information, I read more and more and occasionally asked a question if I didn'tthink it too embarrassingly dumb. Then one day, somebody posed a question I thought I could answer.
A short time later, I received a private email from a well-known and highly respected watchmaker.He encouraged me to start writing professionally about timepieces. I was just naïve enough to think I could. My first assignment was for International Watch Magazine and from there I started buildingup my portfolio to include the Financial Times, Watch Journal and the Robb Report, among others.
Sensing the importance of the digital age, I initiated my own blog called Watchmatchmaker.com.I randomly sent over a resume to Christie's, to a nice specialist there I talked to a few times. And boy, am I glad I did, because it was the International Head of the Christie's Watches department.He'd seen my resume and website and wanted to meet with me! The rest, as they say, is history."
Are you inspired by this lady's tenacity and gumption, yet? I sure am!
Can we say fearless?
Now, I realize that I am the life coach here, but one last thing I am compelled to share is Meehna's response when I asked her, "What insight would you give to others who may be experiencing a similarpassion and career path to yours?"
She said:
"There are many roads to take in our professional lives and just because we go down one path for a time and then try another doesn't make us failures, it makes us explorers if we continue towork hard to find the right fit and put passion into the tasks at hand. Just because one job is right now doesn't mean another won't be tailor-made for you down the line. Your story isn't over yet..."
With that gorgeous answer, who is coaching who now?
Readers, are you following me here? Do you see how subtle our deep passions can be? We might discover them years later, but we just need to dig deep inside to find them!
Many thanks to Meehna Goldsmith for sharing valuable information, both personally and professionally and, thank you for always inspiring me with your story and your friendship. Many thanks to my readersfor allowing me to share Meehna's story and the message I always derive from it.
Things may not always turn out exactly as we planned them to, but they may turn out better than we ever dreamed of! Stay inspired and follow your dreams, wherever they may take you!
Be You And Be Fearless!
Copyright © 2012 Brooke Lewis
To learn more about "Be You And Be Fearless" Life Coach Brooke Lewis, please visit her website: beyouandbefearlesslifecoach.com
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