Reflections from Week 2 in B School

Getting overwhelmed is useless

On Tuesday of this week, Marie sent out an email that could not have been more timely. In it, she talked about how becoming overwhelmed is not useful for traveling a journey and meeting goal. I had been feeling overwhelmed by the process of conducting my ICA interviews. (I have conducted 5.) I really had my mind exploded, in a good way, about the possibilities we discussed. As I do, I started to get excited about wanting everything done next week. Website thinking had already got me wanting katiesteedly.com (my website) to be perfect, tomorrow. So my mind was clearly poised for overwhelm, even to the extent that I woke up two nights straight digesting, again, all my past failures, thinking about a B School refund, and feeling paralyzed in doubt and fear. Marie’s email, and reading through comments in the community, made me feel less alone in my effort to focus, clarify, hone, and move forward.

It takes courage to be vulnerable

Asking people for feedback is tough. As instructed, I sent out an email asking friends and colleagues to tell me three best qualities. I sent it to 23 people. To date, I have heard back from 4. When I sent it out, I had told myself: to have no expectations, to not take whatever response occurred personally, and to be gentle on myself with interpreting silence. (On a positive note, I did receive truly valuable feedback from the 5 ICA interviews I conducted.) The sense I made of that experience can be summed up by saying I am glad I put it out there. I am glad I was vulnerable. I am glad B School asked/forced me to do it. Also, I am glad it happened the same week I took my strengths assessment. That softened my heart enough to take in the whole experience.

Redesigning my website will require elbow grease

I have had a WordPress website (www.katiesteedly.com) since 2007. I had it professional designed the first time in 2010. It has been two years since I did a even a slight redesign. I know it is time to catch up with technology, develop my brand/platform, and take advantage of all the support that is now available. The the web design world has changed since 2007! This module gave me a glimpse of where I can go, and the role I want to play in getting there. My last web design/development experience was a bit of a train wreck. (I asked the team with whom I had worked prior to install MailChimp. They had a turnover in personnel and wound up installing Constant Contact. They eventually installed MailChimp, and I have been using it for two years.) I tell that story because the possibility of driving my own bus a bit more, and using web development services more effectively in the future, is something B School is guiding me to do.

Its fun to contemplate free gifts

I have really enjoyed thinking about what to create to encourage people to join my site. I am thinking about creating a Quick Guide To Fund Raising For Artists, Teachers, and Researchers. Also, I have arts-based lessons for K-12 teachers that I have created over the years, I am thinking it might be great to offer them as an option, along with the quick guide, as well. (I wrote the lesson plans for an entertainment company years ago. Nothing has happened with these lesson plans since they were originally written. I scrubbed them for any reference to the entertainment company that originally paid me to write them, and have asked the person from the company for permission to move forward with whipping them into shape to give away.) Offering several options for freebies seems like a great next step to build my list.

My B School journey started a long time ago

As I work through B School, I feel like I am weaving the threads of my life experience into a beautiful fabric. Tailoring and fashioning my skill set to make the idea that has lived in my heart for years real is truly exciting. Two weeks in, I am Living Wide-awakeness (the title of my dissertation) with B School holding my hand.