Guilty confession: I feel called to teach.
Not in a saucy schoolteacher rulers-on-your-knuckles kind of way. (I got Lasik eye surgery a few years back, so the bespectacled temptress look is right out.)
More in a…“hey, I’ve been there. Tried that. Failed here. Soared there. And I’ve packaged my life experience, flexible formulas & intuitive brilliance into an experiential learning experience, for you” kinda way.
So simple, right? So nonchalant. So easy.
Except, when I sit down to hash out my crazy-sexy-cool initiation-meets-certification program for promotional writers & digital scribes who want to be sought-after, affluent & sensationally persuasive…
I freeze. Me? Teach? People? It’s like there’s a section of my brain exclusively devoted to cranking out excuses as to why I should zip my lips, snap my chalkboard in half, and slink back down to where I belong.
Some of my mind-tank’s most popular excuses:
:: I’m 26. Way too young. No one will take me seriously. They’re all gonna laugh at me, mom!
:: I need at least 10 (20, 40, 100) more years of experience before my knowledge will be worth sharing.
:: I’m ultra-confident with 1-on-1 dynamics. But leading a group? They might text their friends & throw spitballs at me! Lord of the Flies, unleashed!
:: I’ve never (really) done this before. Except that one time. And that other time. But still. Not really.
:: What if my class doesn’t sell out? And I look like a damn fool? Some promotional wordsmith I turned out to be. Buh-bye, credibility. Hello, prison (side note :: all my ego-driven nightmares end in prison.)
:: What if…dun dun dun…I just plain SUCK boots? Like, at everything? Evermore & always?
I realize, on an intellectual level, that most of my excuses are ridiculous. But they feel true. At least, 50% of the time. And that’s a very real obstacle, when you’re trying to sizzle with creative, instructional excellence. Negatory cacophonies nix new potential.
Folks? I’m over it. I’m clearing (most of) the month of December to hone my public speaking chops with the masterful Gail Larsen, talk to my inner child (and unicorn & panda bear) with the incredible Hiro Boga, and rally myself for 2012. The year that I teach. With total commitment.
‘Cause if there’s anything I’ve learned during the past 525 days of full-tilt entrepreneurship, it’s that what comes effortlessly to one person can be a revelation for somebody else. And that’s why we’re all natural-born teachers. Whether we embrace it, or not.
Epilogue :: Extra-credit
This Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 10am PST / 1pm EST, multiple-bestselling author Jen Louden & Fortune 500 coach / orgasmic meditation instructor (uh-huh) Michele Lisenbury Christensen are leading a class called “Dissolving Obstacles to Teaching Effectively and Joyfully.” They’ll show you how to close the gap between between how you aspire to teach & where you are today. Even if you don’t have your shit together. Even if you’re not an “expert.” Even if calling yourself a Teacher (with a capital “T”) makes you break out in hives.
To get a FREE PASS to the class–and info about Jen & Michelle’s upcoming Teach Now program–hop over here, and drop your name & email beneath the sunny-yellow “Subscribe Me!” invitation.
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Candy-colored pencils from The Fancy (my latest photo-curation obsession). You can see everything else I “fancy,” right here.
so jazzed to hear you are going to teach – wowza world, here she comes!~
I got news for ya sweets… teach? YOU ALREADY DO. I learn something every time I open my reader to find fresh stuff from you.
You have the drive, determination, and seriously cool people in your corner to make sure it all comes together.
You will be a great teacher.
Ainslie
Your lucky, lucky students are in for a wild ride of Alex brilliance — they won’t know what picked them up, spun them around and landed them in their heart’s true direction, but they’ll be so grateful for it!
You’re a natural, and my guess is, you were born wise!
JEN :: Thanks for the fist pump! Inspired by the best. Present company included.
EMILY :: Aw, shucks. I never actually thought of it that way. xo.
AINSLIE HUNTER :: Muah! Pom pom shaking = accepting.
HIRO BOGA :: I don’t know if I was “born wise,” but I’m certainly working’ on it. ;)
I’ve just started teaching Irish Dance this year, and I’m only 16! At first, I was nervous everyone would look down on me because of my age but in the end I realized that most of the adults I teach were just impressed that I was so young and could do all this stuff.
It feels great
You teaching? Totally brilliant. Just the other day I was thinking, “I would totally love to be Alexandra Franzen’s apprentice.” I don’t think you’ll need to worry about spitballs. I’m guessing you’ll have a class full of teacher’s pets!
You can do it! :D
We all teach and we all learn ;) And much like most everything else in life, the greatest difficulty is the getting to the starting line. Once it starts you just go with it and knock it out of the park ;)
:D I’ve taught outdoor education for a bunch of years, taught in a tea store, and taught and learned in conversations all surrounding. You have the sum of your unique experience to share and that is one of a kind. You’re also quite amusing and that’s always good ;)
So may you change the world each and everyday for the better by your choices made :)
You can so do it!
You are a teacher! You are teaching a lot of things in this colorful, wacky blog of yours.