S24EP09: Weirdo Creative Genius!

Clients who are more successful , intelligent and wealthier than you need your support , more than they know and more than you can imagine . I coach around insight . Life looks one way , something happens and the world looks different and your entire world changes .

It can happen in an instant , and this podcast is called One Insight because a single insight can change everything . I had so much fun recording this podcast episode with Lovina . First of all , let me tell you who Lovina is , because it will give you some context . She's an extraordinary woman .

She's worked on large-scale sales operations , transformation projects since she was in her 20s . That included a multi-billion dollar financial services company and a multi-billion dollar wine and spirits company . She was part of a small management team that transformed Book of the Month Club , which was a nearly 100-year-old company when she started working with it .

It used to be . It was a dying mail order business . She helped transform it to a multi-million dollar subscription e-commerce company . Dying mail order business . She helped transform it to a multi-million dollar subscription e-commerce company .

She helped the former director of operations for Thomas Keller Restaurant Group build a community for restaurant and hospitality leaders in New York City .

She worked with the founders of one of the biggest food Kickstarter projects of all time and she helped open the first US restaurant by Klaus Mayer , one of the co-founders of Noma , which is frequently named the best restaurant in the world .

So Lovina has a very diverse background , very unique , before she came into coaching , and today I simply ask her what's on your mind ? And I reflect back some of the things that she's talking , that they're on her mind .

I mean , I have no idea where we're going to go , but as I begin to reflect back what's on her mind , we start to go deeper into this idea she has for a book and I mess with her thinking . You will see by the end of this conversation that , despite being one of the most creative people I've ever met , laveena couldn't have got there by herself .

It's the power of having a coach . You do not need to be better at what your client does than what they do . They're the best in the world at what they do . By definition , you can help shift their thinking , see things that they cannot see and , if you're bold enough , say things that most people would never dare to say to them .

And this was such a fun conversation . It gets deeper and deeper if you stay until the very end , because that's where you see the transformation happen . Enjoy , hi Lovina , hey Rich , let's play . We spoke briefly a moment ago and there are lots of things on your mind . How can I support ? Would you like to begin by getting the thoughts out of your head ?

Maybe they've've sprouted , maybe I've harvested like a first set of flowers , but when we first met , probably within the first few months , there are a few things that happened . Number one you've reflected back to me that there was something in me that you felt wasn't being expressed and that sparked my curiosity and opened up this entire world of exploration .

We did a session where my website got put up in front of the group , in front of 4PC , and I got a similar kind of feedback from the person leading the session . And then the third thing was when I did the 4PC accelerator about two years ago , you had an intake question what if 100% of your clients had like the resonance of your top 20% of clients ?

And I feel like I've been holding those explorations for the last two years .

I've really revamped my practice . I came to a natural completion point with a number of my clients within like a year of doing that accelerator . I think mutually , we agreed it was time we were done and a number of those clients I'd been working with for years held the space open until six months later . I started to feel like a real yes .

I sat on making any changes to my website for that entire time , which is really difficult , because I knew things needed to develop . There were things that I couldn't see that were supposed to come forward , and recently it sort of all clicked into place and I redid my website in two days .

And this third piece about being me I mean I didn't even realize I had gotten so used to being so deeply hidden in certain environments , especially certain professional environments , and being on the internet .

I was unconsciously constantly scanning the room for what the norms were and then I'd position myself just a little bit like on the edge of the norm to stand out without standing out too much , and I've really been working on hearing myself and expressing myself authentically and that has turned into writing and some new work that I think wants to come out can .

When we first met , which is two years ago now time flies right it feels like seeds were planted and you can feel them beginning to to grow sprout somehow not quite sure what stage they're at , but you feel that shift back . When we first met , there was something not expressed in you , uh , the , the way you described it . You you said deeply hidden .

That really struck me . That that's , uh I that's an interesting phrase deeply hidden . And then you had a great way to describe it . There's the norm and then there's being just a little bit on the edge of the norm , so you can stand out without standing out too much , and that really does describe how I remember you .

Even simply looking at the background of this video screen , I see you on right now . I see you in this beautiful space , nice artwork , your books are behind you , there's a plant there , there's a sense of who you might be , and when I first met you it was a white background , nothing else there , and so I'm beginning to feel you more and more .

I'm not surprised that distinction that you liked where I said think of the top 20% of your clients now and imagine in a year's time . Everyone is the caliber of your current top 20% . I'm not surprised that's happening more and more as you're showing more and more of who you are .

It's going to be exciting as you explore the boundaries of who you actually are or could be in the world , and it's going to draw your dream clients to you .

When you're into rooms , so you stand out with , uh , people you're . When you're around people , you stand out .

It's hard for me to turn off the part of my brain that sees so sharply and that part of me that is moved to speak when I have to speak , when something needs to be said . Yeah , and I think there's another element that is represented in the example that you gave of , like the wall behind me .

It's intriguing to me , it's different to me and I'm really drawn to this idea of knowing that you work with and nurture weirdo creative geniuses to . I can only imagine be even more weird , even more creative and even more in their zone of genius .

named this in the exploration , I felt that they had an intuitive knowing that there was no way their external world would not transform as a process of the internal work . There's just like an inevitability that we would resolve the dissonances and things would move as a result , as a result of this new way of being coming out I'm just reflecting .

It's who you spend time with . What am I missing about you not getting this book out into the world ? It is needed . Is it needed for most people ? It's not a book for most people . It needed . I think so . I can't wait to read it that resonated yeah , you , you're in your own head around this one . You get making it too complex , even your website .

I pulled it up because I know you've redone it . This is not the website that represents weirdo creative genius . I get it's edgy for you , don't get me wrong , it's not . It's great , it's simple . It's powerful in its simplicity , but there's more to you than that . For many coaches , this will be a great website . There's more to you than that .

There's this , this weirdo creative genius aspect . That's not here and it's who you are . Now , frankly , you don't really even need a website , because all your clients come word of mouth . They went to that afterwards . Does it give the gravitas of who you are ? Yeah , it touches on it , so I wouldn't worry about it . You don't need to redo it . So that sigh .

I just felt it's okay . But what I'd say is find an expert who can create a website that represents your weirdo creative genius . Then it's . How should I say this ? I'm not allowed to hire people for my team . You see , if I hire people for my team , I'm a visionary .

I'm going to enroll anybody I speak to in how amazing my team is , how amazing my business is and the impact we have on the world . It's just who I am . So the problem of me interviewing anyone is I just enroll them . They want to work for me more . I'm not very good at finding out .

Are they the right person to work for me , so we just hired somebody new for my team . I came into the final interview to do just what I said inspire them with what we are and ask one single question . But I trust Keriston on my team to do the enrollment and the same here .

Like you're not allowed to do the the creative side on a website because all your stuff gets in the way because you're human , someone else will do that for you and you'll just say to them make sure it represents the weirdo creative genius of me and my clients I'm going to live in the reality that that person is going to reach out to me they might do after

this , but you'll start to if you're open to that . You'll start to see websites now and you'll come across a website and go oh my God , that love that . I'll get in touch with them , and so it's less about a website designer than you owning . This is who I am a weirdo creative genius . I mean everyone in 4PC , when they heard that phrase , loved it .

They see it , but it's hard to see ourselves right . We only see ourselves in reflection from somebody else Looking in a mirror . It's hard to see who we really are , and so what's holding this book back ? Why isn't it out in the world yet ?

I mean sometimes as a joke , like she might make a tiktok , that's like part of , um , some like popular thing that's going around , but for the things that she creates that are an expression of her , it's so her .

The way that she teaches is so artful and unlike anyone I've ever encountered , and she holds that with like such generosity and humility .

He's incredibly sharp and I think sometimes makes snap , has made snap judgments about the way things work or what things require of him that can live his untested assumptions that block him from engaging with things that he really wants to engage with and can actually play a role in his life that are different from what he believes and deeply enriching and fulfilling

ways and how about chloe ?

She's artful , she's unique , she's generous and she's humble , and those are all the reasons she stands out in the world and people love her and admire her . There are some things that hold her back ever so slightly . There's still this faint shadow of feeling like she's standing in the shadow of some other key people in her life . She's incredibly sharp .

She makes snap judgments and assumptions that are always tested , that are always tested and that can actually block her sometimes from deeply enriching and deeply fulfilling ways of being in the world . And sometimes , when she's in partnership or collaboration with someone , it's hard for her to stand firmly in her power and her voice can get a little bit lost .

Does this woman sound familiar to you ?

does . That last piece about partnerships , I think in a similar way , is really evolving . Not , it doesn't . It's not alive in the same way that it used to be , and I can still see it in my life .

But it dawned on me as I started this exercise this is an exercise I sometimes do with coaches who are wondering who are my dream clients . Uh , and it's draw . It draws out the mindsets of your dream clients , the psychographic , so these are your client and and it's always a reflection of ourselves .

Usually when I do the exercise , people cry actually , uh , because it they you've seen this done before , so you may have got this sense what's coming , but often moves people to tears because they realize , oh my god , that's me . So I mean this is the heart of what's coming . But often moves people to tears because they realize , oh my god , that's me .

So I mean this is the heart of what , the gift you have to give , that you understand what it is to be a weirdo creative genius the gifts as well as the things that hold them back . That's why this book is needed in the world . This is not a book , I put it to you . This book is not to teach people how to become a weirdo creative genius .

You couldn't really do that . I would propose this is a book to help people who are weirdo creative geniuses , who feel like they're standing in the doorway , half seen , half not seen , wondering what to do next to go even deeper into their genius , to be even more successful , possibly even more well-known , but to be seen fully for who they are .

That's who this book is for . The book is for Jackie and Ben and Chloe , not for people who want to be like them one day . Hopefully , fingers crossed . It's a book for them .

Jackie is truly one of my best friends on the entire planet and I have never considered writing this book for her , but one of the core , one of the things that makes our friendship feel so deeply special to both of us is the depth to which we feel that the other person sees us beyond like almost any other relationships that we have in our lives .

Yeah , and to reduce something that I think could give her that experience as well and be an object that creates this like like a sense of not being alone and truly hopeful , is a very special project .

And the same thing came up for Rita To go so deep that it's not just a book for your 100 clients , it's a book for a single person . Sarah got excited because she envisaged writing a book for a leader of an organization she works with and also a copy for the senior team . But for you , I'm wondering .

It feels a little bit like Tim Ferriss used to say , or said , that when he was writing the four-hour work week he got stuck and one of his buddies said well , you know how , Tim , on a Friday afternoon you always write a drunk email to us about your week and what you've been up to .

Just write the rest of the book after a couple of glasses of wine on email to us . And that's how he finished the book . And so I wonder whether the way to write this book , whether it's a book you only ever write for one person , or whether it's a book that becomes the guide for other super weird creative geniuses .

But you write it for Jackie or for Ben , or you write a chapter for Chloe and I wonder whether , instead of trying to write a book that's hard to write because you're writing for who knows who , you're writing for the people you actually know .

That's just write every day , no matter what I said , I just feel I write when I feel inspired , and sometimes that means I write for four days nonstop , but then I don't write for two weeks . And he said oh yeah , rich me too .

And it blew my mind because you read all the stuff online about how you're supposed to be creative and it's the stuff for the masses . So use your inspiration , use your weirdness , your creativity and your genius to create this book . I put it to you , lavinia it shouldn't be a linear book . It should be unusable . Chapter three might be empty .

And it says chapter three take a snapshot of this QR code . Chapter three you have to listen to me . Chapter seven click this QR code . You have to watch this me . Chapter seven click this QR code . You have to watch this video .

Chapter four come and meet me at the top of a mountain , I don't know , just have it be nonlinear , weird , creative , it has to be .

I mean , bring everything into this book , make it fun , make it creative theatre , make it a book that you'd love to read . It's not a linear book . On that note , thanks for playing .

This is why we work with coaches , because a great coach can help reflect back things that we cannot see for ourselves . It's what you do for your clients , it's what I do for mine , and here we go yeah , yeah , I love um funny .

I think I was looking at it like a homework assignment .

It's partly a book , it's partly a video , it's partly an experience . Section three you have to meet me , I .

I designed this like murder mystery party for my husband . I should have just bought one off the shelf , but I had too many particularities for how I wanted it to go and it was so .

I despite the fact that it was probably 30 hours of work across like the span of one week I had the most fun time thinking about the situations that I was putting people in and the little riddles that aredles that I was leaving for people to solve . And now I'm just realizing that was a warm up . Yes , yeah this is great .