How to unleash your creativity and sprint toward your goals
When was the last time you sprinted?
People always ask me: How do you do it? Raise 4 kids, run a business, write books, stay healthy and fit.
The answer: Sprints
In fact, I’m just coming off one. Last summer I spent one month processing all the feedback I’d gathered on my book—from publishers, screenwriters, film scouts, Beta readers and agents, over the years. I spent another month dreaming, praying and generally noodling over the problems and solutions to the feedback I got and the changes I wanted to make to the book. (The number one question being: How do I satisfy convention without being conventional? 🤔 More on that in a future post.)
From there, I itemized everything I wanted to tackle in a Word doc table checklist. Then this month, I was in a sprint to implement those changes. I carved a few hours every morning to work on my book, and have a few days left to read it over one last time before I submit the manuscript to my publisher and it begins its journey on the conveyor belt of publishing as it makes its way to a book store near you.
In the meantime, some things have taken a back seat: Enrolling new clients and members for my business, hosting events and workshops, my podcast, social media! (Yes, that’s why I’ve been strangely absent, if you noticed.)
Now that my sprint is coming to a close, you’ll start to hear more from me. (Hopefully that’s a good thing.) I’ll turn my attention to some of the things that have been waiting on the back burner, before I do another sprint—this time to revisit my second book, for a fresh edit and revision. (But not before I've had a chance to rest and relax a bit.)
Someone else who knows about sprints is Matt Rogers—a client of mine who wrote his book in 9 days!
As Matt admits, he always knew he had a great book in him, but he was “rudderless.” He had spent years sputtering, rewriting and making excuses. He lacked confidence and direction.
Working with me helped Matt put intentional and purposeful effort into how, when and where he wrote. As Matt says, “That direction on how to organize my process released my ultra-creativity.”
The result was 45,000 written words and a full first draft manuscript in just 9 writing days—“a waterfall of words,” as Matt calls it.
Although Matt already had a strong chapter outline and 25 years of experience under his belt when he started working with me, the focused process helped him download it all on to the page very quickly.
Matt sums up the experience like this:
“A great coach doesn’t always teach his/her pupil how to be great. Sometimes it is just a matter of teaching his/her pupil how to unleash the greatness that’s already in them. Cat removed the pressure and anxiety from me, and my creativity flew out. It was the closest I’ll ever get to Bradley Cooper’s character in the movie “Limitless” where he takes a pill that allows him to use 100% of his brain capacity. Cat, you were my brain unleashing pill…just with a positive connotation😜”
Working with me helped Matt overcome his fears and doubts, and gave him the confidence and encouragement he needed to commit to his book and vision for his life and business.
“This book has shown me that I still have a lot to give, and I still have an abundance of time to make the world a better place by helping families, student-athletes and leaders be better prepared for their futures,” he says, and he's right. Matt’s book Significant Recruiting is now available on Amazon (see my review of the book below). If you’re a parent of a tween, teen or student-athlete, or know of one, this book is a must-read.
In the meantime, to create a sprint for yourself, here are the key ingredients:
-Set a stretchy but attainable by-when date
-Come up with strategies for how to attain your goal, and also a plan for how to deal with challenges you can expect along the way
-Grab an accountability partner if you need one
-Have a cheerleader, coach or friend who cares about your success and who you can go to to celebrate the wins, and also to troubleshoot when you’re feeling stuck
-Be sure to rest in between sprints so you don’t burn out and can enjoy the journey along the way and appreciate how far you’ve come
If you’re still scrambling for time and how to fit your sprint in, think:
-What can you let go of if you need to during your sprint
-Identify time sucks that you can allocate to your book instead (sorry, TikTok)
-Surrender the goal to be great or perfect and make “Done is better than good” your new motto
And if you see yourself as more of a long-distance runner than a sprinter, know that I’ve got you too. The long run takes stamina and creates more space for self-doubt—exactly why you need a buddy even more. If you’re looking for one, ping me. Whether it’s 1-1 with me, or in my community of writers and authors, I know a few people who can help ;)
Cat xo
PS: You can catch my interview with Matt for his podcast Be Significant, where guests share their years of experience teaching, coaching and leading others for a significant and authentic life. Click here to listen.
REVIEW: Significant Recruiting, by Matt Rogers
People talk about “generational wealth” but I think the greatest thing we can give our kids and invest in on their behalf is leadership and the tools to drive your life and create the future you hope for.
Matt Rogers’ book Significant Recruiting does all that and more. It’s first and foremost a guide for college-athletes and their parents, on how to get recruited to their dream teams, colleges and scholarships. It shows them how to know their worth, own their academics and create a game plan to go after what they want, as well as showing how coaches and recruiters think and what they’re really looking for.
The book teaches students great habits, mindsets and skills that will serve them in not only applying for those post-secondary positions but also throughout their career as well. Which is why, as a mom myself, I see so much value in this book—not just for student-athletes and their families, but for any tween, teen or parent of kids.
Matt’s book and the stories he shares within reveal the dangers and opportunities of social media, how to approach and work with people to get what you want, how to be responsible for yourself and your future and how to make your dreams happen. It may well be one of the most important books you or your kid will read, to prepare them for their future.
You can find Matt's book at Amazon.com.