Having a baby has meant a lifestyle change. I’m working at home now – no more people milling about the studio. Sometimes it’s quiet and I’m lonely, craving adult conversation and needing support. Fellow mamas, you know what I’m talking about. Hey, what I yearn for is a Style Statement buddy to share the joys and woes of business, hold me accountable to my word, and lend a loving ear.
Grace is my girl. We talk on the phone every Wednesday at 12:30 for an hour. Our calls both ground me and give me wings. We’re ruthlessly honest and we’re each other’s biggest cheerleaders.
Here’s how it works:
- Schedule a weekly phone call. Take turns being the one to make the call.
- Update your buddy on personal or business issues – or whatever inspires you.
- The focus is on each buddy for half and hour while they talk and direct the conversation and the other person listens without interrupting, unless asked for input.
- Allow whines, complains, and bitches, but don’t judge.
- Each buddy reviews their priority list – weekly and six-month.
- Each buddy asks for guidance and advice. It’s crucial not to slam your buddy with shoulds, but to encourage and suggest.
- Remind each other of your Style Statement: So, Timeless Connection, who do you feel you need to connect with in order to get that done?
- Assign and commit to doing homework for the following week.
Wednesdays at 12:30 are a priority for me. I look forward to my buddy call because I know I’ll be talking to someone who understands me at my most authentic. I can be me.
Go find your Grace.
[...] big on buddies. One of my best buds, Carrie McCarthy, wrote a short article called “Style Statement Buddy” on her website. It includes a great how-to list for setting up a weekly buddy call and [...]
Your Grace is my Grace too! Isn’t she amazing???? We are sure lucky to have her.
I thought I felt my ears burning. Thanks, you two. I shudder to think what my life would be like without you.
I read Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich many years ago and was enticed by his insistence that without a Mastermind Group, abundance and business success is much more difficult. Then, for many more years, I struggled to find a way in to a Mastermind Group or similar experience that worked for me. Finally, I organically landed in a very zippy ongoing mutually prodding and encouraging “thing” with my friend Andrea (yes, you!), which we kept up long-distance even when I kept moving further and further away. One buddy led to another and another and it turns out that I DO have a Mastermind Group — it’s just that it’s a compilation of one-on-one relationships and I call them buddies instead.
And you, Carrie, were already doing this buddy-type stuff regularly when we met.
It makes me grin, all of it.
Thanks again,
Grace
The more Graces the better!
I feel I already have mine. I wasn’t really aware of that, but Jo is my Style Statement Buddy.
http://jio1.multiply.com/
We just share thoughts on line, jet lag can be an obstacle you know ;-D