Tripod Columns: Eclectic Avenues by Catherine Hedgecock

<body bgcolor="#FFFFCC" link="#FF0000" vlink="#990000"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="TOP" align="CENTER" width="178">  <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="170"> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/logo-map.html"><img src="../../../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/logo.gif" alt="Tripod Map" border="0" height="58" width="170" ismap></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/universal-map.html"><img src="../../../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/universal.gif" alt="Member Services Map" width="170" height="45" border="0" ismap></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/zones-map.html"><img src="../../../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/zones.gif" alt="Zone Map" width="170" height="69" border="0" ismap></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" 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onchange="self.top.podRedirect(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value)"> <option value="">Related Pods</option> <option value="Freebies">Freebies</option> <option value="MacComputing">Mac Computing</option> <option value="PC%20User">PC User</option> <option value="Second-Hand">Second-Hand</option> <option value="Smallbiz">SmallBiz</option> <option value="Travel">Travel</option> </select></td> </tr> </table> </form> <br clear="ALL"> <p>  <p> <p> <p> <table cellpadding="5"> <tr><td valign="TOP"> <p> <p> <p> <p> <center> <p><img src="../../../../../work/columns/hedgecock/eclectic/img/www_subdomain/eclectic.gif" width="180" height="216" alt="Eclectic Avenues"><p> by Catherine Hedgecock </center> <p> <b> <font size="+1">T</font>HE <font size="+1">C</font>OACH <font size="+1">O</font>F <font size="+1">Y</font>OUR <font size="+1">D</font>REAMS </font> </b> </font> <br> <p> <p>Published October 14, 1996<br><p> <a href="../../../../../www_subdomain/work/archive/hedgecock.html">Other Columns</a> by Catherine Hedgecock<p> </td> <td><font size="+1"> <p> <p> <font size="+2">E</font>very now and again, Peggy O'Neal wishes she had a job. She feels a surge of desperation over the perils of self-employment: the lonely hours, the insecurity, the responsibility for everything from sales calls to vacuuming the office. But after a few minutes, the fantasy fades and the reality of job-dom strikes her. She would have to answer to someone else, commute in wicked traffic, give up her creative license, and worry about being laid-off. <p> <font size="+2">M</font>ost of all, she'd have to give up the satisfying work she does with her clients, assisting them in everything from quitting smoking to writing plays to being better managers. "I've tried working for other people, and I'm just no good at it," says O'Neal, a workshop leader, personal coach, and sole proprietor of Transitions Personal Achievement Center. "Every now and again my dad will ask, 'So, when are you going to get a job?' I say, 'I'm not.' It's hard for him to understand." <p> </td></tr> <tr><td valign="TOP"> <font size="+2">She was about to hit the big money when she realized how unhappy she was.</font> </td> <td valign="TOP"> <font size="+2">O</font>'Neal wouldn't have much trouble getting a job. She is a lawyer who practiced for 13 years in her native Arkansas. She doesn't need to say "y'all" for anyone to recognize where she's from. She was an assistant attorney general when Bill Clinton was attorney general, and she was purchasing director for the state when Clinton was governor. Afterward, she left government work and went into private practice. She was "about to break into the big money" when she realized how unhappy she was. With a bachelor's degree in social welfare, O'Neal says she went into law "to help people. But law isn't about helping people." <p> <font size="+2">S</font>he left the field and went to work for a national training firm, leading workshops and seminars on how to be more effective at work and happier in life. At the same time, she ran the firm's New York office, turning it from a failing venture to a thriving one. Still, it wasn't satisfying. She wanted to follow through with people all the way to success on their dreams and goals, more than she could do in a workshop. "I wanted to go deeper with people," O'Neal said. "I've seen lots of people give up their dreams. I still have this dream that we can live the lives we want and support ourselves doing what we want to do." <p> </td></tr> <tr><td valign="TOP"> <font size="+2">Often, the perceived barriers aren't the real ones.</font> </td> <td valign="TOP"> <font size="+2">S</font>o O'Neal struck out on her own again, this time finding individuals and corporate clients (among them Charles Schwab's San Francisco office) who could use her skills. Over the last four years, she has helped clients quit smoking, get over writer's block, recover from chronic fatigue, increase sales in their businesses, and train high-level managers.<p> <font size="+2">H</font>ow does she tackle such diverse problems? She starts by listening to what the problem and perceived barriers are. Often, if not always, the perceived barriers aren't the real ones. It might seem like you don't have enough time to play the sax or watercolor a landscape, but given enough time, you might find that fear or embarrassment is really clogging your expression. Having worked with more than 7,000 people in workshops and one-on-one, O'Neal is pretty good at telling the cardboard barriers from the granite ones. <p> <font size="+2">W</font>ith the goals and barriers in mind, she designs a program for individual clients or a workshop for a group or company. Often she'll hand clients a thick binder with new practices to wedge into their schedules. The practices work on skills like planning, self-observation, physical health, and creative expression. Some will seem logical, like scheduling for the coming week. Others, like determining your life's purpose, can seem daunting. She might have one client read about effective management and another about mythology. Almost every client is encouraged to meditate to slow down and learn more about their thought patterns and emotions. <p> </td></tr> <tr><td valign="TOP"> <font size="+2">She will stick with you after you've resigned yourself to failure.</font> </td> <td valign="TOP"> <font size="+2">A</font>s clients follow their programs, she gives daily or weekly support, as a sports coach would to an athlete. She modifies the programs if needed, based on progress toward the goals. "It takes more than positive thinking for people to make the changes they want to make," she said. "They must make substantial changes in their daily practices, eliminating what they've been doing before and doing new things. It takes time, and it can be difficult. They are creating new identities for themselves based on who they want to be." <p> <font size="+2">O</font>'Neal sees her greatest strengths as believing in people's highest potential and having her feet planted on the ground. She follows through and never gives up. Someone once described her as a barnacle who will stick with you after you've resigned yourself to failure. She believes the world would be a better place if everyone were doing what they cared about. She has already started making that particular dream a reality with her "non-job" and her practical and optimistic philosophy. <p> </font> <p> <font size="-1">Peggy O'Neal can be reached at Transitions Personal Achievement Center, 7138 Carillon Court, Rohnert Park, CA, 94928; or (707) 795-8974</font> <p> <hr> <p> <p><a href="mailto:cathy@creativesports.com">Catherine Hedgecock</a> is a freelance writer and editor in Berkeley, California. She has written for USA Today, Knight Ridder newspapers, GNN, and other publications. She has won first place investigative reporting awards from California Newspaper Publishers Association, Gannett newspapers, and Best of the West. Ms. Hedgecock is currently writing a mystery novel. <font size="-1"><p>© 1996 Catherine Hedgecock, All Rights Reserved </font> <p> </font> <p> <center> <p> </td> </tr> </table> <form method="POST" action="../../../../../www_subdomain/bin/search/pursuit.html"> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" align="RIGHT"> <tr> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="MIDDLE"> <a href="../../../../../www_subdomain/work_money.html" target="_top"></a></td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="MIDDLE"> <a href="../../../../../www_subdomain/work_money/index-html/anchor_toc.html" target="_top"></a></td> <td valign="TOP" align="RIGHT"> <select name="pod_name" onchange="self.top.podRedirect(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value)"> <option value="">Related Pods</option> <option value="Freebies">Freebies</option> <option value="MacComputing">Mac Computing</option> <option value="Second-Hand">Second-Hand</option> <option value="Smallbiz">SmallBiz</option> <option value="Travel">Travel</option> </select></td> </tr> </table> <br clear="ALL"><br> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" align="RIGHT"> <tr> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="RIGHT"> <nobr><img src="../../../../../img/www_subdomain/lycos_power.gif" border="0" alt="Lycos Powered" height="15" width="91"> <select name="cat"> <option value="tripod_www" selected>Search the Tripod Web Site <option value="tripod">Search Tripod Member Pages <option value="lycos">Search the Web</select></nobr></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="RIGHT"> <nobr><input type="text" size="20" name="query"> <input type="submit" value="Search"></nobr></td> </tr> </table> </form> <br clear="ALL"> </td> </tr> </table> </body>