Why I Chose The Hermit Life…
Early on in my contact centre career, I worked the “swing shift” between 3 and 11:30 P.M.
Now, while the graves shift abridged your lifespan, the swing shift forced you into a hermit’s life.
You got up in the middle of the day, ran errands, worked and unless you frequented nightclubs, you went home. I watched a lot of DVDs alone after work while my then-girlfriend-now-wife slept. She had work in the morning… like normal people.
Ten months into this solitary life, the company offered me a day shift for work well done.
I declined. Without second thoughts.
Here’s why: my supervisor on the swing shift was one of those mentors you simply did not let go of. He drew out my strengths. He cut through my histrionics. He nurtured my career ambitions.
Five months after that crucial decision, I landed an assistant supervisor role.
The immense power of coaching cannot be understated.
When John’s e-mail called out for copywriting apprentices over five months ago, my gut kicked into overdrive again. Like the decision I made years ago at my “day” job, this decision simply felt “right.”
I’ve latched on ever since. (He’s tried to shake me off a few times…)
Next week, I embark on another copywriting mentor-apprentice journey in Shaune Clarke’s copywriting coaching program.
When you sign up with Shaune, he grants you access to a plethora of past coaching calls. Listening to the recordings gives you the next best thing to actually being on the call.
I want to share a copywriting “ah-ha” moment with you before I go.
Everyone pounds the maxim of “don’t be cute or clever” into young copywriters’s heads. It didn’t really sink in until I heard it dissected before my ears.
The coaching group on this one particular audio spent nearly fifteen minutes analyzing the word “dandy.” It was sentenced “clever”… and pronounced a “pause word… that broke the buyer trance.” Shaune then drove it home with a few more hard-hitting conclusive statements.
I laughed out loud.
I had a Zen moment.
Clings to Mentors for Dear Life,
Colin Y.J. Chung | REALITYcopywriting.com
P.S. Do you have a mentor-apprentice story to share? Please leave it in the comment box…
P.P.S. Check out Shaune’s coaching program here…
www.newcopysecrets.com
P.P.P.S. I apologize for the late e-column today. I usually sneak in John’s grunt work during breaks at my day job. When John sent this e-column back needing major revisions, I learned that it’s nearly impossible to do creative work… even on lunch. Administrative work, easy-peasy. Writing… not so much. So, if you found this e-column a bit sloppy… I’m sorry.
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One Response to “Why I Chose The Hermit Life…”
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October 3rd, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Having just gone through Ryan Healy and John Angel’s copywriting coaching program, I can pre-testify to the fact that having a coach is one of the best ways to fast-track your career.
I said pre-testify above because what I said above is dependent on one thing: my taking action.
Which I’m doing right now.