Free And Clear

O life coach Martha Beck to entrepreneur Heather Carter: If you want to get serious about your future, it’s time to lighten up.

- Martha Beck

AFTER BEING LAID OFF from her corporate job of 18 years, Heather Carter finally has the chance to be her own boss, but she’s finding entrepreneurship a challenge. She has a boundless appetite for new projects—curating community art shows, developing products that encourage kids to celebrate diversity—but that’s part of the problem: Her considerable enthusiasm makes it difficult to summon the steady, sustained focus she’ll need to turn one of her side hustles into a second career. Also, the 49-yearold admits, part of her misses the structure of her full-time job, when she had a regular schedule and a desk instead of a kitchen table covered in sticky notes. Life coach Martha Beck encouraged her new client to get some perspective—an eagle’s perspective, that is: Looking at the big picture of her life, like a bird flying above a landscape, will help her craft a mission statement, which will be the basis for her daily to-dos. Is Heather ready to soar? Let’s swoop in on their final session.

Martha Beck: Hi, Heather! Why don’t you fill me in on how you’re doing?

Heather Carter: I’ve made progress. I downloaded the Insight Timer app you mentioned, and I’ve been meditating. I can only manage five minutes in the morning and five in the evening, but it helps. And I asked a friend to help me start organizing my paperwork.

MB: Great!

HC: And I made a vision board for the art shows I’ve been working on. It has an image of Charles White, who’s been called the grandfather of many black artists, and a couple of his pieces, along with works from artists he’s influenced. I also found a great photo of Chance the Rapper, who has a nonprofit for young folks called SocialWorks. He has his hands in the air, like “We did it!” For me, that represents empowerment and celebration.