Fool-proof Proofreading

As Virtual Professionals, we know that a project can’t only be brilliant and spot on, it must also be spot-less. When it comes to proofreading, we can’t ever have an off day. Every T must be crossed, every comma must be tucked safely into place. The most creative ideas and projects simply lose their luster when returned to us dressed in the glaring red ink of edits and corrections.

For proofreading to really seal the deal however, it must be done at the proper time. Ideally, this is the day after the project is finished – or at least a few hours. Reviewing a project before it cools (or worse, editing as you go) is what good writers call “using a dirty eye.” Great work demands time to sit, and the VP needs time to distance from the material and gain perspective. What sounds like creative alliteration or a great pun at first, may sound pretty foolish after a few hours. (For instance, phrases like “seal the deal” often end up edited out, and for good reason.)

Before you can take out your toolbox, however, you need to have built something worth editing. The pour of ideas and phrases is sometimes like a raging river; other times, it is a trickle that we must coax with all of our might. Editing this flow is like throwing huge rocks into the water. If we do this enough, we will damn up the creativity completely. It is much better to send a “rough” project to a client with great ideas than it is to send a perfectly punctuated bag of rocks. The best scenario, though, is to be creative while building and be editing afterward. We are virtual professionals, and no matter what our specialty, we are joined by the ability to produce brilliant work time after time. Suffocating our process is the last thing we can afford to do.

Once our ideas are solidly in place, and we have had time to stretch and breath – to UNfocus, then we can return and start cutting our diamond out of the coal. Spelling and punctuation are truly the easiest parts of this process. Much more important is the effort to move primary ideas to primary places and secondary thoughts to supporting places. A great piece of work uses two basic rules: 1) No MAIN thought should show up three paragraphs into the copy. In most cases, it’s too weak – and in all cases, it’s too risky. 2) When in doubt, leave it out. The final step to achieving a great product is to “Hemingway” the page. Quite simply, that means blacklining and deleting every spare word or phrase that does not move the message forward.

Proofreading is so much more than knowing the three proper places to use a semi-colon. It is the final, invisible wrapping we put on every project that leaves our desk. Good luck! And remember that if you do need support or you’re not sure when to use that ever-elusive semi-colon or hyphen, a quick note to our Yahoo Group will have the answers flooding back to you at the speed of light.

With gratitude, Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager

Deep Coaching Teleconference Series

Register now for the upcoming teleconference series!

Topic: Become an Enneagram "Deep Coaching" Practitioner

Date/Time: Tuesdays January 29-May 13, 2008, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Pacific Time

Who Should Attend: Coaches, therapists, spiritual directors, hypnotherapists, bodyworkers, acupuncturists, energy-workers and other holistic professionals who are called to take their work deeper.

Details: You have been called to your professions to help your clients live fulfilling lives, to seek happiness and a deepening connection with the Sacred. Now you have the opportunity to guide their journey to an even deeper level of expanded and empowered perspective. Dr. Roxanne Howe-Murphy, university educator, veteran executive and life coach, teacher and author, is offering Deep Coaching, a Teleconference Series which will give you specific tools and processes to help your clients transform their lives.

Using the Ennagram system for self-knowledge you will learn the following:

· To see your own inner workings clearly
· The essential characteristics, hidden dynamics, motivations, and an internal story of each of the nine personality structures.
· How to awaken the individual to discover what is beyond the patterns of identity that feel like “this is who I am,” to experience expansive presence.

Format: There will be an introductory session, one session on each personality type, and a synthesis session. Teleconferences will be taped and will be available to participants over the course of the training. Course graduates will have access to a special forum of their peers.

Registration: This series includes 11 ninety minute sessions, from January 29 through May 13th. Only $495 or $135/per month for 4 months. Go to http://www.lifewisecoaching.com/certification-program/ and follow the link for desired payment method.

Making Right Choices to Support Your Success

As home-based professionals, we face a unique set of obstacles when it comes to the basics of taking care of ourselves. Often, we work into the wee hours of the night on projects and stop only for family time and the occasional pot of coffee to prop us up through the process. Making time for healthy choices is not only smart for our health, it is also a smart choice for our successful businesses.

For busy VPs, healthy choices begin way before we are standing in the door of the refrigerator or realize we haven’t moved from our desk for nine hours, and although some of these tips will seem VERY simple, if we put them into place with a passion, we will have stronger bodies and more focused minds every day.

Make a grocery list -- fill it (and your fridge) with “quick-grab” healthy food.

This doesn’t really mean those 100 calorie packs – they’re okay for the car or in a snack fit, but they don’t fill the nutrition part of healthy choices for busy executives like us. On the other hand, a bowl of hard-boiled eggs and a shelf of healthy yogurts are great to have on hand. And remember, a tall glass of cold 1% milk is a terrific source of calcium and protein and will quiet a hungry tummy if you’re just too busy to grab a meal.

Go to bed! Get some help! (Not in bed, necessarily – but I bet that got your attention!)

Working into the wee hours is sometimes necessary, but if you find it is your every-day norm … well, you may want to slowly move into a more invigorating schedule. This is especially true if your day is ending with the 11pm news and then Leno or Letterman tuck you in. Winding down is important, but passing out on the couch every night may not be the best choice for those of us on the very brink of success! Also, accepting the reality that less than six or seven hours of sleep is destructive to us over time is a must. If you must set that alarm for 4 ½ hours after you close your eyes, plan in a good nap the next day.

If that happens time after time, day after day, think about subcontracting some work to our community of great VPs (check out our Yahoo Group).

USE your professional support system.

No matter WHERE you are in your business development, leaning on your mentor and VP pals is a great choice. Be sure to join our Yahoo Group (noted above) and if you haven’t already done so, pick up a membership at The Virtual Nation. We will support you through the tough times and hard choices, and we will celebrate EVERY success. We know that each new client is an accomplishment and that learning by our mistakes is inevitable. (We may even be able to help you avoid a few.) Awesome mentoring is available through our website also at The Virtual Nation – and like membership, it is affordable to any VP, even one just starting out in her business. Be sure to explore this and many other support systems at our website as you move into financial and business success.

Of course, these are only a few basic suggestions to help you to fill your time with work weeks instead of work weaks. Take a walk every day to clear your head, schedule in a couple of short breaks, and make sure to have one big laugh by noon every single day to ensure your mental well being.

You are your own company now – take care of yourself as if you were the best asset you’ve every had!

Gratefully yours, Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager

Maximize Your Health by Living Your Dream Career

Very few of us are completely free from health worries as we move through our lives. We face the day-to-day crises of sore throats, broken bones, and exhaustion. But we are forced to work despite all these things, and sometimes more difficult health issues.

Because, let’s face it, clients and bosses can’t afford to stop projects or table expectations because we aren’t feeling 100% on a given day.

As Virtual Professionals, we have great tools available – tools for a healthy life that a more traditional role simply does not provide.

Tool #1: Joy. First of all, we do what we love. Engaging in joyful activities stimulates the area of the brain responsible for emotion, motivation, and memory. It also leads to stress reduction and promotes cell regeneration. In short, doing what you love will improve your health.

Tool #2: Flexibility. Although once a project is accepted and moving, we are faced with timelines and deadlines, we can have discernment and actually delay accepting or even turn down a job that might overwhelm us and affect our health.

Tool #3: Team. This is really Tool #2 ½. Because if we DO become overwhelmed by a project or a client, we have a network of other VP’s who support us. Further, our TEAM at The Virtual Nation provides an all-important sounding board for problems and questions.

Tool #4: Time. Time is the most important commodity that we have – it cannot be saved and banked for later use. It can only be spent on better choices. As Virtual Professionals, we can use our time with great passion and purpose. We can multitask and include our health in ways that just would not work in a normal work environment. We can eat small, healthy meals all day long if we choose. We can use our time by walking on our treadmill while we read over project notes, or dictate while jogging around the block. We can listen to podcasts on marketing as we cook dinner, and we can release stress by singing at the top of our lungs in the safety of our own office (i.e., the living room or kitchen table for some of us!).

There is no end to the positive effect of doing what you love for a living. The phrase, “My job is killing me,” was not a lie for us.

We are alive now. We are the designers of our own healthy, fulfilling lives.

Respond here to share your ideas, or write me at michelle@thevirtualnation.com and share your thoughts on living your dream and how you maximize healthy choices while working from home.

Gratefully yours,

Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager