Change Artist

"Who am I? Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Will I be there by next week?" Aren't these the questions of life? And these are some of the questions and ruminations posed by Coyote in the 21 very colorful and whimsical full-color illustrations by Sandy Gullikson.

I sit here today in my Northern California home, having survived several life-altering events to include a major career shift, loss of a mate and lifestyle, suicide of a close friend, and temporary loss of health. Are things great? Well, they are not as I had hoped. But are things better than they were for a while? Definitely!!!

I wrote ChangeArtist in response to the many changes in my own life. Writing the book was perhaps my own Lifeline. In this book, I offer you snippits of things I learned while going through these changes, as well as ways to cope and to make the most of this change as it impacts your future. First, I give some perspectives of what change is. When things change, it is so easy to get caught up in "why me?" thinking, if indeed those changes are negative. One thing I learned is that life is a journey and change is just part of the process! ChangeArtist provides some insights, tactics, and strategies for understanding, surviving, coping with, and making the most of change.

In the section Understanding Change, I give some thoughts about and definitions of change, transition, and transformation. Initiating Change presents some of the catalysts of change, such as success, loss, failure, LifeShifts, and Defining Moments. Structuring Change presents some shapes of our behavior in response to change: resisting or turning back; doing nothing; going forward by shifting, transitioning or transforming; plateauing; and enduring the "wilderness" between endings and new beginnings.

Then, I provide a background of coping with change, based on strategic business principles (of which I am a professor). I realized that much of what I was teaching about businesses actually related to individuals and our lives. I was teaching coping skills, basically! I realized that these business skills were helping me view change in different ways, and offering me alternative ways of thinking of my future, in terms of opportunities for "making the most of change." Strategic planning is "proactive"-identifying where we are, where we want to be in the future, and what it will take to get there in terms of maximizing our strengths and opportunities and minimizing our threats and weaknesses.

Dealing with Today offers steps used in strategic business planning: observing your situation, learning to know who you are and your life mission, observing your environment, creating a sense of place for this self-analysis, staying flexible, and indulging yourself while you adapt to your changed reality. I did not teach this last step to my students, as they did that on their own: As they graduated, so many took wonderful and enviable trips prior to seeking employment, as they changed from student to business professional! (Some of the "tips" offered in this book are long-term with major impact, while some are more "wee wisdoms" that I gained along the way that seem more individual- than business-oriented. "Indulging Your Self" is one example.) Finding the Good Stuff gives suggestions for "framing" your coping and decision-making, such as looking for the joy and the bright side of things, seeking validation, living in abundance, connecting with spirituality or God and with others, being detached enough to be able to stay afloat, and finding your creativity.

Journeying Inward gets more "real" as we evolve through the process of adapting to change. Here, we discuss the concrete strategic planning steps (combined with techniques geared more toward the individual) of defining your mission, defining your co