Dear Beauties,
Welcome to our first Beauty Q&A, in which we explore the role Beauty plays in life, from various human perspectives.
We kick this party off with my friend and best-in-world business coach, Melissa Ford.
“I thought Beauty was supposed to mean I was someone who liked nature, hugged trees, that I would work in a garden, and I painted and I sculpted and I did all kind of art stuff. And that wasn’t me.” - Melissa, from our convo in video, above.
I first met Melissa at a coach training event about five years ago in La Connor. It was immediate friendship chemistry—for me, anyway. Melissa is the kind of person I love to meet in the coaching world—thoughtful and wise but also irreverent, mischievous, and quick to laugh. For two years she was my business coach, and continues to be a friend, and a learning/exploration partner. In January, she joined the Beauty at Work salon, where a group of us considered the role Beauty has in our careers and jobs, and what it might be like if we focused on Mary Oliver’s line, “my work is loving the world.”
Melissa is also the author of Living Service: The Journey of a Prosperous Coach—the book for anyone starting up their own service biz. You can find her at Melissa Ford Coaching.
From our conversation:
“[I used to think] I’m not a beauty hunter, I don’t know what beauty is. Then I discovered after being in your salon, that it was open to interpretations. For me, Beauty is being in spaces that light me up; it’s being with people who I love, exploring new things. For me, beauty is the grit, the dirt, and the intensity of the city [Chicago], the river I live near by, the Lake Michigan that I love. So, I realized I was really cutting myself off from seeing myself as someone who had beauty in my life because I had a very limited definition of it.”
—and—
I can constantly step into a new definition of Beauty as I grow.
—and—
“Another aspect of beauty for me is really appreciating and seeing what I already have in my life.”
—and—because it’s imperative to consider Beauty as a part of the entire spectrum of experiences: good, bad, gorgeous, ugly, joyful, painful and everything in between:
“Beauty could be an experience we're not so excited about having... there could be beauty in not knowing ... beauty in feelings that weren't necessarily desirable ... beauty in having all emotions and experiences.”
—and—
Beauty is experienced beyond the resistance. Otherwise I’ve gotta keep myself safe from all of this stuff because it’s bad and there isn’t any good there. You know what? I’m going towards it.
Melissa is a deep and delightful well of beauty. Please treat yourself to the Zoom convo, above, and dive in. Share any comments, and reach out to Melissa via her website to say Hi, and buy her book!
Read more about the Salons for Beauty Hunters — returning this fall!
A Great Reason to Be Alive Today