What does photography have to do with coaching?

Well, for many people, probably not a lot unless, of course, you care about how your coach sees the world, and you as a part of it. I recall many years ago when I was working on The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, sitting in my den and glancing up at a photograph I had taken. In that moment I suddenly got what photography is all about. Viewing a photograph is as close as you can get to being someone else, for just a moment, looking out at the world through their eyes. It's very profound, really, if you think about it.

When you look at my photographs, you get a very unique and intimate sense of how I see the world, the depth to which look and my sensitivity to what I see. If you think I see people in any less depth than I see a flower, or this little guy, think again.

When I studied martial arts we used to talk about taking one's concentration all the way to the fingertips. For years I devoted myself to learning how to really pay attention to my body and how I use it. That included learning to really see and really listen, so that eye that takes the photographs you see is matched by a set of ears that tune in just as deeply.

It has been a theme among a more than a few people I have worked with that they have felt invisible in their lives. If you want to be visible, find someone with a good pair of eyes, I say. If you have something important you need to say, find someone with sensitive ears to hear it. You might be surprised when you are reflected back to yourself. You just might see yourself as you never knew you could be, as you haven't realized you actually are. If you want your life to be more real to you, find someone who takes their attention all the way down to their fingertips and who isn't afraid to offer back to you what they see.

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