In 2006, my husband Rod and I finished our book “Human Art: Understanding Your Own Personal Design.” We had only one thing left to do on the manuscript and that was to finish the dedication. We could not figure out who to dedicate it to. There were too many people that had come along the way of writing it to pick just one person or group to dedicate it to. The obvious first group was our children. We both took time out of our lives with our family to complete the goal of each of us writing and working on the book for at least an hour a day. There were people who helped. The list goes on and on.
Something happened during that same time that in the end led to our decision; we decided to dedicate the book to you. Yes you. Let me walk you through what happened.
I received a phone call one day from an Emmy Award winning agent, let’s call him Brian. He had a small amount of information about Human Art. He had produced many shows and projects for actual celebrities but most of his time was spent helping advise celebrities on how to navigate being famous. His proposal for me was overwhelming and my appreciation that he would even consider helping me was profound.
I remember walking in the office for our first meeting. Looking at the wall of fame as I walked down the hallway into his waiting room was intimidating to say the least. There were a variety of gold records, pictures of celebrities I admired, and even shots of award shows with him attending lining the walls of the hallway leading to the waiting room outside his rather large office. What was a girl like me doing in a place like this?
I was invited into his office. As we were talking he laid out a plan for me and the first thing on that plan was to practice a strategy for when I walked in the room to boost my confidence. I was all on board for this because I can’t say my confidence was at an all time high sitting in that office. He explained that the first thing a celebrity does when they walk in the room at the beginning of any event was to separate the idea of being human and focus on being the star in the room to give them the personification of a star. This strategy was designed for his clients to boost their confidence and to see themselves as a star. I could definitely see how that would be effective if you were a famous actor or singer. It in fact had been very affective for some of the people he was working with at the time. I remember thinking of the people that he was working with from politicians to celebrities, singers with gold records that had been on the charts. Then I started to imagine what that would be like for me to try this strategy.
It would not work. I was the only person, of the all the people he worked with, that this would not work with. In our next meeting I expressed this concern so we went on to the next item on his agenda. He explained we needed to pick “the face of Human Art.” I sat quietly so to be respectful as he went through a list of possibilities. Again as I found myself imagining this strategy it just felt profoundly wrong.
A few weeks passed of going back and forth and I knew it was time to have a serious discussion with him. This just wasn’t working. It was a fail-proof strategy for the caliber of professionals he worked with but I was not a fit for this strategy. Out of respect for him I didn’t want to take anymore of his time or frustrate him further. So I made the call.
The conversation started with me thanking him. I then explained that it wasn’t going to work. He asked why. I stated that it was as if he was interviewing me and I was interviewing him and we were both failing. I didn’t want to frustrate him further. I will never forget his answer. “This is the biggest mistake of your life. I could make one phone call and have you on Larry King Live and Oprah.” (popular talk shows at the time) I told him I understood. He asked what I was thinking when I came to this conclusion. I told him something that is still true today.
Human Art is not a theory or methodology that is starring me. It is starring the person I am teaching it to. When I walk into a room I cannot separate myself from the person or the humans, because it is about them. It is about YOU. It is Human Art, starring you. You are the face of Human Art. I told him I agreed that it was a missed opportunity, but I expressed that I would never regret it. Instead of dedicating my life to getting to the masses (which was something he was brilliant at), I would spend my life teaching humans of their design and authenticity one person at a time.
So we had it. The dedication: “to all mankind…one person at a time.”
This is very important to me. I can tell you I have done this consistently since that experience years ago.
I want to give you an invitation, because you are that “one person at a time.” We will be in Salt Lake City on November 3rd.* We will be doing a class and speaking to your personality. If you are someone who still does not know who you are, what your worth is or doesn’t know how to even start to define it, I am talking to you. Please come. I do believe that everyone is a masterpiece and I want you to know it and believe it too.
So this is a plea from me—not on a talk show, not from a famous person, just me in my office at my home. Please be a part of that group and come learn how wonderful your authenticity is. So you will know too that everyone is a masterpiece.
~Brook
*This class has already been held. No current registration available.