Since its first recording, by Frank Sinatra in 1945, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” has been reinterpreted by many musicians, perhaps most recently by Josh Groban in 2015. Its lyrics are formed by a relatively short, 17-line poem, written as a song by Rogers & Hammerstein for musical Carousel.
This song reminds me so much of the nature of my work – certainly, when clients come to me they often feel VERY alone and completely overwhelmed by the caregiver roles they fill. This is true whether they are parents of a special-needs-child or the sole caregiver for a spouse with dementia. That sense of being alone is, in itself, depressing.
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It can also be reminiscent of my work from the standpoint of being a solopreneur, someone who works alone much of the time and frequently misses the companionship of a work-team (like I had in corporate life). Lately, a business-related development ready to emerge and I wanted to share that with all of you…
You may remember that I’ve been developing an online course for family caregivers. I have been struggling to get it “off the ground” for a very long time and recently, thanks to the wisdom of a trusted advisor, I decided to delegate the chores that I struggle with most – the technical expertise to actually assemble it on the online platform.
Thanks to that advice, and the technical skills of Jen Wright’s business, Welspired Co. (who also built my website), my online course, Overwhelmed to Overjoyed: Caregiver Transformation through Self-Care, will be ready for beta testing this summer and ready for a real “launch” in the fall – amazing!
Self-care is every conscious action you take that feeds your soul, nourishes your body, nurtures your spirit, or replenishes your relationship with yourself!
And I’m reminded again that “You’ll Never Walk Alone” even when it may feel like you ARE all alone! There are people all around you (and me)who “get” us, who understand us, and who want to help us be successful!
In order to make this course as good as it can possibly be, I will still require more assistance from beta-testers, summer participants who can give me plenty of rich, valuable feedback on everything from the experience of moving through the course to my choice of language to describe the concepts it conveys.
I’ve got a few volunteers lined up but could use a few more! Maybe one of them is YOU, or someone you know? I’m especially interested in having MEN, YOUNG CAREGIVERS (people in their 20s & 30s) and BIPOC participants preview the course. I need to know if it speaks (well) to a diverse audience or if I’ve inadvertently created tools or language that make it less accessible to some potential participants.
Who do you know who might be willing/able to devote about 10 hours (maybe 6 to engage the course and another 4 to do the exercises and offer me lots of feedback on their experiences) this summer? I’m hoping to wrap this up in August and take a month or so to make use of all that feedback to improve and enhance the final product so I can announce and launch it for an October cohort of participants.
Please be in touch if you know someone (or you are someone) who might be willing/able to help with this summer effort. I’m so looking forward to getting this course launched and out into the world where it can do its work!
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Many caregivers aren’t ready to commit to coaching (even if they’re feeling exhausted and overwhelmed)but I’m hoping that a 6-module course may be a simpler starting place for them, so that they can begin to build both their skills and commitment to practice self-care.
I need your help to make this vision a reality. Please be in touch if you want to participate OR if you know someone who might be a good beta-tester for this new product for Co-Create 4 Life. I know better than to wait until it is “perfect” (it never will be!) but I would like it to be as valuable as possible!
