Marlene Chism

Speaker, Author, Coach

Unlike Lucy, who got fired after the chocolates fiasco (which we all remember,) Marlene spent 21 years working on the factory floor. She worked the line, production, even drove a forklift. It wasn’t glamorous, but it did give her time to think about what she might like to do…someday.

Fear and pain can be motivational. She had this terrifying vision of herself sitting in the break room and this great, big retirement cake rolling towards her.  She wanted something more but didn’t know what that could possibly be.  And, she felt she couldn’t leave, but she just couldn’t stay either. After all, she says, “Somebody has to make cheese!” Her fear was keeping her stuck. But, the glue was coming undone.

Three Life Tragedies

In her work, Marlene calls the following, the “three life tragedies.”

1. You know you want something more, but don’t know what you want
2. You know what you want, but don’t believe that it’s possible.
   
3. You know what you want, you believe that you can do it, but now you need to make the leap!

I don’t even know what I’d like to do!

Marlene started the process of looking within…asking those questions about life that many of us do at mid-life. Marlene assessed what opportunities were available to her right where she was. As Kraft would reimburse expenses for education, she started taking business classes at night. They were tough because her work, to date, had not encompassed knowing “the business of the business,” she found that she really didn’t have a point of reference. So, although she was taking marketing or accounting for instance, it would take some time before she really “got” what they were all about.

Look at what you enjoyed and excelled in years ago!

When she thought back to her younger days, she realized that she loved public speaking. Why not sign up and try Toastmasters? She did and realized that yes, she did have a natural talent for speaking and she still enjoyed it. But, the question still lingered...”what do I want to do?” She then signed up for “The Event,” one of the self actualization workshops that were so popular (like EST or Lifespring.) She also read Anthony Robbin’s books among many others.

Keep your day job

It took three years to do her internal work while she was still working at Kraft. She was journaling ferociously. The words kept flowing and she didn’t care whether the spelling was correct or in what format they spilled out. On and on and on and on, she wrote. She asked herself, “What am I committed to?” One day while journaling, it appeared on the page… “I am committed to improving communications and relationships everywhere (ICARE).” She wanted to speak to others about the very process she was going through…figuring out who you are, what you would like to do, and then fighting through the fear and actually doing it! She wanted to be a speaker!

She knew that she wanted to be “the factory worker who made it!”

With her husband’s encouragement and while still at Kraft, she decided to take her five weeks of accumulated vacation to explore her new passion and to determine how she would react to being unscheduled for the first time in her working life.

After she got back from vacation, she took a 1-month leave of absence…she just couldn’t let go completely. One of her girlfriends told her, “You are NEVER going to do it!”

And so…she did!

Marlene wouldn’t recommend doing it just this way

She was terrified and then everything started happening at once; bad things. Her father passed away, the ceiling literally caved in on the rental property she and her husband owned, and her car broke down. She thought she would lose her mind. She had no organizational skills, and very few business skills. She had no plan, no business experience or a clue how to dress. Why, she didn’t even know what she didn’t know. Nevertheless, she dug in.

What she would recommend and what you should know

• Your drama is what keeps you from living a happy and successful life.
• Your family, no matter how supportive they would like to be, will likely rebel because as a result of your change, you are changing their lives too.
• Know that you are already successful; you’ve created a life, you’ve done things you wanted to do, and now you have some new goals you’d like to accomplish. Don’t fall into, “I’ll be happy when I get there, or have this or that.” Life is what happens between now and getting “there.”
• In order to make changes in your life, you must have an attitude of willingness…you have to be willing to make mistakes, possibly look stupid, not have things handled, and do what it takes.

The 8 Steps of Marlene’s Stop Your Drama Methodology for Reinvention

• Get clear about WHO you are.
• Identify the gap (in skills, knowledge, how long will it really take)
• Tell yourself the truth (not your fantasy)
• Realign, reinvent and rejuvenate
• Stop relationship drama
• Master your energy
• Release resistance
• Become a creator

The Factory Girl Did Make It!

What Marlene has done is simply amazing. She listened to herself, did her homework (internally and education), was willing to be terrified and confused, applied her tenacious spirit, fell down, got up and made it! She works with both companies and individuals in the areas of communication, training, and coaching. Her client list now includes some heavy hitters…NASA, USDA, the Department of Justice, Sprint, McDonalds, and many national associations and corporations. She is author of Success is a Given: Reading the Signs while Re-inventing your Life and has a line of marketing and communications products for businesses.

Visit Marlene at www.StopYourDrama.com.