I was lucky enough to win the chance to do this product reviewfor the voice-overs.com forum. The forum review was limited to only a couple hundred words.
I really enjoyed this “book”, which is actually an 8-CD set plus a resource CD. My unabridged podcast is attached here if one so desires, as well as the full version text .
Product Review: Feeding Your Focus By Kristine Oller
How Creative people can move forward faster and achieve sustained success
This eight CD set plus reference appendix contains so much information, it will be difficult for me to quantify all the key points in brief summary, but I’ll try. First of all, my interest was peaked when the author credits, among others two highly respected men in my life, Dan O’Day and mentor, Pat Fraley. Oller also narrates this book, and she did a fine job at it. She once was interested in acting, but eventually found her true niche as a professional organizer.
This book is for creative people, and provides step-by-step guidance how to find your focus, feed it and become “unstuck” and build sustained success.
The book is broken apart into four sections: Focus and Strategy, Home Office Efficiency, Financial Organization, and Networking How and Why.
I will briefly discuss what I feel are the most significant key points in each section.
Part 1. Focus & Strategy
For those who feel overloaded, overwhelmed, burnt out, frustrated and stalled in your career, you can learn how to structure your time by focusing on what feeds you creatively and financially. You CAN do it all, just not all at once. Oller offers an interesting “flower pot” analogy- growing your business by tending and feeding it (and your focus), and not letting the pot get too crowded. Weed out secondary or tertiary career pursuits and prioritize. By the way, aspiring to perfectionism can actually block your progress.
Bottom line: Set goals. Your goals are the roads that’ll get you to your destination, and your actions are the fuel that propel you to that destination, which end up feeding your focus.
Part 2. Home Office Efficiency
This particular section demonstrates where Kristine Oller truly shines. She literally tells you, step-by-step, how to sort , eliminate and organize every piece of paper and categorize every single file so you are running a fully functional home office . She’s a fan of color labeled files and after listening to this book, I think I will be, too.
Bottom Line: The happier you are in your home office environment (because you can locate everything), the more productive, efficient and effective your business will be.
Part 3. Financial Organization
The author stresses the importance of “knowing your numbers”, and keeping track of them. This section is extremely detailed about maintaining discipline of managing your numbers, and there are numerous references in the appendix to support the discussion here.
Bottom Line: Bet on yourself, and you can continue to feed your focus by staying organized, which will strengthen your financial footing, all while enabling you to feed your focus.
Part 4. Networking How & Why
Networking correctly, and this section is the most important component among the other three sections because it will move you forward faster. You’ll achieve sustained success, thus feeding your focus. Keep your network activity specific to your focus. Gather, and process your contact information into a usable form, and be sure to follow up, or your networking will do you no good.
Bottom Line: Those with the most robust network will be enabled to move forward the fastest by networking effectively.
In Summary, I’d recommend this book for any creative type to help with organizing and building their business and personal focus. The Kristine Oller’s references to her own experiences as an actor in Los Angeles helped me relate to her, and her voice over delivery felt personable and sincere, topped with a bit of sass, and class.
Bobbin,
Kristine is one of my favorite people. I’ve learned a great deal from her and I’m delighted to see this terrific review of her audiobook.
Be well,
Bob