Marc Scheff

You’re Ignoring Your Biggest Advantage

Marc Scheff — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:43:31 +0000

HARD THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS THE RIGHT THINGS

In my work, now, I coach mid-career creatives who have more ideas want to create the right environment to bring them to life. In my work, then, as an artist and curator, I saw some really good examples of people who figured this out.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mike Mignola a few times. I have a polaroid somewhere of me pretending to eat his head with a fork. He is, as the Irish say, good craic. Mike is also the creator of Hellboy, a comic-book character, which won him a bunch of awards in the 90s, 00s, and spawned a series of live action and animated movies.

I’ve seen Mike give a few lectures, and in one he said “I don’t like drawing feet.” Someone in the audience interrupted because, wait a minute, you can draw creatures and places and whole worlds that don’t exist, obviously you can draw feet.

Mike stopped the lecture to go back over his slides. Sure enough, in every image, he found a way to either simplify, “suggest,” or create a composition that completely cut out any need to draw feet.

For the non-drawers, this is kind of wild. It’s something every figurative artist works to get good at, in part because feet and hands are well-understood to be hard to get right. Go with a visual artist to a museum with paintings of people, they’ll be looking with awe at how each work handled hands and feet.

And, to be fair, Mike CAN draw feet, but if you look up his work you’ll see how he built an empire and mostly avoided it.

What seems to come easy to Mike is pretty much everything else. He can compose an image, a page of panels, a story, and a whole world of completely made-up stuff.

What Mike did was lean into what he enjoyed doing, and leaned off of what he didn’t even though that thing is the thing most artists focus on.

His biggest advantage was to be the best at the unique mix of things he’s good at and loved doing.

YOU DON'T DRAW DEMONS AT WORK

Let’s assume that you don’t see ancient Celtic demons come to life when you close your eyes, nor do you make a living drawing them. What you do have in common here is a unique set of strengths that might be getting ignored because it’s not one of the checkboxes for success in your work or home environment.

Another quick example, I met with someone who leads a creative team and has a boss. When we spoke, they told me the boss is “all business,” and they’ve had to do triage with team members. The team members just needed guidance, and by doing that she helped the team feel better, be more focused, and produce better work. Her way of mentoring wasn’t praised, but it actually fulfilled the metrics of success.

Now she’s trying to create an environment where this is the norm, which looks a lot like moving teams, or jobs, or companies.

What she is doing, and what Mike has done, takes guts. There are or were probably real live people telling them that what they’re spending their energy on is a waste of time. There’s real pressure in work and life to just get the thing done, just move forward, HOWEVER, if you do that without taking the time to consider the whole of the outcome then you’ll finish the thing and be miserable anyway.

HOW TO DO IT YOUR WAY

One way to begin is to shift your environment. I’ve worked with people who did this by hunting and landing a leadership role, changing companies, or starting their own thing.

And the way we ALWAYS start is by asking: how will your desired outcome be different because it’s you?

One of my clients was on the verge of launching their own agency. We talked strategy, messaging, all the usual stuff. They had a solid plan and financial outlook. This is deeply oversimplified, but they were trying to figure out the best way to do it: on their own or with a managing partner.
Both outcomes looked the same on paper by the numbers, until we asked how it would be different because it was them.

This client has a rich social life and years of experience organizing community events, for work and play. They knew exactly how to bring people together and make them feel like they belonged. And when they imagined building a company, this was part of it. They wanted this way of being to be a part of the brand DNA for whatever they did next.

Up until now, those skills didn’t “count” because they weren’t something on their LinkedIn.

And now they saw it as a way to stand out in a crowded field and bring something truly bespoke to their clients.

We repositioned the decision process around around what they were already great at, and the decision got easier. And they chose a launch path that gave them the most say in how to lead their teams.

And, yes, it went well. In their words it was a “wildly successful launch.

KIT-BASH your life

Kit-bashing is a concept that began in the 1960s with model railroad collectors. They’d buy different complete sets, mix up all the pieces, and build a new and unmapped set of tracks. The results were unique and amazing.

The metaphor is pretty strong here for mid-lifers wanting to build a next chapter that feels more meaningful to them. You’ve got decades of experience, in a few different things (sets), and you now have enough parts to mix and match in a way that really feeds your soul (and bank account).

Yes, sure, take what works from other people. And also take what’s unique about your path including the hobbies and skills and even people that don’t “count.”

Combine them into something that actually fits you.

Tell me...

I love conversations about ideas.

What are three skills you have that some people think “don’t matter” in your career?

to walk through a looking glass,
you need a looking glass

To see things differently, to step outside yourself, you need others.

Creativity and transformation are always best when done collaboratively. That’s because you can’t always see the water you’re swimming in. A mirror in the form of a coach can show you the things you can’t see.

The best collaboration is one that both celebrates and challenges you.

Example! I met someone who produced one of my daughter’s favorite TV shows. They’re also mid-life and hired a coach to figure out if they should keep going solo or do something else. After 6 months of good coaching, and challenging them to expand their ideas of what they wanted to do, they determined that their current path WAS the one they truly wanted. Change doesn’t always mean making changes on the outside. This change was internal, a mindset shift.

People think hiring a coach is like taking on another job. It’s more like clearing out the corners so you have MORE space and time.

HOW TO START

Every client is different because every creative path is different. But there is a process that has worked for the people who work with me.

But here’s what happens:

We take an honest look at where you are, where you want to be, what you can do.
We find the blind spot.
We build your unique strategy, just like my clients above.
We stay consistent and make it real.

And every successful creative shift starts with the same, simple, 15 minute call.

BOOK YOUR FREE 15 minute FIT CALL NOW

The best time to start was ten years ago. The second best time is now.

The post You’re Ignoring Your Biggest Advantage appeared first on Marc Scheff.

Balance is Not Binary

Marc Scheff — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:23:36 +0000

Work life balance is a myth. It’s like saying, “I’m balancing my diet with protein and, you know, the rest of the stuff.” No wonder you’re burning out. With an overemphasis on just one of many slices of your life, it’s very difficult to stay consistent in the rest.

I find joy every morning. I get time with my kid on the way to school. I get time on the mat with my jiu jitsu community. I feel like I belong in these places and that feeling persists and permeates my work and other parts of my life.

I also get off balance. Long days and late nights trying to build a career.

My wife once sat down with me and told me, she noticed I wasn’t cooking the way I love to do, or organizing things the way I like. Things were off balance. I was solving for work, not life.

Work is important, capitalism is the water we swim in and rent is real. However, how often have you realized you stopped exercising, or talking to friends, or doing that thing you love to do? You’ve solved your life for work because the measure of success is well known: money, stability, maybe fame.

When you feel off balance, or burning out, or just “grey,” reframe the problem you’re solving.

Solve for joy and satisfaction in more than just one area.

It’s just as easy to measure.

1. Choose the areas that matter to you.

Career
Money
Friendships
Romance
Mental Health
Physical Health
Spiritual Health
Growth
Education
Home
Environments
Fun
Leisure
Parenthood
Or choose your own

2. Next to each area, write one thing that would bring joy.

Career – set up a meeting

Friendships – send a text

Spiritual health – do a two minute mediation in the morning

Leisure – get a slice from that new pizza place

Health – get a salad with that slice

3. Decide when you’ll do them.

Now you have a list of two minute things that will, over time, restore balance.

I know this sounds cliche, but I believe it deeply: you deserve it.

Leave a comment: What’s one area you will bring more joy/satisfaction, and what is the action?

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Where You Belong

Marc Scheff — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:54:58 +0000

Every morning I walk into jiu jitsu and know in my bones I belong there. I joke with the people there, take up space, train hard or flow as needed. I’m loud or quiet, whoever I am that day. I don’t have to apologize because it’s expected.

I used to close the gym door and become someone else.

In my office, with my family, I noticed I retreated into a shape that fit the other pieces of my life. The context changed and I shrank into it.

I’ve been depressed about that.

But context can be shifted with the body. Before a Zoom call or a hard conversation, I close my eyes, take two minutes to feel what I feel walking onto the mat. Then I do a few jumping jacks or an inversion on my office floor.

I remind my body of who I am, and it remembers.

It sounds ridiculous. It works.

Where are you most you? How will you remind yourself in other contexts?

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Jeremy Bearimy

Marc Scheff — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 23:14:08 +0000

Breakthrough

She walked into our fifth session like a jiu jitsu athlete who’d just figured out a submission nobody sees coming. Upbeat. Lively. “What are we doing next, Marc!?”

After breakdown

Weeks before, she’d been on the mats with her business. She was stalled, not seeing progress. The main sticking point was an employee who wasn’t fully engaged.

The question we asked was how to get them to engage, and it was the wrong question. That’s a linear question.

Then, somewhere around week five, things clicked for her.

In her leadership role she had to ask, where does this person want to grow and does it fit with the vision of the business?

When she had that conversation, the options broke out of a linear mold. The mental load of “what do I do about…” lifted. The employee felt supported in finding a perfect fit role, and the client launched two more organizations and began fundraising with renewed vigor.

Why did it take 5 weeks to come to a simple solution?

In The Good Place, Ted Danson’s character describes time as non-linear and it looks like a “Jeremy Bearimy.”

Growth works the same way.

It moves at its own pace, in its own direction. Sometimes you want to make a change and the “aha” moment is right there, sometimes it shows up five weeks later.

You can’t rush it.

And giving it time is what makes it show up faster.

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A Sh*tty Rehearsal

Marc Scheff — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 22:30:48 +0000

Mr. Sperry pinched his fingers, swiped them through the air, and bowed his head. Nine of us boys held our breath. The last note still hung between us, something we’d made together out of nothing.

He lifted his eyes.

“Oh no.”

Our hearts dropped.

“That was perfect.”

He explained: Nothing foretells a great performance like a shitty rehearsal. The curtain was going up. The bar had just been raised. All that was left was to walk out there and perform.

It’s easier to shine in the green room than step onto the stage.

The green room is where you spend most of your time. Working with rules built around repetition, execution, and rehearsal. Rehearsal can look like a successful baseline.

The stage is the commitment to something new. Saying what’s true out loud. Hitting send on the email. Buying the new url for something you’re not sure will work.

If everything you’re doing right now is the rehearsal , what’s the performance that comes after?

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The Creative Clarity Workbook

coachmarc_84c3d9 — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 13:42:26 +0000

A guided mini‑journal to help you uncover what matters most in your creative life. Filled with prompts, reflection questions, and gentle structure - it’s your first step toward focus and freedom.

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The Overwhelm Worksheet

coachmarc_84c3d9 — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 13:38:58 +0000

A five‑minute reset for when your mind feels scattered. This quick reflection helps you move from stuck to sparked, using clarity instead of pressure.

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The Momentum Quiz

coachmarc_84c3d9 — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 13:02:50 +0000

Discover how YOU build energy, stay inspired, and keep creating without burnout.

The post The Momentum Quiz appeared first on Marc Scheff.

The Creative Type Quiz

coachmarc_84c3d9 — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 13:01:25 +0000

This short quiz will tell you what kind of creative you are and what to do next.

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