Big Magic in Customer Experience
The book *Eat, Pray, Love* was one of my favorites. I could picture myself eating pizza in Naples, working on my yoga flexibility in India, and, of course, enjoying love in Bali (who wouldn’t?!). This week, I had the pleasure of reading her newest book, *Big Magic: Create a Life Beyond Fear*. WOWW.
Right away, I saw the parallel with my profession, Customer Experience. Elizabeth takes us into her world of creativity. As a writer and artist, she knows her way around. This book is about how to cherish creativity and, yes, live beyond fear.
That is exactly what I often see in organizations: fear of customers, fear of failure, and fear of fear itself. That doesn’t help one bit. Yes, it does help—it helps us go down the drain. Fear is a bad advisor. Fear is a terrible speaker. Fear is a disastrous coach. So, how do we overcome fear?
Elizabeth has a solution. She says, “Keep moving, keep going. Whatever you do, try not to dwell too long on your failures.” Every time she wrote a story—whether it was a success or a failure—she kept going. She’d go back to her writing and write more. Or maybe do something else, like gardening, to get her creativity flowing. But keep DOING. Things happen when you’re in motion. Not when you’re planning or talking about things, but when you’re actually doing them.
"Your life is short, rare, amazing, and miraculous, and you want to do really interesting things and create really interesting things while you’re still here." – Elizabeth Gilbert
*Big Magic* is an easy read, and I love the simple language she uses to explore the theme. But she’s also honest. She talks about courage, enchantment, persistence, and trust. Let’s be honest—all of these are essential for working in customer experience. It isn’t easy, but it’s your job. Your calling. Your way of life. Make the most of it. Fail and keep going; succeed and keep going. That’s the only way forward. You’ll be fine.
Thank you, Elizabeth Gilbert, for your inspiration. Now it's time to get back to work. Doing my thing: Making the customer experience work!
*****
Nienke Bloem is often referred to as the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She is a global CX thought leader, educator, and keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She runs a speaking practice, a CX game company, and a training business; she lives and breathes Customer Experience and is the author of two books on CX.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for the CCXP, and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and achieve immediate results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2019, she has hosted a CX Leadership Masterminds program, helping leaders enhance their leadership skills and deliver an engaging CX story backed by a solid CX strategy. In addition, she is a modern-day pilgrim and has drawn parallels between her journey and leading customer-centric transformations.
With over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the language of business. Her keynote speeches and training programs on customer experience are inspiring and practical. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA, and her mission is to make customer experience work and help you achieve business results.
