We were lucky to catch up with Marc Scheff recently and have shared our conversation below.
Marc, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
On a beach in San Francisco.
It was 2004, and when I got out of the car and walked towards a group of men waiting by the beach, I had no idea what I was getting into. I had no idea these men would change my life, forever, by introducing me to the concept of Purpose, challenging and supporting me into discovering the depths of clarity, and the real, measurable results that come with it.
An hour earlier I had gotten a call from my friend Scott. It’s important to know that Scott is one of these friends who you say yes to. He’s smart, accomplished, generous, and kind. He always has your back and calls you on your bullshit.
He told me that he had been going out to Ocean Beach every Wednesday to meet with a men’s circle aptly named “The Men’s Circle.” I’d done some personal growth workshops, and gone to my share of conscious dance parties (raves) but I had never heard of it.
He told me that on the first Wednesday of the month, he was allowed to bring guests. He conveyed the gravitas of the group whose stated purpose was to support men in living their Purpose, and he wanted to invite me as his guest.
I declined. I was hesitant to say yes to a weekly commitment, more than anything. And, and I told him, I was waiting for someone.
He asked, “Who?”
I explained that I was waiting for my girlfriend to see if we had plans.
Long pause.
He confirmed the following: I didn’t actually have plans. I was waiting to see IF she would show up and IF she was amenable to hanging out. Neither were very likely, but I was choosing that over Scott’s invitation.
I confirmed his take was accurate.
Another pause, then, “Marc. I’m outside. Get in the car.”
I did, that night. I then went every week for four years before moving to New York.
I discovered my purpose through this work. I also discovered coaching, and the power a simple conversation can have in completely shifting your perspective and building the energy and capacity to do things I previously thought were too big, or too ambitious. I learned more lessons then than I can recount here. And Purpose was at the core.
The work we did that night, and every week, was so profoundly impactful that the lessons from that cold, smoky, windswept landscape continue to influence my work to this day.
This was my introduction to Purpose. The process of living “on Purpose” is still part of my most creative work, and growth.
I have worked with this concept as an artist, educator, mentor, and coach in the 20 years since that first night on the beach. I have seen first hand how it can fuel bigger dreams, courageous action, deep fulfillment, and deeper impact.
My background as an award-winning artist, mentor, and professional certified coach has led me to working with some creative professionals who have their sh*t so together it blows my mind. And the work of Purpose opens up new levels for them and their lives, and mine. Every time.
My purpose is to Unleash Creativity. I’ve done this dozens of ways in my life and now I dedicate my work to helping others do the same.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a life designer. I coach people who want to live their most fulfilling life. Most people I work with already have a fulfilling life, and they’re looking to level up and align even more with the person they deeply wish to become.
I do this one on one and in a group format.
I work with people one on one to create their most powerful chapter yet. I have one client who is a long-term client, working on leaping off the corporate ladder to create their own agency, their own IP, and to build a better ladder. Another client is creating her “next act” or “next chapter.” She’s a successful business owner (17 years!) and done playing small. We created a written up version of her vision, identified where she wants to go and why, and she started that night. I have tons of these stories, and they all look a lot like people coming in not sure and leaving on absolute fire.
I also run a group for creatives called the Unleash Creativity Club. This is a 12 week program that takes you through the process of Purpose, creating a real vision, and concrete action plans, plus a lot more. One quick story that I find so fulfilling. I speak to almost every participant one on one before they decide to join. Almost every single one of them says the same thing, “I don’t know how I feel about sharing personal or business information in a group of people I don’t know.” Then we create the container in the first week, and we connect on a private community channel. By week two, all of these same participants say the same thing, “This is the ONLY group of people I want to share these things with.” Every. Single. One.
How do people start? All of my clients start with a Deep Dive. This conversation is designed to get you a map on where you are in 8 areas of your life, clarity on which to focus on, and a timeline with action steps to get started. One example, a past Deep Dive client came in feeling lost about her next career move, and left with clarity and focus on exactly how to proceed.
You can book a Deep Dive here.
https://marcscheff.typeform.com/deepdive
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
CREATIVITY, RESILIENCE, AND HUMOR
CREATIVITY
Many, maybe most, people will read that and immediately shut down the possibility with “I’m not creative” or “I’m not that kind of creative.”
This is a skill like any other, it’s essential for designing your future, AND it’s a skill we all use unconsciously every day. We all have the ability to think creatively. I won’t say it is easy for everyone, and just because you decided what to order at a restaurant doesn’t mean that going for that big promotion is just as simple. I will say there are tools and frameworks for practicing that will grow and strengthen that creative muscle.
Anders Ericsson in his book “Peak” on the new science of expertise shines a light on how skills are most successfully built. He calls it “Focus. Feedback. Fix it.”
Focus, do the thing.
Feedback, from peers and a coach.
Fix it, make a plan for doing it again but better.
Repeat.
RESILIENCE
If you’re creating a new future, you have to show up and you have to try stuff. And, if you do that, you. will. fail. Which is great, we learn from failure. But we can know it’s great, and know how it works, and it can still suck.
In 2021 I failed. It was probably the biggest faceplant of my life. I had built a dream project was leading an organization which among other things was creating radically accessible and inclusive artist residencies in upstate New York.
It fell apart, and so did I. I have never in living memory been as low, as depressed, as I was then. I didn’t get out of bed for three weeks. I absolutely phoned in my time as a dad and partner to my wife.
I had just given every ounce of my imagination and energy to the biggest creative project of my life and I missed the mark. Maybe you can relate, everything lines up, and you missed a big freaking blind spot.
The point is, I used these tools, these Coaching and life design tools, to put one foot in front of the other.
One thing that helped is all of the Coaching I’d given and received. See, I knew how it worked, that there was life after failure, even one that made me question my own identity. I also had wonderful support from my wife and from my friends and colleagues in the world. I was completely incapacitated, but I had just enough to sit down and do a creative coaching exercise that I created to find a path.
A year later, I made a video outlining the process.
Resilience isn’t just “being strong enough.” It’s asking for help, it’s accepting help when it’s offered, and it’s slowing down to get the most valuable lessons from that failure even while it hurts.
HUMOR
Humor can get you through anything, and creates gold from even the hardest of situations.
I loved my Nana, who passed in 2004. She always told me “you have to have your humor.” She pronounced it with a thick Boston accent, “yoah humah.”
And she did this right up to the end. If you’re a sports fan, or not, you may remember the Red Sox “curse.” They won the World Series in 1918, and Babe Ruth left the team shortly thereafter. The Sox went on an 86-year streak of occasionally coming close, but never winning another World Series. Then 2004 happened. They were down 3 games against the Yankees. It was basically over. The Yanks had to pull just 1 of the next 4 games to continue the streak for the Sox. Then the Sox won. No big deal. Then another. Then impossibly they went on to win all 4 games, winning the series and ending “The Curse of the Bambino.”
How is this relevant?
A month later my Nana was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The kind you don’t treat, you just manage and hope you have weeks, not months.
I called her up and asked what she was going to do, anything?
In her thick Boston accent she told me “No, Mahc, I’m good… I’m good. I’m 89. I’ve had a good life. And Mahc, the Sox won! I’m good!”
We shared laughs during the very short time she had left, and those are still some of my favorite memories.
I remember this when things seem bleak for me, and find small ways to find light in the darkness. I’m not saying it magically fixes things or it’s the only ingredient, but it’s kept me sane enough to come back stronger every time.
How would you describe your ideal client?
I’ve worked with hundreds of people and I certainly have favorites.
Here are the qualities they share:
They’re willing to be uncomfortable.
I didn’t say they LOVE being uncomfortable, but they know how to notice it without running away. See, when we step just a bit outside our comfort zone, that’s where the growth is, and you know you’re there if you’re listening and able to sit with that.
They’re willing to try to be creative.
Again, I didn’t say they’re “a creative.” I’ve worked with all kinds of people. One is an advisor to the President of the United States, another is an SVP at one of the biggest health care companies in the world, another is the head of a mental health hospital. Their work isn’t widely considered creative, but it’s their willingness to be creative that separated them from the pack and got them real, and great, results in designing their future.
They’re willing to laugh.
I’m working with an international artist right now and we are designing her next chapter. The opportunities are there, she is doing deep and often difficult work. Still, as we’ve done more and more of this work together, we share a lot of laughs. It makes some of the challenging self-realizations easier if you can approach with some humor. And we found ways to laugh into action.
And every client who has ever changed their life through our work together, was willing to take the first step and book a discovery call.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marcscheffcoaching.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcscheffcoaching/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcscheffcoaching
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcscheff
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarcScheff
Image Credits
Bi-color portrait photo credit: Heather Willensky, https://www.heatherwillensky.com/ Workshop photos credit: Amy Jiao, https://www.amyjiaotattoo.com/
