In the mid-1980s I had my Tarot cards read by a woman named Suzan. Her day job was working at a carpeting store. On nights and weekends she read Tarot cards at venues such as the Michigan Renaissance Faire, which is where I met her. I was intrigued enough with her five-dollar reading there to book a lengthier $25 reading at her home. I brought pen and pad to make notes, which I still have today.
Part of the premium $25 service was the opportunity to ask three questions unrelated to the reading. One of mine was, “What will I be doing when I’m 50?”
She consulted the cards and said, “I see you doing something so wildly creative that it defies a job title.”
For over 20 years, that prediction had me charging ahead to age 50 instead of dreading it, eager to see what I’d be doing. Only very recently did I realize that Suzan’s prediction was a masterful way of saying, “I have no idea of what you’ll be doing.”
But you know what? I have done wildly creative things, or things that for me are wildly creative. Like Twitter and Facebook and Livestream production assistance and blogging. I don’t feel silly for believing the reading, but do admire the artful way Suzan worded it. Especially because I’ve had readings where it was blatantly obvious the reader was pulling stuff out of thin air. Suzan must have sold a lot of carpeting in her day job.
Giving a Tarot reading, I suspect, is as much about reading the customer as it is about reading the cards. Divining what they want to hear, and then messaging it in a way that is meaningful to them. Hearing a Tarot reading is like looking at the constellation Capricorn and only seeing stars, and then seeing a goat when someone tells you you’re looking at a goat.
Giving a Tarot reading, I suspect, is as much about reading the customer as it is about reading the cards. Divining what they want to hear, and then messaging it in a way that is meaningful to them. Hearing a Tarot reading is like looking at the constellation Capricorn and only seeing stars, and then seeing a goat when someone tells you you’re looking at a goat.
What’s in the cards for The Marketing MamaTM? She’s having a fun contest that’s for a good cause. At her blog she’s taking votes on what she should buy for five dollars. There are four choices, the first one being a reading of past lives. Beyond the $5 item, Marketing Mama will also make a larger donation to the Red Cross. The purpose, recovery from the devastation in Japan.
Voting is through Friday, March 18, with the winning purchase featured next week. Leave your vote here.
Great post Susan. You know what I think? I think she knew you'd be creative... but no one had any clue how to define social media back then. I wonder if she's a copywriter now - she has a great way of wording things. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nod to my post today.
Thanks Missy! You make a good point about social media defying definition.
ReplyDeleteSuzan also said I'd always be around men, which is a clever way of saying "A workplace is predominantly male."
If you choose the card reading, I hope yours is just as intriguing!