'Everyone can look shiny on the surface. But when we start to share our stories, we realise that doubts are part of all of us. No one has a straight line to success'
Gremlins. Common doubts that limit us and make us smaller: the failure gremlin, the not good enough gremlin, the conflict gremlin, the comparison gremlin, the age gremlin, the likability gremlin, the fear of being found out gremlin
How do we stop them getting in our way?
In this vital collection, careers experts and bestselling authors Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper uncover useful ways we can use creativity, honesty and conversation to master the beliefs that hold us back.
Featuring beautiful illustrations by artist Mark Conlan, the A6 books are in two parts and are packed with activities and advice:
Knowing: understanding your gremlins and how they impact your life
Caging: practical, tried & tested, ideas and tools to cage your gremlins|
Words on Gremlins
"Amazing If started from an idea that ‘the ladder’ as a way of framing our careers was becoming out-of-date. We believe that everyone’s career is now Squiggly: one where we prioritise possibilities, direction, skills and talents over plans, destinations, steps, and titles.
"Writing is a way for us to share our ideas and tools with people across the world. Our primary filter for everything we write is ‘usefulness’. We want our words to support readers in a practical way, and we hope their careers will be better because they’ve spent time with us.
"Everyone has gremlins that get in their way. The idea of this project is to support people to practically cage them. By caging our gremlins, we give ourselves the chance to learn more. To stretch our strengths and try out new directions. To say yes to things that might scare us.
"As humans doubts are part of our DNA. Some of the most common ones, that will feel familiar to many of us, are fear of failure, comparison and not feeling good or smart enough. When our gremlins roam free, they take control of what we think and how we act.
"We might be tempted to put ourselves forward for a new job but the gremlin in our head starts whispering, or even shouting, ‘What if you don’t succeed?’ or ‘What will other people say about you?’ Our goal for this book is not to ‘fix’ ourselves but to share some useful and simple caging strategies. We want every reader to know they can take charge of their gremlins rather than the other way around.
"Our gremlins have often got comfortable living in our heads, sometimes so much so that they become part of our identity and inseparable from how we see ourselves. To cage a gremlin we need to get it out of our heads and into the world, whether that’s by drawing, writing or talking about them.
"Everyone can look shiny on the surface and from a distance. But when we start to share our gremlin stories, we realise that fears and doubts are part of all of us. No one has a straight line to success."
