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When the profession merges completely with a life experience! Sarah Cottman 's testimony was this: a journey that began in the life of Sarah and her family, leading to her incredible work experience as a professional organizer but, more importantly, as an entrepreneur.
Sarah Cottman was born in a small, picturesque English village, but soon moved with her parents to Australia, where she married at a very young age and began her life as an entrepreneur.
Sarah's narrative starts from the private dimension and then moves on to her professional life; she was very generous in sharing intimate aspects of her life with APOI members. A rich confrontation on a professional and human level. Hers was the testimony of a professional organizer living and working in Australia, with a culture very different from ours, but it was also and above all the sharing of a firsthand experience that led her to choose what would become her area of specialization as a professional organizer.
From an early age, she was considered a hyperactive child, with great difficulties in concentration and attention, complications that affected her school conduct.
The ability to diagnose DSA Specific Learning Disorders andADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) disorders is a relatively recent thing; when Sarah was a child, certain attitudes could not be named. She then lived with a "her way of being" for which no one was able to extend a helping hand to her.
It was only thanks to the invaluable help of a classmate that she was able to create her own method of coping with her studies: her dear friend understood that creating "roadmaps" and organizational strategies helped her to advance her goals and greatly facilitated her. Sarah was fifteen years old, an already very advanced age to run for cover, but it was a success nonetheless; she touched on how organization was a valuable tool for coping with life as a DSA/ADHD student, who find that they are slower to learn despite the fact that there is a distinct intelligence that characterizes them.
Being a child with DSA and/or ADHD disorders means one day being an adult with those same disorders, that is, simply having a "different step." But it is very important to "know" in order to be "equipped" to walk the road of life.
Only in later life did Sarah receive a diagnosis and with it the realization in realizing that she was not the only one in her family with different "neuro brain functioning," but also her husband and their three children.
It was from this audit that Sarah began her first steps as a professional organizer, as starting with her family she implemented organizational strategies and methods that would facilitate the lives of her loved ones. Without knowing it, she was building her identity as a P.O. specializing in DSA and ADHD disorders.
As a lecturer, when I meet future professional organizers, I always point out that the pool of daily and professional life experiences are a strong starting point.
Our profession is a synthesis of particularly developed organizational skills juxtaposed with one's personal experience and constant training, this magical fusion makes each of us a P.O. different from the other.
In our meeting with Sarah we found confirmation, her direct experience with the DSA/ADHD world has enabled her to specialize in that area as a professional organizer, to be of real help to all those who experience such a thing without having developed the right organizing skills. Can you imagine what it means for a person experiencing such difficulties to meet a professional organizer who knows and understands firsthand her reality?
In 2006 she founded Heavenly Order (https://www.horder.com.au/sarahcottmanheadshot): with her company, in addition to providing direct client support, she created training paths for Australian P.O.s. Success was great and immediate; Sarah was called upon to participate in various TV and radio programs, the most famous of which is Space Invaders working alongside the famous Peter Walsh for seven years.
In 2017, he invested time and energy in founding IOPO (International Institute of Professional Organizers), of which he is president. IOPO is a professional industry body that provides a support network in the organizing world, working alongside professional organizers entering the market. Sarah firmly believes that for the field of organizing to grow and thrive, it must be built by those who, not only have passion for what they do, but also have a vision and strategy to achieve excellence in the profession.
What we learned
Sarah taught us that drawing on one's personal background is a great resource for those who want to enter the profession. It is one's experience, in life as well as in work, that provides a wealth of knowledge and practice, valuable elements for working alongside clients. Such a springboard should be supported with continuing education, which allows us to evolve as professionals in the field.
In this regard for professional organizers who wish to specialize in this area I point out the specialization courses provided by Organize Italy.
I like to end articles dedicated to our international guests with words that represent them, for Sarah I would choose: sharing and generosity.
#APOIinternationalGuest continues to surprise us, Thank you Sarah!
