No I do not take selfies! I generally don’t like pictures of
myself that others take so why would I take one of myself. But I have begun
sharing on Sundays a piece of my life and thoughts, so instead of Jumping Back
In (if you’ve followed those posts) I am re-titling these musings as Selfie
Sunday.
I just finished watching Neil Gaiman’s 2012 Commencement
Address at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. If you have never
watched it… do it right after you finish reading this blog (link at the end).
If you’ve watched it before..watch it again.
His advice about when life gets complicated at the end it funny and
priceless.
He says in the beginning that he never had a career, just a
ride. People with careers have a plan know the rules and therefore what is
possible and impossible. If you are along for the ride, improvising you are
less likely to be held back because some rule says it’s impossible. You have your mountain and you're going to climb it and do things that take you one step closer to the mountaintop.
That resonates with me, I have had jobs but never a career in
the sense that my parents’ generation and others since then have viewed it. But
it is a ride. I have been on Wall Street, banking, a teacher, owned a gourmet
shop, and unemployed. I have been a deal maker, an administrative assistant,
and now a CEO (shhh secret project underway). Not a career but a journey, each
step along the way has brought me to where I am now.
A journey like this is not understood by everyone, but it’s
not supposed to be. They have their own journey or career, however they choose
to view it.
Journeys are exciting and scary. They often take on the attributes
of chemical or nuclear reactions. In some chemical reactions, titration is
required because after 99 drops of a reagent the 100th drop, a mere
drop, will trigger the ultimate reaction creating the end products. (For geeks
like me, watch this video. You can fast forward to about the 2 minute mark). Chloride Titration
The difference between this chemical reaction and life is that the dramatic
moment in the reaction is called an endpoint. In life I call that a beginning.
In nuclear reactions there is critical mass, where once the right amount of a
material is it goes from nothing to KABOOM and massive amounts of energy are
created.
My dating journey is still early days. The last two week
have been busy ones for Sean at work and more importantly with the final
journey and passing of one of his sisters after a long battle. During these
events, we have maintained contact even if it has been smiley faces and quick
notes and hellos throughout the day and evening. Like titration, we are looking
adding drop by drop to the process.
The momentum is building on the writing and publishing side,
things are moving even faster than I could have imagined. One of my dreams from
three years ago, is on the verge of exploding into reality. Watch for more news
on this in the coming months. However if you are an editor, formatter, cover
artist, copy editor or author get in touch and stay in touch.
Gaiman talks about the mountain. Publishing is that mountain
for me. Not only to publish my own work, but that of others. If you know me,
you know that I am a mentor and supporter at heart, particularly of the arts. I
derive pleasure from the success of others especially if I think I played some
small part in it.
And as he so wisely says enjoy the ride and make good art.
Oh and here's that link... Neil Gaiman Address 2012
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