Skip to main content

Dusting off the cobwebs

In the few years since I let my note-card side-business fade away, I haven't had much need for this space. Matter of fact, I wasn't sure it was still here with the website gone and the email address deactivated. But through the wonder of of the Internet and the unlimited server space of Google, here it is.

Constantly curious but often unmotivated, I've taken several free online courses on various topics, and even managed to complete two. I recently started one from author, speaker and all-around idea font Seth Godin. This time, it wasn't free but it fascinated me and I'm a huge fan of how Seth views work and how work should be.

I'm telling you this because as part of this course, I need a public (I think my sister still reads this) space to outline my thoughts in response to Seth's prompts. 

For the next few weeks, I'll be outlining who I think I am as an individual in the freelancer economy. And even though I am not a freelancer nor do I think I have the huzpah to make a go at it right now, I do feel we all need to understand what we want from our careers. Once we understand that, we can begin the unrelenting search to get there, within our current position, in a different position or even (gulp) as our own boss.

I appreciate your comments, thoughts and your own answers (thanks, sis!) as I work through this course. If you'd like to join me, here's the link. If you sign up in April, it's $30 off.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

This week's Thank You: The door closer

I have a reminder that goes off each Monday at 8:30am. The reminder says "Write a Thank You Note". I work in a large building, housing several hundred employees during our peak rush season. A large portion of the building is our warehouse, with conveyor belts whirring and totes strolling their merry way to the shipping stations. Within this large building, I work in an open configuration of desks and cubes in a fairly quiet area. Fairly quiet, that is, when the door to the room is closed. That door maintains the balance between concentration-enhancing white noise and a cacophony of heavy steps on concrete, snippets of conversation and the buzz of machinery. Maybe because my desk is closest to that door, or perhaps because I have the concentration of a gnat while I'm procrastinating, but my productivity drops to sloth-like levels when the door is left open by unaware (or less distraction-prone) co-workers. Many times have I looked at the door left ajar, will...

When in doubt, add chocolate

Gifts by Polly Goncalves on Flicker CC BY NC In another installment of things I didn't actually know existed, February 17 was Random Acts of Kindness day. A day devoted to small tokens of appreciation to people you know, barely know or who are complete strangers. I like to think of thank you notes often as random acts of kindness. People don't often realize the impact their positive attitude, willingness to help or simple gestures have on the people around them, so a hand-written thank you note many times appear random. While I honestly believe most people enjoy the unexpected surprise of a hand-written note, sometimes I feel like a small gift included with those notes makes the surprise even better. I've gotten in the habit of including a little something extra when I can, especially for those notes that are hand delivered. Here are a few of my favorites: Chocolate: High-quality, individually wrapped candies such as Ghirardelli or Godiva are pretty easy to come b...

It's All About Style

I'm a terrible sister. The fact that I haven't talked to my sister in months in no way means I don't care about her, her life or my nephew's latest Evel Knievel stunt. I blame a lot of things for my lack of talk-talk with my sister -- crazy schedules, current addiction to social networking sites, Harry Potter. But I think the real reason is much more psychological (aren't all the good reasons psychological?). Communication style. I'm a writer. She's a talker. I pick up a pen and paper or a keyboard. She picks up the phone. I think to talk. She talks to think. We are opposite communicators and therefore we have trouble connecting. This happens in all facets of life. Your boss. Your coworker. Your friends. Your lover. People communicate differently and unless you can give them information in the medium they digest it best, they probably will only get half the story. But if you can pick up on and cater to those communication styles, you are much more likely to ...